JURY
Nicolas Khabbaz born in Lebanon. He graduated in filmmaking, and holds a Ph.D. in cinema where he studied the cinema of small nations and the question of its identity. He has become the program director of the NDU International Film Festival / Beirut Shorts and the Batroun Mediterranean Film Festival. Since 2012, he has been Director of the Audiovisual Arts Department at NDU. Between 2005 and 2020 he has produced 16 theatre plays, written and directed by Georges Khabbaz, with whom he co-founded KAY Production. During the past 15 years, he has gained expertise in producing and directing musical theatre, Live performance shows and concerts.
Khabbaz has participated in several major international festivals around the world as a filmmaker, jury member, curator and industry expert. He has produced several award-winning feature films and short films premiered in Locarno film festival and Toronto International Film Festival.
Ouijdane Khallid is a Moroccan filmmaker, scriptwriter, producer, and co-founder of ON SET PRODUCTIONS. She holds a Master’s degree in Documentary Cinema from Abdelmalek Essaadi University in Tetouan and a license in filmmaking from ISMAC.
After creating many short films, her movie "Tender Threads" was selected for over 40 festivals and won 20 awards. Ouijdane has also worked as a first assistant director and artistic director on numerous cinematographic projects. In 2023, she expanded her repertoire by producing three short films. Her writing talent is evident in the many feature film scripts she has wrote, which have been produced by National Moroccan TV.
Andrea Morghen is a producer, director and film maker. Co-founder, partner and board member of Aurora Vision. Artistic director of Religion Today Film Festival (Trento-Italy) and head programmer of Life Beyond Life Film Festival in Turin (Italy). Committed to the world of volunteering, he is president of the voluntary association Sulle Strade Del Mondo ODV. He is pursuing a PhD in Social Communication, Digital Media and Culture at the Salesian University in Rome. He has produced more than 40 documentaries and reportages, working all over the world and directed 7 of them. In 2022 he produced with the students of the Liceo Artistico Depero in Rovereto (Trento) 2 short fiction films.
Official Selection 2023
nnocence, desire, greed, pain... Driven by the initial innocence and desire, the blindly obedient crowd is antagonistic and unified. In the operation of life, I feel fear, oppression, blind obedience, hierarchy, repetition, control, assimilation, people gradually lose the heart, and who might that be? He is like an endless Mobius...
"Tides" is an innovative dance film project with a female perspective at its core. It aims to shed light on the heightened vulnerability that women often experience under societal scrutiny. This artful endeavor involves the intricate folding of the human body into diverse spaces, serving as a powerful means of expression and resistance against insecurity and chronic oppression.
Claw Machine is the story of an immersion into the experience of being uprooted. Fragments and words. The unspoken, the indescribable. Memory shaken. Eyes closed. The city is under siege. Drift towards the unknown. The dilemma: resistance or migration? Mediterranean voyages of no return.
A girl dances with the roots of a tree like a puppet and bites an apple, and then the world is disturbed and the girl is thrown into another world and...
Due to long-term observation of the NPCs (Non-Playable Characters) in the classic GTA: San Andreas (2004) the player witnesses certain documentary events that take place in different parts of the in-game world. To some extent, the constant movement which accompanies the player-observer throughout the in-game space is the only salvation from quotidian violence on the streets but not always.
Mr. S. recalls his memories after he died in the nature. Only through the fragments and not his presence, the audience is immersed into his previous life.
A birth, a stay, a dusk. A man is searching for his place in the eternal cycle of life and death.
History flows, the darkness wets our clothes.
A robotic vacuum suffering from burnout quits its job at a hospital and sets out to find community and a greater purpose on a quiet street where two lonely rabbits are stuck in perpetual loops.
Documentary depicting the life of a 27 years old Sudanese, working in an isolated horse stable in Dahban, Saudi Arabia trying to contact his family after not being able to call them for three months.
Edris is a short documentary about a 17-year-old Eritrean boy who fled the war in his country to settle in Egypt. Since his arrival to Egypt in 2014, Edris has been trying to integrate into the Egyptian society and dreaming to get a chance to become a promising professional football player and help his family back home. Despite being selected by El-Gouna Football club, the Eritrean boy hasn’t been able to play official matches with the team due to his refugee status. The documentary tells a simple story that sheds light on the status of African migrants and refugees in Egypt today.
A father and a son with a complicated past find a way back to healing through a shared interest in the millennial imperial city of Marrakech. The way to renewal was long, one of 10 Million Steps.
In the wake of the Israeli war on Gaza, 'The Survival Vortex' tracks Deema Meshal, a Palestinian ER doctor in Belgium grappling with survival guilt. As she unexpectedly becomes an advocate for Palestine, the film unravels her personal turmoil amid activism. It delves into the emotional complexities of her journey, portraying resilience and the challenges faced while standing up for her homeland. Through Deema's story, the film invites reflection on the sacrifices and struggles inherent in advocating for justice in the face of adversity.
As a young Chinese filmmaker returns to his hometown in search for himself, a long due conversation with his mother dives the two of them into a quest for acceptance and love.
Ukrainian children are confronted with their past as they explore their new home in Germany: a former Wehrmacht military barracks.
Weekend trips, city breaks, a detour into nature or once around the world. Barely a few days off, you're already gone. Never before has the desire to travel been so widespread and visited places so overloaded. What do we get out of it, other than the picture proof that we have been there?
