LIsFE

New LIsFE website!

2011-03-28T16:21:00.003+02:00

We're happy to announce that we have a new website. There you can find all the information about the Leiden International Short-film Festival 2011 which is coming in June and submit your film.

You can visit the new LIsFE website at: http://www.lisfe.nl/

Leids Film Festival:

2010-10-14T08:51:00.002+02:00

During one full week Leiden is going to celebrate cinema with the fith edition of th e Leids film Festival. From the 26th to 31st of October in several locations, you will be able to enjoy a great variety of International and dutch films.

LIsFE is working together with LFF to organize the international shorts competition. You´ll see short films from all over the world, divided into two sessions, then you get to pick the winner.

The screening is organized in one of the most beautiful festival locations has to be the Church of St. Peter, a late-Gothic style church with origins tracing back to the 12th Century.

http://www.leidsfilmfestival.nl/en/

2010-05-31T03:09:00.003+02:00

LIsFE 2010 Awards!

The results are…

*** LIsFE Award ***: « Efecto Domino » (from Gagriel Gauchet) - Cuba
Audience Award: « Edgar » (from Fabian Busch) - Germany
Best acting performance: Piotr Skiba in « Echo » (from Magnus von Horn) – Poland
Best Animation: « Madagascar, carnet de voyage » (from Bastien Dubois) - France
Best Documentary: « Till it hurts » (from Marcin Koszalka) - Poland

A big thank you for all of you who joined LIsFE 2010 !!!
And we hope to see next year.

-------

Efecto Domino (LIsFE Award)
Cuba / Fiction / 27 min / Gabriel Gauchet / 2010
Dutch premiere

Edgar (Audience Award)
Germany / Fiction / 13 min / Fabian Busch / 2009
Dutch premiere

Echo (Best acting performance for Piotr Skiba)
Poland / Fiction / 15min / Magnus von Horn / 2009

Madagascar, a journey diary - Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Best Animation)
France / Animation / 11 min / Bastien Dubois / 2009

Till it hurts - Do bolu (Best Documentary)
Poland / Documentary / 25 min / Marcin Koszalka / 2008
Dutch première

Short Films - Reason and Emotion 7 “Southern Europe”

2010-05-26T10:01:00.007+02:00

Short Films - Short Films - Reason and Emotion 3 “Southern Europe”
(13h45-15h15, Saturday 29th of May / Scheltema - Collegezaal)

The play of silence - Il gioco del silenzio
Italy / Animation / 5 min / Virginia Mori / 2009

A girl is playing alone, she loses, she hides and tries to be re-born.

Manual practico del amigo imaginario
Spain / Fiction / 19 min / Ciro Altabas / 2008

Fernando is a shy 27 year old young man who receives the visit of an old classmate, Iratxe. This arouses jealousy in his imaginary friend, Captain Kiloton, a superhero that had stood by his side since he was a kid, and who feels their friendship is now in jeopardy.

Left Right - Aristera Dexia
Greece / Fiction / 14 min / Argyris Germanidis, Starvros Raptis / 2009

A man in pyjamas walks down a long corridor under the hum of a vacuum cleaner. He rings the bell of the neighboring apartment and waits for the door to open. A woman opens the door of her apartment and stands face to face with a stranger in pyjamas mumbling something about the walls. She slams the door at him.

The man in pyjamas walks up the corridor back to his apartment only to find out that he has been locked outside his home. Two strangers who live in neighboring apartments end up spending a night together.

Videogame: a loop experiment - Videogioco: a loop experiment
Italy / Animation / 2 min / Donato Sansone /2009

Oedipus
Cyprus / Fiction / 18 min / Loakim Mylonas / 2009
Dutch première

A young detective is commisioned a job by an attractive woman. He has to investigate the disappearance of an infant that took place thirty years ago. Him and his assistand will try to solve the mystery.

Sea happens
Greece / Fiction / 7 min

This film was made for the 48 hour film Project Go Green (Athens 2009). The whole project is that you have to write, direct, shoot, edit and deliver a film (4 to 7 minutes) in 48 hours. The festival gives you the goal (for us it was Save the Sea) and also some other staff. This year was: Character: George or Georgia (activist), Line of dialogue: You got the power, Prop: a branch of olive tree. Anyways, the film did great and won the Best Film prize. The prize is that the film is traveling to the Mecca of cinema... CANNES 2010!

Ansiedad
Spain / Fiction / 25 min / Eduardo Casanova / 2010
World première

Violeta Lagartija is a great prima donna with a social phobia. Violeta can neither speak or relate to anybody that knows her. With her lovesick character, she survives feeding of tranquilizers. Berto os crazy in love with Violeta, but he knows her problem and has a plan to know her...

LIsFE selection – Animation Shorts

2010-05-26T09:57:00.005+02:00

LIsFE selection – Animation Shorts
(20h30, Saturday 29th of May / Scheltema - Collegezaal)

Wallace and gromit - A matter of loaf and death
UK / Animation / 29 min / Nick Park / 2008

Wallace and Gromit have a brand new business. The conversion of 62 West Wallaby Street is complete and impressive, the whole house is now a granary with ovens and robotic kneading arms. Huge mixing bowls are all over the place and everything is covered with a layer of flour. On the roof is a 'Wallace patent-pending' old-fashioned windmill. The transformation is perfect. Although business is booming, Gromit is concerned by the news that 12 local bakers have 'disappeared' this year - but Wallace isn't worried. He's too distracted and 'dough-eyed' in love with local beauty and bread enthusiast, Piella Bakewell, to be of much help. While they enjoy being the 'Toast of the Town', Gromit, with his master's life in jeopardy, must be the sleuth and solve the escalating murder mystery - in what quickly becomes a 'Matter of Loaf and Death'.

Videogame: a loop experiment - Videogioco: a loop experiment
Italy / Animation / 2 min / Donato Sansone / 2009

Hot dog
USA / Animation / 6 min / Bill Plympton / 2008

A plucky canine hero joins the fire company to save the world from house fires and gain the affection he so richly deserves, but things don't turn out the way he planned.

Rubbuds
USA / Animation / 3 min / Jan Chen / 2009

Tonight is getting a little too boring for those active RUBBUDS, they want to get out and enjoy the ride of their life time. However, who is going to enjoy the ride the most?!

