ÉCU – The European Independent Film Festival is excited to announce its Official Selection of films that will be showcased at the 15th edition of the festival. ÉCU 2020 proudly screened 90 films from 30 countries on the 24th, 25th, and 26th of April 2020 in Paris, France.
Animation
Director Maryam Mohajer
Country UK
My grandad was a romantic. He once saw a picture of my granny and realised that she was the love of his life. One day he decided to go meet my granny.
How Countries Fight Their Wars
Directors Thomas Loopstra, Maurice Baltissen
Country Netherlands
How countries fight their wars.
Director Andrea Vinciguerra
Country UK
Have you ever had the impression that if you play the right song while a person is, for instance, frantically moving their arms trying to get rid of a bee, it may seem like they’re dancing instead? “No, I Don’t Want to Dance” it’s a stop motion animated short film which aims to raise awareness of how deadly dangerous dance can be.
Director Floor Adams
Country Netherlands
When relying on social scripts to survive the social world, it’s not easy to go off-script. Especially if you’re obsessed with German dive bombers and just want to date a girl.
Director Francesco Tortorella
Country Italy
The “business turning point” of one of the most brutal and powerful criminal organizations in the world: the ‘Ndrangheta, told through the life and death of a common man..
Uncle Thomas, Accounting For the Days
Director Regina Pessoa
Country Portugal
From Regina’s personal and visual memories, a tribute to her uncle Thomas, a
humble man with a simple and anonymous life.
This is my acknowledgment how one does not have to be « somebody” to become exceptional in our life.
Director David Carrizales
Country Spain
As human beings, we can’t seem to be able to get over our differences. But, are we really all that different? We_sounds; we’re all but the same.
Arabs
Director Sawat Ghaleb
Country Iraq
Saeed is a young boy who works as a street gas cylinders seller in a poor neighborhood in Baghdad. He is in love with his boss’ daughter. In a big city like Baghdad, these two can’t find a place to kiss. Every time he tries to kiss her something happens.
Director Zayn Alexander
Country Lebanon
Tragedy strikes when the Zayyad family loses its patriarch under mysterious circumstances, leaving the surviving members to fend for themselves within a judgmental community in Southern Lebanon.
Directors Csaba Vekes, Tamás Olt
Country Hungary
We spend a day under the shade of a lemon tree with a Palestinian woman named Khaldieh who was abruptly exiled from her hometown of Tulkarem in 1967. She recreates her homeland through an assemblage of simple elements.
Comedy
Director Florence Keith-Roach
Country UK
When Annabelle wakes up in a stranger’s bedroom on her 30th birthday, she thinks the day cannot get any worse. But then Bernard walks in…
Director Savvas Stavrou
Country Cyprus
Still living at home, a lonely forty-year old devises an intricate plan to take his life after his mother dies. As the day progresses, he allows excuses, to stop him, oblivious to the true reason behind his stalling.
Director Florence Keith-Roach
Country UK
A man uses an automated funeral homes company to bury his mother.
Director Ben S. Hyland
Country UK
A man must decide whether to intervene and stop a casual commuting rule breaker, or live with a lifetime of regret. A comedy about a passive man with an overactive imagination.
Director Jörgen Scholtens
Country Netherlands
Absurd comedy about a lonely man who lives inside a cuckoo clock. Every hour he straps himself into his ejection seat and shoots through the doors of the clock. “Cuckoo!” He yells, “Cuckoo!” His work is of vital importance.
EU Documentary
Director Inma de Reyes
Country UK
When Cari became a widow she lost both the love of her life and her dancing companion. But she is a phenomenal woman who bounces back with wit, make-up and music. On meeting Vincente, Cari gets a second chance at teenage love, even if it means living in isolation.
Directors Thomas Freundlich, Valtteri Raekallio
Countries Finland, Norway
Fram is a documentary and travel film about two friends journeying to the end of the earth, in order to make a dance film in the polar wilderness of Svalbard.
Director Jonathan Schörnig
Country Germany
In 2014 Mekon had to flee Nigeria after his parents were murdered.
Directors Alexander Gratovsky, Nicole Gratovsky
Country Spain
A philosophical journey into the eternal questions on the nature and purpose of mankind and our communication with the world. Third film of the trilogy.
