Amsterdam Lift-Off Film Festival 2023 - Network Round Shorts
Friday 10th November - Friday 17th November
1.
Motor Oil Blood
Dir. Nout Peper
Netherlands
Logline: Hessel Bosch' body is painted with scars from several motor crashes. But nothing hits as hard as the sudden death of is wife.Is life worth living if you lose the person closest to you? Hessel wants to believe it is. So he reaches for the medicine that always brings comfort: motorcycling.But there is a problem. He can’t ride his bike because he just underwent knee surgery. So he sets a goal: he wants to recover in 40 days – in time to attend the Isle of Man TT, an event he used to go to with his wife."Motor Oil Blood" is about willpower and the conviction that life is worth living, even though sometimes you have to bleed to experience it.
2.
Amy & I
Dir. Bastiaan Rook
Netherlands
Logline: When Amy and her boyfriend have a nice dinner in a restaurant where they first met, it turns out there's some pressure on their relationship.
3.
Grampa Heijs & Thea
Dir. Tessa Rietveld
Netherlands
Logline: Grampa Heijs & Thea is an intimate, observative portrait about my grandfather and his new girlfriend, two very old people who fell in love. Together they try to make the best of their remaining time on this planet. This film is a glimpse of what life is like when you're in your 90's. Meanwhile grampa Heijs & Thea are rediscovering what it's like to be in love.
4.
Ink & Flow
Dir. Miguel Luis
Netherlands
Logline: A glimpse behind a tattoo artist's approach to drawing on living, breathing canvasses, and how she draws inspiration from her subjects' anatomy and movement patterns.
5.
Northstar
Dir. Meglen Anzik Trpkov
Netherlands
Logline: In this exploration of love, grief, and connection, Pestol (25) embarks on an emotional journey to meet his sister, Mary (18) one last time.
6.
LOUDER! SO I CAN HEAR YOU
Dir. Laura Bokhoven
Netherlands
Logline: In this documentary roadmovie a hidden story about the deceased father of the filmmaker sets off a journey in the present. Along the way, the landscape mixes with a poetic dialogue between father and daughter while passers-by serve as counselors in the grieving process and the search for her fathers past.
7.
Bride Token
Dir. Xiaoyan LI
Netherlands
Logline: When facing unintended pregnancy, an intercultural couple has to make decisions about their relationship and their future under the family pressures due to cultural differences.
8.
Little Talks
Dir. Talla Malyukova
UK
Logline: A series of moments and conversations from while travelling.
9.
O falecido
Dir. Philipp Veiga Amaro
Switzerland
Logline: He is known as the deceased, "O falecido". Even though he is in no way dead. Philipp, the filmmaker, lived with his father until the age of 16. But he has no memory of him. What exactly happened? He comes across a diary and tries to find answers - he confronts the women in his family and finds his own perspective.
10.
Sweat Yourself
Dir. Lucas Boetsch
UK
Logline: A man runs after his ideal body. Literally.
11.
Another Night
Dir. Giovanni Fortunato Messina
Italy
Logline: Ezio wakes up in the middle of the night as he has been doing for some time now. Tormented and distressed by his relationship with Anna, the girl he has been living with for the past two years. Frustration and the need to find some form of contact leads Ezio to look for a dialogue with Anna. The couple's umpteenth sleepless night inexorably reveals the critical issues of a toxic relationship.
12.
REVELATIONS
Dir. David Allain
UK
Logline: A young man attends the funeral of his estranged mother; as the service proceeds, he remembers a few key moments that defined their relationship. A film about family, grief, and acceptance.
13.
Ablaze
Dir. Elwin Rijken
Netherlands
Logline: A music video to the song 'Horns of a Rabbit' (from the Canadian postrock band 'Do Make Say Think') performed by two fire dance artists.
14.
THE-Bonsai
Dirs. Dipa Basnet Pandey, Anil Rimal
Nepal
Logline: THE-Bonsai is the story of a 15-years old girl who struggles with her perplexed state of mind due to the behavior portrayed by the society. This leads her to wonder about the creations of nature and keeps searching for the answer.
This film shows the comparison of the humans between other natural elements and their struggle for survival.
15.
Astral Projection: The Lost Art of Soul Travel
Dir. Sharon Ann Rowland
Australia
Logline: A short documentary on Greg Doyle, Astral Traveller explaining how the metaphysical art of astral projection was lost during the dark ages, but reemerged during the renaissance period of our history. Greg shares with the audience his own experiences of soul travel and the many benefits that can be derived from this metaphysical meditative art form.
16.
AYAHUASCA
Dir. Gabriella Rose Gabig
USA
Logline: The premier immersive and simulative audiovisual experience of AYAHUASCA.
17.
Butter
Dir. Mark Uwimana Marcel
Belgium
Logline: Butter tells the story of Suzanne whom we follow on what appears to be an ordinary day. But beneath the silence there is fear and uncertainty.
18.
Daisies
Dir. Andrés Emedan
USA
Logline: A man on his deathbed is mysteriously called into the vast fields and rolling hills of the Unknown. With only an oxygen tank and a dog clicker, he must take one final journey to encounter his long lost love, and finally free himself from his past.
19.
H.O.M.E.
Dir. Yiğit Batuk
Turkey
Logline: Trapped in a building for testing by his human creator, the artificial intelligence Hade must discover himself and reach his full potential to get out of the building.
20.
In Unison Teaser
Dir. Jeff Lukeski
USA
Logline: Teaser / Short Film for Upcoming Feature
21.
Jupiter Cove
Dir. Anna Chavez
USA
Logline: Centuries after the reign of Greek gods, Zeus and his estranged wife, Hera, have been driven apart. Now, they have reunited at Jupiter Cove, for better or worse...
22.
The street is tough
Dir. María Victoria Henríquez Vergara
Panama
Logline: The catcalling is one of the most normalized forms of sexist violence. Even so, it invades the space, attacks, limits freedom and gives way to more violent expressions: obscene gestures, invasive glances, groping, masturbation and persecution. From the "Amorfiesta" project comes this animated short that portrays how a group of Panamanian women experience and perceive street harassment.
23.
Waar thuis was
Dir. Youri Smaal
Netherlands
Logline: A close-knit family has been living peacefully in a secluded house far from civilization for years. One evening, their tranquil life is disrupted when stones are thrown against their window. The question of who is responsible and why their house is being targeted remains a mystery. As the family members struggle to adapt to the increasing unrest, the stones grow larger, causing not only damage to their house but also straining the bonds of their family.