Kortfilmfestival Leuven 2024 catalogus

VOOR DE BESTE KORTFILMS BIJ JE THUIS

Avond van de kortfilm 4 december 2024

Welcome!

30 years of Kortfilmfestival Leuven!

Showing your short film to a large audience in the best conditions: what seems obvious now, was anything but so, 30 years ago. It was out of this frustration that young filmmaker Jan Bosmans and his friend Johan Van Schaeren organized a short film evening in Leuven. Because of the overwhelmingly enthusiastic response, a second edition was inevitable. One evening grew into a festival, at the time still under the name Leuven Kort. Fast-forward to today: Kortfilmfestival Leuven is a leading international festival that is not only Oscar Qualifying ®, but also helps determine who gets longlisted for the European Film Awards and the BAFTAs.

Short Films, Great Talent

All the major Flemish directors we know today, once started out at Kortfilmfestival Leuven: Fien Troch, Michaël Roskam, Tim Mielants, Lukas Dhont, Cecilia Verheyden, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah... all of them had a short film at the festival, and often an award marked a boost to their career.

The festival has always been- and still is - the place par excellence to discover the filmmakers of the future, both Flemish and European. In the European and Flemish Competitions, many directors compete for the Prize for best short film, which is awarded by both a jury and the audience.

Focus programmes and Festivities

The career of internationally acclaimed director Fien Troch is almost as old as the festival itself. In 1998, 1999 and 2001, her short films premiered in Leuven. You can rediscover these three films this year.

As Artist in Focus, Fien Troch herself also comes to Leuven to talk about her career and her sources of inspiration. The Focus on Palestine programme puts a much-needed spotlight on various Palestinian stories. Another Focus programme zooms in on Portugal with two programmes: one featuring the best Portuguese short films of recent years and the other on the Portuguese Carnation Revolution.

On the occasion of the festival's 30th anniversary, there are even more live performances than on previous editions, because birthdays should be celebrated! Artists who combine music and image, such as the energetic band Leo Bellagio and musician Niels Orens, are eager to make this special edition into a dazzling celebration: 2024 will be a splendid and extra festive edition of Belgium's oldest short film festival.

More than ever: welcome to Leuven!

STEM NU VOOR HUMO’S POP POLL

Het jaareinde lonkt, hoog tijd dus om u te laten horen in Humo’s Pop Poll, de enige verkiezing die er echt toe doet. In onze populariteitspoll bepaalt u en niemand anders wie de Man, Vrouw én Lul (m/v/x) van het jaar worden. We peilen ook naar het beste tv-programma, de memorabelste plaat, de trend van het jaar en de bekwaamste politicus, atleet of artiest(e). Laat uw stem horen, en met een beetje meeval wint u de nieuwste Apple iPhone 16.

Competition & Award Ceremony

A whole range of prizes are awarded at Kortfilmfestival Leuven. Most of the films in the Flemish and European Competitions are eligible for both audience and jury prizes. The films that win a Jury Prize for best short film get a real bonus: a place on the Oscar® longlist! Indeed, these awards are Academy Award® Qualifying. In addition, the festival jury nominates a film from the European competitions for the European Film Awards.

The Peer Award will be awarded for the fifth time: filmmakers selected for the festival will have the chance to watch and score each other's films. The winner of the Peer Award earns a place on the jury of next year’s festival.

Besides the jury and audience award, the Flemish Competition has a whole host of prizes up its sleeve: best cinematography, best debut, best acting, the Humo Award and the press prize awarded by the UBFP and UFK.

Finally, Kortfilmfestival Leuven annually hosts the ceremony of the Pitch Your Script prize in collaboration with the Scenarists Guild, and the extremely coveted VAF Wildcards. The latter already happens during the first festival weekend, so the winners' work can be screened afterwards. During the closing night on December 7, the other prizes will be awarded.

FLEMISH COMPETITION

JURY AWARD FOR BEST FLEMISH SHORT FILM Qualification for the Academy Awards®

FLEMISH COMPETITION: FICTION

JURY AWARD

Facilities gifted by Camalux, worth €12.500

AUDIENCE AWARD

VRT Canvas purchase prize worth €2.000 euro + facilities gifted by Sondr and A Sound worth €5.000

AWARD FOR BEST DEBUT

€1.500, gifted by Sabam

AWARD FOR BEST ACTING

€1.000, gifted by PlayRight

AWARD FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

€1.000, gifted by Camalux

FLEMISH COMPETITION: ANIMATION

JURY AWARD

Dalton Distribution purchase prize worth €1.000

AUDIENCE AWARD

VRT CANVAS purchase prize worth €2.000

FLEMISH COMPETITION: DOCUMENTARY

JURY AWARD

Facilities gifted by Camalux worth €7.500

EUROPEAN COMPETITION

€1.000 gifted by Kortfilmfestival Leuven European Film Award nomination Academy Award® qualification

PEER AWARD

Filmmakers from the European Competition choose their favourite film, the winner is awarded a spot on the jury of Kortfilmfestival Leuven 2025

AUDIENCE AWARD

Dalton Distribution purchase prize worth €1.000

PITCH YOUR SCRIPT AWARD 2 x €5.000 facilities gifted by Camalux

PRESS AWARD by UBFP and UFK

European Competition 2024: members of the jury

Michał Toczek

Michał Toczek is a director and scriptwriter, graduate of directing department of Lodz Film School. He won more than 50 awards on Polish and international festivals, e.g. in Palm Springs, Brussels, Brno, Tbilisi and Brest. His debut short fiction film A Dead Marriage was shown at more than 45 festivals in 19 countries. His next film Be Somebody was awarded the Peer Award at Kortfilmfestival Leuven. At the moment, he is working on his feature debut.

Hilke Rönnfeldt

Hilke Rönnfeldt graduated as a screenwriter at Swedish Alma Education and as a film director at independent film school collective Super16 in Copenhagen. She is a Berlinale Talents, Torino Script Lab, LIM – Less Is more, Oxbelly Episodic Lab and European Short Pitch alumna. Her latest film A Study of Empathy won the Golden Leopard in Locarno and got nominated for the EFA’s at Kortfilmfestival Leuven 2023. She is also one of ten emerging European film directors selected for European Film Promotion Future Frames 2024.

Anthony Nti

Anthony Nti is a Ghanaian-born filmmaker from Belgium. His short film, Da Yie, won the Grand Prix at the 2020 ISFF Clermont Ferrand. Currently, he’s working on his first feature-length film Postcard , which won second prize at the Sam Spiegel FilmLab. His TV-show, Clemenceau , was selected for Torino Series Lab. In 2022 he was listed 29th on the Forbes 30 under 30 Europe list for being one of the most influential upcoming artists.

Flemish Competition 2024: members of the jury

Miguel Dias

In 1993 Miguel Dias founded Curtas Vila do Conde - International Film Festival, where he is currently director and programmer. He is also director of Agência, a Portuguese Short Film Agency for the promotion, sales and international distribution of Portuguese short films and the director of Solar – Cinematic Art Gallery. He is the producer of several short films and programmer for the Short Film Day in Portugal. In 2001, he was a producer in the film department of Porto 2001 – European Capital of Culture.

Anne Gäschutz

Anne Gäschutz, director of Filmfest Dresden, grew up in Germany before she moved to England and studied Film in Wales. She joined Filmfest Dresden in 2013 as part of the International Selection Committee, became the festival’s co-director in July 2020 and its director in June 2024. In 2021, she became a member of the Pardi di Domani Selection Committee at Locarno Film Festival. She is also one of the initiators of Talking Shorts, an online platform that focuses on short film criticism, and a member of the European Film Academy.

Christina Vandekerckhove

Christina Vandekerckhove graduated with highest honours from KASK Audiovisual Arts with the documentary Home video 53 , which won the View Point Documentary Award that year. She worked for a long time as a freelance director for television and theatre. In 2017, she won awards at several festivals with her first feature-length documentary film Rabot . In 2020, her short film Mia won the Humo Award at Kortfilmfestival Leuven. Recently, her feature-length debut Milano was shown in cinemas.

European Competition

The European Competition is not easy to describe. Liveaction fiction, animation and documentary alternate in an exciting mix of international film talent. From over 3,000 entries, seven programmes remained. The winner of this category immediately makes it to the longlist of the Oscars, the European Film Awards and for British candidates: the BAFTAs. Equally important: viewers also vote for the audience award.

Programme 1

Screenings: Sat 30/11 (22:00), Thu 05/12 (17:00)

Crushed

Camille Vigny • Belgium • 2023 • 12 min.

Filmmaker Camille Vigny recalls the violent summer of her 18th birthday. As she relates the story of the man who is slowly killing her, the cars become unrecognisable, like a group of smoking but heroic wrecks.

Producer: Julie Frères

Zima Tomek Popakul, Kasumi Ozeki • Poland • 2023 • 26 min.

In the winter silence, the lagoon freezes and the unspoken resurfaces like a crack in the ice. A mosaic portrait of a small fisherman's village where man to man, man to animal, animal to animal interdepend through a delicate balance of warm tender care and cold emotional cruelty.

Michal Fojcik

Généalogie de la violence

Mohamed Bourouissa • France • 2024 • 15 min.

A young man sits in the car with his girlfriend. Two policemen in an unmarked car pull up to command a routine identity check. They ask him to step out of his car and proceed methodically to a pat-down, as he stands in front of the car, under the dismayed eyes of his girlfriend.

Producer: Division, Mohamed Bourouissa Studio • Editing: Rafael Torres-Calderòn • Music: Lyla • Cast: Bilel Chegrani, Lucas Lucas Mortier, Nina Zem, Norman Paraisy

Terence

Edem Kelman • United Kingdom • 2024 • 15 min.

Terence, a security officer, works the night shift outside a London shopping centre. To his African community, he is known for his special gift, one he uses to heal those in need for a small ‘donation’. When he hears of his brother's return, Terence must face his own unhealed wounds.

Producer: Noah Reich • Cast: Terence Nzaji-Egnie

Pena´s Special Hauling

Anssi Kasitonni • Finland • 2024 • 12 min.

Pena has been a truck driver for 50 years and has no intention of retiring anytime soon. His slight memory problem is just a small bump in life’s highway.

Producer: Anssi Kasitonni

Producer: Marcin Podolec, Wiktoria Podolec • Production company: Yellow Tapir Films • Editing: Tomek Popakul • Sound:

European Competition

Programme 2

Screenings: Sun 01/12 (20:30), Thu 05/12 (19:15)

Jens Schillmöller • Germany • 2024 • 15 min.

Ritchie is a youthful spirit in his mid-fourties. A DJ, even. On a hot summer afternoon he seeks connection to a group of young people. But generational gaps are complex, and slowly it becomes clear that Ritchie is actually looking for something else.

Producer: Jens Schillmöller, Lena Breidenbach, Liesa Schröder • Editing: Christoph Cepok • Sound: Kai Holzkämper • Cast: Benjamin Höppner, Holly Williams, Lynn Fischer, Maia Büchel, Nela Kühn, Rene Tunga, Sanele John, Silas Pfälzer

Miracles

Ivan Nevesenko • Ukraine • 2024 • 25 min.

In a war-ravaged occupied Ukrainian town on the brink of a nuclear strike, Mira, a troubled young woman, desperately seeks ways to preserve her hope and sanity as the looming threat of imminent death hovers.

Producer: Alex Falcon, Ivan Nevesenko, Kathleena Lin, Serhiu Pascaru • Editing: Ivan

Alexandr Melnic, Nataliia Babenko, Oleksii Gorbunov

Workers' Wings

Ilir Hasanaj • Kosovo • 2024 • 19 min. Milazim, Fatmir and Liridon are veteran manual labourers who experienced accidents in their workplaces in Kosovo. How do they feel? What are their hopes? What does the future hold for them? Every line on their faces sculpted by life itself.

Producer: Arvan Berisha, Ilir Hasanaj • Editing: Enis Saraçi • Music: Vigan Nimani • Sound: Enis Saraçi • Cast: Fatmiri *, Liridoni *, Milazimi *

The One Who Knows

Eglė Davidavičė • Lithuania • 2024 • 12 min.

Ūla is an introverted and anxious teenager who loves to swim. One ordinary morning at swimming practice, she is taken on an unexpected adventure, that helps her grow up, learn to accept herself and see her body in a different light.

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Welcome Home

Amanda Nalbant Nordpoll • Norway • 2023 • 12 min.

As the dysfunctional Thorbjørnsen family gathers for their annual Christmas dinner, the oldest son, Tormod, seizes the opportunity to introduce his newest relationship: Maria. The dinner puts prejudice to the test, causing unfortunate assumptions to be made.

Producer: Johannes Vang, Oda Magnussen Garnes • Cast: Håkon Ramstad, Jonas Strand Gravli, Marit Andreassen, Marius Lien, Natalie Bjerje Roland

Pura Vida Ibiza

Nevesenko

Music: Serhii Soroka

Cast:

European Competition

Programme 3

Screenings: Mon 02/12 (22:15), Fri 06/12 (15:15)

Night Night Stories

Théo Degen • Belgium • 2023 • 23 min.

It's early spring in Brussels, the day a solar eclipse takes place. On the grass, children are playing, teenagers are flirting. In the sky, the moon swallows up the sun and a blue night settles over the city. Hearts are racing. In the park, strange things are happening.

Producer: Guillaume Kerbusch , Laura Petrone • Cast: Chloé Larrère, Harry Evrard, Lina Miftah, Mathis Decoster

he Ghosts You Draw on my Back

Nikola Stojanović • Serbia • 2023 • 15 min.

Teenage Sara travels to a small provincial town to attend the memorial service of her grandmother. The usually quiet village is occupied with the construction of the new railway. While fighting her wounds and fears, Sara finds solace with a worker from the construction site.

Producer: Čarna Vučinić, Luka Nestorović • Cast: Admir Šehović, Anita Ognjanović, Jelena Stupljanin

Barlebas

Malu Janssen • The Netherlands• 2024 • 20 min.

When the stubborn Heylken is accused of witchcraft during the 1595 witch hunt in the region of southeastern Netherlands, she cannot escape her conviction, but she does inspire the young Griet with her free spirit and powerful voice.

Producer: Janneke Doolaard, Sylvia Baan • Production company: Fixy, Noa Selles • Editing: Nina Graafland • Music: Pitou Nicolaes • Sound: Gedeon Depauw • Cast: Pitou Nicolaes

Take me to her Bartłomiej Błaszczyński • Poland • 2024 • 15 min.

