| The 36th Minimalen Short Film Festival January 23-28, 2024 |
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International Competition
Best International Film - The Minimalen Trophy and 1000 euro granted by Minimalen
• I Promise You Paradise by Morad Mostafa (EGY).
The narrative of this minimalistic film, unfolds slowly in a silent yet intense exploration of the human experience. We follow contemplative, carefully chosen scenes, providing us with just enough information to make us feel deeply connected to all characters, but not feel immediately overwhelmed with a dramatic events and dark political undertones.
Honorable Mention
• Basri & Salma in a Never-Ending Comedy by Khozy Rizal (IDN)
A remarkable short film that takes unexpected turns as it portrays a childless couple living in conservative and patriarchal Indonesia, where having many children is considered a mark of masculinity. The societal expectations affect both men and women, making this film a poignant commentary on gender roles in Indonesian society.
• Still Life with Woman, Tea and Letter by Tess Martin (USA; NED)
A film that opens a window for us to reflect on time, relations, memories, geography and where it all ends up. The clever sound design helps building a strong yet not defined bond between the frames, enabling us to travel freely through this peaceful moment and all the memories possibly incorporated. A wordplay of sorts, this short film is a brilliantly compressed and moving (!) commentary on art’s capacity of adding life to objects.
Jury: Toril Simonsen, Aneta Ozorek and Andreas Fock
Audience Award International Competition - 500 euro granted by by Minimalen
• Flores del Otro Patio by Jorge Cadena (CHE, COL)
International and Nordic Competition (combined award)
The Raskin Spirit Festival Award
Overarching the two main competitions, and selected by the festival team.
• Madden by Malin Ingrid Johansson, SWE
The award was established to celebrate the unique qualities of a compact, poetic short film that make use of the visual and auditive possibilities in an imaginative way, and do not follow the traditional feature film dramaturgy.
Nordic Competition
Best Nordic Film - The Minimalen Trophy and 1.000 euro granted by NTNU - Department of Art and Media Studies
• A Home on Every Floor by Signe Rosenlund-Hauglid, NOR
Set in a miniature model world of the storyteller’s and poet’s former apartment complex, the filmmaker and poet create a most humane, emphatic and moving tale about the very dramatic consequences of gentrification. How do we tell difficult narratives and what does this mean to do so through art? Though there are no neighbours left here anymore, the film materializes the memories of friendship, family, kindness, and relations that do exist, reshaping and forming the meaning of one’s home. Rhythmic and bold, the lyrical and visual approach of the film challenges the cliche image of poverty and social housing.
Best Norwegian Film - The Minimalen Trophy and 5.000 kroner granted by by Minimalen
• The Weight of Sight by Truls Krane Meby, NOR
This story takes the audience on a journey of discovery through memory, bravely and continuously wondering and questioning. The film is so deeply vulnerable and personal, yet creates layers that are relatable and hints at the opportunities the evolution of the digital images created for the filmmaker’s generation. We move decades back in the filmmaker’s life, an intimate yet self-aware deep dive search for meaning and the core of himself. This is a meta story, about individuation and reflections in the form of the story in film and moving images.
Best Nordic Fiction
• Madden by Malin Ingrid Johansson, SWE
This film invites audiences into a seemingly small yet pivotal moment into the lead's journey to coming-of-age -- the messiness, desires and all else that exists in-between. With exquisite composition of light, colour, and sound, the film delivers a cinematic language that crafts this core lived experience through nuance, allowing audiences to question their own judgements and imaginations of adulthood.
Best Nordic Animation
• Blush - An Extraordinary Voyage by Iiti Yli-Harja, FIN
With the striking yet fragile force of a spaceship on an expedition, the filmmaker invites us to follow a heartfelt conversation between two late teens. A trip to the supermarket that seems overwhelming for the protagonist for fear of a misogynistic, anti-queer attack. Rich in detail, joyful and with unabashed queerness, this stop-motion animation documentary creates the imagery of the safe-haven of friendship empowering the protagonist to embrace his identity in full make-up.
Best Nordic Art Film
• Strangers in The Dark by Jenni Pystynen and Perttu Inkilä, FIN
Weaving through a range of artistic mediums, this short brings us closer to an intimate, complex and playful portrait of a character who's world should be left in the dark. We are presented with a bigger question of what our responsibilities are to interspecies relations, especially when we recognize the ways anthropocentric narratives have shaped the environment and lives of even the smallest of creatures.
