International Competition Authors Spotlight
Here are the titles that will compete this year for the title of best etude and best animation during the 14th FKA. The international competition Authors Spotlight featured the best submitted films from around the world, including from Belgium, Finland, France, Greece, Israel, Japan, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Germany, Poland, the USA and the UK. As many as 225 productions made it to the final pre-selection, and 26 short films (14 etudes and 12 animations) will be presented at the festival. The winners of the competition will be announced on October 15, during the closing of the festival.
Be somebody (etude)
dir. Michał Toczek
time: 27 min. 21 s.
production: Poland, 2023
Wiktor is a regular guy – an electrician who moves into a new apartment with his family. When they discover that the place once belonged to Lech Wałęsa, Wiktor’s wife, Sylwia, turns their home into a museum and asks her husband to play the role of the past president. Her obsession forces Wiktor to confront the legend of Wałęsa.
CAN YOU WATER A GARDEN WITH TEARS? (etude)
dir. Theodore Selekos
times: 6 min. 42 s.
production: Greece, 2023
In an empty urban landscape in Athens, during the hottest summer in the last 50 years, we find Stavros early in the morning before his seasonal job as a gardener, in the midst of an anxiety crisis. Trying to manage his mental health situation, he records all his thoughts on a tape recorder to relieve himself of the emotional burden.
Eden (etude)
dir. Marta Szymanek
time: 22 min. 44 s.
production: Poland, 2023
While attempting to flee her unhappy life, teenaged Mila encounters a young refugee who fights to survive at all costs.
Herstory (etude)
dir. Tomasz Stuleblak
time: 28 min. 42 s
production: Poland, 2022
Autumn 2020. Massive protests in favour of women rights are just kicking off in Warsaw. 17-year-old Ola spends an evening taking care of her sister and ill grandma. Her daily chores are interrupted by a disturbing news – apparently Ola’s mother is seeing now her father. Ola delves into the city to discover the truth. Although she feels herself betrayed, deep down she still believes in female solidarity. Meanwhile the tension in the stretts is growing.
My old Gals (etude)
dir. Natasza Parzymies
time: 24 min. 39 s.
production: Poland, 2023
Two eldery women reunite after 50 years to go on one final trip together and fight for the feelings they once shared.
Feeder (etude)
dir. Andrzej Danis
time: 18 min. 57 s.
production: Poland, 2023
Ziggy is a teenager suffering from bulimia. One day, he’s being told by his father that he needs to be sent to the hospital. He decides to prevent this and finds allies in his cause. However, in the meantime, he discovers that something dangerous lives inside of him, something that wants to come out at all costs. Will he be able to hide it any longer?
NAIKU (etude)
dir.. Pijus Mačiulskis
time: 19 min. 53 s.
production: Lithuania, 2023
Ten eccentric hooligans recklessly drive a jeep around abandoned industrial neighbourhoods. The one sitting on the roof holds a kite, which allures a passer-by, Adomas, to join them. He is drawn into a game, which turns out to be a violent tournament. The winner may wield the kite. However, due to the nature of the game maintaining humanity becomes a struggle.
NOISETRAIN (etude)
dir. Pol De Plecker
time: 19 min. 45 s.
production: Belgium, 2022
Three men, surrounded by sleeping passengers, wake up on a stationary train. When it leaves them behind in a desolate area, a journey through a graphic snowy landscape begins.
Onán (etude)
dir.. Diego Toussaint Ortiz
time: 8 min. 45 s.
production: Mexico, 2022
Tamara, a young nun, finds herself tempted to betray everything she’s ever believed in when a vibrator magically appears at her doorstep. Now, she will unconsciously subject her faith in God to a confrontation with a worthy opponent: The urge to have her first orgasm.
Please Hold the Line (etude)
dir. Tan Ce Ding
time: 18 min. 29 s.
production: Malaysia, 2022
A young scam call operator is thrust into a moral dilemma as she navigates a life-changing situation.
Winter Bloom (etude)
dir. Ivan Krupenikov
time: 29 min. 59 s
production: Poland, 2022
The world is destroyed by an ecological catastrophe. An old mercenary, experiencing severe health problems, looks for a way to retire and finally gets a job that would grant him that. A simple job of escorting a girl from A to B, will uncover a secret that will push our character to reexamine his perspective on the world.
