Austin Lift-Off Film Festival 2023 - Network Round Features
Wednesday 3rd May - Wednesday 10th May
1.
One mother
Dir. Mickael Bandela
France
Logline: For nearly twenty years, I grew up in a foster family, today I am 35 years old and I am trying to start my family when Gisèle, my birth mother, tells me that she is returning to live in Congo, his home country. I have to understand: Why is she still leaking? Through archive images, I trace the thread of my childhood, methodically, to better question the present. Who is this woman who gave birth to me?
2.
Back At It
Dir. Mikhail Karadimov
USA
Logline: There are thousands of comedians in New York City, performing every night, working hard for laughs from the world's toughest audience. What happens to them when the city that never sleeps grinds to a halt? When the comedy clubs close and no one is laughing? "Back At It" is a chronicle of the tumultuous summer of 2020 in New York, through the eyes of a diverse group of comedians who hustle to keep their comedy alive and to stand out from the throng. It follows them as they take to the streets, rooftops, and parks to entertain a city ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic. It asks how the art of standup changes when the traditional systems and established hierarchy no longer exist? Who will evolve and raise their voice?
3.
Shackleton's Cabin
Dir. Shane Brennan
Ireland
Logline: Ernest Shackleton died in his cabin in 1922 while on board The Quest, which was to be his final expedition. One hundred years later that same cabin has ended up in the hands of an esteemed historical object conservator called Sven Habermann, waiting to be restored to its former glory.
4.
Portraits of Life With Mental Illness
Dir. Marc D'agostino
USA
Logline: “Portraits of Life with Mental Illness” tells the harrowing, hopeful stories of six individuals living with behavioral and mental health diagnoses. From the onset of symptoms and the quest for a diagnosis to managing the subsequent treatments and medications, the film’s subjects frankly discuss the most difficult and traumatic moments of their journeys.