Honorable Mentions
• A Study of Empathy by Hilke Rönnfeldt, DNK
Visually beautiful with its well-composed images and its elegant use of colour while inducing an unpleasant experience at the same time, we are also placed together with the main character in the position of the spectator. In doing so, the film's title offers significance on two levels - a study into what the artist, the other main character, is doing and it also refers to the study into the spectator’s position. The film presents a bitter-sweet ironic look at an artist's self-serving work.
• Valerija by Sara Jurinčić (DNK; HRV)
This experimental documentary touched us with its carefully crafted images, slowly revealing the intergenerational bonds between women. The haunting, mesmerising mise-en-scene reflects the processing of the circumstances and the rituals of the long line of women in this family in the absence of men.
Jury: Sarah Dombrink, Kelly Lui and Marit Bakken
Best Norwegian Prerunner
To be screened before a feature film at Trondheim kino for one month, selected by Trondheim kino.
• Food (Mat) by Gabriel Goujon
The surprising and thought-provoking storytelling makes it a standout choice in this year’s competition. The film gives us a glimpse of a scary future, it is a story that is not easily forgotten.
One-minute-film Competitions
Best One-minute-film YOUNG
Audience Award, 3.000 kroner granted by Midtnorsk Filmsenter
• BOLLYWOOD 2 by Nils Christian Monsø, Ruben Kleppe Wangberg, Ronald Oviedo, Kjetil Haugen Moen
Best One-minute-film (Open)
Audience Award, the trophy Den Gyldne Saks 2.0
• 17:12 by Sondre H. Johansen
Regional Student Film Competition
Best film
• Allnighter by Simon Moe
This film sets out on an ambitious journey. In a short period of time it keeps on bringing new surprises, reminding us of our own student days. The jury fell unanimously for the creativity the film team shows and the fun they had while making it.
Jury: Thom Palmen, Sindre Aalberg and Helen Komini Knudsen
Multiplié Dance Film
Multiplié Dance Film: Nordic Competition
Best Film - 1.000 euro granted by DansiT
• Noora by Anna Kekkonen, FIN
To a film that touches on several levels. It is breathtaking and beautiful, and there is a successful union and harmony between the director and the dancer's approach to water as an element of exploration. Water welcomes bodies and "judges no one" in relation to weight, size or shape. It allows us to be who we are. A poetry of its own arises, which is deeply human. The film appeals to our tactile sense and we are drawn into a fluid state of pleasantness. The dark water unites with the dancing body, and we are fascinated by how the dancer maintains a deep calm in interaction with the power of nature. The underwater filming is close to the body, and the movements are perceived as even more clear and articulated. The music and the soundscape create space and provide a calmness that underpins the visual expression. The film shows high cinematic quality with beautiful images and a good rhythm. The final shot, filmed from above, reinforces the impression of a beautiful and free-floating swan in its element.
Honorable Mention
• In the Same Boat (Samassa veneessä) by Mervi Junkkonen and Mia Malviniemi, FIN
A film that lets you immerse yourself in the story. It keeps a comfortable pace, with a moving presence and a harmonious interplay between the actors. The cinematography provides good images, and the details in the props are impeccable. The film gives a nice insight into what dance can be, and how movement can awaken memories and bring out vitality.
Multiplié Dance Film: International Competition
Best Film - 1.000 euro granted by DansiT
• Foreign Body by Howool Baek
In this film, the choreographer's view of the body and the possibilities of dance are highlighted in new and surprising ways through digital and cinematic means. By excluding facial expressions, the film gives us an entrance to expand our imagination of what the body can be. The bodies turn into creatures that are somehow recognizable as human, producing images that create sensations that are a mixture of something repulsively disgusting and attractively exotic. The placement of the bodies in different environments and with different backgrounds stimulates the eye that sees and leaves room for questions about the manipulation of the body, medium and dissemination channels - as well as touching upon topics like conformity, exclusion and isolation.
Honorable Mention
• Isolation by Andrew Margetson, GBR
A simple, effective and catchy dance film. The dance really comes into focus, as the visual design has a simple expression where the character comes in clear contrast to the background. It fully shows a solo dancer's style and expression within a genre. The camera's zooming has a comfortable pace, and the technique gives movement in the film without disturbing the focus. The music is contrasting and complements the dance expression in a good way. The white box gives a lighter theatrical and scenographic association, where both young urban style and design are reinforced through what we see and hear. The colors and setup appears fresh and with a "coolness" that catches the attention.
Jury: Karstein Solli, Øystein Moe and Hanna Fauske
Note: According to the Festival Competition Rules, the festival is responsible for awarding the above mentioned prizes to the directors of the winning films.
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