Shorts Live-Action Competition 2

Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2023
Programme
Shorts Live-Action Competition

The 2023 International Live Action Competition rages in the light of an unjust world. It abhors cruelty, rallies against war and suffering and screams long into the night about the broken systems and rampant prejudice that seem to be part and parcel of a modern world. Yet it also speaks of love and the promise it can hold for a better future. That there can be safety found in friendship and family. That we can transcend hate. That hope always exists for us to be better than we are.
Some of the films here dwell in the realms of the serene, offering careful examinations of the human condition. Others come straight for us, a riotous mix of sound, colour and fury making us look at the world anew.
There’s tremendous diversity, a myriad of styles, techniques and stories all making us look at the world in different ways. In a world that is often typified by chaos and the unknown, all these shorts help make us understand the world just a little better as they titillate our senses and excite our minds.

Screenings

4th Lux Hall Apollo Kino Coca-Cola Plaza
Screening060402 / Shorts lühifilmi võistlusprogramm 2
Q&A duration
Screening duration
Trailer

Films

Baltic premiere

Rise

Local title
Ülestõus
Original title
Rise
Director
Shirzan
Country
United Kingdom
Year
2023
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2023
Programme
Shorts Live-Action Competition

Inspired by real life accounts of Iranian refugees who worked alongside the director to develop this story, we see Niloo, a teenage girl resisting the patriarchal ‘morality police’ who kidnap her from the streets of Tehran.

Director
Shirzan
Runtime
Language
Persian
Subtitles
English

Baltic premiere

Nocturnal Burger

Local title
Öine burger
Original title
Nishachar Burger
Director
Reema Maya
Country
USA, India
Year
2023
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2023
Programme
Shorts Live-Action Competition

A 13-year-old girl and a 30-something man are brought to a police station in Mumbai in the middle of the night by two strangers. Amidst questionable motives and unreliable narrators, a frustrated female constable investigates what happened that night, and what could’ve happened.

Director
Reema Maya
Runtime
Language
Hindi, English, Marathi
Subtitles
English
Trailer

Baltic premiere

The Golden West

Local title
Kuldne lääs
Original title
The Golden West
Director
Tom Berkeley, Ross White
Country
Ireland
Year
2023
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2023
Programme
Shorts Live-Action Competition

November, 1849. Having fled the Great Famine, two warring Irish sisters seek their fortunes in the gold rush. But with winter fast approaching and nothing to show for their efforts, their age-old feud soon threatens to become deadly.

Director
Tom Berkeley, Ross White
Runtime
Language
Welsh, English
Trailer

Baltic premiere

Offside

Local title
Suluseis
Original title
Buitenspel
Director
Catherina Iosifidis
Country
Netherlands
Year
2022
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2023
Programme
Shorts Live-Action Competition

A fourteen-year-old Selena plays football as the only girl on a boys' team. Her teammates see her as one of the boys. When a new girl joins the team, the dynamic in the group begins to change. Selena does everything she can to protect her position within the group.

Director
Catherina Iosifidis
Runtime
Language
Dutch
Subtitles
English
Trailer

Baltic premiere

Sisters of the Rotation

Local title
Pöörlevad õed
Original title
Saydet el Barmeh
Director
Michel Zarazir, Gaby Zarazir
Country
Lebanon
Year
2023
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2023
Programme
Shorts Live-Action Competition

At Sisters of the Rotation’s convent, the Earth doesn’t spin by itself.

Director
Michel Zarazir, Gaby Zarazir
Runtime
Language
Arabic
Subtitles
English
Trailer