Old summer (etude)
dir. Maria Wider
time: 24 min. 1 s.
production: Poland, 2023
Krystyna is 72 years old, but she has never known true love. In order to change something, she signs up with a matrimonial agency. Newcomming dates bring nothing than disappointments. Meeting elderly men let her realize, relationship may not be a lack in her life.
The Creature (etude)
dir. Damian Kosowski
time: 20 min.
production: Poland, 2022
30-year-old Kazik remembers his childhood when every morning his beloved aunt Dagna would walk him to the school. When the women goes missing, the boy decides to unravel the mystery of her disappearance.
Traces (etude)
dir. Omer Weiss
time: 16 min 34 s.
production: Israel, 2022
Amit, an introverted teenager, is told that his father committed suicide last night. The identification of the body occurs this evening, but his family forbids him from going. Facing his older dominant brother and their detached mother, Amit is restless until he will see his father one last time.
1x1x1 (animation)
dir. Yinuo Shao
time: 5 min. 45 s.
production: UK., 2022
This animated surreal film is about the process from knowing yourself to accepting yourself, it’s a long journey, it’s a loop. This story begins with the little house built in our inner world…
A Kind of Testament (animation)
dir Stephen Vuillemin
time: 16 min. 23 s.
production: France, 2023
A young woman comes across animations on the Internet that have clearly been created from her private selfies. An unknown female with the same name confesses to identity theft. But death is quicker than the answer to the question: “Why?”.
Cosmic Routine (animation)
dir. Agnieszka Kotulska
time: 6 min. 37 s.
production: Poland, 2023
Tired of everyday monotony, a simple girl finds herself in an alternative universe. In the urban scenery of a music video from the 80s, she will try to breathe life into a world mired in routine.
Disc+Dog (animation)
dir. Tomek Ducki
time: 5 min. 46 s.
production: Poland, 2023
A frisbee game of three dogs gets out of control while they get tangled up in social ties. What happens if one of them get excluded from the game?
fur (animation)
dir. Zhen Li
time: 6 min. 36 s.
production: USA, 2022
a crush gone moldy…
Blue (animation)
dir. Weronika Szyma
time: 6 min. 52 s.
production: Poland, 2023
A story where time stretches. A mother and a daughter are trying to find their place after the father leaves. They spend time idly on a metaphorical empty beach. They fight their uncertainty and longing. The image of the sea comes back rhythmically. It is a promise of freedom but also a scary different world, far from the warm sand.
Luce and the Rock (animation)
dir. Britt Raes
time: 12 min. 59 s.
production: Belgium, 2022
One day, out of nowhere, a giant Rock lays in the middle of the peaceful little village where Luce lives. The villagers can’t even open the door to their houses anymore! Luce is angry: “go away Rock, you don’t belong here! And why are you here anyway?”.
Nun or Never! (animation)
dir. Heta Jäälinoja
time: 10 min. 48 s.
production: Finland, 2023
The nuns live in the monastery in contentment and harmony, fused together. One of the nuns finds a man underground while digging potatoes. The nun begins to dream of a man, goes mad and loses a common rhythm with others.
Safari Club (animation)
dir. Zuzanna Szyszak
time: 9 min. 52 s.
production: Poland, 2023
“Safari Club” is a place where partygoers can cut loose, run wild and display animalistic behaviour. A girl gets ready to go out hunting and is about to have the wildest night-out of her life, in every sense of “wild”.
The House of Loss (animation)
dir. Jinkyu Jeon
time: 9 min. 34 s.
production: Japan, 2022
The elderly at the nursing home have their heads shaved. The protagonist who works there sees them but can’t read their expressions. However, from one instance, he finds himself looking closely at their faces.
Winter (animation)
dir. Tomek Popakul, Kasumi Ozeki
time: 26 min. 25 s.
production: Poland, 2023
It grows slowly as an icicle, but one day it drops and crashes. Anka loves cats. And Jesus. In a winter silence the lagoon freezes and the unspoken resurfaces like crack on ice. Mosaic portrait of a small fisherman’s village where human to human, human to animal, animal to animal interdepend on a delicate balance of warm tender care and cold emotional cruelty. An eerie story of loneliness and community narrated with magical realism.
