Manchester Lift-Off Film Festival 2022 - Network Round Shorts

Wednesday 13th April - Wednesday 20th April

1.

Doublespeak
Dir. Hazel McKibbin
USA
Logline: A young woman grapples with the aftermath of reporting sexual harassment in the workplace.

2.

REDMAN
Dir. Harry Oddie
UK
Logline: A fascist dictator rules the world, and those who stand against him do so whilst putting themselves in grave danger. Redman discovers this the hard way, as an assassination attempt takes the life of his lover. As the dictator’s challengers are taken down one-by-one, Redman begins the search for a magical box that holds the power to wipe the dictator out once and for all. Redman questions his morals along the way, working through his grief and anger.

3.

Forget me not
Dirs. Giuseppe Petruzzellis, Fabio Marin
Italy
Logline: Gilda is a middle aged woman, mother and wife. One day she realizes she's having problems setting the table. These are her first symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Through family footage and poetic visions, the stages of her illness become a stream of images on the breach of oblivion.

4.

Sometimes They Sing
Dir. John Monahan
UK/ CROATIA
Logline: Amid isolation; two lovers are driven into an upheaval of dreams, physical expression and murmuring stillness.

5.

The Little Bird
Dir. Neil Hausey
USA
Logline: Two vignettes of a boys life, connected through memory.

6.

The Water Game<"/span>
Dir. John Moratiel
UK
Logline: Quirky, life enriching, educational and fun, the film tells the story of engineer and Green Party activist David Rennie and his life’s work - the amazing Water Game. The perfect antidote for the COVID-19 world in which we find ourselves. Enjoy!

7.

Megalomania
Dir. Rex Russell
UK
Logline: In a sarcastic version of reality we follow Gene, a young woman who dreams of dancing, but instead, is trapped at home by her delusional Mother. However, a once in a lifetime opportunity means Gene finds herself in the middle of a Dance Marathon Competition, where there is not only the allure of drugs, but the chance to reconnect with her long lost father...

8.

The Snake Chief
Dir. Nick Cloete
South Africa
Logline: Chief Bheki is desperate for his son, Prince Sifiso, to get married in order to continue their family lineage, but Sifiso wants to marry for love and he knows that all the women in the village would want to marry him because he is a prince.

9.

Retake
Dir. Michael Wolf
UK
Logline: A mentor and his student meet in a place of knowledge to play a familiar game of chess, with the caveat that this time the wager is a very precious item. Will the student manage to outsmart her mentor, or would the mentor’s experience get the upper hand? With a wager this personal, only the best strategist wins

10.

Ruby
Dir. Gwendoline Laurent
France
Logline: Ruby wakes up in a place unknown to her. She hums a rhyme without sounding realize, she doesn't remember where she learned it but the tune she hums reassures. This rhyme is also hummed by a stranger, whom Ruby will try to find. Her instinct tells her that she is the key to understanding where she is.

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