A special program by Stefano Locati
This year’s selection reflects on the theme of crisis from a female perspective. The short films come from different East Asian countries (Japan, South Korea, Singapore) and approach the theme from different points of view, always with a flair that flirts with the extraordinary – from surrealism to magic realism. The protagonists of the three short films are mature women who have to come to terms with their past or make unconventional choices in facing the unexpected challenges we are continuously faced with in life. From the relationship with their parents to disability, via the scourge of serial molesters, a colourful portrait of unexpected and unpredictable ways of dealing with the chaos of life, without ever giving up. The short format allows an intimacy and immediacy that gets to the core of the issues, while retaining a poetic lightness.
Aunt Lotus & Her Dream Bicycle
Director: Kew Lin
Singapore, 16’
A film crew is holding auditions to find the lead character for their new project, a short film about a blind woman who has a dream of riding a bicycle. Lotus, a mature woman whose son is a director, also shows up at the audition. Mixing meta-narrative, comedy and touching drama about intergenerational relationships, Singaporean director Kew Lin composes a delicate portrait of a woman who never stops dreaming.
The Sea on the Day When the Magic Returns
Director: Han Jiwon
Corea del Sud, 24’
Sejin has to attend an important job interview to become a tour guide. Once she was convinced she could get what she wanted just by thinking hard; in the present, she is no longer so sure. Just before the interview, Sejin receives a strange phone call from her father. Screened at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, director Han Jiwon’s animated short is a delicate portrait of a woman’s crumbling certainties at a tipping point of her life, amidst memories of her relationship with a man, the impostor syndrome and family troubles.
Bird Woman
Director: Oohara Tokio
Giappone, 21’
Toki commutes to work by train every day, even during the pandemic. Infuriated by the increase in carriage harassers, aided by the presence of masks covering her face, she decides to fight back. The short film by Oohara Tokio, who is also an actress in her own work, is a fierce yet ironic allegory on gender relations. Seemingly simple, it works on the framing and juxtapositions created by the editing to achieve a surreal aura that makes the und