Director Walter Fanninger
Country Austria
A film about a festival that celebrates the summer solstice with heavy metal sounds and archaic fire rituals. With Bartholomäus Resch as massive and incorruptible host, blending traditional and modern culture and various styles of musical performance, as well as ancient nature and cosmic spirituality.
EU Feat
Director Nikola Bozadzhiev
Country Bulgaria
This is a story of impossible love, seen through the eyes of an unexpected character: the incarnated soul of the main character – his horse.
EU Short
Director Dekel Berenson
Country Ukraine, Israel, UK
When Cari became a widow she lost both the love of her life and her dancing companion. But she is a phenomenal woman who bounces back with wit, make-up and music. On meeting Vincente, Cari gets a second chance at teenage love, even if it means living in isolation.
Director Paco Ruiz
Country Spain
Mario is at home alone. His parents are gone and it will take them a while to return. Enough time for their son to arrange a sex date on the Internet with a total stranger.
Directors Christian Kinde
Countries UK
Since the death of her mother, Lilah has begrudgingly taken on her mum’s role in the family home. Lilah makes the choice to flee with Jimmy, putting her family’s forgiveness to the ultimate test.
Director Tomasz Wiński
Country Czech Republic
Anna and Lizzie share a flat with George – a tax consultant who thinks he is a dog. George supports them and does whatever makes them satisfied. He agrees to their strict rules: at home, he may only walk on all fours, isn’t allowed to speak, must lick their feet and obey every order. Girls abuse their power because George lets them do that. They think that he enjoys torture from their hands, so they keep degrading him. But in the end, George’s soul revolts – his inner man awakens and he seeks a cruel revenge, breaking free.
Im Häuschen Von Herrn Van Den Brink
Director Björn Renner
Country Germany
In this modern fairy tale the two small-time crooks Heiko and Marcello end up in the hut of Mr. van den Brink. Having fled the police they hide in a garden house but then wake up with their hands and feet bound. From now on the owner of their hiding place, Mr. van den Brink, is calling the shots.
Director Salvatore Allocca
Country Italy
‘La Gita’ is a teenage story, focused on an Italian girl of second generation who realizes for the first time in her young life what it is to be different from others. She must find the strength to accept herself and continue despite everything.
La regina si addormenta dove vuole
Director Lorenzo Tiberia
Country Italy
Rebecca is a four-year-old girl who, driven by her parents’ quarrel, escapes from her bedroom and hides in the garden of a nursing home.
Director Lukas Turtur
Country Germany
After not seeing each other for a long time, a couple meets again in a hotel room in Paris. They have to cope with trust, love, longing and finding each other again in this globalized world where communication is constantly available and where intimacy remains a dangerous challenge.
Director Yury Sholin
Country Russian Federation
The stray dog of Naida becomes the only friend of the severe security guard Sergey who lost meaning of life after loss of the family. But he should make difficult a choice soon….
Director Émile V. Schlesser
Country Luxembourg
Max, a young man with Down syndrome, stakes on a superhero identity to muster the courage to profess his love to a childhood friend. Showing up uninvited at her farewell party, he soon finds himself involved in a test of courage which goes horribly wrong.
Director Louisa Connolly-Burnham
Country UK
Paige spends her days setting up people’s life insurance in a drab North London call centre. She is bored of her life, longing for intimacy and connection that she unexpectedly finds on the phone to a charming customer called David.
Director Thessa Meijer
Country Netherlands
An ambitious amphibian sea-creature wants to venture into the human world. Her dream to evolve is so strong that she overcomes the physical boundaries of her fish-body and transforms into a human being. But even as a young woman will she ever be content?
Director Siham Hinawi
Country Belgium
A 40-year-old self-conscious cop spends a night on duty which will push her over the edge
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Director Mads Koudal
Country Denmark
A woman’s lifelong relationship with her disabled daughter is changed forever when she receives an unwanted letter.
Director Pierluigi Braca, Luigi Montebello
Country Italy
Fiumicino. 1996. Two lovers, one game. The violent end of a relationship through the faces of a dice.
Director Michal Zadara, Barbara Wysocka
Country Poland
The air in Warsaw, Poland is extremely polluted. A director tries to film the poison that we inhale every day, but the obstacles are institutional, emotional, and practical.