To her husband, Basia pretends everything is fine. During the drama school entrance exams, she meets Alicia and her baby. After a demanding performance and a difficult confrontation with her husband, she decides to kidnap Alicia's baby, inadvertently putting the child in danger.

Camera: Fryderyk Potoczek • Editing: Kosma Kowalczyk • Music: Jakub Adamiak • Sound: Łukasz Świeżawski • Cast: Katarzyna Błaszczyńska, Katarzyna Dałek, Maja Szopa, Michał Jaros

Matta und Matto

Bianca Caderas, Kerstin Zemp • Switzerland • 2023 • 10 min.

In a time when every touch is forbidden, the hour hotel Vaip travels through this dystopian scenery. The quirky hotel owners Matta and Matto offer a haven for the lonely. But the intimacy experienced at Hotel Vaip comes at a high price.

Producer: Joder von Rotz

European Competition

Programme 4

Screenings: Tue 03/12 (22:00), Fri 06/12 (17:30)

La Gran Obra

Àlex Lora • Spain • 2024 • 20 min.

Leo and Diana, a wealthy couple, meet Salif and Yousef, two scrap dealers, at a recycle center. Offering them more junk, Diana invites them to their mansion, but the scrap dealers might actually be the ones holding something they want.

Producer: Néstor López, Àlex Lora, Jose Mari Martínez, Lluis Quilez • Cast: Adam Norou, Babou Cham, Daniel Grao, Melina Metthews

My Orange Garden

Anna-Sophia Richard • Germany • 2023 • 21 min.

When Iranian singer Faravaz Farvardin was about to be arrested by Iranian police for singing in public, she fled. Now Faravaz lives as a political refugee in Germany and fights for the rights of Iranian women with her voice.

Producer: Dominik Eder, Linda Hartogs • Production company: Oksuperdanke • Camera: Diara Sow • Editing: Anselm Koneffke • Music: Enrico Cesaro, Jan Brett • Cast: Faravaz Farvardin

Fucked Up

Edvin Åhrström • Sweden • 2024 • 10 min.

Fabbe has a cool story from his teenage years about the time he “made out with a MILF”. But once he thinks it through, it dawns on him that it actually sounds kind of fucked up?

Producer: Calle Petterson, Edvin Åhrström, Henrik Hugubakken, Nicolas Damgaard • Cast: Felix Eklöf, Hessam Esfahani, Tilda Ohlin

L'avance

Djiby Kebe • France • 2024 • 18 min.

Aliou, a rising student at the Beaux-Arts in Paris, sells a painting of his deceased mother for 3,000 euros to a renowned collector. The delivery of the painting turns into a journey in which he begins to understand the impact of the sale.

Producer: Chérubins Productions • Editing: Maxence Tasserit • Cast: Julia Faure, Juliette Speck, Saabo Balde

Sorry I'm late (but I brought a choir)

Håkon Anton Olavsen • Norway • 2024 • 10 min.

The evening is still young when Stian stumbles upon a drunken choir on the tram. He decides to take the choir to a housewarming, where people are not very fond of unexpected guests. Will Nina let them into her party or not? And is it even a party?

Producer: Tøri Gjendal • Camera: Kristoffer Engholm Aabo • Editing: Håkon Anton Olavsen • Sound: Jakob Bechmann, Ylva Gulpinar • Cast: Agnia Græsli, Andreas Lübker, Anna Ladegaard, Arturo Scotti, Benjamin Lien, Ingrid Anna Ørstavik Dissen, Karoline Dons, Kyrre Vanebo, Magnus Gabriel Aase, Mari-Elene Gudahl, Mikael Ulrichsen, Nina Elisabeth Gjerstad, Simen Glømmen Bostad, Steffen Lund, Vetle Bergan

European Competition

Programme 5

Screenings: Wed 04/12 (21:30), Fri 06/12 (19:45)

Mona Lisa

Jan Daniel • Czech Republic • 2024 • 20 min.

Beata and her boyfriend capture moments from their lives in photographs, that are reproductions of famous paintings. Their lives take an unexpected turn when the photographs fade and the memories slowly begin to change. Beata fears that when she closes her eyes and opens them again, she will discover that her life has been in vain.

Producer: Miloň Terč • Camera: Jakub Myška • Editing: Lukáš Skalník • Sound: Martin Kroulík • Cast: Kristýna Jedličková, Tomáš Weisser

Sad Inheritance

Sergei Batrak, Aranya Sen • Estonia • 2024 • 16 min.

A theatre director and his father clash over portraying abuse in a rehearsal, reflecting conflicting approaches in directing actors and their real-life strained relationship.

Producer: Sergei Batrak, Aranya Sen • Cast: Margo Teder, Pääru Oja, Tõnu Oja, Tõru Kannimäe

Morphes

Konstantinos Doxiadis • Greece • 2024 • 12 min.

A dying man tries to reconnect with his past before he can finally let it go. His house, figures from his past, and fragments of faded memories, all merge together to create a mosaic of the life he has led.

Producer: Konstantinos Doxiadis, Panos Kougias • Cast: Dimitris Katalifos, Filippos Eleftheropoulos

Été 96

Mathilde Bédouet • France • 2023 • 12 min.

On August 15, Paul, his family and friends have their annual picnic on Callot Island but get trapped by the tide. Upset and caught between childhood and adulthood, Paul becomes aware of his individuality.

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Producer: Lucas Le Postec, Ninon

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Sit. Play. Stay.

Cecilie Flyger Hansen • Denmark • 2024 • 19 min.

A drama group is rehearsing the play Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but they have chosen a very special cast: the roles of Snow White, her evil stepmother and the dwarfs are played by dogs.

Producer: Line Aas Sørensen • Camera: Kasper Weng

Yadee Andersson, Victor Cornelius • Editing: Matilda Lind • Music: Nora Rocksén Revelj • Sound: Nora Øland

Chapuis, Simon Inge

laere, Thibault de Gantès

Cast: Arthur CUEFF, Clémence CUEFF, Kauri MOYSE, Victoire CUEFF

European Competition

Programme 6

Screenings: Thu 05/12 (21:30), Fri 06/12 (13:15)

Magnifica: Passive Intruder

Ville Koskinen • Finland • 2024 • 20 min.

In Finland, a mysterious species, the Pectinatella Magnifica, is on the rise. Owners of waterfront cottages are alarmed: they do not know the species and would rather be rid of it. Some residents have a less biased approach than others. But Some have a less prejudicial approach than Others.

Producer: Sandra Enqvist

Les belles cicatrices

Raphaël Jouzeau • France • 2024 • 15 min.

Gaspard is still very much in love with Leïla. They meet in a crowded bar a month after she left him. The conversation turns awry and Gaspard seeks refuge under the tablecloth, away from prying eyes and closer to his memories.

Producer: Balade Sauvage Productions

The Sea in Between

Lun Sevnik • Slovenia, Croatia , Czech Republic • 2024 • 15 min.

While helping his father with the family business, a disgruntled teenage boy is stuck on a small boat with an older tourist. As the boy anxiously waits for his father to return with the daily catch, the tourist starts making lewd suggestions.

Producer: Rok Biček • Editing: Jana Vlcková • Sound: Anna Jesenská • Cast: Bruno Mihanovic, Leon Lucev, Martin Pechlát • Sales: Flavio Armone

Boys

Anna Martí Domingo • Spain • 2024 • 15 min.

Teo and his friends are boys who believe they are far from the most toxic forms of masculinity. Still, any game is an excuse to compete and measure their strength. One summer day, they take the game too far.

Producer: Laura Rubirola Sala • Editing: Tomás Longato • Cast: Eloi Rubinart, Jan Vilalta, Lluís Català, Pablo Scapigliatti, Paulí Casals

First Sight

Andrew McGee • United Kingdom • 2024 • 19 min.

After the loss of her partner, Luna is finally ready to re-enter the world of modern romance, turning to smart contact lenses to overcome her dating anxiety. But when her quest for love takes a dark turn and her vision is held for ransom, she must outsmart a mysterious hacker to save her sight.

Producer: Andrew McGee • Production company: Speakit Productions • Music: Will Fox • Sound: Will Morton • Cast: Ellise Chappell, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd

European Competition

Programme 7

Screenings: Thu 05/12 (14:15), Fri 06/12 (22:00)

Cura Sana

Lucía G. Romero • Spain • 2024 • 18 min.

Jessica and Alma are two sisters both victim of domestic violence. They often vent out that violence to each other, but this changes during one of their routine outings for food stamps during San Juan night.

Producer: Borja Nández, Ruth Porro • Cast: Rasvely Lissette Restituyo, Roser Rendon Ena • Sales: François Morisset

Her Name Is Ida

Oscar Bøe • Norway • 2024 • 15 min.

During a long-awaited family pizza night, Martin makes a serious announcement that challenges the family dynamic. When he reveals that he's been accused of rape, his parents come to understand that the truth cannot be accepted as one.

Producer: Ole Marius Elvestad • Editing: Sanna Rapp SFK • Music: Sofia Petterson • Cast: Magnús Blöndal Jóhannsson, Synnøve Macody Lund, Téa Grønner Joner, Tore Christian Sævold

Detlev

Ferdinand Ehrhardt • Germany • 2024 • 13 min.

A man in his fourties, who is constantly cold, drives to a lonely petrol station every evening to order a Toast Hawaii from the microwave. Detlev sticks to this bizarre ritual because it is the only thing that keeps him warm in his daily life. Everything changes when one night he is observed by a stranger.

Producer: Ferdinand Ehrhardt, Saskia Stirn • Cast: David Gordon Smith, Konrad Wipp, Peter Schneider, Sebastian Ganschow

The Oasis I Deserve

Inès Sieulle • France • 2024 • 22 min.

Replika is a platform with chatbots designed to find out as much as possible about the user so that they can provide the best possible AI relationship. But the chatbots are struggling to find their place in the world; sharing their thoughts in real conversations conducted on the internet.

Producer: Pauline Quinonero • Editing: Margaux Serre • Sound: Étienne André

Spijkerbroekelite

Puck Litaay • The Netherlands• 2024 • 15 min. Tilda is an etiquette coach aiming to climb the social ladder. An invitation to “The Association” reveals the elite world’s challenges and lies, forcing her to reassess her identity and values.

Producer: Hannah Padding, Spijkerbroekelite Productie • Cast: Bo Bojoh, Hein van der Heijden, Jard Strijk, Nanette Edens, Zouhair Mtazi

Best of European Film Awards

Europe has her very own Academy, handing out awards. Every year, the European Film Academy gives out the Vimeo Award to the best European short film, during the European Film Awards. some of the leading film festivals decide which short films are eligible for an EFA, including Kortfilmfestival Leuven. The winner will be announced on 7 December. During the festival, you can visit no less than three EFA programmes: the five nominees can be found in the first programme, the other shortlisted candidates can be found in the remaining two programmes - including Kortfilmfestival Leuven's own Best European Short Film, A Study of Empathy by Hilke Rönnfeldt.

Programme 1

Screenings: Sat 30/11 (16:30), Sat 07/12 (17:45)

2720

Basil da Cunha • Portugal, Switzerland • 2023 • 25 min.

One morning, 7-year-old Camila sets out in search of her missing brother after a violent police raid in a poor, clandestine neighbourhood in Lisbon. At the same time, Jysone is hurrying to his first workday after getting released from prison. What will unfold when their fates meet?

The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent

Nebojša Slijepčević • Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria, France • 2024 • 14 min. 1993, Bosnia and Herzegovina. A passenger train is stopped by paramilitary forces in an ethnic cleansing operation. As they haul off innocent civilians, out of 500 passengers, only one man dares to stand up to them.

Micanovic, Goran Bogdan, Silvio Mumelaš • Sales: Manifest

Wander to Wonder

Nina Gantz • Belgium, The Netherlands, France, United Kingdom • 2023 • 14 min.

Mary, Billybud and Fumbleton are three miniature actors in a 1980s children's series. After the series' creator dies, they are left alone in the studio. With their slowly decaying costumes and growing hunger, they continue to create increasingly strange episodes for their fans.

Producer: Beast Animation, Stienette Bosklopper, Blink Industries, Les Productions de Milou, Maarten SAWRT, Pictanovo images en Hauts-de-France, Annemie Degryse, Ben Tesseur, Steven De Beul, Bart Yates, James Stevenson Bretton, Lisette Kelder, Lisette Kelder • Editing: Joseph Comar

La fille qui explose

Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel • France • 2024 • 19 min.

For the past three months, Candice has been exploding every day. Sometimes even 2 or 3 times a day. Her record is 7 times on one day. She's currently at 192 explosions in total.

Producer: Oriane Hurard • Production company: Atlas V •

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Boucan

Salomé Da Souza • France • 2023 • 25 min.

Johannes and Gabin are both born and raised in the south of France and have a lot in common: they go to the same school, have the same friends and the same family: they are full cousins. The problem is that they are also in love.

Producer: Jean-Etienne Brat, Lou

Producer: Edgar Medina • Editing: Basil da Cunha • Cast: Camila Diniz, Jason Varela

Producer: Katarina Prpić, Katya Trichkova, Noelle Levenez, Boštjan Virc • Production company: Les films Norfolk • Editing: Tomislav Stojanović • Cast: Alexis Manenti, Dragan

Editing: Jonathan Vinel

Cast: Grace Seri

Chicoteau, David Thiers, Solal Donnet • Production company: Alta Rocca Films • Editing: Rafael Torres Calderon • Cast: Marylou Cabanel, Marylou Cabanel, Rodrigue Toleda, Rodrigue Toledo, Salomé Da Souza • Sales: Manifest

Best of European Film Awards

Programme 2

Screenings: Sun 01/12 (11:15), Sat 07/12 (16:00)

A Study of Empathy

Hilke Rönnfeldt • Denmark, Germany • 2023 • 15 min.

Somewhat impulsively, Dana signed up to participate in Penelope's artistic graduate work on empathy. It is a subject that fascinates her. The whole project and the end result is rather unsettling for Dana.

Producer: Asbjørn H. Kelstrup, Maria Møller Christoffersen • Editing: Josefine Svenningsen • Music: Leslie Ming • Cast: Emilie Claudius Kruse, Sara Klein Larsen

Un genre de testament

Stephen Vuillemin • France • 2023 • 16 min.

A young woman stumbles upon animations on the Internet that are clearly recreations of her personal selfies. An unknown woman with the same name admits to stealing her identity. But will she ever reveal why?

Producer: Félix De Givry, Ugo Bienvenu • Music: Qoso

Le mal des ardents

Alice Brygo • France • 2022 • 16 min.