Madagascar, a journey diary - Madagascar, carnet de voyage
France / Animation / 11 min / Bastien Dubois / 2009

A visual travel journal demonstrating the importance of dance, death, and traditional customs present and vibrant in the Malagasy society.

Uncle - Wujek
Poland / Animation / 8 min / Maciej Sznabel / 2008

Uncle Adam arrives at a village house of a family who lives there with a dog, Azor. An idyllic scenery unexpectedly turns into a horror which makes blood run cold. This animated debut made under the supervision of Piotr Dumała draws on the best tradition of the Krakow School of Animation represented by Aleksander Sroczyński and Julian Józef Antoniusz.

El empleo
Argentina / Animation / 6 min / Santiago Bou Grasso / 2008

In a bizarre world, a working man is awoken by his alarm clock. He shaves, dresses and has breakfast. An unknown man holds up his mirror. Three people make up his chair and table. A woman stands, at the door, working as his coat hanger. He hails a ride and rides piggyback all the way to work. At a traffic light, a group of humans riding humans await the light to change. There are two men hanging on a pole representing traffic lights. One opens his jacket and reveals a red shirt. Then he closes his jacket, so the other man can reveal his green shirt. He puts his coat and briefcase in a locker where a woman is hanging on the locker door working as his coat hanger and briefcase holder. He takes an elevator ride up, using a human counterweight. There, he begins his work as a doormat. His boss shows up, scrapes his feet on his back and enters his office. He continues to lay there in front of an office door.

Animated frequencies #1 - Frequenze animate #1
Italy / Animation / 9 min / Ottomani laboratory / 2009
Dutch premiere

Explore and animate the sounds of territory. Laboratories to explore the soundscape and cinematic animation.

Workshop led by the Ottomans in Forlì, who built a music project on which are structured different types of processing animated by three classes of secondary schools.

In scale - V masshtabe
Russia / Animation / 7 min / Marina Moshkova / 2009
Dutch première

Little bird nest winds and brings food to young. This leads to unexpected consequences on a larger scale.

Short Films - Reason and Emotion 8 “Eastern Europe & Russia”

2010-05-26T09:45:00.002+02:00

Short Films - Reason and Emotion 8 “Eastern Europe & Russia”
(13h15, Sunday 30th of May / Scheltema - Theaterzaal)

Did Michael Knight end the Cold War?
Czech republic, Germany / Fiction / 19 min / Stepan Altricht / 2009

Czechoslovakia, 1989: for 9-year-old Jachim, there is nothing greater than the TV series "Knight Rider", which he can receive clandestinely on an Austrian signal. Together with his little brother, he re-enacts the most daring stunts from the series and wreaks a lot of havoc in their high-rise neighborhood. Surprisingly, Jachym's father has little understanding for his passion for Michael Knight. But when the demonstrations begin in the fall of 1989, Jachym and Michael Knight hatch a plan to prove themselves to everyone.

Street Feeling
Poland / Fiction / 19 min / Christoffer Karlsson Rus / 2009

A contemporary vision of the seventh commandment, "Do not steal". Few young graph drawers are stealing paints from a store and under Tomasz’s window, a 45 years old graphic designer, they begin to draw on the wall. Tomasz is going through an extremely hard time in his professional and personal life, the beneficiary of his work puts pressure on him so that the project will satisfy the customer. Here begins a fight against his own taste, convictions and time.

Anything for you - Vsichko za teb
Bulgaria / Fiction / 19 min / Toma Waszarow / 2008
Dutch premiere

Ana thinks she knows exactly what she wants with men. And with life in general. Tonight though, her views will face a tough challenge. A meeting awaits her, and it will turn her world upside down.

Anything For You / Всичко за теб from Revo Films on Vimeo.

At home - Otthon
Hungary /Fiction / 13 min / Nora Lakos / 2009
European premiere

Kristóf moves into the first flat of his own in the middle of Budapest. While waiting for a pizza to be delivered he pops out to the corner shop for a box of matches. But he cannot get back to his flat as the police have blocked the square because of a demonstration.Kristóf spends the rest of the night trying to get home. He wakes up the next morning in his flat next to the pizza delivery girl, who is a complete stranger to him, ...and in the meanwhile he has become a wanted man.

Arsy Versy
Slovakia / Documentary / 20 min / Miro Remo / 2009

The life story of a mother and her son Lubos, who turned the world upside down. Lubos escaped the world of people to live symbiotically with nature. His biggest support in his wanderings, as well as in all areas of his life, was his mother. Lubos' mother, however, is 70 years old and worries about the future of her son.

Passion - Ulvlechenie
Russia /Fiction / 10 min / Natalia Malich / 2010
Dutch premiere

Natalia Malich is a film director and screenwriter. She was born in Moscow. She graduated in journalism from the Moscow State Lomonosov University and then studied film directing on Higher Courses of Scriptwriters and Directors. She made three short films 'Begonia', 'The Companions' and 'Passion' which is her diploma work. She is currently busy in directing and writing.

SURPRISE SESSION

2010-05-26T09:42:00.002+02:00

Short Films - SURPRISE SESSION
(15h00, Saturday 29th of May / Scheltema - Collegezaal)

Vampire, Robots, Judas... Another kind of short films.

Short Films – Reason and Emotion 6 “Maghreb-Middle east”

2010-05-26T09:30:00.003+02:00

Short Films - Reason and Emotion 6 “Maghreb-Middle East”
(17h15, Sunday 30th of May / Scheltema - Collegezaal)

First aid - Ezra rishona
Israel / Fiction / 16 min / Yarden Karmin / 2010
Dutch première

A day before his wedding, Shai visits Tamar, his ex-girlfriend, for a tempestuous encounter prior to becoming established. Tamar leaves him a hickey, entangling the situation.

The mourning of the merry stork - Le deuil de la cigogne joyeuse
Switzerland / Fiction / 14 min / Eileen Hofer / 2009

War is imminent, but pregnant Nour refuses to admit it. Her husband, more rational, persuades her to leave. Convinced they will be able to return shortly, they bring with them only the bare necessities. Little do they know that they are leaving behind the fond memories of a paradise lost. The dramatic reconstruction in a minimalist approach of a key day in the life of a couple who has since emigrated.

