Amsterdam Lift-Off Film Festival 2020 - Network Round Features

Friday 6th November - Friday 13th November

1.

Seeding Change: The Power of Conscious Commerce
Dir. Richard Yelland
USA
Logline: 20 years ago, a young group of social entrepreneurs started a company to sustainably harvest acai in the Brazilian rainforest. Along the way, they joined a movement of purpose-driven companies looking to change the world through an alternative economic model. These "triple bottom line" businesses measure success not only financially but also socially and environmentally. Their practice of "conscious commerce" addresses some of today’s most challenging issues. This award-winning documentary empowers viewers to be part of the solution by "voting with their dollars" and supporting brands and products that make positive change for the planet.

2.

THE EVENING REDNESS IN THE SOUTH
Dir. Colin Hickey
Ireland
Logline: 'THE EVENING REDNESS IN THE SOUTH' is an entirely dialogue-free dramatic feature film, a visual tone poem following several workers on a building site as their daily work and family lives becomes infused with their deepest memories, dreams, anxieties and desires. It was filmed in Co.Cork.

3.

Medulla
Dir. Rudi Brekelmans
Netherlands
Logline: The conscience of a married therapist is put under pressure by the thrilling confession of a seductive female client. Will he keep his distance or does he fall for her temptation?

4.

There's Something About John
Dir. Emma McCagg
USA
Logline: Emma is a painter in NYC wrestling with questions of success and inspiration. At the behest of a friend, she enrolls in a dance class at the local YMCA led by the charismatic instructor, John. She, like many in the class, are drawn to him. His passion breathes life into Emma as she searches for change in her own practice. John answers - his offer to help her outside of class is like an epiphany. With John as subject, Emma’s art feels fresh and alive. John’s daily ballet class becomes ritual and Emma is rapt. Her new friends in the class are rapt. But how long can it last? When disillusion comes, how will the community react?

5.

Willie, Jamaley & The Cacacoon
Dirs. Ryan Dellaquila, Tyler Schnabel
USA
Logline: Childhood friends, Willie and Jamaley, embark on a quest to prove the existence of a local mythological creature known as, The Cacacoon.

6.

The Gliwensbourg Chronicles
Dir. Emilie Tommasi
France
Logline: Gliwensbourg, winter 1915, a French trench is pounded, all the soldiers are buried making only one survivor. Underground, the soldier who survived managed to get out of an air pocket and crawl into a hole leading to a mysterious tunnel that leads to ... 1925!

7.

Bad Investigate
Dir. Luís Ismael
Portugal
Logline: When ROMEU, a corrupt police officer, forces two guys who are in his pocket, ALEX and CID, to deceive FBI agent SAM FOLKES, things start to look ugly internationally. His mission to chase XAVIER, a dangerous dealer who is pursuing a vendetta, seems to be doomed.

8.

Breathe
Dirs. Kevin Pison Piamonte, Kenneth De la Cruz
Philippines
Logline: Suffocated by the Coronavirus lockdown, two filmmakers defy the quarantine to find their breathing space. It is also the time of Lent. Using only their cellphones they travel the roads and reflect on prayer, alms giving and fasting. As they do so, they bring out the voices of the communities and eventually discover that there is a way to diminish the fear of the virus and make us all breathe.