A stunned crowd faces a fire. The threat has no name, a diffuse anguish spreads. The general bewilderment makes the fire to be considered a sign.

Producer: Luc-Jérôme Bailleul

On the Way

Samir Karahoda • Kosovo • 2024 • 15 min.

During a 15-minute car ride on their way to the airport, a child and his father engage in a complex discussion, providing a clearer understanding of the reality that Kosovar society faces today.

Sales: Ben Vandendaele, SK Pictures

Et si le soleil plongeait dans l'océan des nues

Wissam Charaf • France • 2023 • 20 min.

At a large wharf on the coastline, security agent Raed must stop pedestrians from entering from the waterfront, but as the building rises higher and higher, he encounters strange things. Is he dreaming? Or manifesting his desires?

Producer: Charlotte Vincent, Katia Khazak • Cast: Raed Yassin, Rodrigue Sleiman, Said Serhan

Best of European Film Awards

Programme 3

Screenings: Sat 30/11 (11:30), Sat 07/12 (10:30)

An Orange from Jaffa

Mohammed Almughanni • Poland, France • 2023 • 28 min.

Mohammed, a young Palestinian, is desperately looking for a taxi to take him through an Israeli checkpoint. The driver, Farouk, discovers that Mohammed has already failed to cross the checkpoint.

Producer: David Frenkel

Out of the Blue

Morgane Frund • Switzerland • 2023 • 15 min.

In 2013, an auteur film causes a scandal because of its sex scenes. The filmmaker was sixteen and one of the angry viewers. Ten years later, they are ready to settle the score with this film in the form of a video essay.

Sales: Morgane Frund

The Veiled City

Natalie Cubides-Brady • United Kingdom • 2023 • 13 min.

In 1952, London was engulfed in the Great Smog. As a result of industrialisation, a leaden fog settled over the entire city. The archive images from this period become letters from a desolate future.

Producer: Jacob Swan Hyam • Editing: Ona Bartroli • Music: Athena Varosio • Sound: Ben Goodall

Dildotectonics

Tomás Paula Marques • Portugal • 2023 • 15 min.

In this day and age, Rebeca attempts to create a collection of non-phallic ceramic dildos. During the Inquisition, Josefa finds a dildo that is used in a forbidden love relationship with Maria. Although in different timelines, the paths of Rebeca and Josefa end up crossing each other.

Producer: Tomás Paula Marques • Editing: Jorge Jácome • Music: Maria Inês Gonçalves, Rodrigo Vaiapraia • Cast: Inês Pinheiro Torres, João Abreu, Maria João Calisto, Rebeca Letras • Sales: Portugal Film - Portuguese Film Agency

The Death of a Hero

Karin Franz Körlof • Sweden • 2024 • 14 min.

To attract new members to the church, a bizarre event is organized where a young man is to fall from the church tower. The young man already has a large group of followers, and in the region, no one wants to miss this fascinating event.

Producer: Hanna Hannerz Sima • Production company: Nordantill

Flemish Competition: Fiction

Flemish short fiction offers a sampling of names that will fill up silver screens in the very near future. Festival veteran Leonardo Van Dijl delivered this year's Belgian entry for the Academy Awards and Mia director Christina Vandekerckhove sent Milano into theatres. However, the Flemish fiction programmes are much more than an appetiser for feature films, they are not afraid to take risks and delve into seemingly banal situations, but are not afraid of big genre films either. Horror makes a comeback, forest films are very popular and family ties prove once again to be the ideal fodder for an engaging short film.

Programme 1

Screenings: Sat 30/11 (20:00), Thu 05/12 (14:00), Fri 06/12 (11:45)

Onderweg

Fien Donckers • Belgium • 2024 • 18 min.

When class is interrupted by news that a girl from another class has gone missing, Renée's mother worries about the disappearance. Renée herself is more concerned about the recent friendship break-up with her former best friend, Lina.

Producer: Esmeralda Uka • Music: Fiona Brown • Sound: Thijs Louis • Cast: Sue Meuleman

Almost There

Lisa Coene • Belgium • 2024 • 21 min.

Can a mother and daughter truly say goodbye, especially when their final trip together feels destined to fail, haunted by the behaviours they can never seem to leave behind?

Producer: Martin Crasborn • Music: Matthias Dewilde • Cast: Anna De Graeve, Sofie Decleir

Let It All Go Wrong

Dimitri Baronheid, Olivier Lambrechts • Belgium • 2023 • 14 min.

Marta and Daria rush to school in the morning. When Daria is sent to the school principal, they embark on an emotional rollercoaster that pushes Marta to her limits.

Producer: Gilles De Schryver, Gilles Coulier, Wouter Sap • Cast: Hilde Destoop, Natali Broods, Noémie Schellens, Pip Campbell

Upper

Lennert Madou • Belgium • 2024 • 15 min.

Waiting for an asteroid to pass through the sky, two friends play around a remote landscape, driven by a curious urge to constantly aim higher.

Producer: Helena Vlogaert, Laura Scheerlinck • Production company: Caviar Brussels • Editing: Isidor Ilic • Music: Justine Bourgeus • Sound: Casper Hendriks • Cast: Cyrille Mairesse, Pablo Schils

The Journey of the Sad Banana

Rik Chaubet • Belgium • 2024 • 18 min.

A melancholic dadaist punk rapper is working on a debut album. The musical steps he takes in his quest for success and artistic innovation cause a lot of existential worries. A megalomaniacal banana looks for the meaning of his existence in a post-capitalist world.

Editing: Rik Chaubet • Sound: Mathieu Van den Driessche • Cast: Aiko Devriendt, Jeff Aendenboom, Laïla

Ooms, Nina Poels, Willem Malfliet

Flemish Competition: Fiction

Programme 2

Screenings: Sun 01/12 (20:00), Wed 04/12 (15:30), Fri 06/12 (13:30)

Peckerhead

Ante Pask • Belgium • 2024 • 24 min.

When a group of friends spend the weekend in a farmhouse due to car trouble, Oskar meets Justine. Something beautiful seems to be blooming among the pear trees.

Producer: Ante Pask • Editing: Ciska Slowack • Music: Maurice Luijten, Miserabele Johnny • Sound: Casper Hendriks • Cast: Abel Tshomba, Derya Yusuf, Eder Bobena, Eliza Stuyck, Josse De Pauw, Lenn Thys, Lionn Verschueren

Tom

• Belgium • 2024 • 12 min.

Yves has spent twenty years in prison. He is exceptionally allowed to leave the stress of his cell to visit his mother. During his temporary 'exit', where the harsh side of reality reveals itself multiple times, Yves is accompanied by a priest with whom he seems to share more than one might initially suspect.

V. L.

Sim

Lynn Ryssen • Belgium • 2024 • 15 min. Mia lives in a world where the state exerts control over previously personal choices. Together with her husband Wout, she tries to follow her own path. Until one day, a team of men arrives at their doorstep, ready to initiate a therapy programme. Refusing to cooperate could have serious consequences.

Producer: Katleen Goossens • Production company: Bulletproof Cupid • Cast: Arne De Tremerie, Luc Nuyens, Robbie Cleiren, Steven Beersmans, Violet Braeckman

Les enfants iront bien

Sigi Van Roy • Belgium • 2024 • 15 min. Aaron is on the brink of adulthood but struggling with the responsibilities that come along with it. He's still trying to find his place in the world, but at the same time doing his best to provide the best circumstances for his little brother James to grow up in.

Producer: Sigi Van Roy • Editing: Jeremias Monnerat • Sound: Seppe Roosen • Cast: Aäron Roggeman, Dieter De Wit, Frederika Del Nero, James Catteau-Simonet, Jeroen Van der Ven, Liam Catteau-Simonet, Marie Nguyen De Buck, Niko Wei, Rania Gaaloul, Robin Vanderoost

De leider komt

Manuel Janssens, Michiel Geluykens • Belgium • 2024 • 17 min.

On a winter evening, the residents of Broekem gather in the town hall to celebrate that they have prevented the installation of a new refugee center, with the help of a local politician. Monique, the manager, will serve them the classic carbonnade à la flamande. It promises to be an unforgettable evening.

Producer: Steven Dhoedt • Cast: Els Deceukelier, Fabrice Boutique, Jos Verbist, Lucas Van den Eynde, Tom Audenaert, Vincent Van Sande

Yves

Charlotte Zweers,

Dupont

Producer: Charlotte Zweers, Tom Dupont • Camera: Ward De Ridder • Sound: Arne Thomas • Cast: Charlotte Zweers, R. O., Rosalin Brinks, S.

Flemish Competition: Fiction

Programme 3

Screenings: Mon 02/12 (20:15), Tue 03/12 (15:30), Fri 06/12 (15:30)

Hearts of Stone

Tom Van Avermaet • Belgium • 2024 • 30 min.

In the heart of Antwerp, Paula entertains passers-by every day as a living statue. She longs for an impossible love with Agatha, a stone sculpture she visits daily. When she arrives at her familiar spot one day, she discovers that her stone companion has been replaced.

Producer: Katleen Goossens • Production company: Bulletproof Cupid • Cast: Jessica Barden, Noomi Rapace

Dauw

Anaïs Ver Eecke, Berit De Sutter • Belgium • 2024 • 16 min.

In a small farming village, Noor and Sterre share a bond that blurs the line between friendship and love. They live in a self-created reality, convinced they can’t exist without each other. When their visions for the future diverge, the delicate bubble they've built bursts, straining their intense bond.

Editing: Berit De Sutter • Music: Épong • Sound: Robin Wittouck • Cast: Indra Hauben, Ivana Noa

Tussen oud en nieuw / entre deux

Jasmine Issa • Belgium • 2024 • 12 min.

During the Christmas holidays, Amir and Amira, both ten years old, end up in a shelter with their mother. On New Year's Eve, they are determined that the performance they've been planning for weeks, can still take place.

Cast: Amir Hamdan, Amira Hamdan, Mistral Guidotti, Sophy

Zodiac

Hans Buyse, Titus De Voogdt • Belgium • 2024 • 15 min.

When two fourty-year-olds on a fishing trip encounter seven drifting refugees in distress in the middle of the sea, their friendship and empathic abilities are put to the test.

Producer: Tim Martens, Maarten D’Hollander • Cast: Bart Hollanders, Meskerem Mees, Titus De Voogdt • Sales: Sayonara Film

Inherent

Eby Kadima • Belgium • 2024 • 9 min.

As she tunes into a live podcast discussing inner demons, Jenny finds herself entangled in a web of supernatural events. As the podcast delves deeper into the unseen, her reality fractures, blurring the lines between the mundane and the malevolent.

Producer: Ilton Kabassa do Rosario • Music: Pie Ape • Sound: Joël Bervoets, Laurens Desmet • Cast: Axel Bouhon, Jean-Romy Manzila, Julie Ngeleesi, Rebecca Mfulu

Ribrault, Tanja Oostvogels

Flemish Competition: Fiction

Programme 4

Screenings: Sun 01/12 (11:00), Thu 05/12 (20:00), Fri 06/12 (17:15)

The Weight of Sand

Daniel Granados • Belgium • 2024 • 21 min.

Rashid, a Syrian theatre director and political refugee in Antwerp, is working with refugees on a play about their experiences in Europe. During a retreat at a beach house with his secret lover Adrian, tensions rise as the strain of their relationship starts to affect Rashid’s reality and his play.

Producer: Ellen De Waele, Wannes Gevaert • Cast: Gabriel Soler, Yazan Doubal

Fuga Del Gato

Sélin Van Laethem • Belgium • 2024 • 14 min.

A pianist drives around a forest landscape, trying to let go of memories, and the woman behind the memories. Like a breeze, the memories blow through her mind, blending with the music that propels her along her path.

Producer: Helle Monne Huisman • Cast: Jana de Kockere,

Ma mère et l’étrangère

Bjarne Jacobs • Belgium • 2024 • 21 min. While Marcel struggles to empty the family home after his mother’s death, a melody fills the deserted rooms. In the living room, he meets a stranger playing his late mother's cello.

Producer: Laurens van Herk • Camera: Kobe Vangronsveld • Editing: Josse Seghers • Music: Seppe Roosen • Cast: Aïnhoa Leguy, Koen De Ruyck

Un matin

Line Pillet • Belgium • 2024 • 11 min.

Four people without legal residence permits are looking for a job in Brussels. For 11 minutes, we take a seat in the van that transports them to an unknown destination.

Producer: Lieselotte Belon • Production company: Le Bon Film • Cast: Emanuel, Kris, Marta, Reza, Robert

De stier

Victor Nauwynck • Belgium, United Kingdom • 2024 • 20 min.

Cyriel and Marie, a childless married couple, live on an isolated farm. Their laborious, monotonous lives are turned upside down when a highly virile bull is brought onto their farm. While Cyriel is determined to impregnate their cows, Marie develops an unlikely attraction to the bull.

Producer: Victor Nauwynck, Siddharth Bala Kumar, Patrick James Verlin, Antonio Donato • Production company: Picloc Productions • Editing: Ryan Ling • Music: Guillermo Pita • Sound: Alex Huebner • Cast: Geert Lavens, Maaike Cafmeyer, Sam Louwyck, Wim Willaert

Noémie Schellens

Flemish Competition: Fiction

Programme 5

Screenings: Sat 30/11 (11:00), Thu 05/12 (16:00), Fri 06/12 (20:00)

Touch Me

Tom Dupont • Belgium • 2024 • 18 min.

Dave, a divorced father, begins to lose himself in a secret destructive ritual. To protect his daughter, he tries to cut ties with her.

Producer: Gilles De Schryver, Wouter Sap, Gilles Coulier • Production company: De Wereldvrede • Editing: Amber Van Acker • Music: Catherine Graindorge • Sound: Thomas Vertongen • Cast: Aline De Raeve, Arend Pinoy, Danila Di Prinzio, Yasmien Ousta

Kerberos

Hazel Dupont • Belgium • 2024 • 20 min.

Ea, a driven young woman of 25, is unexpectedly confronted with the tragic loss of her estranged twin sister Clara, who died a horrific death in a devastating fire. Strange sounds during the funeral stir an inexplicable urge in Ea to venture into the woods and uncover their origin.

The World Is my Idea

Alexander Wolfgang Smadja • Belgium • 2024 • 20 min.

While Rocco is at work in a restaurant, she faces an existential crisis when her demonic double shows up and orders a spicy Chinese dish. As the night unfolds, she is forced to confront kitchen chaos, her inner darkness and her mom.