Magic crop - Saba Flouss
Tunisia / Fiction / 18 min / Anis Lassoued / 2007
European première

It’s a story of a six year old kid belonging to a family of peasants that cultivates vine and sells dairy products. The kid after a strange encounter with a man, will live in a different way; in what may be called "Wonder Land".

The pottery tale - Dastan-e-Safal
Iran / Animation / 9 min / Maryam Bayami / 2008
Dutch première

This animation is an experimental that is made using the patterns of about 165 clay pieces from all over Iran. The film manifests some picturesque primitive motifs which people might have hardly ever seen before.

The maid
USA, Egypt / Fiction / 19 min / Heidi Saman / 2008
Dutch premiere

he Maid, a short narrative film, examines the moments in which we are forced to understand that other people are real in the same way that we are. Rasha is an Egyptian housemaid, who is not so skilled at her job. When her suspicions about her employer are confirmed, Rasha must come to terms with her perceptions of trust, duty, and her place within the family household.

Short Films - Reason and Emotion 2 “Asia-Oceania”

2010-05-26T09:18:00.004+02:00

Short Films - Reason and Emotion 2 “Asia-Oceania”
(13h45, Saturday 29th of May / Scheltema - Collegezaal)

Helpless
China / Fiction / 27 min / Li Yang / 2009
Dutch première

A hopeless man receives mysterious directions. By following them, he's entering into a world he no longer controls...

Miracle fish
Australia / Fiction / 17 min / Luke Doolan / 2008

After falling asleep in the sick bay, wishing everyone in the world would go away, little Joe wakes up to find his dream may have become a reality.

GoldRush-The Neharawalas
India / Documentary / 14 min / Raja Dey, Sujoy Biswas / 2008
Dutch première

You may wonder about these people who meticulously sweep the drains in front of goldsmith's and shops that sell the precious metal/ornaments. They are the gold hunters, at their work day in and day out trying to distill gold from the dirt in front of the shops. Looking at them, you will see that they have not hit it big, but it is a profession and not all are permitted to do it. This film tries to document these people at work. The hunt for gold has become an addiction to them. While filming, we felt as if we do not exist.

Charmers
Czech republic / Fiction / 18 min / Gasper Snuderi / 2008
Dutch premiere

“Charmers” tells the story of a young Vietnamese couple living in Prague. Viet, a young man who represents younger generation of Asian immigrants tries to integrate into the general society and to untie from his native enclosed community, so he works as a taxi driver. He is in love with Lingh a girl working in local Vietnamese market hall. However their relationship cannot be fulfilled, because she is not allowed to leave the area of the community market. So he’s only left with telling her stories about the life in the city and then one night he has experience where he actually wished his girlfriend was with him.

LIsFE thematic – Short Documentaries

2010-05-26T09:16:00.003+02:00

LIsFE thematic – Short Documentaries
(18h15, Friday 28th of May / Plexus – Common Room)

Benediction of the beasts - Benedizione delle bestie
Italy / Documentary / 9 min / Paul zinder / 2009
European première

Depicts an annual gathering in Rome's most derelict neighborhood where man, beast, and priest participate in an ancient rite.

Battle for the Xingu
USA / Documentary / 12 min / Lara Lee / 2009
Dutch première

Imagine if Hurricane Katrina was not a hurricane at all, but an event sponsored by the federal government, in collaboration with several multinational corporations. If your imagination fails you, then perhaps you'll get a clearer picture by learning about the people of the Xingu River.

The Xingu, a tributary of the Amazon, is home to over 10,000 indigenous people who rely on the river for survival. The Brazilian government, however, keen to develop the region, is proposing what would be the world's third largest hydroelectric dam, threatening to destroy the biodiversity of the Xingu River basin and deprive these people of their rights to a sustainable future.

Cultures of Resistance was in Altamira in 2008 for the Xingu Alive Encounter - one of the largest-ever gatherings of indigenous Brazilians - to witness the spectacular determination of the Amazon people to protect their way of life.

Today, plans to build the dam continue. Thankfully, so do the protests.

Soul train
South Africa /Documentary / 14 min / Thabo Bruno Mokoena / 2008

Every morning thousands of township residents board the Metrorail to Johannesburg. Train carriages transform into makeshift places of worship where charismatic Christian evangelists preach from the bible whilst traditionalists denounce the corrupting force of foreign gods.

Lil'a
Germany / Documentary / 12 min / Katharina Sophie Brauer / 2008

12 year old Lil'A found dance to be the perfect antidote for the severe tics he suffered because of a nervous disorder. Now the tics have subsided and he has decided to become the best dancer and choreographer in the whole world.

Till it hurts - Do bolu
Poland / Documentary / 25 min / Marcin Koszalka / 2008
Dutch première

A 53 year old psychiatrist lives with his somewhat over protective mother in relative harmony. When a woman steps into the picture, his prolonged period of sexual abstinence and peace with his mother are broken.

Hi mother yells: 'Wake up, you're fifty- three!". He answers in St. Paul's words, 'Children obey your parents, honour thy father and thy mother and ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath.’

Notes on the other
Spain / Documentary / 13 min / Sergio Oksman / 2009

On July 13, 1924, Ernest Hemingway was on a balcony in Pamplona, Spain and saw a wounded main lying on the other side of the street. He became consumed with the feeling that he was that man, seeing himself in the near-dead Spaniard who had been attacked by bulls. "I am him," Hemingway later wrote. It was the very first time he wanted to be someone else, so he created the character of the adventurous writer. Notes on the Other follows the example of Hemingway's remarkable sensation in the form of an annual Hemingway lookalike contest in Key West, Florida. Dozens of older men do their utmost to be Hemingway, but what are they looking for? The film investigates the idea of the "other," of being able to see things from another perspective, beyond one's own field of vision. What is the reality of our own existence and how fascinating would it be to escape that reality and see what we cannot observe ourselves? Inspired by the photo of the Spaniard who lay on the street in Pamplona in 1924, the film uses relatively simple means to generate curiosity for alternate perception, for stepping outside of ourselves to contemplate the world in a different way, if only for a little while.

Yea, yae, nay, nay - Ja, ja, nein, nein
Switzerland / Documentary / 19 min / Ulrich Schweizer / 2010
Dutch premiere

Should the government get involved in promoting and funding Arts? In the sixties this issue was heavily discussed in the small, sedate Canton of Aargau. yes yes, no, no - a movie about a visionary patron of the arts, a performance artist who misteriously disappears and a unique arts funding scheme. A piece of Swiss cultural history.