Director Javier Kühn
Country Spain
A Victorian story about life, death, and everything in between.
Director Joanna Bielinski
Country Germany
Oliver Helfrich and his wife Rea lead a family life dominated by violence and psychological terror. In the middle is their baby son Jonas.
Director Nikolas Juergens
Country Germany
In the dull wasteland of the suburbs, a group of teenagers’ desire to grow strength and get recognition transforms into violence against the weak. Tenderness becomes a taboo.
Director Pablo Robertson de Unamuno
Country UK
Terry is disillusioned with inner city life. As he wanders the streets of London at night some strange characters start to appear, beckoning him on a journey where he must confront his demons from the past.
Director James Skinner
Country UK
Fuelled by drink and without a plan, Tom has kidnapped the retired football coach who once abused him. As he confronts the past he risks destroying a bright future with his daughter.
Director Kaveh Tehrani
Country Norway
Mina and Saeed live a stressful life in the Iranian capital, Tehran. Being a woman in Iran is not particularly easy and Mina sees a future for the family elsewhere. She wants to move abroad, but Saeed then invents a device that places the responsibility for the hijab where it belongs – with the men whose gaze women need protection from.
Il nostro concerto
Director Francesco Piras
Country Italy
Antonio is an elderly, eccentric pensioner lives alone in an apartment in the center of Cagliari. He spend his days in chat rooms, where he sings classic Italian songs. There he meets Karen, a German pianist and they become friends. But Karen is hiding a secret.
Experimental
Director Chuck George Tsioutsias
Country UK
‘Once Upon Another’ is a visual narrative that challenges the notion of traditional sculpture and its relationship with surrounding spaces. It consists of a series of vignettes of installations (or in this case sculptures) that live in grand architectural landscapes.
Director Robin Lochmann
Country Germany
In a forgotten village, where everyone is cut from the same cloth, a new, self-proclaimed leader arrives changing the local way of life. Dividing lines are carved out as the once unified society is torn and segregated. THEM is a cautionary tale of misguided ideologies, destructive leadership and of being an outsider. But most importantly, it is a film about celebrating what we have in common rather than what separates us.
Director Justin Bentvelsen
Country Netherlands
Screens occupy the majority of our daily lives, perhaps unconsciously. CGI is becoming more realistic and dominant every day. This increasingly blurs the boundary between reality and the alternative “reality” of the CGI world.
Music Video
Director Ivan Yudin
Country Russia
Official music video for Adagio for Strings and Storm by Nico Cartosio.
Director Loïc Andrieu
Country France
Throughout a cinematic video, director Loïc Andrieu introduces a new female hero high-concept. It features Jane, an enigmatic L.A.P.D officer, forced to face her Orphic power to dive into death
Bass Astral x IGO “Feeling Exactly”
Director Grajper
Country Poland
The protagonist’s dilemmas and his inability to recognize his emotions was the film’s starting point. Set in a psychiatric hospital, the film touches on the dark history of hospitals and their mistreated patients.
Director Sakari Lerkkanen
Country UK
A Man confronts his fear of Death on a journey to the other side. Death which is represented by woman.
Director Christian Holm Glad
Country Norway
“Farewell” is an emotional and visually impressive mosaic of personal stories from across the world that are masterfully connected to the piano driven melancholy of the track.
Director Chris Ullens
Country UK
Lee Ann embarks on a cinematic road trip through iconic California, all shot frame by frame in rarely seen before rear projection stop motion. The combination of real backgrounds shot on location mixed with hand-crafted miniature foregrounds make this a really unique film.
Paul Kalkbrenner ‘Part Twelve‘
Director Taisia Deeva
Country Germany
We are witnessing the life of a patriarchic and totalitarian community living in an isolated place after the death of the oldest man – their leader.
Director Kevin McGloughlin
Country Italy
The album’s flag piece of Stefano Lentini, takes shape from artist Kevin McGloughlin’s visual work by 3D light ghosts. The single encapsulates the special effects’ illusions of a threatening new world, but softly expands into a piano epilogue, developing in a climax of tense flash glows.
Director Kévin Roualland, Maxime Dupuy
Country France
Wild Horses is both a short film and electronic music video telling a dystopian sci-fi love story through beautiful, timeless animation.
