A special program by Stefano Locati
EAST ASIA NOW
A jump into the production of short films from (South) East Asia to try to photograph an always vital and stimulating situation. This year the program opens to new countries – Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia — maintaining alive and untouched the will to look at the present from unusual perspectives. The four short films selected have already appeared in many international festivals, from Cannes and Locarno to Busan and Singapore, and retain a surprising impellence and strength. Two men (Pham Thien An and Sorayos Prapapan) and two women (Kris Ong and Sreylin Meas) accepted the challenge of producing at low cost, often also thanks to crowdfunding, everyday stories that reveal new aspects of life. From the flavor of street food (Stay Awake, Be Ready) to the narrow interior of an apartment (Sunday), from sunny roofs that look like non-places (Dossier of the Dossier) to an oceanfront resort (California Dreaming), the four short films explore the many facets of human relationships with inexhaustible amazement.
Hãy tỉnh thức và sẵn sàng / Stay Awake, Be Ready
Director: Pham Thien An
Vietnam / South Korea / Usa, 14’07”
In a chaotic and buzzing nightlife street, the conversation among three friends at a restaurant is transformed into a mysterious reflection on human nature, shifting from motorbike accidents and fire-eating children, to beer, thefts and rain. Pham Thien An demonstrates in an essential and rigorous way the imaginative power of details, building the entire short film on the relationship between screen and off-screen, slowly enlarging and moving the eye of the camera to control the narration.
Sunday
Director: Kris Ong
Singapore, 12’39”
In a flat invaded by the heat, a woman suffering from a rash on most of her body insinuates herself into the relationship between her sister and her boyfriend, this latter immobilized at home with crutches due to an accident. In the adjoining room, another presence looms. Kris Ong, with several feature films and now a script consultant for HBO Asia, builds up a frenzy of ecstasy and family torment, presenting the clash between hatred and desire from a female perspective.
Dossier of the Dossier
Director: Sorayos Prapapan
Thailand, 17’34”
A director and a producer are working on the dossier of their new project, in view of a meeting with a potential backer. The presentation does not go exactly as expected and the two find themselves reflecting on the difficult relationship between expectations, dreams and reality. After Death of the Sound Man (2017), Sorayos Prapapan continues his self-reflective incursion into the difficult world of independent cinema with irony and light touch. Mixing color and black and white, the result is a curious and varied human cross-section, portrayed by means of geometric and austere shots.
California Dreaming
Director: Sreylin Meas
Cambodia, 16’13”
The chance encounter between two strangers with opposite experiences brings to the open a bond that will allow them to escape, at least temporarily, from reality. The rarefaction of the dialogues and the contemplative rhythm of the editing contribute to setting up an atmosphere of mystery. Sreylin Meas plays with the sense of expectation, building a sense of inner contentment with a clear and luxuriant images.