Short Films – Compilation LIsFE 2009

2010-05-26T09:06:00.002+02:00

Short Films – Compilation LIsFE 2009
(17h00, Friday 28th of May / Plexus – Spectrum Room)

Pal/Secam
Russia / Fiction / 15 min / Dmitry Povolotsky / 2008

Set in Moscow in 1985, Pal/Secam is an uproariously funny short following a boy in his mid teens on a quest to lose his virginity with the help of his prize possession- a VCR that everyone wants to watch. What starts as a simple attempt to lure a girl upstairs to his mothers’ tiny apartment to watch disco dance movies and drink champagne (which he has no idea about and thusly ends up with some other sort of unknown liquor)…

2 birds - Smafulgar
Denmark / Fiction / 15 min / Runar Runarsson / 2008

2 Birds takes place during one bright summer night and follows a group of young teenagers on a journey from innocence to adulthood. The main character is a timid boy who has a typical schoolboy crush on a girl his age, who happens to be a friend of his mate.

Hammerhead
England / Fiction / 14 min / Sam Donovan / 2009

Caught up in the middle of a divorce, shark obsessed oddball Boris persuades his parents to take him to the coast where a shark has been sighted, seeing it as the perfect opportunity to get them back together. The trip is ruined when Boris's mother brings her lover and he must face the fact that his parents are never going to be reconciled.

Premature
USA / Fiction / 12 min / Rashaad Ernesto Green / 2009

After Tisha, a streetwise teenager from the Bronx, discovers she's pregnant and receives no support from her community, she has nowhere to turn and is faced with the most difficult decision she will ever make.

Boutonniere
USA / Fiction / 10 min / Coley Sohn / 2009

Who knew prom could be so painful? A dark comedy by first time director Coley Sohn, following a simple teen's attempts to survive her overbearing mother's exuberant plans for a prom she'd rather not attend.

Tolibu dibu dauchyu
Bulgaria / Documentary / 5 min / Boris Despodov / 2008

Think you haven't heard the Bulgarian pop song "Ken Lee"? Think again. Music idol contestant and subsequent YouTube sensation Valentina Hasan belts it out in this rollicking documentary-ode to celeb culture gone awry

Short Films - Reason and Emotion 5 “North America”

2010-05-26T01:52:00.003+02:00

Short Films - Reason and Emotion 5 “North America”
(16h45, Saturday 29th of May / Scheltema - Theaterzaal)

Bus stop sonata
USA / Fiction / 4 / Eric Levy / 2009
European premiere

A couple of strangers wait for a bus on the steps of a house and decide to have a snack...together

Bus Stop Sonata Trailer from Eric Levy on Vimeo.

Step seven
USA / Fiction / 13 min / Chris Luccy / 2009

A man abandons his wife and children after realizing that he is meant for something "greater."

Diplomacy
USA / Fiction / 10 min / Jon Goldman / 2009

The UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE is about to meet with the IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER in the first high-level diplomatic talks between the two countries in thirty years. Each has an interpreter in tow: on the American side, MICHAEL, a young staffer of Iranian descent; on the Iranian side, AZAR, a luminous young woman with an Oxford accent. Almost immediately, the interpreters begin warping the officials' words to avoid causing offense. But soon realizing the heavy burden on their shoulders and just how little the diplomats are willing to budge, the interpreters go further, making outright policy revisions way beyond their authority. As tempers flare and misunderstandings mount, they must keep their game hidden at all costs - or their good intentions could lead to catastrophic results.

True beauty this night
USA / Fiction / 10 min / Peter Besson / 2009

Last night, Rhett Somers met the love of his life. Now all he has to do is convince her that she's the one. Not an easy feat considering how they met.

Looploop
Canada / Experimental / 5 min / Patrick Bergeron / 2008

Using animation, sounds warping and time shifts this video runs forwards and backwards looking for forgotten details, mimicking the way memories are replayed in the mind.

LoopLoop is made from a sequence captured in a train going to Hanoi in Vietnam. I filmed the houses boarding the railroad. The 1000 images of this sequence have been stitched into one long panoramic image. Into this long still image, I integrated other moving elements and builted smooth transitions over it.

LoopLoop is a video loop.

The champ
USA / Documentary / 6 min / Peter Jordan / 2007
European premiere

After getting into one too many fights at school, 17-year-old Fatima finds the one place where she can punch as hard as she wants ― the boxing ring.

Fatima overcomes the loss of her mother, who abandoned her in the streets of Mexico as a little girl, and becomes a mentor for other vulnerable girls. Fatima's coach Johnnie shows her that being a fighter is not just about boxing, it's about life.

Basket Bronx
USA, Spain / Fiction / 14 min / Martin Rosette / 2009

Alex is an African-American kid from the Bronx who dreams of playing basketball as his idols. However, the gang of older guys in the neighborhood keeps reminding him that he cannot. One day Kiat, a newly arrived Chinese girl, appears in his life and using some Zen philosophy teaches him to overcome his fears, to enjoy life as much as possible and to stop worrying about his results.

BASKET BRONX TRAILER from Juan Martin on Vimeo.

Charlie and the rabbit
USA / Fiction / 10 min / Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck, Robert Mac Hoian / 2010
Dutch Premiere

After watching BUGS BUNNY, CHARLIE a four year old boy sets off on an adventure to hunt down his own rabbit.

Little flowers
Canada / Fiction / 18 min / Vincent Biron / 2009
European premiere

On one summer day, four children face themselves, and become a little older.

Short Films - Reason and Emotion 4 “Africa”

2010-05-26T01:31:00.004+02:00

Short Films - Reason and Emotion 4 “Africa”
(15h00, Saturday 29th of May / Scheltema - Theaterzaal)

Knock on the wood
USA, Ghana / Documentary / 13 min / Ron Grunhut / 2008
European premiere

Percussionist Valerie Naranjo followed her love of African xylophone music to Ghana, where her performances on the gyil prompted a decree that women be permitted to play the instrument for the first time.

Welcome to my Paradise
South africa / Documentary / 22 min / Rhonda Klevansky / 2009
European premiere

A tight documentary about the sandcastke builders of the Bay of Plenty in Durban, South Africa. The filmaker delves into the story of Xolani Sibiya and his side-kick George Joao Benjamin.