Recorded in the Occupied West Bank, this film is a glimpse of Palestine’s Jenin Refugee Camp in proximity of two deadly attacks by the Israeli military in 2023. Jenin has long been an epicenter of Palestinian armed resistance determined to overthrow Israel’s illegal military occupation. For decades Israeli forces have relentlessly invaded the camp, indiscriminately killing and wounding innocent refugees in their attempt to eliminate the growing militancy. Since the beginning of the war in Gaza on October 7th, 2023, violence has surged across the Occupied West Bank. The Israeli military has intensified its daily attacks on refugee camps, towns, and cities, resulting in at least 300 Palestinians killed and over 4,000 others wounded. According to the UN, 2023 was "the deadliest year on record" for Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank with a total of 504 people killed.
Far away from home, and after becoming auditorily impaired with a tinnitus as a result of the Beirut blast of August 4th, Tahara, a Lebanese immigrant in Europe, tries singing again by feeling musical vibrations through the ground, but homesickness overtakes her every emotion. To her, water is a sensory key element that calms her chaos. It reminds her of home, by the Mediterranean sea, where her heart and mind are at ease.
After her father’s second marriage, Nina struggles to feel part of her new family. On what should have been the perfect birthday celebration for her new sister, Nina’s insecurities and frail relationship with her father take center-stage as Nina confronts a side of her she didn’t know existed.
"Set in the historical Old City, in Ibb, Yemen, In the Long Run is built around a simple premise: burdened by the nearing arrival of guests, a housewife sends her kid to buy bread before lunch. But this errand soon transforms into a wondrous adventure. As Seven-year- old Ahmed runs determinedly through the alleyways—constantly distracted by the people and events (or perhaps non- events) around him—his journey becomes both a delicate observation of the familial community of Ibb, and an intimate voyage through the Old City’s endangered architecture and beautiful landscape. "
A bed-bound man reflects on his childhood with Peter Pan, and how sometimes everyone grows up without you.
A young lady, living in a big city is searching for a flat that suits her needs. A realtor is showing her many flats trying to sell one. The lady has a boredom that can not be defined why. While they are searching for a flat, her distress rises. She begins to follow her instincts. Something strange begins to evolve in her body& soul.
Haunted by the desire to do good, a military doctor, Sabrina, repatriated to France after an injury, struggles with physical pain and emotional isolation. As she becomes obsessed with her past accomplishments, her reclusive life takes a dark turn, blurring the line between heroism and obsession.
A recently retired father invites his son to help him with the cherry picking in the garden. The father is in no hurry to finish the cherry job though, as he tries to catch up with his son. The cherries remain in the background.
After three years in prison, Nader is given a furlough to go home. He has 48 hours to become a father to his four years old daughter.
During a night of doubt, Marc, a carer dreaming of becoming a chef, has to admit to Quentin, his friend with a motor disability whom he has been taking care of on a daily basis for years, that he will surely not return to work on the following day.
Caught in the quietness of separation, a woman quietly observes her neighbor through her window as he gathers his belongings to flee his house.
The light of dawn rises in a rose-colored sky overlooking imposing tower blocks. It's the beginning of an odyssey set at the heart of a public housing district following the lives of Yves, a thirty something Berlin based artist, Hamza, a 14-year-old deaf boy, and Déborah, a lonely basketball coach.
A child from a poor family is exposed to food poisoning. This poisoning almost claimed his life, presenting his father with two choices: either abandon his principles and disregard his son's rights, or uphold his dignity and the dignity of his family.
A female teacher, who is sexually harassed on a street in the Islamic Republic of IRAN. She must choose between silence and protest...
In a Reunion Island housing project, as the time of the sacrifice for the Aïd el-Kebir approaches, Ibrahim, 12 years old, of Comoran descent, is bullied by Evan, a neighbour of the same age, who accuses him of being an animal killer. When Ibrahim learns that a goat is about to be delivered to his building he decides to save it…but Evan is watching.
Finding Harmony is the story of a teenage pianist who, consumed by work and stress, forgets about passion. However, his life is disrupted when he discovers a mysterious music score that transports him to an enchanted forest with every interpretation.
Following the aftermath of her parents divorce, a young woman reflects on her relationship with her estranged father which begins to heal through poetry and dance.
This documentary spot light on students of the first circus school in Africa based in Morocco - salé city. a full day with students and coaches was enough to give a detailed introduction of the circus industry in morocco and the most important thing is the stories of this individuals, and understand their opinions and goals. we were able to make this students comfortable enough to open their hearts to us. it's a mind opening experience really, for us as filmmakers.
A son captures the poignant echoes of his father's post-retirement life, marked by dialysis and a haunting daily routine, in the film 'Echoes in Ephemeral Light.' The delicate symphony of memories unfolds as emotions, sensations, and pain are painted like delicate petals in this touching human sonnet.
In every neighborhood in Morocco there is a beauty salon with a hair straightener waiting to iron out someone’s curls and frizz. Increasingly, young women are daring to wear their hair in afros and curls in a culture that has so far rejected their African roots. The filmmakers take us on a quirky journey in celebrating rebellious hair.
A man takes 24 hours to decide if he should commit suicide or not, and he starts to remember some glimpses of the way he feels at the moment at some events in his life.