OFF ON selection
As of 2023, our festival adds the 'OFF ON' selection to the line-up. This special section is available for streaming only. Streaming on Whush.com from 8 to 23 May 2023.
CLAIM THE SKY: WE SHALL OVERCOME (USA) BY ISAIAS GAMBOA
Synopsis: This feature-length documentary film tracks the incredible, unexpected journey of discovery of music producer and director, Isaias Gamboa, whose Google search for a friend into the civil rights anthem, We Shall Overcome, leads him on a remarkable ten-year odyssey that makes global headlines and changes American History. Running time: 03:54:54.
RE-MEMBERING: MEDITATION ON A TRIPTYCH (SWEDEN) BY AMRA HECO
Synopsis: A chance encounter with discovered video footage from 1983 of the Bosnian town Tesanj triggers unexpected emotions as the filmmaker recognizes her grandfather who died in the 90's during the war. This opens old wounds, but also creates an opportunities for healing. The film is a meditation that brings into question dominating visual narratives through the eyes of three characters whose destinies and fates merge in unexpected ways through the thin veil of digital celluloid. Running time: 00:10:15.
Selections/awards: Sarajevo FF, Golden Horse IFF (Best Documentary Short), Gothenburg FF, Doc.Boston (Best Experimental Documentary), and more.
BITTER TASTE OF LOVE OR FRAU SCHINDLER'S LIST (RUSSIA) BY IGOR VOLOSETSKY
Synopsis: The film is the true story of Oskar Schindler’s wife, Emilie. Although lost to history (and left out of Spielberg’s movie altogether) she was an equal hero who actually washed, clothed and fed the Jews her husband saved.. Running time: 00:52:00.
ARMORED SAINT - A BAND OF BROTHERS (UK) BY RUSSELL CHERRINGTON
Synopsis: This is the story of Armored Saint, a band of brothers that created their own unique sound and image in the 1980's Los Angeles rock and metal scene. Running time: 02:24:00.
Selections/awards: Doc.London.
IN ECHO ALL ABOUT (USA) BY NICHOLAS MULLINS
Synopsis: Years after a malicious fungus causing a deadly syndrome killed millions of bats across North America, a few determined individuals fight for the survival of the remaining bats teetering on the brink of extinction. Running time: 00:30:00.
Selections/awards: Spotlight Documentary Film Awards, Peaberry FF.
A COLÔNIA LUXEMBURGUESA (LUXEMBOURG) BY DOMINIQUE SANTANA
Synopsis: Dominique, a Luxembourg-Brazilian historian and filmmaker, takes us on a journey of discovery into the core of the Colônia Luxemburguesa, trying to fill the gaps between myth and history. A story told from different angles and across different platforms. Running time: 02:30:00.
Selections/awards: Monlevade Brazil, Sunny Side of the Doc, Brussels Independent FF.
TAIYUAN MUSICAL NOTES (CHINA) BY LI QING
Synopsis: Well-known female singer Wang Yunyi hates her stage name, so she devises a hundred ways to "kill" herself and the name. Li Qing, a middle-aged man, hopes to learn singing from Wang, but the two have starkly different worldviews. Their only common element is that both suffer from major depressive disorder. The film starts with music but deals with the ancient philosophical question of whether life has meaning. The five days of daily life show the spiritual crisis of our time. Running time: 01:11:00.
FLEE (FRANCE) BY XU KAI
Synopsis: At the beginning of 2020, a major virus swept the world. Xu Kai rushed to Chengdu to catch a flight back to France before all of China was quarantined, so as not to miss his studies. On this trip, he used his phone to record what he saw and heard. He continued this until he arrived in Paris and got sick and quarantined. Running time: 00:30:00.
SHIVERING WALL (TAIWAN) BY TSENG YU CHIN
Synopsis: A dark room. A reverberating bass. A languid heap of teenaged bodies at a house party. A heavy atmosphere. A slight smog represents a spirit in the space. Is the spirit someone else? Is the smog another you – a parallel you from another world to look at your own body in this group full of chaos and desire? All you can do silently look down at your body, and move away quietly. Running time: 00:10:00.
Selections/awards: Super Shorts London, Amsterdam Independent FF, Brussels Independent FF, and more.
TO AMERICA (USA) BY ARYA JO SINGH
Synopsis: In an effort to defend her “American-ness”, an Indian-American teenager writes a poem about her dual identity. Running time: 00:04:24.
Selections/awards: Venice Film Week, Doc.Boston, Viewpoint Documentary FF, Super Shorts NY, New Jersey Independent FF, and more.