A love letter to my country
Rwanda / Fiction / 36 min / Dushimirimana Thierry / 2007
Dutch premiere

Story of a love affair of a Tutsi - whose family were killed in the genocide - and a Hutu - whose relatives are in prison for their part in the atrocity.

Unearthing the pen
Uganda, UK / Documentary / 12 min / Carol Salter / 2009

A young goatherd in northern Uganda yearns to be able to read and write. But the odds are stacked against him. Forty years ago, tribal elders buried a pen, placing a curse on the written word. Unearthing the Pen is an intimate portrait of a boy’s struggle to reconcile tradition with his desire to learn.

Mena
Germany / Fiction / 11 min / Eileen Byrne / 2008
Dutch première

Mullato Mena is ashamed to introduce her father to her new African boyfriend but discovers that her dad has more rhythm than she knows. A fun story of heritage, identity and chakalaka.

Shorts films - Reason and Emotion 1 “Western Europe”

2010-05-26T01:18:00.005+02:00

Shorts films - Reason and Emotion 1 “Western Europe”
(20h30, Friday 28th of May / Plexus Center - Common Room)

Upstairs
Germany / Fiction / 15 min /Jonar Ungar /2008

Ben makes his way up through an apartment building. He rings bells and is welcomned everywhere. But what did he do, when he reaches the top?

The wounded knee and the standing man - Le genou blessé et l'homme debout
France / Fiction /16 min / Yann Chayia / 2009
Dutch première

One morning, Jonas (14) discovers his mother dead. Left to himself, he goes to find his father, whom he hasn´t seen for several years, but he can´t find the strength to tell him the news.

Clint
Germany / Fiction / 4 min / Philil Scholz / 2008

Clint is satisfied having a love triangle with his girlfriend mia and his cigarettes. Everything works out fine until he is spoilt for choice. The movie show a hero, who unfortunately can`t stop smoking. There`s no happy end.

Steel Homes
UK / Documentary / 10 min / Eva Weber /2008

Self-storage units are windows into human histories: their discarded objects and dust-covered furniture are inscribed with past dreams, secret hopes, and lives we cannot let go of.

Soft skills
Germany / Fiction / 15 min / Max Fey / 2009
European première

Paul is 32, a permanently unemployed person, lives in a small apartment and has just managed to become one of the final candidates in a job selection procedure. Paul desperately hopes to get the job. But when he at night overhears a violent argument between his next door neighbours Michelle and Sascha, his life suddenly runs out of whack.

Why not snow white while you're at it? - Pourquoi pas blanche neige pendant qu'on y est?
France / Fiction / 14 min / Joel Olivier / 2010
Dutch premiere

Lucie, 7 years old. Parental understanding, a peaceful life, a competent teacher, and why not snow white while you're at it?

Un déjeuner sur l herbe
France / Animation / 7 min / Alexandre Wahl /2009

Sheep love electricity...

Masken Masken,dass man Eros blende
Austria / Fiction / 8 min / Magdalena Lauritsch / 2009
Dutch première

A woman from crossing its zenith. Suddenly, a seemingly insignificant situation to a grueling fight against itself. A short film about aging and how it endures.

Drift
Germany / Experimental / 5 min / Max Hattler / 2007

A blue planet and some air.

Short Films - Reason and Emotion 3 “Scandinavia & North Europe”

2010-05-26T01:11:00.006+02:00

Short Films - Reason and Emotion 3 “Scandinavia & North Europe”
(13h15, Saturday 29th of May / Scheltema - Theaterzaal)

This is Alaska
Sweden / Fiction / 11 min / Marien Nilsson / 2009

A couple of sociable, idealistic Swedes looked for happiness in Alaska. So, did they succeed?

The restless Westerner who burns their ships and tries to start a new life in the wilderness is subtly parodied here by a couple of sociable Swedes. Way back when, they decided to take the plunge. So, did they find happiness in Alaska?

Birthday - Fodelsedag
Sweden, Poland / Fiction / 18 min /Jenifer Malmqvist / 2010

Sara prepares a surprise for her wife Katarina’s birthday with the help of their daughter Johanna and their friend Fredrik. But on this early summer day, Katarina has something to tell her. Sara must handle the unexpected news while taking care of the birthday party. Her joy is mixed with growing feelings of isolation and frustration. With the help of Johanna she is able to find her true feelings.

Love child - Karleksbarn
Sweden / Fiction /6 min / Daniel Wirtberg / 2009

A young girl enjoys the perfect life of being the only child, when one day a new family member arrives.

Tele-Vision
Denmark, Czech Republic / Animation / 4 min / Matthieu Jorrot, David Tousek / 2009

Every time Noah, a pretty normal 16 years old teenager, comes home, he finds his pathetic family in front of TV. No one seems to care much about him.

Day by day, we follow how the situation evolves. It looks that no one is working in this family, the parents are constantly sitting in front of TV, and Noah’s sister is always watching TV in her room.

Noah can’t stand it anymore. And he is about to take decisions, that will for sure change things in this house, or not…

Two strangers and one unknown - To framande og ein ukjend
Norway / Fiction / 13 min / Merethe Offerdal Tveit / 2010
Dutch premiere

Leerfahrt
Germany / Fiction / 20 min / Matis Burkhardt / 2009

A jobless actor lives out his acting urges as a ticket inspector in the subway.

LIsFE selection - International Shorts 3

2010-05-26T00:35:00.005+02:00

LIsFE selection - International Shorts 3
(22h15, Saturday 29th of May / Scheltema - Theaterzaal)

The little dragon - Le petit dragon
France / Animation / 8min / Bruno Collet / 2009

Thirty-five years after Bruce Lee’s death, his soul réincarnates in a little doll. With self-confidence, the rubber-made toy leaves to discover the great-scaled world all around him.

Efecto Domino
Cuba / Fiction / 27 min / Gabriel Gauchet / 2010
Dutch premiere

Nighttime in a quarter of Havana. A couple of men are playing a game of dominos while the women pass the time gossiping. Out of the blue, a man finds the granddaughter of Mercedes and Ramón at a park close by. It looks like she's been raped. The situation escalates, as chauvinist tendencies are incited to the point that a culprit must be found at any cost.