ZOON (animation)
dir. Jonatan Schwenk
time: 4 min. 25 s.
production: Germany, 2022
Small shimmering animals are in heat. A two-legged forest dweller encounters the lustful group. He and his companions snack on the little creatures and soon a feast begins.
KOŁO NAUKOWE FILMOZNAWCÓW UŁ JURY OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION AUTHORS SPOTLIGHT
AWARDS IN INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION AUTHORS SPOTLIGHT ARE E.G.:
- PLN 1.000 cash prize in the category of the Best Short (Live Action, Documentary, Experimental) (award for the director of the film) – The Main Prize
- PLN 1.000 cash prize in the Best Short (Animated) (award for the director of the film) – The Main Prize
- Audience Award (no split into categories)
- Award of the Youth Jury, consisting of the winners of the Olympiad in Film Knowledge and Social Communication (no split into categories)
- Award Koło Naukowe Filmoznawców Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego (no split into categories)
- award of the Scientific Circle of Film Scholars of the University of Łódź (no division into categories),
- award from – soundmaking – – the opportunity to professionally record the sound of another film,
- four, 2-year subscriptions on the international Crew United platform for the winners awarded by the Main Jury (one subscription for two winners in the category Best Short “Live Action”, one subscription for two winners in the category Best Animation),
- annual subscription to the international platform with artistic films Kinoscope,
- access to the best documentary cinema on the DAFilms website,
- book awards from the University of Lodz Publishing House,
- book awards from the Film School Publishing House,
- book awards from the Cinematography Museum,
- and others.
MAIN JURY OF THE COMPETITION AUTHORS SPOTLIGHT
- Diana Dąbrowska – film critic, educator, organizer of many film events, festivals and reviews. Since 2019, artistic director of the Hommage a Kieślowski Film Festival in Sokołowsko.
- Kinga Dębska – director and screenwriter, as well as writer and teacher. Her feature films include: “Hel”, “My Cow Daughters”, “Plan B”, “Fun Fun”, “Nothing Soup” and the latest “Święto ognia”.
- Kuba Czekaj – director and screenwriter. His debut “Baby Bump” won the special Queer Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival and the Artistic Vision Award at the OutFest Film Festival in Los Angeles.
YOUNG JURY OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION AUTHORS SPOTLIGHT composed of winners of the Film and Social Communication Olympiad
- Huber Chościński
- Wiktoria Gronowicz
- Hanna Rusin
JURY SCIENTIFIC CIRCLE OF FILM SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ŁÓDŹ
- Hanna Tkachova
- Julia Zając-Milanowicz
- Patryk Buchta
- Filip Grzędowski
- Maciej Kujawski
Secondly, the Audience Award will be awarded – and it will be awarded by the festival audience. The etude or animation that receives the highest number of votes will be awarded. We invite everyone to vote together after the competition blocks!
COMPETITION CALENDAR
- Opening for film submissions – April 12th, 2023.
- Deadline for film submissions – August 24th, 2022, 23:59 (UTC +2).
- Publication on the Organiser’s websites, the full list of films that will take part in the Competition – September 12th, 2023.
- Competition screenings during the Festival – October 12th-15th, 2023, and optionally online: October 16th-19th, 2023.
- Announcement of the winners of the Competition – October 15th, 2023.
This year, the Authors Spotlight competition selection is supported by members of the Koło Naukowe Filmoznawców Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego: Adam Cybulski, Oliwia Nadarzycka, Joanna Kosińska-Wajcht.
PARTNERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION AUTHORS SPOTLIGHT
14. Camera Action Film Festival will take place from October 12 to October 15, 2023 in Łódź and from October 16 to October 19, 2023 online on the Think Film platform. The task is carried out thanks to co-financing from the budget of the City of Łódź. Co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund, the Polish Film Institute and the University of Lodz – patron of the festival. The festival’s partner is the Lodz Film School. Camera Action and Festiwal Mediów Człowiek w Zagrożeniu form a network of cooperation “Łódź Film Festival”.
