Film and Art School Etudes Panorama is a non-competitive section at the EnergaCAMERIMAGE International Film Festival featuring student fiction shorts whose high visual and artistic qualities make them a must-see at our film festival.
A BULL CALLS
Haunted by dreams of her family's bull, a woman living in Berlin returns after many years to her hometown in Venezuela to visit her father and settle old scores with her siblings.
Original title: Un toro llama
Director: Nelson Algomeda
Cinematographer: Luis Hartmann
School:German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB)
Country and year: Germany, Venezuela, 2024
CARGO
Ewa works as a delivery truck driver. It is only during the course of her next assignment that she realizes she is performing a task she would never have agreed to before.
Original title: Ładunek
Director: Tymoteusz Kałużewski
Cinematographer: Vincent Prochoroff
School: Łódź Film School
Country and year: Poland, 2024
CHIUITA PICONERA
After the death of her youngest daughter, Carmen unable to get over the loss, lives with the haunting spirit of the deceased. She tries to emerge from her mourning to the rhythm of traditional Spanish dance, led by the hand by her older daughter.
Director: Mey Montero
Cinematographer: Carlos Cuervo
School: TAI School of Arts
Country and year: Spain, 2024
COME SIT WITH US
Lola ends up sitting on a bench with local women on Midsummer Eve. At first, the women's troubles are alien to her, but as the evening progresses, she begins to question her current perspectives, and the more time she spends with the women, the more she begins to resemble them, undergoing an inner transformation.
Original title: Ära ole uhke
Director: Elis Rumma
Cinematographer: Joosep Ivask
School: Baltic Film, Media and Arts School (BFM) of Tallinn University
Country and year: Estonia, 2024
HEIR OF THE GALAXY
The film follows two days in the life of a former child star who rose to fame nearly 20 years ago in a major sci-fi blockbuster. Overwhelmed by media attention and school issues, he quit acting. Now, he's trying to redefine himself amidst hate comments, public recognition, journalists, and constant comparisons to a colleague from the film set. Adding to his challenges is his controlling mother, who always had high expectations of him.
Original title:Als er ein Star war
Director: Daniel Holzberg
Cinematographer: Ferdinand Koestler
School: Institut für Film und Fernsehen - Filmakademie Wien
Country and year: Austria, 2024
HONEY BUNNY
A retired firefighter who breeds fluffy rabbits discovers that his beloved wife, with whom he hasn’t shared a bedroom in a long time, has started working at a paid hugging salon. In order to win her back, he will have to confront not only her, but also his own sexuality and needs.
Director: Gracjana Piechula
Cinematographer: Aleksandra Kamińska
School: Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School
Country and year: Poland, 2024
JUST A TOUCH OF SUGAR
Sixty-something Marie struggles with relentless wrinkles and the fact that she is increasingly invisible to those around her. Except for her daughter Sara, who, despite her adult age, is still dependent on her mother's help. A story about a gesture of love that can change everything.
Original title: Trocha cukru
Director: Timon W. Duda
Cinematographer: Vojtěch Kapounek
School: Tomas Bata University in Zlin, Faculty of Multimedia Communications
Country and year: Czech Republic, 2024
THE LUMBER ROOM
Imani is on the run, but no matter how hard she tries, she cannot escape what is chasing her. The hotel she is staying in is slowly turning into a surreal nightmare and the storm that threatens to destroy everything is getting closer and closer.
Director: Alejandro Mathé
Cinematographer: Luis Mayr Nin
School: Internationale Filmschule Köln (IFS)
Country and year: Germany, 2024
A NEW GARDEN
Twelve-year-old Luca steals away from her family and the daily struggle with her autistic sister. While wandering through her new neighbourhood, she befriends a girl from a farm and pins all her hopes on this new friendship.
Original title:Die lauteste Zeit
Director: Lea Marie Lembke
Cinematographer: Leon Hörtrich
School: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
Country and year: Germany, 2024
PAPILLON
The memory of an intimate friendship between two boys.
Original title: Papillon
Directors: Helena Szoda-Woźniak, Merlijn Willemsen
Cinematographer: Merlijn Willemsen
School: Łódź Film School
Country and year: Poland, 2024
RESONANCE
A sci-fi drama that follows Margot and Robert, two scientists roped into a covert experiment investigating a mysterious sound on an isolated ranch. While at first brought together to try to decode the disturbing, interactive frequencies, they are drawn into a deeper story of magnetic attraction.
Director: Asher Kaplan
Cinematographer: Conrad Holzman
School: Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University
Country and year: USA, 2024
SEPARATION SEASON
In June, the graduation month, a college graduate Ting experiences a sudden separation from her close cousin Jane. During a series of rituals, Ting tries to defend Jane’s choice against their family and seeks an answer to Jane’s suicide and the meaning of life.
Original title:Bie Li De Ji Jie
Director: I-Ju Lin
Cinematographer: Tei Lee
School: Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU)
Country and year: Czech Republic/Taiwan, 2024
SPLINTER
The splinter in Fenix's shoulder hurts more intensely with every setback. Fenix survived an armed attack on the local queer café and has been struggling for every breath since. Between the fighting spirit and fear, Fenix radically demands clarification. But the response to Fenix's uncompromising stance is hatred and further threats, until even Fenix's own community begins to oppose him. How do we then fight for ourselves?
Original title: Splitter
Director: Paul Scheufler
Cinematographer: Lenn Lamster
School: Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF
Country and year: Germany, 2024
THE STOLEN RIDE
After receiving a bike as a birthday present from her older brother, 14-year-old Alicia is accused of theft at school. Confronted with a moral dilemma, she must decide whether to betray her brother, who already has a criminal record or take the blame for a crime she did not commit.
Original title: Ein Fahrrad für Alicia
Director: Masha Mollenhauer
Cinematographer: Alex Jaffar
School: Hamburg Media School (HMS)
Country and year: Germany, 2024
TINY APOCALYPSE
When Daria hears that her grandmother is dying, she starts praying to the Sacred Tree.
Original title: Maleńka apokalipsa
Director: Izabela Zubrycka
Cinematographer: Daniel Tubylewicz
School: Łódź Film School
Country and year: Poland, 2024
Each year hundreds of students from all over the world come to EnergaCAMERIMAGE. For many of them, a week at the festival feels like they are taking part in a short yet extensive film course. It’s like a knowledge given in a nutshell.
We know how important, especially for young filmmakers, who are just at the beginning of this tough and demanding path is the opinion and advice of experienced filmmakers.
That is why, the Film and Art School Etudes Panorama will be followed once again by the Round Table session – equal and open discussion devoted to the cinema. The authors of presented films will be joined by the acclaimed filmmakers to discuss their projects.
We believe that the participant of the Round Table will gain a valuable experience, and will get to know not only other fellow filmmakers but thanks to that they will have a unique chance for knowledge exchange.
After each block of the Film and Art School Etudes Panorama, approx. 90 minutes discussion will be carried on with participation of the authors of the screened etudes.
(in English only)