Edgar
Germany / Fiction / 13 min / Fabian Busch / 2009
Dutch premiere

Since his wife died two years ago, Edgar has been alone. His life has been left without purpose. One day, he leaves his house, determined to find a job. But the saleswoman in the store is not interested. On his way out, Edgar, lost in thought, picks up an umbrella. The store detective detains him. Suddenly, Edgar has his chance.

Teleglobal dreamin
Singapore / Fiction / 18 min / Eric Flanagan / 2009
European premiere

A Filipino call center agent takes her American corporate-trainer boss out on the town, setting off a chain of events with unexpected consequences.

Malfunction
Turkey / Animation / 8 min / Ayce Kartal / 2009

We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.

Lost paradise
France / Fiction / 10 min / Mihal Brezis , Oded Binnun / 2008

A man and a woman are tenderly making love in a one star hotel room. A moment later when they are both dressed up, the idyll that seamed authentic is now gone.

A present-day Adam and Eve story.

Bob
Germany / Animation / 3 min / Jacob Frey, Harry Fast / 2009

A hamster is chasing his love around the globe. Will he get her?

LIsFE selection - International Shorts 2

2010-05-26T00:18:00.006+02:00

LIsFE selection - International Shorts 2
(20h30, Saturday 29th of May / Scheltema - Theaterzaal)

Evening songs - Abendlied
Germany / Fiction / 20min / Frauke Thielecke / 2008

Despite his poor health, the elderly Josef has a strong character and is unflinching in his wish to live without help. His attempts to call off the housekeeper hired by his son result in an argument, which leads to an unfortunate turn of events for both. The old man does however show that he is as kind of heart as he is stubborn. A beautifully yet soberly shot, touching film about a good man with imperfections that make him all the more human.

Dance with the devil - La terrible malédiction

Belgium / Fiction / 11min / Stephane Papet / 2010
Dutch premiere

Trailer "La Terrible Malédiction" from Stephane Papet on Vimeo.

My giant trash can - Ma poubelle géante

France / Fiction / 26min / Uda Benyamina / 2009
Dutch premiere

Back from Japan where he got his MBA, Yazid Belkacem goes back home to his mum, certain to get a good job once in France. After many disapointments, Yazid gets stock in the neighborhood of his childhood, his giant trash can.

Echo

Poland / Fiction / 15min / Magnus von Horn / 2009

After murdering a young girl, two boys have to relive the brutal crime they committed and confront the strange and shocking feelings that linger.

At the service of man - A serviço do homem

Brazil / Fiction / 11min / Iuri Bastos / 2010
World premiere

The Healing - La guérison

Canada / Fiction / 9min / Louis Thomas Pelletier / 2010
European premiere

On the eve of an important exhibit, a painter experiencing a creative void accuses his therapist of having killed the artist inside him, threatening to sue him if he doesn't return him to " how he was before ". The tension that will grow between the two men will drive them to commit acts with unforeseen consequences.

La guérison (bande annonce) from Louis-Thomas Pelletier on Vimeo.

LIsFE Selection - International Shorts 1

2010-05-25T23:49:00.010+02:00

LIsFE Selection - International Shorts 1

(18h15, Friday 28th of May / Plexus Center - Spectrum room)

Magellan

USA / Fiction / 18 min /Sebastian Davis / 2009
Dutch première

Scrawny seventh-grader Magellan has his sights set on a friendship with the beautiful and popular Tiana. They both have deeply held secrets that may bond them together, unless Magellan works up the foolhardy courage to ask her to the Spring Dance.

Trailer

Waramutseo

Cameroun / Fiction / 22min / Bernard auguste, Kovemo Yanghu / 2009

Formic

Germany / Animation / 4min / Roman Kaelin, Florian Wittmann / 2009
Dutch première

FORMIC is a special kind of skateboard movie. On one hand we have classic, high-speed camera with dynamic and smooth jumps, on the other we re-created the micro-universe of an ant. We enter this world by zooming in with 3D animation. So we can see how the skater disturbs the life of the ant, but finally the ant takes revenge.

Party - Tulum

Croatia / Fiction / 15min / Dalibor Matanic / 2009

A girl is enjoying with her friends careless summer day on the sunlit streets of Vukovar, whre light-heartedness and leisure make everything seem nice and simple. They are not aware that the youthful idyll might be easuly broken.

Flourish in this fortune's blessing - Bluh im glanze

Germany / Fiction / 14min / Korbinian Wandinger/ 2009
Dutch première

Kemal Celik loves his work. As a Turkish history teacher in a German high school he tries to broaden the horizon of his students. He is used to their indifference and boredom, but after being harassed by a racist German in a diner, his idealism seems to flip into fanatism. Shortly afterwards he is back in the diner... to take drastic measures, as it seems.

L'amour vache

France / Animation / 6min / Hugo Aymerich / 2009

A farmer, who is in love with one of his cows, is living peacefully. One day, his cow runs away, after being seduced by what she thinks is a fierce bull. The farmer will do everything he can to get her back.

E-pigs / Slovenia / Fiction / 15min / Pertar Pasic / 2009
Dutch première

Sunday 30th

2010-05-17T23:24:00.009+02:00

A Sunday afternoon with Tony Gatlif

(Scheltema) - From 1 to 9 pm.

Additionally to the Short Film sessions, LIsFE and LFF present a special program dedicated to the film maker “Tony Gatlif”. We will present two of his best films dedicated to the Romani culture: “Gadjo Dilo” (1997) and “Latcho Drom” (1992).

Tony Gatlif is a French film director of Romani ethnicity. After a childhood in Algiers, Gatlif arrived in France in 1960 following the Algerian War of Independence. Gatlif struggled for years to break into the film industry, playing in several theatrical productions until directing his first film, La Tête en ruine, in 1975. Since the 1981, Corre gitano, Gatlif's work has been focused on the Roma people of Europe, from whom he partially traces his descent. Gatlif spent 1992 and 1993 shooting Latcho Drom, which was awarded numerous prizes. This feature-length musical film, often mislabeled as a documentary, deals with gypsy culture throughout the world around the theme of their music and dance. His 2004 film Exils, won the Best Director Award at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.