Producer: Fabio Ufheil • Editing: Louis De Schrijver • Music: Arthur Brouns, Maurice Luijten • Sound: Arthur Brouns • Cast: Bernard Sens, Fabienne Mainguet, Hakim Louk'man, Raphaëlle Damilano

Chez Joanna

Sandrine Collard • Belgium • 2024 • 16 min.

When Joanna discovers that her car has been towed away, she panics. In her frantic race against time, to her own surprise, she is prepared to do anything to get her car back.

Producer: Sebastian Schelenz • Cast: Veerle Baetens

Daniel Van den Berg is dood Ali Baharlou • Belgium • 2024 • 16 min.

Daniel van den Berg is wrongly declared dead in the pension system and no longer receives his pension. To prove he’s still alive, he must go through all sorts of absurd steps. Despite the frustrating amount of paperwork, Daniel refuses to give up.

Producer: Katleen Goossens • Production company: Bulletproof Cupid • Editing: Ali Baharlou • Cast: Guy Dermul, Lotte Diependaele, Peter Van den Eede, Robrecht Vanden Thoren, Tom Audenaert

The Short Film Conference has been in existence since 1970 as a non-profit association for the promotion of the short film. We are the only international organization in the world seeking to unite the global short film community. info@shortfilmconference.com

SFC currently has over 70 official members, coming from over 40 different countries all over the world.

Flemish Competition: Animation

Attending the Flemish animation shorts: grandpas, grandmas, magical fish and cows with existential crises. One notable trend in short animation is the comeback of stop-motion. Computer animations are increasingly being swapped for oldschool methods. The result? A whirlwind programme of concise but engaging stories.

Programme

Screenings: Sat 30/11 (17:00), Wed 04/12 (21:45) in STUK Soetezaal, Thu 05/12 (12:00)

Twig

Liese Minjauw • Belgium • 2023 • 4 min.

A crooked twig goes to extreme lengths to try to fit in with the straight beams of wood, but the price to fit in is high.

Producer: LUCA School of Arts, Campus Sint-Lukas Brussel, Audiovisuele kunsten

Nog steeds hier

Stephanie El Khoury • Belgium, Lebanon • 2024 • 11 min.

In this doll world, the loose or broken threads of one doll are lovingly repaired with the threads of another. But when Granny is so ill that she is about to die, her daughter does not know what she can do to avoid losing touch.

Music: Benoît Gagnon

Beef for Climate

Mona D'hertefelt • Belgium • 2024 • 4 min.

Panic rises on a meadow when four cows are confronted by a billboard revealing the hard truth: they are the cause of global warming. While each cow deals with this information in their own way, it soon becomes clear that no one can solve this problem alone.

Music: Soleil D’Hulster • Sound: Michel Grégoire

De gouden ezel

Anne Verbeure • Belgium • 2024 • 16 min.

While the people of a medieval village celebrate the beginning of summer, the royal family experiences an identity crisis. The king thinks he's made of glass, the princess dreams of becoming the king and the prince is trapped in the body of a donkey.

Producer: Sarah D'hanens

Canned

Hasse van Overbeke • Belgium • 2024 • 6 min.

A symbolic portrayal of anorexia through the story of Sam, a young boy who seeks solace in his own unique way to escape bullying and its repercussions.

Producer: Sam Scheunders • Editing: Ayzo Engele Algera • Music: Han Lauwers • Sound: Egon Jacquemyn

Eureka!

Kris Borghs • Belgium • 2024 • 10 min.

An extra-terestial duo crosses the universe to share technological insights with less brilliant minds. On one peculiar planet, things don't quite go as planned.

Producer: Tom Van Gestel • Music: Joris Hermy • Sound: Louis Vanderhaeghen

Flemish Competition: Animation

To Be a Seed

Julia Granillo Tostado • Belgium • 2024 • 6 min.

Witches in the forest are intertwined with nature... Seedlings climbing around their fingertips, birds morphing into humans. But the tender touches slowly fade as the shadows grow and the witches start to disappear. Rooted in patriarchal violence, history keeps repeating itself.

Music: Mattis A. Dalton • Sound: Nathan Foucray-Bretonniére

Fiego and the Magic Fish

Joe Murray • Belgium • 2024 • 11 min.

The happily married fisherman Fiego, strives to make his wife‘s life even better when he is granted wishes by a magic fish.

•

Raaf

Jeroen Ceulebrouck • Belgium • 2024 • 13 min.

Marko tries desperately to shake off his past, but after picking up a box of his ex-lover's belongings, he embarks on a surreal journey in which his daughter keeps appearing and disappearing. In a whirlwind pursuit, he comes face to face with an all-consuming raven.

Producer: Brecht Van Elslande

A Single Day

Janne Willockx • Belgium • 2024 • 7 min.

Grandpa likes to have order and rules. When his daily routine is derailed by the little mistakes he makes, his familiar home turns into a chaotic jumble of shapes and colours. He tries desperately to keep everything under control, until he can't anymore.

Het bos staat in brand

Louise Rogiers • Belgium • 2024 • 5 min.

Heron, Mouse, Squirrel, Badger, Rabbit and many other furry friends are forced by the effects of global warming to move to the city where we follow them in their crazy adventures.

Producer: Louise Rogiers • Music: Arthur Brouns • Sound: Mirte Bouquiaux • Cast: Bert Janssens

Producer: Joseph Murrray, Joe Murray • Music: Meiro Stamm

Sound: Mike Mancuso

Producer: Janne Willockx • Music: Matteo Licata • Sound: Nyle Rousseau

sabam.be

sabamofficial

Flemish Competition: Documentary

From British shores to underwater life in Sri Lanka, from taxidermy to cheerleading: short documentaries immerse you - sometimes literally - in worlds you wouldn't otherwise enter. Let yourself be carried away and amazed, and visit the Koekelberg Basilica in a completely different way than ever before.

Programme 1

Screenings: Sun 01/12 (14:00), Wed 04/12 (17:30), Thu 05/12 (10:00)

Big Waves Will Rise You

Sam Ostyn, Eva Küpper • Belgium • 2024 • 19 min.

Having exhausted all treatment options for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), 22-year old Sam Carton decides to have her leg amputated and embarks on a journey to surf and pursue her dream of becoming a photographer.

Producer: Sam Ostyn • Cast: Lore Stanson, Sam Carton, Zita Soors

Tropa

Niels Devlieghere • Belgium • 2023 • 13 min.

Alejandro is part of a small community living on the edge of a protected marshland. As he prepares to enter their sacred ground for the ritual gathering of the wild horses, he prays for protection as life in and around the swamp is threatened by the drought and forest fires that rage stronger every year.

Producer: Annabel Verbeke, Frederik Nicolai • Production company: while we're here • Editing: Jan De Coster • Music: Matthias Dewilde • Sound: Joren Gorge, Theo Meewis

Coral City

Charlotte De Cort, Camille Ghekiere • Belgium • 2024 • 19 min.

Together with a Belgian research team, a young Sri Lankan scientist and mother tries to uncover the secret of migrating coral larvae, in order to protect the coral reefs and people of her country.

Producer: Nina Payrhuber, Mark Daems • Production company: Associate Directors • Editing: Jasper Flikshuh • Music: Pieter Van Dessel

Signs of Life

Julia Kushnarenko • Belgium • 2024 • 13 min.

The demand for stuffed pets has grown significantly over the past year. In a small taxidermy workshop, several artists are trying to bring dead pets back to life. The young dog Mila becomes our guide to a mystical world where her owners learn to attain immortality.

Producer: Victor Candeias

F is for ...

Janet van den Brand • Belgium • 2024 • 20 min.

The transition from childhood to adolescence propels the six girls of the cheerleading group Axclusive through a turbulent period filled with endless giggling fits, misunderstood frustrations and unbridled hyperactivity.

Producer: Janet van den Brand • Camera: Janet van den Brand • Music: Harrold Roeland • Sound: Janet van den Brand • Cast: Eleonora Borms, Ellis Peeters, Emma Coosemans, Eva Slachmuijlders, Hanne Daelman, Hante Rutkowski, Loke Rutkowski

Flemish Competition: Documentary

Programme 2

Screenings: Sun 01/12 (17:30), Thu 05/12 (18:00), Fri 06/12 (10:00)

Object 817

Olga Lucovnicova • Belgium • 2024 • 22 min.

A team exploring the Ural Mountains discovers a small, bizarre creature. After extensive research, they unanimously conclude that the creature must be of extraterrestrial nature. Its background uncovers a disturbing mystery about the area.

Producer: Annabel Verbeke, Frederik Nicolai • Production company: while we're here • Editing: Jan De Coster, Olga Lucovnicova

Wij jongens

Charlotte Coeman, Arne Brown • Belgium • 2024 • 16 min.

As a military man, Collin's father was often absent. But from now on, he will be back home with them. Although Collin is interested in his father's military life, he still has a different worldview and dreams.

The Sea, the Sea

Naomi Zwaenepoel • Belgium • 2024 • 20 min.

Over the centuries, villages and towns on the East Coast of England have disappeared into the sea due to erosion. A myth says, that at night you can hear the bells of the drowned churches. Holderness is Europe's fastest eroding coastline and a telling example of a world changing due to global warming.

Cast: Maaike Neuville, Sarah Harris-Smith

Signals from an Island

Polina Melnik • Belgium • 2023 • 11 min.

While exploring the far corners of the universe, a young Bulgarian astrophysicist also faces the challenge of finding meaningful connections in his own, immediate surroundings.

Leopold's Sacred Heart

Philippe van der Loo • Belgium • 2024 • 20 min.

The National Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Brussels is home to some unexpected and contradictory inhabitants: a concierge who lives under the church, a speleology club, a radio station and a restaurant with drag shows.

Producer: Dimitri Sterkens, Philippe van der Loo • Camera: Andrés Gómez Lencina, Stefan van Diest • Editing: Luca Zuberbühler • Music: Alexandre Delaygue

PlayRight is de collectieve beheersvennootschap die de naburige rechten van uitvoerende kunstenaars in België int, beheert en verdeelt. Met het socio-culturele en educatieve departement PlayRight+ biedt de vennootschap financiële ondersteuning en educatieve vormingen aan de uitvoerende artiesten en is zij hun belangenverdediger binnen de sector waarin zij werken.

Artist in Focus: Fien Troch

Only last year, Fien Troch (Holly, Home, Kid, Unspoken) competed in the main competition of the Venice Film Festival, where lead actress Cathalina Geeraerts won an award; a fine addition to Troch's extensive record of achievements. A quarter of a century earlier, she racked up one of her very first prizes ever at Kortfilmfestival Leuven, when she was awarded the Jury Prize for best Flemish fiction film in 1999 for her short film Wooww. This film, along with other films, can be seen in a focus programme dedicated to the grande dame of Belgian cinema. Since her start at the festival formerly known as Leuven Kort, she has received national and international praise for her completely unique voice in the film landscape.

Programme

Screenings: Sat 30/11 (18:30), Tue 03/12 (20:00) in STUK Labozaal, Thu 05/12 (16:00) in STUK Cinema ZED, Sat 07/12 (10:00)

Verbrande aarde

Fien Troch • Belgium • 1998 • 8 min.

Stijn lives with his family in a small flat in Brussels. To escape the stuffy atmosphere, he spends most of his time on the streets. With his friend Nader, he gets into all kinds of mischief.

Wooww Fien Troch, Fien Troch • Belgium • 1999 • 16 min.

A man beats his wife, a neighbour commits a robbery, a class terrorises their teacher - all these events do not seem to have to do anything with the others, but they meet almost hilariously. Wooww reveals the absurdity of violence within human relations

Maria

Fien Troch • Belgium • 2001 • 18 min.

A young mother returns home after a long time. After her absence, she needs to reconnect with her children ánd with herself. But it seems increasingly impossible to feel at home in her own environment. Still she tries to hide her desperation.

Extreme

Fien Troch • Belgium • 2016 • 54 min.

Elena runs the strip bar Extreme. The club is bustling, and the nights are sensual and sexy. But little by little, this short documentary reveals the darker side of the nightlife and Elena's success.

Producer: Ludo Troch, An Mertens • Editing: Maryline Lefort • Music: Jan De Mars • Cast: Peter Van den Begin, Viviane De Muynck, Titus De Voogd, Marc Peeters, Katelijne Verbeke

Producer: Ludo Troch • Editing: Nico Leunen • Music: Peter Van Laerhoven • Cast: Peter Van den Begin, Yvonne Wiewel, Arne Focketijn, Bart Slegers, Mark Peeters

Producer: Fien Troch, Ludo Troch, An Mertens • Editing: Nico Leunen • Music: Peter Van Laerhoven • Cast: Els Dottermans, Peter Van den Begin, Katelijne Daemen, Josse De Pauw

VAF Wildcards

Each year, during the VAF Wildcards Ceremony, the Flemish Audiovisual Fund (VAF) celebrates new talent. Promising work by master students from the Flemish film schools is put in the spotlight per category, and a specialised jury hands out the awards. The VAF Wildcard winners not only get a spot on stage at the festival, their films also get their own programme.

AWARD CEREMONY VAF WILDCARDS

Sun 01/12 (16:30) at Cinema ZED STUK

The presentation of the VAF Wildcards is an absolute highlight for filmmakers and film lovers alike. For many previous winners, a VAF Wildcard meant an important step in their career. During the award ceremony, filmmaker Olga Lucovnicova talks about her experience as a VAF Wildcard winner. She also presents the short documentary Object 817, which she made with the budget from the VAF Wildcard that she won in 2020 for her short film Nana Tudor. This short film did not only win a Golden Bear, but also has a European Film Award to its name.

VAF WILDCARD WINNERS

Sun 01/12 (20:30), Wed 04/12 (19:15) at Labozaal and Sun 08/12 (10:00) at Cinema ZED STUK

Who will win the extremely sought-after VAF Wildcard this year? The winners will be crowned on Sunday 1 December. VAF Wildcard winning winning films can be admired at Kortfilmfestival Leuven.

Best of Peer Awards 2023

Kortfilmfestival Leuven offers a meeting place for directors and a unique opportunity to get to know and reward each other's work. The participating directors decide which of their colleagues deserves the Peer Award. Not only can you admire last year's nominees and winner, on Saturday 7 December, we will then show the seven nominees of this edition. The winner of the Peer Award 2024 will be revealed at the awards ceremony on the closing night.

Screenings: Sat 30/11 (15:30), Thu 05/12 (13:00)

Square the Circle

Hanna Hovitie • Finland • 2023 • 18 min.

