23rd Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival
In the Frame
synopsis
During the day, Oxana paints frames as a man; at night, she puts on her female skin. Oxana is a transsexual living in Moldova, where even expressions of tolerance towards sexual minorities can be dangerous. This short film is an intimate look at gender and at the social isolation of people denied to right to their own identity.
biography
Moldavian filmmakers Ion Gnatiuc (1990) and Artiom Zavadovsky (1987) presented their debut film at this year’s goEast showcase OPPOSE OTHERING! Section focused on films exploring queer issues, and also at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
more about film
| director: | Ion Gnatiuc, Artiom Zavadovsky |
| producer: | Raisa Răzmeriță |
| script: | Artiom Zavadovsky, Ion Gnatiuc, Raisa Răzmeriță |
| photography: | Ion Gnatiuc |
| editing: | Ion Gnatiuc |
| sound: | Roman Bordei |
other films in the section
A young filmmaker sets off for the unknown territory of an African enclave to gather true stories of its inhabitants. Motionless scenery carries human imagination to heights where unforgettable moments of human life unfold. The meditative character of the film’s imagery captures the unique atmosphere of Lesotho.
From Heigths
Pierre Bisson
Switzerland / 2018 / 15 min.
section: Short Joy
World Premiere
A pagan custom takes place alongside the traditional Easter Sunday celebrations in the Polish village of Sternalice. Rough-looking men set aside their work tools, saddle wild horses, and set off on a pilgrimage, filled with humility before God. The documentary’s visual and aural cacophony captures the ancient tradition, creating a stunning visual myth.
Horse Riders
Anna Gawlita
Poland / 2018 / 19 min.
section: Short Joy
International Premiere
The films confronts two different views of the execution of General Ion Antonescu, Romania’s leader during the Second World War. On one side is silent black-and-white footage of the execution as recorded in 1946 by cameraman Ovidiu Gologanl; on the other are scenes from a biographical film shot in 1994 by director Sergiu Nicolaescu.
The Marshal’s Two Executions
Radu Jude
Romania / 2018 / 10 min.
section: Short Joy
World Premiere
During the Soviet era, Ukraine was a difficult place for members of the LGBT community, and even today the country remains less than welcoming to sexual minorities. Working with archival interviews of women from the past thirteen years, the film brings together two eras and thus contributes to a discussion of today’s situation.
The Wonderful Years
Galina Yarmanova, Svitlana Shymko
Ukraine / 2018 / 9 min.
section: Short Joy
International Premiere
They are happy together, but she gets a job offer in another country and he doesn’t want to go. He tries to sway her decision in his favour by offering to marry her… In its format, the film perhaps most closely resembles a music video, but besides music it also uses poetry and dance to tell its story. Shot on an iPhone 7 Plus.
time and love and I
J Ashlee
United States / 2017 / 5 min.
section: Short Joy
World Premiere
Reality disappears before our eyes – all that remains is what’s preserved in our memories, the retelling of which allows us to bring it back to life. Camera in hand, the experimental filmmaker explores this abstract process in a stylized documentary with young boys in military uniforms and stories of war.
The Remembered Film
Isabelle Tollenaere
Belgium / 2018 / 18 min.
section: Short Joy
Central European Premiere
“(Where) do the places we remember exist?” asks Camila Ausente in the opening of her ten-minute documentary search for an answer to this question. The film combines repeating images from Mexico with oral memories of her father's childhood in Argentina.
Pampa del Istmo
Camila Ausente
Mexico, Argentina / 2018 / 11 min.
section: Short Joy
World Premiere
This documentary combines interviews with participants in ethnographic research led by the filmmaker personally with footage of his own personal reflections and insights. The recordings, gathered during the three years prior to the end of the authoritarian regime of Zimbabwean president Mugabe, is accompanied by 8mm footage of Rhodesia.
Research / Souvenir (Dialogues)
Roger Horn
Zimbabwe, South Africa / 2018 / 18 min.
section: Short Joy
Central European Premiere
This minimalist six-minute film looks at the creation of animal life through time-lapse footage of an embryo’s development – a process universal to all animals, including people. The film follows, in microscopic detail, the development of an alpine newt in its translucent egg all the way from first cell division to moment of hatching.
Becoming
Jan van IJken
Netherlands / 2018 / 6 min.
section: Short Joy
World Premiere
What happens to women who mysteriously disappear? Are they ever seen again? Do state authorities investigate as they should, or are the only ones truly searching for the women the ones they left behind? A compilation film that reveals several periods in history during which scores of women disappeared without a trace under various circumstances.
Into Thin Air
Cristina Motta
Argentina / 2018 / 15 min.
section: Short Joy
World Premiere
At the funeral of her grandmother, Yanlin, a young Chinese girl, learns that the deceased was a medium – and was possessed by a spirit named Gong. The film is Yanlin’s personal confessional – she never believed in the existence of miracles, but is now becoming interested in the world of spiritualism and finding out who Gong was in order to understand her grandmother better.
Beyond the World
Yanlin Li
United Kingdom / 2018 / 16 min.
section: Short Joy
World Premiere
The only things they left behind were their personal belongings. They speak volumes about what kind of people they were. What they liked. Who was close to them. What hobbies they had. A film without words. Footage of objects belonging to people who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of the island of Lampedusa in 2013 and 2015 - people whose lives were extinguished for good.
Mum, I'm Sorry
Martina Melilli
Italy / 2017 / 17 min.
section: Short Joy
International Premiere