Gadjo Dilo (102 min.) (15h15-17h00)

Stéphane, a young French man from Paris, travels to Romania. He is looking for the singer Nora Luca, whom his father had heard all the time before his death. Wandering along a frozen road, he meets old Izidor, a member of the Roma (Gypsy) and tells him of Nora Luca. Izidor seems to understand and takes him to his village. Stéphane believes that Izidor will take him to Nora Luca when the time has come…

Latcho Drom (103 min.) (18h45-20h30)

Latcho Drom (rom for "safe journey") describes the travels, singing and dancing of Romany groups from Rajahstan (India), Egypt, Turkey, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, France, and Spain. Some scenes are acted, but there is no dialogue or narration--only partial translation of some songs. The film illustrates the variety of conditions in which the Romany people live…

Awards (20h45-21h30)

Every good thing has an end. We will celebrate with some drinks and the announcement of the results of the film and photo competitions 2010.

Detailed Program:

13h15: Short Films - Reason and Emotion “Eastern Europe - Russia”

15h15: Latcho Drom (from T. Gatlif)
17h15: Short Films - Reason and Emotion "Maghreb-Middle East"

18h45: Gadjo Dilo (from T. Gatlif)

20h45: Awards

Saturday 29th

2010-05-17T23:17:00.012+02:00

Saturday 29th of May: “All in Short”

(Scheltema) - From noon until midnight.

Saturday is a 100% Short Films day. We are going to screen 20 hours of short films from all around the world!!! The program will be very diverse:

• “LIsFE session International Shorts 2 & 3” and “LFF Session - Dutch Shorts”: 3 compilations dedicated to great recent short films.

• “Short films from Iran”: A special session dedicated to recent and original Short Films from Iran (screened for the first time in Netherlands).

• "Reason and Emotion" sessions: These 90 minutes selections present a selection of recent Fictions and Documentaries. Each session is focus on a different area of the globe (Africa, Asia, America, Europe…). Thess sessions have been made especially for the 435th Anniversary of the Leiden University (87th Lustrum).

• “LIsFE Session - Animation Shorts”: We will start our compilation of the best animation short films with a Wallace and Gromit feature “A matter of Loaf and death” (2008 – 30 min)

• “Upload cinema”: Upload Cinema takes the best of the web to the big screen. This session will be dedicated to “the art of the Webcam”. How people behave in front of a webcam? 40 webcam movies, ranging from unknown talents, shameful exhibitions, braggers and complainers to innovators, artists and jokers. Part of the show was a live session with Chatroulette, resulting in the audience chatting with random webcam users from around the globe…”

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Detailed Program:

AFTERNOON
ROOM 1 – Theaterzaal

13h15: Short Films - Reason and Emotion “Northen Europe - Scandinavia”

15h00: Short Films - Reason and Emotion “Africa”

16h45: Short Films - Reason and Emotion “North America”

ROOM 2 - Collegezaal

13h45: Short Films - Reason and Emotion “Asia”

15h00: SURPRISE SESSION

16h45: Short Films - Reason and Emotion 7 “Southern Europe”

EVENING
ROOM 1 – Theaterzaal

18h45: LFF selection - Dutch Shorts

20h30: LIsFE Session - International Shorts 2

22h15: LIsFE Session - International Shorts 3

ROOM 2 - Collegezaa

18h30: Upload cinema - “the art of the Webcam"

20h30: LIsFE Session - Animation Shorts

22h15: Short Films from Iran

Friday 28th

2010-05-17T23:01:00.008+02:00

Friday 28th: “LIsFE is back”

(Plexus Center) - From 5 to 11pm

The 2010 edition of LIsFE will start in a very relax environment with the international students of Leiden University (ISN-R). You will be able to have a drink, watch some films, listen to live music and attend a theater play.

Pre-Festival: Did you miss our previous editions? The afternoon will start with a compilation of the best short films from last year! (This session is free for the students!!!)

Opening of the Festival: The festival will start straight with several Short Films sessions:

“LIsFE selection - International Shorts 1”: our first compilation of great international short films from.
Thematic session: You love Documentaries? You want to see what is an amateur short film? You are addicted to Music videos? … Those sessions are yours!

Bright Blue Gorilla (USA): are our special guest Friday.
Bright Blue Gorilla began in 1990, when Robyn & Michael quit their L.A. jobs, sold everything they had (except their guitars) and bought one-way tickets to Europe. They've been travelling the world making music and movies ever since... http://www.brightbluegorilla.com/

A concert and a screening of their feature "Karate Film Cafe" (90 min) are organized Friday evening.
Plot: In Hollywood, on the corner of Hollywood & Vine, we find a Karate School with a weird type of karate, a DVD store with movies that nobody wants, and a Café with the world's worst cook. Add to the story a crazy Italian with a deadly secret; a musician with terrible allergies; a computer nerd who thinks everyone is in love with her…

Theater Play (POM POM Cafeteria, 19h00-21h00): The ISNR theater group is going to perform “Crime” along the afternoon, don’t miss that!

(Writer: Carlos Roos / Actors: Amir Hemmati, Giulia Barbieri, Carlos Roos, Katharina Hamburger, Grace Chin)

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Detailed Program:

SPECTRUM ROOM

17h00: Short Films – Compilation LIsFE 2009

18h30: LIsFE Selection - International Shorts 1 (Opening of the Festival)

20h15: Karate Film Café (with an introduction from the Bright Blue Gorilla)

22h15: LIsFE thematic - Amateur Films session

COMMON ROOM

18h15: LIsFE thematic - Short Documentaries

20h30: Shorts films- Reason and Emotion 1 “Western Europe”

POM POM Cafeteria

18h00: Theater play – “Crime”
19h00: LIsFE thematic - Musical video
20h00: Theater play – “Crime”

22h00: Bright Blue Gorilla concert

James

2010-05-04T17:54:00.002+02:00

Directed by Connor Clements. Ireland, 2008 (18 min)

Synopsis

Focusing on a boy in Northern Ireland isolated by his sexuality and alienated from his family due to his parent’s marital troubles, “James” reaches out in desperation to his teacher for support and guidance.

More information here.

Love Child

2010-05-04T17:14:00.004+02:00

Directed by Daniel Wirtberg. Sweden, 2009 (6 min.)

Synopsis:

A young girl enjoys the perfect life of being the only child, when one day a new family member arrives.

Daniel Wirtberg
Born in 1983. He started making films at the age of twelve. Eighteen years old he was accepted in the the Czech film academy FAMU´s international program. Since his graduation in 2003 he has freelanced as a writer, director and producer and teaching filmmaking.