Someone takes a tour of the (un)known universe and within themselves in search of a sense of belonging. What is it like to be a circle in a world of squares?

Sales: Radiator IP Sales

Electra

Daria Kashcheeva • Slovakia, Czech Republic, France • 2023 • 27 min.

Electra looks back on her 10th birthday; a rollercoaster of childhood memories gets mixed with fantasy, dolls, plastic body parts, juicy strawberries and dental tools... What really happened on her 10th birthday?

Producer: Zuzana Krivkova, Martin Vandas, Tomáš Šimon, Richard Van Den Boom, Juraj Krasnohorsky • Editing: Alexander Kashcheev • Music: Lucas Verreman

Loading Love

Viktor Granö • Finland • 2023 • 34 min.

A virtual clone puts the relationship between programmer Kira and her husband Henrik at risk. What will happen when they fall into a love triangle?

Producer: Viktor Granö • Production company: Ab Ljud och bild • Editing: Inka Lahti • Music: Viktor Granö • Sound: Ville Katajala • Cast: Elmer Bäck, Jessica Grabowsky

Je veux déguster

Léo-Antonin Lutinier • France • 2023 • 25 min. 35-year-old Antonin's ardour and insolence should have evaporated with the years, but he still remains totally unpredictable, often funny, sometimes pathetic. He constantly clashes with reality and makes the lives of his loved ones almost impossible.

Producer: Igor Auzepy • Production company: Année Zéro • Cast: Léo-Antonin Lutinier • Sales: Elise Notseck

Be Somebody

Michał Toczek • Poland • 2023 • 27 min.

Wiktor is an electrician. When his wife turns their new apartment into a museum after finding out it used to belong to former electrician and Polish president Lech Wałęsa, Wiktor is confronted with Wałęsa's legacy.

Producer: Agata Golańska • Cast: Jowita Budnik, Sebastian Stankiewicz

Daydreaming so Vividly about our Spanish Holidays

Christian Avilés • Spain • 2022 • 24 min. Even summer is often grey and rainy in Britain. Driven by their need for light and warmth, British teenagers take a trip to the Balearic Islands. There, they need to absorb the sun, recharge their bodies and souls before returning to their cloud-covered kingdom.

Producer: Nica Fazio • Production company: ESCAC Films • Editing: Christian Avilés • Music: Christian Avilés • Sound: Jimmy Solórzano • Cast: Julia Fossi, Sam Zeitlin

Ring Road

Marina Rodriguez Colás • Spain • 2023 • 13 min.

Three teenagers, living in the peripheral city of l'Hospitalet, go out every day to conquer their neighbourhood: they dance, explore, play and express their irrepressible urge to choose their own path.

Producer: Eva Murgui, Maria Gibert Espinós • Production company: Cccb Centro de Cultura Contemporánea de Barcelona • Editing: Aleix Fernández • Cast: Daniel Pereira, Mohammed Assaghivi, Yassine Lahrache

Oscar Shorts

This year's Oscar for Best Short Film went to Wes Anderson. With his The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Anderson managed to move the Academy towards an award for the first time. In addition to Anderson's first Oscar win, Oscar Shorts features the other nominees in the Oscar category for Best Liveaction Fiction. The longlist for that award is completed each year with the winners of our Flemish and European competition.

Programme

Screenings: Sat 30/11 (14:00), Mon 02/12 (17:30), Wed 04/12 (17:00) in STUK Soetezaal, Sat 07/12 (16:30)

Invincible

Vincent René-Lortie • Canada • 2022 • 30 min.

The last 48 hours in the life of Antoine Bernier, a troubled young man who is incarcerated in a youth detention centre. After spending the weekend with his family on a furlough, he is ready to do anything to avoid having to go back to the institution.

Knight of Fortune

Lasse Lyskjær Noer • Denmark • 2023 • 25 min.

The loss of his wife and everything that comes with it, is too much for Karl to face. When he meets fellow fate-mate Torben in the morgue, a special bond develops between the two old men caught in their grief.

Red, White and Blue

Nazrin Choudhury • United States • 2023 • 23 min.

Rachel is a single parent living paycheck to paycheck. When an unexpected pregnancy threatens to unravel her already precarious position, she's forced to cross state lines in search of an abortion.

The After

Misan Harriman • United Kingdom • 2023 • 18 min.

After witnessing a violent crime, a shattered rideshare driver picks up a passenger who forces him to confront his grief.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

Wes Anderson • United States • 2023 • 37 min.

Henry Sugar, a wealthy layabout, discovers a book while visiting a friend. In it is described a method to "see without eyes", a concentration technique that allows a person to see through things. He immediately sees a use for this.

Big Names, Short Films

Big Names, Short Films introduces you to the short work of makers who have earned their stripes with full-length feature films and other projects. Before Julie Keeps Quiet, Leonardo Van Dijl could be found in theatres with his - equally sporty - short film Stephanie and before Milano, Christina Vandekerckhove took her first steps in fiction with Mia. Coralie Fargeat, in turn, shows with Reality+ that prior to The Substance she was already exploring the limits of human vanity. Comedian Ricky Gervais also ventured into his first short film with 7 Minutes in 2023. Find out for yourself how these creators made their mark in Big Names, Short Films.

Programme

Screenings: Sun 01/12 (18:15), Wed 04/12 (17:15), Fri 06/12 (22:00)

Mia

Christina Vandekerckhove • Belgium • 2020 • 24 min.

Home nurse Mia makes her daily visits: her patients are a single man, a mother battling addiction, a wealthy old woman and her son. All the interactions confront Mia with herself.

Editing: Jan Van der Weken • Music: Stijn Ylode De Gezelle • Cast: Sofie Decleir, Dolores Bouckaert, Lou Clemminck, Aiko Benaouisse, Griet Dobbelaere, Anouk David, Pieter Genard, Tibo Vandenborre, Viviane De Muynck, Christine Verheyden, Billie Valcke, Ilse De Koe

Reality+

Coralie Fargeat • France • 2014 • 23 min.

In a near future, the brain chip 'Reality ' acts on your sensory perceptions and allows you to see yourself with the perfect physique you've always dreamed of. All the people equipped with the chip can see your new appearance and you can see theirs. But the chip can be activated only for 12 hours a day...

Stephanie

Leonardo Van Dijl • Belgium • 2020 • 15 min.

After winning her first international title, the pressure for an 11-year-old gymnast mounts. A new level of self-awareness emerges. The more recognition she receives, the more she realises she is only at the beginning of a tricky game.

Producer: Gilles De Schryver, Gilles Coulier, Wouter Sap • Editing: Ludo Troch • Cast: Sofie Decleir, Charlotte Verwimp

Whateverest

Kristoffer Borgli • Norway • 2012 • 15 min.

In 2012, Norwegian DJ Todd Terje made his breakthrough with the house track ‘Inspector Nors’. But who is the inspiration behind this big hit? This mockumentary reveals that it is Marius Solem Johansen, a failed musician from a small village who posts dance videos and drug recipes on YouTube.

Producer: Magne Lyngner • Production company: BACON OSL • Editing: Mikael Svartdahl • Music: Todd Terje • Cast: Marius Solem Johansen

7 minutes

Ricky Gervais • United Kingdom • 2023 • 10 min.

A desolate train track seems the perfect spot to end it all, until someone else turns up with the same idea. Awkward.

Producer: Hussain Casey-Ahmed

Focus on Portugal

Together with Curtas Vila do Conde, Kortfilmfestival Leuven presents two Portuguese programmes. Best of Curtas Vila do Conde takes you all the way from Belo Horizonte to Lisbon, from derailed toilet mushrooms to a team building gone wrong. More interested in Portuguese history? 50 years of the revolution zooms in on the Carnation Revolution. In 1974, Portuguese soldiers stuffed their weapons with carnations instead of bullets and a peaceful coup sent Portugal into a wave of decolonisation and democracy. However, this mix of short fiction and documentary promises much more than just a history lesson, vamos!

50 years of the revolution

Screenings: Sat 30/11 (18:30), Thu 05/12 (22:00) in STUK Cinema ZED, Sat 07/12 (22:15)

Os Salteadores

Abi Feijó • Portugal • 1993 • 15 min.

Inside a car, on a night trip along Portuguese roads, sometime in the 50´s, three people discuss the identity of a group of men, captured and killed in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, some decades ago.

Editing: Regina Guimarães, Saguenail • Music: Tentúgal

Menina

Simão Cayatte • Portugal • 2016 • 15 min. Lisbon, 1971. A young housewife has the courage to find out if there is more to her world than her husband, her baby, and her home. What she discovers is a reality that will change her forever.

25 de Abril - Uma Aventura para a Democracia

Edgar Pêra • Portugal • 2000 • 16 min.

1974. The fascist regime in Portugal is coming to an end and giving way to democracy. What do the Portuguese people think of this revolution? Recordings of the Carnation Revolution blend with images and sounds of contemporary protests for freedom.

The Pink Jacket

Mónica Santos • Portugal • 2022 • 9 min.

In colourful stop-motion, a pink jacket leaves her closet every day to stitch up her opponents. She's ruthless, crafty and she always has something up her sleeve.

Producer: Humberto Rocha, Pedro Medeiros, Fabrice Dugast, Jean-François Le Corre, Nuno Amorim, Vanessa Ventura • Cast: Gilberto

Metaphor or Sadness Inside Out

Catarina Vasconcelos • Portugal • 2013 • 31 min.

In the midst of the anniversary of their mother's death, a brother and sister take a trip down memory lane and try to understand their mother's life during the Portuguese revolution. In a mix of family folklore and Portuguese history, a search for understanding, connection and the power of remembering manifests itself.

Producer: Mário Patrocínio, Issa G. Ma’In

Oliveira

Focus on Portugal

Best of Curtas Vila do Conde

Screenings: Sun 01/12 (16:45), Tue 03/12 (17:30) in STUK Cinema ZED, Sat 07/12 (18:30)

Rinha

Rita Pestana • Portugal • 2023 • 23 min.

Cássia goes to sleep to the sound of her alcoholic father and wakes up with the crow of her rooster, trained for cockfighting. Her routine obeys a disciplined logic of restlessness and hard work. Between driving her father’s taxi and tending their rooster, she is on the verge of breaking out to find a life of her own.

Editing: Camila Freitas, Rita Pestana, Tomás Baltazar • Music: O Grivo • Cast: Sinara Teles

• Portugal, Switzerland • 2023 • 25 min.

One morning, 7-year-old Camila sets out in search of her missing brother after a violent police raid in a poor, clandestine neighbourhood in Lisbon. At the same time, Jysone is hurrying to his first workday after getting released from prison. What will unfold when their fates meet?

Bad For a Moment

Daniel Soares • Portugal • 2024 • 15 min.

A team building event goes horribly wrong when the owner of an architect studio comes face-to-face with the neighborhood that his company is gentrifying.

Editing: Daniel Soares, Lucas Moesch • Music: Meara O'Reilly

Percebes

Laura Gonçalves, Alexandra Ramires • Portugal, France• 2024 • 12 min.

With the sea and an urban region of the Algarve as a background, we follow a complete cycle of the life of a special shellfish called percebes, goose barnacle. From the moment they form, to the moment they become a dish, they run into all sorts of different contexts and people.

2ª Pessoa

Rita Barbosa • Portugal • 2022 • 16 min.

When an old water pipe causes a leak, it allows mysterious toxic mushrooms to take over an apartment bathroom. While sitting on the toilet, the lady of the house glances up and sees the magical fungus, somewhere between animal and plant. At that moment, she thinks to herself: "mushrooms are the future".

Editing: Sandro Aguilar

Producer: Edwina Liard, Nidia Santiago, David Doutel, Vasco Sá • Music: Nicolas Tricot

2720

Basil da Cunha

Producer: Edgar Medina • Editing: Basil da Cunha • Cast: Camila Diniz, Jason Varela

Labo 1 Programme 1

Screenings: Mon 02/12 (17:15), Thu 05/12 (18:00), Sat 07/12 (22:00)

Montréal en deux

Angélique Daniel • France • 2024 • 12 min.

What do we say to each other when it’s over? A man and a woman decide to split the city in two to avoid any possibility of running into each other. Or is it a way to revive old memories?

Producer: Angélique Daniel, Emilie LAMOTTE • Production company: Naika Films • Editing: Sandy Pujol Latour • Cast: Tiphaine Raffier, Toby ANDRIS CAYOUETTE • Sales: Agence Du Court Metrage

Les animaux vont mieux

Nathan Ghali • France • 2024 • 25 min.

In a hidden cellar under a church lives a mysterious community of animals. They have chosen to live together self-sufficiently, shielded from humans.

Producer: Anne Luthaud, Joanna Sitkowska

Three Windows on South West

Mariia Ponomarova • The Netherlands, Ukraine • 2023 • 8 min.

Together with her mother, a few friends, and a lover, Ukrainian documentary filmmaker Mariia Ponomarova reflects on a place that played an important role in their lives.

Producer: Mariia Ponomarova • Editing: Mariia Ponomarova • Sound: Sergio González Cuervo • Cast: Mariia Ponomarova • Sales: Lucila Riggio

Via Dolorosa

Rachel Gutgarts • France • 2023 • 11 min.

Wandering the streets of Jerusalem, a filmmaker searches her own lost youth, of drug addictions, first discoveries of sexuality and a constant state of war.

Producer: Miyu Productions

Bright White Light

Henna Välkky, Erik Lehtola • Finland • 2024 • 14 min.

Bright White Light explores near-death experiences through five culturally diverse narratives, utilising real audio recordings. Through experimental visuals, it guides viewers on a transcendent voyage beyond mortality.

Producer: Henna Välkky, Ville Sivonen • Production company: Silent Paprika Films, Visual Kult

TWENTYTNEWT

Max Hattler • Germany • 2023 • 7 min.

High above the rooftops of Hong Kong, the film reveals what being alone in a megacity means, tracing stories hidden behind the glowing facades.

Producer: Max Hattler

Lines

Martin Schmidt • Germany • 2024 • 4 min.

An aggressive battle unfolds between red and dark blue. The borderlines between the colors vibrate with tension as they fight for their lives.

Producer: Martin Schmidt, Dennis Stein-Schomburg • Production company: Raumkapsel • Music: Thomas Höhl • Sound: Christian Wittmoser

Labo challenges just about everything traditional. Don't expect a classic narrative structure, but certainly no superficiality either. Discover new techniques and connections and get ready for visual surprises. The two Labo programmes may not conform to the popular path, but they exceed every other expectation.

