Manchester Lift-Off Film Festival 2021 - Network Round Shorts

Tuesday 13th April - Tuesday 20th April

1.

Love From Santiago
Dir. Inti Rowland
Russian Federation
Logline: A semi-autobiographical telling of the director’s own mothers experience at the hands of his father, a story of escape, survival and love.
The film, documents the immediate days after a girl escapes an abusive relationship. Creeping out in the early morning she flees into the open desert. Heading as far as she can get, anywhere, just not there, not anymore.

2.

Pointe Black
Dir. Rebecca Murray
UK
Logline: Marie-Astrid Mence has been a member of Ballet Black since 2014—a seminal dance company formed of Black and Asian performers who astound audiences with displays of balletic beauty and power. Mence’s journey to becoming their Senior Artist, however, had a turbulent beginning in her hometown of Paris. In this documentary profile comprised of prose and pirouettes, Mence narrates her uncomfortable journey from adolescent to ballerina and her struggles in an industry that fails to see past her skin colour.

3.

Marginalized Nation
Dir. Francisco Alberto Galan S.
Colombia
Logline: "Marginalized Nation" is a tribute to Colombian presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galan, 30 years after his assassination, and it seeks to give voice to the vulnerable communities that he fought to dignify and empower. In one of the regions most affected by the armed conflict in Colombia, a group of rural people made a peace agreement that few saw possible. In a context of violence against thousands of politicians and social leaders, what is the legacy of Galan and these leaders who are no longer with us? How can the country move forward?

4.

IRIDESCENT
Dir. Kathryn Carmichael
UK
Logline: Today is Elise’s 21st Birthday. Elise suffers from Tourette's syndrome; she has done since she was 13 years old. Elise’s tics don’t involve her shouting or swearing. Brought up in a loving slightly kooky family, with a natural acceptance of all, Elise thrives within her home.
But school life has not been kind, picked on for being different and often the popular girls that have given her the hardest time.

5.

Another Day
Dir. Daniel Topic
UK
Logline:  Sam and Sinéad play out their past but something is different this time round..

6.

Hel Questioning Out Loud 01
Dir. Carolina Kzan
France
Logline: Hel, a non-binary independent researcher and performer and Carolina, a filmmaker and photographer, have known each other for years. One day, Hel asks Carolina to take some pictures of zir as a way to record zir gender transition path. However, what was supposed to be a photo shoot ends up becoming an honest and sweet record of Hel's questions and points of view in relation to zir experiences on gender spectrum.

7.

Vestige
Dir. Anthony Thornton-Hopwood
UK
Logline: Sam must face his actions and find out the true cost of redemption./em>

8.

Bridge Over Blue
Dir. Edilberto Restino
UK
Logline: A tale of lost in translation love.

9.

ATLAS - CHAPTER ONE
Dir. Ayman Chaudhry
UK
Logline: Technology has replaced currency. Wealth has replaced humanity. When a rebel cell interrogates a corrupt politician, they uncover a secret more terrifying than anything they could have imagined…

10.

Duck, Duck, Goose
Dir. Ben Packwood
UK
Logline: Father of two, Narcyz, finds himself unable to escape his unremarkable life until a mysterious stranger offers him a change in fortune...

11.

Frank Sinatra And My Dad's Wig
Dirs. Phil Pearson, Adam Frith
UK
Logline: A son shares his heart-warming and heart-breaking memories of his Frank Sinatra-loving father and the last time he saw him.

12.

The Intimate Touch
Dirs. Michael Støen, Ariel McMillion
Sweden
Logline: At a seaside restaurant, a conservative Muslim refugee meets a deeply feminist reporter for dinner. Officially, he’s a source, and this is business. But what’s really on their minds is the intense attraction they felt last week when they first met, despite a clash over his religious refusal to shake her hand. Tonight is a chance to pursue that attraction, if only they can navigate their convictions.

13.

absence | presence
Dir. Christina Bennett
Ireland
Logline: A girl makes a return journey through a now uninhabited house, filled with memory.

14.

Lost Symphony
Dir. Éliane Godefroy de Tonnancour
Canada
Logline: This short film explores the affect relationship between a human and an instrument (the cello). Lost Symphony invites the viewer to question how we use music to define moments in our lives and how music can be used as a tool for self-discovery.

15.

My Little Bird
Dir. Danny Lavin
UK
Logline: Whilst dealing with trauma, a woman finds an abandoned bird's nest in the forest.

16.

Incurable
Dir. Renja Schmakeit
Germany
Logline: The 40-year-old Nurse Theresa helps out patients with euthanasia. She is convinced that she's helping a lot of people with it. When her terminally ill son expresses his wish to die she is to make a painful decision that makes her think.

17.

Cry
Dir. Ryan Lee Gregory
UK
Logline: A father is unable to sleep because of his daughter's crying.