The Boundary

2010-05-04T16:51:00.008+02:00

Directed by Julius Onah. United States, 2008 (12 min.)

Synopsis:

Once we cross, there is no return… A family on its way home is forced to deal with circumstances they would never hope for.

More information here.

2010-05-04T16:34:00.002+02:00

Short Film Competition

2010-03-24T19:01:00.006+01:00

Short Film Competition
(Submission deadline: 15th May 2010)

The 2nd edition of the Leiden International short Film Festival is organizing several short film competitions this year:

Best International short
Best Animation short
Best Amateur film
Best Music Video
Audience Award

Each competition is organized according to the Terms and Conditions detailed in the "Regulations for submission and participation of films to LIsFE Film Festival 2010" (see below) and is accompanied by a reward in cash.

You can submit your film by filling the entry form and sending us your film (in DVD fomat) to the following address:

LISFE FILM FESTIVAL
t.a.v. Christophe Barnier Quer
Noordeinde 16
2311CD - Leiden
The Netherlands

If you need any complementary information contact: christophe@lisfe.nl

Download the entry form here (.pdf).

Regulations for submission and participation of films to LIsFE Film Festival 2010:

1. The 2nd Leiden international short film festival is organized by the ‘cinema club leiden foundation’. It will be held from the 28th to the 30th of May 2010.
2. Submission to the Festival is open to feature films, short films, and animated films. There is no entry fee. Detailed information on the festival’s main strands of interest can be found on the festival’s website.
3. Selected films will be screened in their original version. In principle, if not with English dialogues, films must be subtitled in Dutch or English.
For the selection, the Festival will admit only DVD (Pal, Secam and NTSC) formats. The films must be sent prepaid by the sender before the submission deadline, on May 1st 2010, at the following address:
LISFE FILM FESTIVAL
t.a.v. Christophe Barnier Quer
Noordeinde 16
2311CD - Leiden
The Netherlands
4. The owners of the films participating in the Festival are requested to send separately an adequate amount of press kits and stills to be made available to the Festival Press Office for distribution to the press and Festival guests.
After official selection of a film the Festival is qualified to use excerpts from the film nationally and inter-nationally for promotion of the whole selection and of each selected film. The Festival website is allowed to use any photo or digital film clip.
5. Detailed print/video shipment information will follow upon acceptance of the film. Unless authorized by the Festival, the print/video must be made available for the whole festival period. The print/video must ar-rive in The Netherlands before May 15th, 2010.
The film must be sent prepaid by sender. No collect shipments are accepted unless authorized by the Fes-tival. The Festival will pay for the return transportation charges, excluding any additional costs for tax and custom clearance in country of return.
6. Acceptance of a film does not guarantee airline or hotel accommodations.
7. Entry and participation of films implies unconditional acceptance of the regulations. In unspecified cases, the Festival Management will make a final decision.

Download the entry form here (.pdf).

Photo Competition

2010-03-24T08:35:00.014+01:00

Photo Competition
(deadline: 15th May 2010)

Celebrate LIFE through the art of photography

Leiden International Short Film Experience (LIsFE) and International Student Network Representation (ISNR) announce the second annual LIsFE Photography Contest, open to all amateur photographers around the world. Share your passion for LIFE to help inspire an international audience to view and enjoy this realm. The purpose of this event is to discover emerging talent and to introduce the amateur photographer to other amateur work at the exhibition. It is also intended to inspire young and new photographers and to get more people interested in photography.

As an amateur photographer you will have the chance, if selected, to be judged by photo-lovers, but also by a jury in a small public exhibition. Eventually, in the hopes of taking the first prize in the competition:
The LIsFE Award Amateur Photograph of the Year with 100 EUROS PRIZE MONEY. Second and third place receives no prize, but a honorary mention.

CONTEST THEME:

Submit up to 3 of your best images in the following theme by Saturday May 15 th for the first prize of 100 EUROS!:

“People in Environment”

This theme invites photographers to capture moments of everyday life wherever in the world. This idea is related to the “documentary” genre, where the person or people are found in their comfortable surroundings. Whether you are documenting a person, place or current issue, the image should represent a significant and rich relationship/interaction of that person/people and their environment at that moment of time. Environments are not only subject to nature, but also to the person’s/people surroundings, location and situation.

This theme can be widely interpreted but not restricted to, as:

People working
People performing sports (Think skater in an urban setting; diver in an open ocean, etc.)
Unique places and scenes that involves the local people
Street Life
Events
Culture
And many more situations, use your creativity!

See our Facebook group images to find inspiration in a few pictures that fits with this theme nicely! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&ref=ss&gid=140126404456 or search us on facebook with the keywords: LIsFE & ISN-R.

TO ENTER ONLINE:

• Send the following information and Jpegs photographs no larger than 2 MB in size to this email: photo@lisfe.nl

• DESCRIPTION: Include a full title and description (300 characters MAX) in your email. Please make sure that your descriptions explain “the what, who, and where” and as well as the date of the picture taken.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

After agreeing with the terms and conditions, you should write the following clearly in your email:
“By sending these photos, I accept the terms and condition of the LIsFE-ISNR photo competition”.

Only amateurs around the world are free to enter LIsFE Photography Contest.
There is no entry fee.
Photographs taken during any year are eligible.
All entries must be photographs taken by you.
You are limited to three photographs.
You keep all rights to your images.
By submitting your photograph to LIsFE Photography Contest, you agree to allow your image to be printed on A4-A3 and to be displayed at the exhibition if selected, on www.lisfe.nl, also to our facebook group and in connection with the promotion of future photograph competitions organized by LIsFE.
Winning photographs will be selected by judges and by popular vote.
Selected pictures would be displayed during the 2010 LIsFE short film festival, and movie-goers would have the opportunity to vote on it, in addition to jury votes. Selected pictures would be rotated at different public locations around Leiden. No voting would then be possible but anyone would be able to see those pictures if you decided not to visit the LIsFe Short Film Festival.

LIsFE 2nd edition: The 29th of May 2010

2010-02-25T20:28:00.000+01:00

The 29th of May 2010, the 2nd edition of the Leiden International short Film Festival will be organized.

The deadlines for the competitions are the:
* Short Film submission: 1st of May 2010.
* Photo submission: 15th of May 2010.

Contact us: info@lisfe.nl