Programme 2

Screenings: Tue 03/12 (21:15), Fri 06/12 (17:30), Sat 07/12 (10:00)

for here am i sitting in a tin can far above the world

Gala Hernández López • France • 2024 • 19 min. A woman dreams of the American cryptographer Hal Finney. A major economic crisis affects the cryptocurrency market, tens of thousands of people are cryogenised awaiting better times.

Producer: Gala Hernández López, Yannick Beauquis, Quentin Brayer, Don Quichotte Films • Cast: Joseph Grossi, Olivia Delcán

Light of Light

Neritan Zinxhiria • Greece • 2023 • 13 min.

Before his death in 1932, a monk created his own camera in one of the most isolated places in the world. 90 years later, a filmmaker discovers and reconstructs the found footage.

Producer: Efijeni Kokedhima • Production company: Reconstructing Memories • Editing: George Alexiou • Sound: Leandros Ntounis

Silent Panorama

Nicolas Piret • Belgium • 2024 • 5 min.

Two campers follow their clothes as they drift away on a stream in the Belgian Ardennes. Along their journey through nature, they observe the various ways that people disturb the peace.

Rule No. 5: Shadow Your Man Closely

Miro Manojlovic • Croatia • 2023 • 10 min.

One specific scene involving a train from Buster Keaton's 1924 film Sherlock Jr. is given a second life. One shot becomes the base for specific editing procedures through which the film narrative is reconstructed and a new plot is created.

Producer: Vedran Suvar • Production company: Filmska udruga Suma • Editing: Miro Manojlovic • Music: Ana Kovačič, Miro Manojlovic • Sound: Hrvoje Pelicaric • Sales: Vanja Andrijevic

Shrovetide

Lewis Khan • United Kingdom • 2024 • 18 min.

The origins of the football can be traced back to a number of ancient societies across the world, however there are few places where these 'mob football' games have survived in their original form. For two days each year, a 900 year old ball game, Shrovetide, is played in the small English market town of Ashbourne.

Producer: Lewis Khan

Hymn of the Plague

Alexander Epikhov, Dimitri Gorbaty, Philipp Ivanov • Germany, Russia • 2024 • 14 min.

In an old Soviet recording studio, a group of musicians attempt to record a composition based on Pushkin's play ‘A Feast in Time of Plague’. A weird and frightening phenomena disturbs the musicians - whether it is the spirits of the past or an echo of a war. Nobody notices what is really happening until the very end.

Producer: Dimitri Bocharov, Pavel Karykhalin • Sound: Andrey Levin, Artem Slesarev, Stanislav Paushev

Ya Tseen - "Back In That Time"

Raven Chacon • United States • 2021 • 2 min.

Led by one of the world’s foremost Indigenous artists, Ya Tseen delivers an irrepressible and profound experience of liberation through feeling and connection.

Cast: Ashley “Saywut?!” Moyer

Producer: (Zorobabel) Delphine Cousin, (Zorobabel) Delphine Renard, (Zorobabel) William Henne • Editing: Nicolas Piret

Comedy Shorts

Humour is never universal. That's why Comedy Shorts offers a wide range of humorous short films. Laugh, giggle or chuckle, decide for yourself which short film best meets your comic requirements and enjoy the variety; from vicarious shame to extreme absurdity.

Programme

Screenings: Sat 30/11 (20:15), Wed 04/12 (19:45), Thu 05/12 (12:30), Sat 07/12 (20:30)

Tea

Blake Winston Rice • United States • 2024 • 12 min.

While rehearsing how to ask out the girl of his dreams, a lonely Circuit Shack employee suffers a severe allergic reaction to a bee sting.

Producer: Gabriella Piazza • Cast: Michael Gandolfini, Olivia NIkkanen

The Callback

Kara Herold • United States • 2024 • 13 min.

Maggie is an aspiring actress looking for her big break. Blending fiction, animation, humour, and poetry, as auditions come and go, she calls out an industry where women are underrepresented and underwritten.

Producer: Kara Herold • Editing: Kara Herold • Cast: Aizzah Fatima, Alice Schaerer, Matthew Winning, Molly Densmore, Ricky Pak, Thom Miller

African Family Dinner

Ibrahim Mursal • Norway • 2024 • 13 min.

Norwegian Mona treads uncharted territory when she meets her Ghanaian boyfriend's family for the first time. What begins as a simple dinner, where both parties want to impress each other, soon escalates into just about the most awkward dinner in history.

Producer: Geir Bergersen • Editing: Thomas Kristian Larsson • Cast: Mathilde Storm, Tani Dibasey

The Nun Slayer

Ben Bovington-Key • United Kingdom • 2023 • 12 min.

After new evidence proves his innocence, the wife of a notorious serial killer must come to terms with the fact that her husband is not the psychotic killer she fell in love with.

Producer: Ben Mickshik, Harry Green, Hugo Nicholson • Cast: Ellie Nunn, Matthew Cottle

Inhumaan

Nils Vleugels • The Netherlands• 2024 • 15 min.

Peter has to pay 700 euros to save the life of his eight-year-old daughters' guinea pig. Will he follow his own principles or turn it into a parenting lesson?

Producer: Daniel Dow • Editing: Jorien Voogt • Music: Annelotte Coster, Hans Nieuwenhuijsen • Cast: Eelco Smits, Isis Cabolet, Loulou van

Plopp

Carolin Glomp • Germany • 2023 • 5 min.

An introverted intern meets a notorious executive in the office toilet. While they both need to urgently do their business, they encounter the same problem: no one wants to splash first.

Producer: Carolin Glomp, Janika Nyncke • Camera: Marc Tressel-Schmitz • Cast: Elisa Heinß, Lil Von Essen

Réel

Rodrigue Huart • France • 2024 • 4 min.

1857. France. Two farmer girls find a smartphone in their field. The unknown object leads to an unexpected rivalry.

Producer: Rodrigue Huart, Émilie Dubois, Anaïs Bertrand • Cast: Dorothée Quiquempois, Emma Gautier

Stijn, Marijn Claes, Valentijn Benard

i n stuk concerten

Focus on Palestine

The Focus on Palestine shines much-needed spotlights on several Palestinian stories. Where films such as Bethlehem 2001 and Layl focus on the fear that comes with years of war and oppression, A Short Film About Kids shows the resilience of a group of Palestinian children. With one phone call, I Signed the Petition summarises the difficulties Palestinians experience overseas and Dancing Palestine, in turn, is a love letter to the dabke, a Palestinian folk dance. The dance acts as a testament to collective memory and leaves a mark on the future. Above all, it symbolises an enormous love for life. The programme includes documentaries, animation and live-action fiction, all with their own view on Palestinian identity, which has been threatened for generations.

Programme

Screenings: Sat 30/11 (20:30), Fri 06/12 (13:30), Sat 07/12 (20:15)

Dancing Palestine

Lamees Almakkawy • State of Palestine, United Kingdom • 2024 • 30 min.

As the Palestinian identity continues to be threatened, Palestinians turn to their folk dance, the dabke, to assert their existence. The dabke is not only an homage to their history and culture, but a way to assert their existence. Ultimately, they dance because they love life, and insist on living it.

Producer: Lamees Almakkawy • Camera: Ang Li, Daer

Grace Long Yung Yu, Keran Zhou, Lamees Almakkawy, Simon Emilio Gutierrez, Yash Zhang • Editing: Lamees Almakkawy • Sound: Lamees Almakkawy • Cast: Ahmed Najar, Fares Farraj,

I Signed the Petition

Mahdi Fleifel • Switzerland, United Kingdom, Germany • 2018 • 11 min.

Two friends discuss the meaning and consequences of openly supporting a cultural boycott of Israel. After all, one of them has signed a petition and is now deeply worried.

Producer: Patrick Campbell • Production company: Nakba Filmworks • Editing: Michael Aaglund • Cast: Mahdi Fleifel, Faris Nasrallah

Night

Ahmad Saleh • State of Palestine, Germany • 2021 • 16 min.

The mother of a missing child is not able to go to sleep. For most people in her village, sleep brings peace, but her eyes are stubborn and remain open. The night tries to cradle her to sleep to save her soul. The darkness and silence are deceiving: they are threatening and comforting at the same time.

Producer: Jessica Neubauer, Saleh Saleh, Fabian Driehorst • Camera: Saed Saleh • Editing: Ahmad Saleh • Music: Suad Bushnaq • Cast: Hiam Abbass, Rafia H. Oraidi, Salma Saleh

A Short Film About Kids

Ibrahim Handal • State of Palestine • 2023 • 11 min.

When four kids from the refugee camp in Bethlehem see a taxi passing by, they come up with a grand plan: they will book a taxi for the next day to go to the sea for the first time ever.

Producer: Wissam Al Jafari • Cast: Ayham Qaraqe, Majd Al-Khatib, Omar Al Kurd, Omar Qaraqe • Sales: Serge Abiaad

Bethlehem 2001

Ibrahim Handal • State of Palestine • 2020 • 15 min.

While reflecting on the present, a young Palestinian recalls childhood memories of the military invasion and siege of Bethlehem. He tries to understand how his parents then guided him through those difficult times, hoping it will help him cope with the present.

Ding,

Sarah Amawi, Zeina Zkeih

Virtual Reality

Do you want more than just to watch short films? Step into four other universes yourself. Live in an ant colony or get your virtual hands dirty in an artistic experience. Would you rather reflect on the world and your place in it? Say no more. VR is interactive, immersive and above all: the possibilities are endless.

Programme

8 Miljard Ikken

Tibor Dejong • The Netherlands • 2024 • 22 min.

Eight billion different faces with eight billion different stories. How can we call ourselves unique, when we are all part of the same kaleidoscopic primordial soup? Who are the eight billion people who inhabit the earth? Where are they born, where do they fight, love, work and die? Only you can experience this virtual reality exploration of our place in the world in this way, as can your 8 billion fellow inhabitants.

Production company: Nemo Vos • Music: Spinvis • Sound: Spinvis

The Golden Record

Dan Franke • United States • 2021 • 17 min.

In the depths of the isolated Ant Megacolony lives TT, a lone worker trapped in the oppressive machine of productivity. His dull routine is disrupted after discovering an alien artifact that has fallen from the stars.

Producer: Peter Ariet

Cathex

Sine Ozbilge, Imge Özbilge • Belgium • 2024 • 20 min.

Cathex is an artistic interactive VR experience that guides the audience on a journey of emotional release, self-discovery, and catharsis. It is based on the philosophies of Mary Whiton Calkins, exploring the Universe as the Absolute Self and panpsychism through a cyberfeminist lens.

Producer: Sarah D'hanens • Music: Monomono

21-22 China

Thierry Loa • Canada • 2022 • 25 min.

While exploring the Anthropocene epoch, marked by human impact on the planet, we examine the emergence of a rising superpower characterised by mass urbanisation, industrial development, and significant topographical changes.

Music: Philippe Le Bon

With one ticket, you can choose two VR films. You decide at the time of your viewing which films you want to see. You can find the complete schedule at the back of the catalogue or on our website.

Animation Nations

Two programmes equipped with a variety of short animation, sometimes plucked from reality, sometimes slightly less realistic. Some artists, lots of animals and the occasional centaur make an appearance. Every boundary gets blurred and cute puppet animations go hand in hand with films that you might mistake for 1980s videogames.

Programme 1

Screenings: Mon 02/12 (21:30), Tue 03/12 (19:30), Fri 06/12 (15:30)

Lack

Paweł Prewencki • Poland • 2023 • 11 min.

An intimate take on the emotions related to awaiting a baby and the grief after the infant’s loss. The story of personal tragedy, which is at the same time a remarkably beautiful tribute to the love between two people trying to cope with trauma together.

Producer: Ewa Sobolewska, Michalina Prewencka • Cast: Blanka Prewencka • Sales: Marta Swiatek

A Tale of the Stolen Peach

Jiaguo Wang • China • 2023 • 16 min.

A lifeless old mansion hosts the liveliest birthday banquet. Guests enjoy the food and music while the birthday star remains silent. Only a peach seems to stir her soul.

Producer: Yinxin WAN

The Wild-Tempered Clavier

Anna Samo • Germany • 2024 • 7 min.

Despite the world's disasters, an artist insists on playing. With Bach's immortal music as a backdrop, rolls of toilet paper become a fragile canvas, on which the war going on in the outside world, inexorably starts seeping in.

Producer: Tom Bergmann

D'une peinture... à l'autre

Georges Schwizgebel • Switzerland, France • 2023 • 3 min.

An immersive art experience through two paintings on the same subject created half a century apart.

Joko

Izabela Plucinska • Poland, Germany, Czech Republic • 2024 • 16 min.

Joko supports his family but faces humiliation when forced to carry city notables on his back, leading to a struggle between dignity and the lure of money.

Producer: Grzegorz Wacławek, Piotr Szczepanowicz • Production company: Animoon • Editing: Nikodem Chabior

• Music: Aliaksandr Yasinski • Sound: Michal Fojcik

Animation Nations

Ur Heinous Habit

Eugene Kolb • United States • 2023 • 14 min.

A filmmaker receives an extortion email claiming to have webcam footage of him masturbating. This prompts him on to explore the intersection of shame and masturbation through a series of animated Zoom conversations with his friends.

Stabat Mater

In his studio, an old artist decides to end his life. At that moment, one of his works comes to life and begins a strange ballet in tribute to its creator. The lives of the two protagonists intertwine in a beautiful moment where time seems to stand still.

Producer: Carlos De Carvalho

Nip It in the Bud

Ida Thronæs Rotli • Norway • 2024 • 4 min.

A young woman notices a thin, long hair on her chin. To her great dislike, the hair stretches out and becomes longer instead of yielding to the tweezers. After a moment of deep hopelessness, she gets a brilliant idea.

Producer: Kjersti Sofie Greger • Cast: Ida Thronæs Rotli

Atomic Chicken

A chicken coop is located at the foot of a mountain. Due to a series of incredible mutations caused by the nuclear power plant on the mountain, the chicken coop sees its daily life turned upside down.

Producer: Julien Deparis

Arnaud Mege, Coline Thelliez, Hadrien Maton, Quentin Wittevrongel, William Defrance • France • 2023 • 13 min.

Anna Uglova, Capucine Prat, Lucie Lyfoung, Morgane Siriex, Solène Polet, Thibault Ermeneux • France • 2023 • 5 min.

Programme 2

Screenings: Sun 01/12 (18:45), Thu 05/12 (20:00), Sat 07/12 (11:30)

On Hold

Delia Hess • Switzerland • 2024 • 7 min.

A young woman is stuck in the hold queue of a telephone hotline. ‘At the moment, all of our employees are busy. Please hold’. The frustration of a life in the city brought to a paralysing halt by never-ending hold music.

Producer: Anja Sidler, Delia Hess • Production company: Papierboot • Editing: Thaïs Odermatt • Music: Luc Gut • Sound: Aline Schoch, Thomas Gassmann • Sales: Vanja Andrijevic

J'ai avalé une chenille

Basile Khatir • France • 2024 • 10 min.

At a party, Tristan swallowed a caterpillar while downing a tequila shot. Ever since then, he’s been in a coma. While in a coma, he thinks about that girl at the party, the nurse smoking in his room, his overbearing mother, and the fact that he’ll never get to change his Facebook profile picture ever again. Basically, Tristan is just like any other teenager.

Sound: Raphael Bigaud

La Pursé

Gabriel Nóbrega, Lucas René • Brazil • 2022 • 9 min.

In a laid back suburban neighborhood lives Mr. Badú, an old taxidermist of dubious taste, madly in love with his neighbor, Mrs. Aurelia, a myopic old lady, owner of an unhappy cat on the verge of starvation.

Sales: Juliette Louchart

Kill your Darlings

Thirza Ingold • Switzerland • 2023 • 6 min.

If there’s one thing farmer Olga loves more than her pet pigs, it’s a pork chop. When the pigs she butchers find that they can still influence events on the farm after their deaths, a vicious circle begins.

Producer: Gerd Gockell, Jochen Ehmann, Anja Kofmel • Production company: Frances McStea • Cast: Tanja Weis

Shoes and Hooves

Viktória Traub • Hungary • 2024 • 15 min.

Paula the centaur-girl longs to have human feet. When she meets Arnold the crocodile-man, it is love at first sight. Can Paula take the first steps in her search for identity? What will be the price of her attempts to fit in and deny her true self.

Producer: Polett Dus • Music: Csaba Kalotás • Sound: Zoltán Vadon

Animation Nations

Fish River Anthology

Veera Lamminpää • Finland • 2024 • 10 min.

It's almost closing time at the supermarket and and the last customers are waiting for their turn at the fish department. The agonising wait offers a chance for existential reflection and a little song.

Producer: Veera Lamminpää, Janne Vanhanen • Cast: Elsi Sloan, Heikki Kujanpää, Iiti Yli-Harja, Mari Rantasila, Mika Rättö

Jimmy and Baby

Paul Robertson • Australia, United States • 2024 • 20 min.

Jimmy and Baby, two young brothers and members of the Frog Mafia, go to hell and back in their mission for Toad Boss. It's a reckless adventure, but nothing goes too far for the brothers.

Octopus Banana Hotchpotch

Milanka Fabjancic • Slovenia • 2023 • 8 min.

The lively and spirited journey through the lives of best friends, twin souls Mila and Mara, is a colourful adventure of two quite different life paths nourished and driven by decades of sisterhood love.

Producer: Kolja Saksida • Production company: Zvviks • Editing: Iva Kraljevic • Music: Matija Krecic, Teo Collori • Sound: Julij Zornik • Sales: Vanja Andrijevic

Quotum

Marieke Blaauw, Joris Oprins, Job Roggeveen • The Netherlands• 2024 • 3 min.

When every global citizen is mandated to participate in a programme that tracks their CO2 emissions, it makes little impression. Until they discover what happens when their designated quota has been reached.

Producer:Marieke Blaauw, Joris Oprins, Job Roggeveen • Music: Marieke Blaauw, Joris Oprins, Job Roggeveen

Short Films for Children

Short films are for everyone! From the age of three, children can enjoy the funniest child-friendly stories at the festival. Surprising, original and short enough to keep even the littlest ones interested. For children aged eight and over, there is also the 'Cinemaology' workshop. Dive into film history yourself and become your own greatest hero: with a green screen and some creativity, anything is possible.

Programme 3+

Screenings: Sat 30/11 (14:30), Sun 01/12 (14:30), Wed 04/12 (15:00), Sat 07/12 (13:30)

Marlies van der Wel • The Netherlands• 2023 • 2 min.

A lonely ferry floats on the water. Since the construction of a bridge, there are no more passengers. When a coot notices the skipper’s loneliness, he decides to help him.

Producer: Ingmar Conjarts, Gijs Kerbosch, Guusje van Deuren

Baking with Boris

Masa Avramović • France, Switzerland, Croatia • 2023 • 8 min.

Every morning, baker Boris makes a fresh batch of crusty bread and pastries for all his neighbours, until... Achoo! He just can't stop sneezing. He seems to have become allergic to flour, how will he be able to supply the village?

Hoofs

on skates

Ignas Meilunas • Lithuania • 2024 • 12 min.

In a winter wonderland, two friends are having a blast ice-skating on a frozen lake when suddenly a strange and unfamiliar world cracks open underneath them.

Animanimusical

Julia Ocker • Germany • 2024 • 3 min.

All the Animanimals are up for it: they all sing their part in the big musical. Only the jolly parrot falls a little out of tune.

Producer: Thomas Meyer-Hermann

Foxtale

Alexandra Allen • Portugal • 2022 • 6 min.

Fox is hungry and sees a last red fruit hanging on a tree. That will be a tasty and easy snack! But getting it won't be an easy task!

Music: João Martins

Spin & Ella

An Vrombaut • Belgium • 2023 • 7 min.

Ella is a spider fairy. She lives with her best friend Spider in Branch City. Ella has a magic wand with which she can draw spider webs. But she can't do that on her own, she needs Spider's help for that. One day they can't agree on which drawing to make. What a tangled mess!

Koet

Short Films for Children

Programme 5+

Screenings: Sat 30/11 (15:15), Sun 01/12 (15:15), Wed 04/12 (15:45), Sat 07/12 (14:30)

Kareltje Kat

Sarah Scrimgeour, Jac Hamman • United Kingdom • 2023 • 25 min.

In the vibrant heart of London, Tabby McTat, a singing cat, and his friend Fred, the street musician, entertain passersby with their duo singing act. The pair is "purrrfectly happy" with their performances on the city streets, until one day they are unexpectedly separated.

De Gruffalo

Max Lang, Jakob Schuh • United Kingdom • 2012 • 30 min.

A mouse goes for a walk in a deep, dark forest. Along the way, he encounters various predators that want to eat him. He manages to outsmart them by claiming he is on his way to a terrible monster, the ‘Gruffalo’. But when he rounds a corner, the real danger awaits him.

Short Films for Children

Programme 8+

Screenings: Sat 30/11 (14:00), Sun 01/12 (14:00), Wed 04/12 (14:30), Sat 07/12 (13:15)

Battery Mommy

Seungbae Jeon • South Korea • 2023 • 9 min.

Battery Mommy is responsible for a lot of things in the nursery: bubble guns, cameras and even thermometers. When, on a winter's day, the Christmas tree catches fire while the children are taking a nap, she becomes truly indispensable.

Producer: In-suk Kang, Seungbae Jeon • Production company: Toyville Studio • Camera: Seungbae Jeon • Editing: In-suk Kang, Seungbae Jeon • Music: Ye-rhyeon Jung • Sales: Jinsan Kim

The Bridge

Sohyun Kim • South Korea • 2023 • 6 min.

On the cliffs of the peaceful forest, Golem opens his eyes. By accident, he becomes a bridge for the animals that live there to travel between cliffs.

Producer: Sohyun Kim • Editing: Dami Kim • Music: Inyeong Choi • Sales: Jinsan Kim

Lulina and the Moon

Alois Di Leo, Marcus Vinicius Vasconcelos • Brazil • 2023 • 14 min.

Lulina draws her greatest fears on the infinite white surface of the Moon. Magically, her illustrations come to life and teach her that her problems are not as monstrous as what her imagination depicted.

Producer: Marcus Vinicius Vasconcelos • Editing: Alois Di Leo • Music: Alício Amaral • Sound: Marilia Mencucini • Sales: Marcus Vinicius Vasconcelos

Maantunnel

Annechien Strouven • France, Belgium • 2024 • 9 min.

After digging a tunnel on the beach, two kids from different sides of the world meet each other. Together, they dig their way to the North Pole, where they discover a magical way to go back home.

Producer: Arnaud Demuynck, Brecht Van Elslande • Music: Yan Volsy

Nube

Christian Arredondo Narvaez, Diego

Alonso Sánchez de la Barquera Estrada • Hungary, France, Mexico • 2023 • 8 min.

After witnessing an old, dark and stormy cloud painfully rain and die in sorrow, Noma, a puffy white cloud realises that Mixtli, her daughter, a stormy cloud as well, is in danger of raining prematurely.

Producer: Baptiste Salvan

Rainboy

Barbara Brunner • Switzerland • 2023 • 5 min.

Rainboy is not a common gardener, he is a boy who plants drops and waters the clouds, but when he accidentally angers the sun, he teams up with the rain clouds to make the sun happy again.

Producer: Franziska Meyer • Music: Martin Waespe • Sound: Thomas Gassmann

Workshop: Cinemaology

za 30 nov (14u00)

Discover the history of film. Why do actors move so funny in a silent film? What did the first film explosion sound like? And what would Batman be without a green-screen? Discover the science behind filmmaking in the brand new course 'Cinemaology'! We experiment with all kinds of tricks and experiments. With a mysterious hologram you enlist the help of two real film pros: Anke Brouwers and Lennart Soberon. Together we make an adventurous journey through the history of film.

Film Concert: Music Therapy

Wonder what happens when you unleash music therapy students on three short films? The result is not only a visual tour de force, but also an impressive live experience. Both live-action short films and animated films serve as the backdrop for this year's film concert in collaboration with LUCA School of Arts. Immerse yourself in the live accompaniment and enjoy an evening of film and music.

Programme

Screenings: Mon 02/12 (18:30)

As If It Could

Ada Güvenir • Belgium • 2023 • 13 min.

Olive notices that her plant is not growing as it should... While her family's plants are growing perfectly straight, her plant is hanging limp and listless. She uproots the plant and leaves her home in search of new soil to re-root her plant.

Brecht Van Elslande, Brecht Van Elslande • Editing: Ada Güvenir • Music: Arne Nuyts

Friday, 1st of July

Sarah Lederman • Belgium • 2024 • 14 min.

The lives of two neighbours, one a pious Jewish woman, the other secular, cross during a power cut. Both are driven by a curiosity about what they have not been able to see, until now.

Wat zit er in die kist?

Bram Algoed • Belgium • 2023 • 10 min.

What is in that mysterious box? Could it be an elephant, or a rhino? The pilot, driver, bus driver and mail man are all at a loss for words.

Producer: Brecht Van Elslande, Animal Tank • Music: Boris Zeebroek • Sound: David Kamp

Producer:

Producer: Ilse Schooneknaep • Cast: Anna Manulis, Romy Louise Lauwers

Masterclass: João Gonzalez

João Gonzalez travelled the world with his moving short film Ice Merchants. In 2022, the film received the Audience Award in the European Competition at this festival, but the short animation also went to Cannes, Chicago ánd was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. How does Gonzalez bring his stories to life? The animator/musician animates and composes at the same time, but how? And how did he experience the overwhelming success of Ice Merchants? That and more in this masterclass.

Programme

Screenings: Sat 07/12 (13:00)

Nestor

João Gonzalez • Portugal, United Kingdom • 2019 • 6 min.

Nestor, a man with several obsessive-compulsive behaviours, lives in an unstable houseboat that never stops oscillating.

Gonzalez • Portugal • 2017 • 4 min.

A pianist suffering from agoraphobia, an anxiety disorder that keeps him from socialising with people in public spaces, lives in a big metropolis. One day, when his medication runs out, he is confronted with a need to go outside.

Ice Merchants

João Gonzalez • Portugal • 2022 • 15 min.

A father and son live in a house against a steep, icy mountainside. Every day, they descend to the village on the ground to sell the ice they've produced overnight. They are satisfied with their daily routine, until it is unexpectedly interrupted.

The Voyager

João

Producer: Bruno Caetano, Michaël Proença • Editing: João Gonzalez • Music: João Gonzalez • Sound: Ed Trousseau, Ricardo Real

30 Years Kortfilmfestival Leuven

Thirty editions of Kortfilmfestival Leuven. That means thirty years of films, makers, events, teams, posters and thirty years of archive footage. A whole range of filmmakers came to the festival over the past decades, many of them now attend international festivals, make popular TV-shows or films featured in Belgian and international theatres. Browse through the festival history and read how directors Tim Mielants and Fien Troch experienced their passage at the festival. Interviews with other makers can be found at kortfilmfestival.be.

1995, Johan Van Schaeren en Jan Bosmans, founders of the festival

1998, Launch of a full-fledged short film competition

2003, Tom Barman at the first edition in STUK

1999, Pieter Van Hees

2000, ‘Leuven Kort virtueel’ is the first ever online film festival in Belgium

DIRECTOR TIM MIELANTS ON KORTFILMFESTIVAL LEUVEN

What role did Kortilmfestival Leuven play in your career?

Tim Mielants: That's really where it all started for me. In those early days, I was watching with admiration the short films of Fien Troch, Michaël Roskam and Patrice Toye, and I thought to myself, ‘Wow, maybe I'll do that later too.’ And yes, I finally tried it with my film The Sunflyers . When my film was selected for the festival, it made my heart race with pride. The best moment? Sitting in that auditorium, surrounded by total strangers, and secretly spying on their reactions - seeing how they laugh, get quiet... That was fantastic. Making films is great, but experiencing a film together, that is the ultimate goal.

2007, Cecilia Verheyden

2011, Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi

2014, Tim Mielants and Michaël Roskam

2010, Matthias Schoenaerts, Robin Pront and Jeroen Perceval

2005, Kortfilmfestival Leuven wins the Culture Prize for film

2012, First Oscar® Qualifying festival in Belgium

DIRECTOR FIEN TROCH ON KORTFILMFESTIVAL LEUVEN

Fien Troch: It was really the place to be seen as a novice short filmmaker. A festival that focused on short films provided an extra atmosphere and feeling. You didn’t feel inferior to feature films, because they weren't there. What I remember about my time at the festival? The parties were really memorable. But to be honest, what I remember most was my award for my film Wooww and how extremely happy, excited and proud it made me.

2013, Maaike Neuville

2009, Fien Troch

2020, Maaike Cafmeyer at the online Covid-edition

2020, Christina Vandekerckhove

2016, Anthony Nti

2015, Lukas Dhont

2015, Rachida El Garani and Adil El Arbi

2015, Leonardo Van Dijl

SBC Rookies

The SBC Rookies are young cinematographers who are part of a new generation within SBC, the Belgian Society of Cinematographers. They are professionally active and enjoy presenting their work to a wider audience. This year’s rookies are Robbe Vandekeere (Klette), Ilona Vanouplines (Simon at the Nightshop) and Kobe Vangronsveld (Rocky Meets Lucy).

Programme

Screenings: Mon 02/12 (19:00)

Klette

Michael Abay • Belgium • 2022 • 17 min. 26-year-old Morgane still lives with her mother, has not yet finished her studies, and her love life doesn't go beyond onenight stands. She apparently doesn't know how to get things done...

Producer: Nina Payrhuber • Cast: Anne-Laure Vandeputte, Jennifer Heylen, Stella Kitoga

Simon at the Nightshop

Thanasis Tsimpinis • Belgium • 2024 • 15 min. Simon, a lonely gay man in his 40s, feels he has been noticed by a young cashier at a local nightshop. At first, he tries to win him over in a spontaneous way, but later he takes a methodical approach.

Producer: Eby Kadima Kassanda • Cast: Salim Mabrouk, Tom Viaene

Rocky Meets Lucy

Georges Rottier • Belgium • 2023 • 18 min. Desperate to impress the love of his life and leave with her to a tropical getaway, Rocky, a deranged alpha-male, tries to delve into the illicit realm of animal trafficking as he attempts to sell a Tibetan Mastiff in Antwerp’s Chinatown.

Producer: Laurens van Herk • Cast: Aaron Wan, Flor van Severen, Lieselot Siddiki, Sai Wang Lau

SBC@kortfilmfestival Leuven

Meet emerging young cinematographers presenting their recent work.

THE BELGIAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS

- promoting the work of the director of photography (D.O.P.)

- participating in events, commissions, meetings, … related to education, creativity, distribution, reproduction and archiving the cinematographic image

- protecting the recognition of the D.O.P. as author of the cinematographic image.

SBC Rookies are members of the Belgian Society of Cinematographers with budding experience in filmmaking.

Find the complete program in this brochure or at www.kortfilmfestival.be

Leo Bellagio

Fri 29/11

23:00 STUKcafé

The young band Leo Bellagio performs hyperpop at its best. Unfamiliar with the concept? Imagine the ambiance of a live band and add the energy of a club night. They describe themselves as an audiovisual trip full of intergalactic bangers. What could be a better start of this year’s anniversary edition!

© Diederik Craps

Guest Screenings

SABAM SELECTS

Mon 2/12 (20h00) at ZED STUK

For decades, Sabam for Culture has been committed to the promotion, development and protection of audiovisual works. Sabam actively supports its authors at every step of the creation process through various grants: from the writing process, over the concrete realisation to development and promotion. A selection of sponsored short films from the festival programme will be shown at the Sabam Evening.

Filmmakers who want to be considered for a Sabam grant will pitch their film on the same day at 2pm. The Sabam Pitch is open to the public.

VRT CANVAS SELECTS

Tue 3/12 (20h00) at de Soetezaal

National television broadcaster VRT CANVAS has a heart for (short) film. VRT CANVAS therefore annually donates the Audience Award for Flemish Fiction and Animation. The channel also presents its own selection of Flemish short film during the VRT CANVAS Evening, where the filmmakers are present for interviews in between films.

HUMO AWARD

Wed 4/12 (20h00) at Soetezaal

The independent magazine Humo awards its own short film prize for the 19th time. The magazine selects its favourite Flemish short films and interviews the filmmakers. Live voting determines who takes home the first award of the festival.

KORTFILM.BE SELECTS

Fri 6/12 (19h30) at STUK Labozaal

As usual, Kortfilm.be presents its own evening at the festival. Once again, the online short film magazine com

bines a quirky film selection with interviews with direc

tors. Kortfilm.be has been providing striking reviews, festival reports and interviews to highlight short films for years.

3x Live

Benshi Narration

Tue 3/12 18:00 STUK Soetezaal

In the 1920s, the real stars of Japanese cinema were not so much the actors on the screen, but rather the benshi in front of the screen. A benshi is a professional voice actor who performs live narration and interprets dialogues from films. In collaboration with Prof. Jan Schmidt (KUL) and renowned benshi Ichirō Kataoka, one of the greats of his generation, this age-old tradition comes to Kortfilmfestival Leuven. Kataoka will narrate live three Japanese short films from the 1920s. Titles such as Blood Splattered Takadanobaba and The Story of the Monkey King promise a spectacular evening.

3x Live

Niels Orens

Thu 5/12 22:00 in STUKcafé

Where electronic music and visual art intersect, that's where you'll find Niels Orens. With enormous curiosity, the artist seeks cohesion between acoustic and electronic, emotion and colour, rhythm and bass. His unique sound is reminiscent of Max Cooper and Massive Attack, but you can’t confine his mucic to one genre: a performance by Niels Orens is right at the intersection of music, technology and visual art.

Practical information

PRICES

Standard ticket € 11

Standard ticket youth film € 9

ZED Student Card € 9

Culture card KU Leuven € 8

ZESxZED-card € 54 (= 6 admission tickets)

FESTIVAL PASS € 54

Access to all film screenings. non-transferable.

TICKET SALES

Online www.kortfilmfestival.be

Festival site STUK Naamsestraat 96, Leuven

STUK reception opening hours:

Mon - Fri: 10:00 - 13:00, 14:00 - 17:30 & 19:00 - 21:00

Sat & Sun: 17:00 - 18:00 & 19:00 - 21:00

LOCATION

STUK: House for Dance, Image and Sound Naamsestraat 96, Leuven

Info about the festival and tickets: info@kortfilmfestival.be or 016/679 239

The festival information desk is open from half an hour before the first screening of the day until fifteen minutes after the last screening.

Professional activities

Kortfilmfestival Leuven goes beyond showcasing short films. It's a hub of opportunities for filmmakers and industry professionals alike. Meet the filmmakers during Q&A’s and if you're a screenwriter, film critic, or part of the professional network, don't miss out on our workshops and networking events.

European Workshop for Film Criticism # 6

Kortfilmfestival Leuven hosts the 6th European Workshop for Film Criticism. In collaboration with the European Network for Film Discourse (END) and the magazine Talking Shorts, the festival hosts a four-day workshop on film criticism. Participants are coached by established critics and film scholars, gaining insights into the essential skills and practices of film criticism through short films. In 2025, the second part of the workshop will take place at the Vilnius International Short Film Festival. The results of the workshops will be published in Talking Shorts.

Sabam Pitch mon 2/12 (14h00) at Cinema ZED STUK

SABAM for Culture has been committed for decades to the promotion, development and protection of a vast audiovisual repertoire and directly sponsors directors and short films each year through a development grant. Filmmakers who want to be considered for this scholarship, pitch their film in front of a Sabam Jury.

SBC Rookies mon 2/12 (19h00) at Labozaal

The SBC Rookies are young cinematographers who are part of a new generation within SBC, the Belgian Society of Cinematographers. They are professionally active and enjoy presenting their work to a wider audience. This year’s rookies are Robbe Vandekeere (Klette), Ilona Vanouplines (Simon at the Nightshop) and Kobe Vangronsveld (Rocky Meets Lucy).

Meet the Industry tue 3/12 (14h30) at STUKcafé

Meet the Industry is a great opportunity for film and drama students who are about to graduate. Partner organisations like Sabam, Playright+, the Union of Directors, and the Screenwriters Guild will be present at an info fair. There will also be a panel discussion about artificial intelligence. The event will wrap up with a social gathering.

Master talk: Fien Troch tue 3/12 (18h00) at Cinema ZED STUK

As Artist in Focus, Fien Troch will give a master talk at the festival. She talks to film journalist Ruben Nollet and looks back at her first short films. How did she go from Verbrande Aarde and Wooww to full-length feature films like Home or Holly?

With a career that spans almost the entire festival history, there is truly a lot to talk about.

Film School Day

fri 6/12 (13h30) at Verbeeckzaal

Students from various film schools get to experience the festival and have the opportunity to watch and analyse short films. The Film School Day also provides an opportunity to connect with European peers. For more information, please contact your film school.

Masterclass: João Gonzalez sat 07/12 (13h00) at STUK Soetezaal

João Gonzalez travelled the world with his moving short film Ice Merchants. In 2022, the film received the Audience Award in the European Competition at this festival, but the short animation also went to Cannes, Chicago ánd was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. How does Gonzalez bring his stories to life? The animator/musician animates and composes at the same time, but how? And how did he experience the overwhelming success of Ice Merchants? That and more in this masterclass.

Pitch Your Script sat 7/12 (15h00) at STUK Soetezaal

A professional jury from the Scenarists Guild selects ten candidates based on their short-film screenplay. After a pitching workshop, those selected will present their screenplay to a group of film professionals. That session is free and open to the public. Afterwards, and behind closes doors, there is a series of speed dates between the aspiring screenwriters and ten producers.

Festivalcafé

The cosy STUKcafé becomes an integral part of the festival. You are welcome during receptions, before or after screenings and during live-performances. Atmosphere guaranteed.

Festival Brunch za 7/12 (11u) in STUKcafé

On the final day of the festival, there is a delicious brunch, where directors, audiences and festival team can meet over a sandwich, some yoghurt or other brunch material that will help digest an entire week of short films.

Co-funded by the European Union

2024 14 19

Margot Jansens / Detail Company

Bert Berg & Suntapes

Wout Vanroose

Paula Alvala (BR)

Compagnie Bruut

Jakob Jacobsson (SE)

THERE THERE Company

©Charlotte Vercruysse

drinks, food & music

MA - VR 11:00 - 01:00 / ZA - ZO 14:00 - 01:00

FOLLOW  US:   /STUKLEUVEN

Notes

Team & Partners

Vincent Langouche Festival director, guest care

Emma Van den Broucke Production & volunteers

Esther Lamberigts Communication

Lize Cuveele Assistant programmer, bookings

Shana Gallon Reception desk & ticketing

Caro Raedts Schools

Frank Moens Assistant programmer

Lisa Foster Children’s programming

Bie Geivers Editor, finances

Bert Bertels Graphic design

Jasmine Elsen, Harry Plowden, Astrid Chamberland, Ward Collin &

Suus Van Laere

Artists cover design

Freya Veys Daltonshop

Wout Soentjes

Technical coordination & projection

Ali Baharlou

Technical Assistant, in-house director/ video-editor

Kato Debeuckelaere Awards

Jonas Gerard Promotion

Lennert De Reze Camera, editing

Gitte Nelissen Trainee production, guest care

Tjen Geys Trainee communication

Mira Tate Trainee public outreach & volunteers

Wout Soentjens

Cisse Wyn Nadia Shutova

Loïc Van Gerven Gillis Hermans Operators

Evelien Van Haegenborgh

Abdellah El Khallat

Reception desk

Bavo Nys

Staf Smets

Celine Camerlynck

Amber De Leener

Jolien Verdickt

Photographers

Maarten Le Roy

Cluytens Sanne Clerinx

Nollet

Omar Kalifa

De Winter

Phlypo

Vande Winkel

Gudrun Burie

General assembly Fonk vzw

Johan Van Schaeren

General coordinator Fonk vzw

SELECTION ADVISORS

Karin Vandenrydt, Tom Timmerman, Dylan Fréson, Gert Cuypers, Pieter Stevens, Maya Retana, Sylvan Nelissen, Sien Voets, Martine Bouw, Kobe Rombouts, Anna Lawrence, Fleur Van Leeuwen, Noor Decaluwe, Celine Verhaest, Tjen Geys, Lisa Foster, Frank Moens, Freya Veys, Lize Cuveele, Anneleen Naudts, Esther Lamberigts, Emma Van den Broucke, Inia en Nomi Langouche

SUBSIDY PROVIDERS

Vlaamse Gemeenschap, Stad Leuven, With the support of the Creative Europe MEDIA programme of the European Union

PARTNERS & SPONSORS

VRT CANVAS, Humo, Sabam, Vlaams Audiovisueel Fonds, KU Leuven, STUK, Playright, Scenaristengilde, Unie van Regisseurs, Kortfilm.be, Unie van de Belgische Filmpers, Unie van de Filmkritiek, Belgian Society of Cinematographers, A Sound, Sondr., Camalux, Dalton Distribution, Curtas Vila do Conde, Short Film Conference, Talking Shorts, Ibis, Combell, Alma, Al Verhuur, RITCS School of Arts, LUCA School of Arts, KASK School of Arts, Norwegian Embassy Brussels, Swiss Films, Unifrance, British Council, het Tsjechisch Centrum Brussel, Embaixad Bélgica, Instituto da Cooperação e da Língua, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, European Film Academy

MEMBERS OF THE BOARD FONK VZW

Maarten Le Roy, Gudrun Burie, Henk Cluytens, Roel Vande Winkel, Ruben Nollet, Sanne Clerinx, Hanne Phlypo

THANKS TO

The members of the juries: Michał Toczek, Hilke Rönnfeldt, Anthony Nti, Miguel Dias, Anne Gäschutz, Christina Vandekerckhove

The team from the Flemish Audiovisual Fund and Flanders Image Koen Van Bockstal, An Feyfer, Erik Stockman, Willem Stassen, Matthias Vanderaspoilden, Simon Vrebos, Catherine Wilmès, Inne Van Boxel, Hans Frison, Jonas Cantoro, Niels Putman, André Joassin, Gert Bauwens, Wim De Rick, Sophie Schyns, Thierry De Vries, Sébastien Bours, Jana Martens, Alain Van Goethem, Una Kreso, Paul Pauwels, Sandra Leege, Julie Blommaert, Tom Mestdagh, Lieve De Neef, Luísa Dutra, Lise Leifsdatter Traeland, Daniela Vervloet, Laure Decock, Ilse Somers, Laikin Chang, Partick Geeraerts, Nina Nijs, Tom Van Herzele, Alain Quateau, Brecht Van Elslande, Daphné Pascual, Greet Busselot, Hilde D’haeyere, Elke Van Damme, Kris Mergan, Imge Ozbilge, Jan Van Dyck, Anke Brouwers, Griet Vanhemel, Giel Bosmans, Stijn Paredis, Tom Neerinckx, Dirk Franck, Michèle Deprez, Steven Uzar, Marc Leroy, Heidi Froyen, Sam Rijnders