Non-EU Documentary
Directors Lynn Montgomery
Country USA
Grace Fisher was an active musician and dancer until a rare spine disease almost derailed her budding career.
Directors Lynn Montgomery
Country USA
Grace Fisher was an active musician and dancer until a rare spine disease almost derailed her budding career.
Australia´s Lost Impressionist – John Russel
Director Australia
Country Hungary
Who was John Russell and why has he been largely overlooked by mainstream art history?
NON-EU Feature
Director Brian A. Metcalf
Country USA
A rideshare driver, suffering from mental illness, discovers that his sister is in debt to a dangerous crime syndicate.
Director Jun Wang
Country China
Sha Tao is a village girl with mental disorders who gets involved in a money transaction of ghost marriage.
NON-EU SHORT
Directors Raúl Koler, Emiliano Sette
Country Argentina, Mexico
Since the timeless night, on the life’s plains, humanity faces the Sorcerers of Evil’s indefeasible designs…
Director Bonnie Foster
Country USA
A fashion model leaves her life for the desert and meets a mysterious stranger who finally brings the change she’s been looking for.
Director Yang Tian Zijie
Country China
Summary of the film. Short summary (Not centered) Justified if possible.
Carry My Heart to the Yellow River
Director Alexis Van Hurkman
Country USA, China
Taking her hospitalized friend’s place on a bike tour to the Yellow River, a high school graduate travels to faraway Gannan and races the clock to share pictures of the journey.
Director Hao Zheng
Country USA
In the near future, when all labor works are replaced by humanoids, a Chinese chef, Pu (60s) is ordered to pass on his cooking skill to a humanoid robot William.
Director Grace Philips
Country USA
While trying to maintain composure and a sense of normalcy in a tough situation, Dorris Havemeyer struggles to keep up her spirits while celebrating a significant birthday.
Director Kaveh Mazaheri
Country Iran
Majid, a young financially struggling man, comes up with a ploy in order to better the life of his wife Sarah.
Director Eghbal Shirzaei
Country Iran
It’s a minimal story about a woolen old man as a metaphor of our life.
Director Karen Hsu
Country China
Jimmy is an elderly office worker. Everyday he sticks to the same routine. Life’s not grand but enjoyable. But recently, something unusual seems to be happening in his life.
Director Gabriele Di Sazio
Country USA
A 14 year old boy sneaks into a pool with his friends to dive off the 10m diving platform. He will fail to demonstrate his courage to his friends but he will end up demonstrating it to himself.
In partnership with Cinalfama.
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating
Director Elisabeth Tova Bailey
Country USA
When a woman is bedridden by a mysterious pathogen, a forest snail unexpectedly takes up residence on her nightstand. Together, the woman and snail share an intimate journey of survival and resilience. Their captivating and graceful explorations expand the boundaries of the bedroom. An intimate and surprising live action true story. Adapted from the award-winning nonfiction memoir of the same title.
Student Film
Director Treey Liu
Country China
Shōta runs into a century-old bathhouse where he finds inspiration in the back-beating massage rhythm. Shōta decides to organize a performance in the bathhouse for his new friend Wang Fushun.
Director Daphna Awadish
Country Netherlands
Have you ever had the impression that if you play the right song while a person is, for instance, frantically moving their arms trying to get rid of a bee, it may seem like they’re dancing instead? “No, I Don’t Want to Dance” it’s a stop motion animated short film which aims to raise awareness of how deadly dangerous dance can be.
Directors Jan Philip Baldus, Tobias Kraus
Country Germany
The low budget documentary “Día A Día” gives an unadulterated view into the daily lives of struggling individuals in La Paz, Bolivia.
Directors Mathilde Girard, Auriane Remond, Julia Berdollt, Abigaëlle Michel, Victoria Lallemand
Country France
Kumagai, a veteran samurai is forced to kill a mysterious opponent on the battlefield. The memory of his deed keeps haunting him and is destroying him day after day.
Director Sarah Pannakoek
Country Netherlands
Wanda is riding her horse when suddenly, his eye gets stolen and a great adventure starts.
Director Alexander Hauser
Country Germany
Lisa supports her former drug addict mother Sabine in the custody dispute with the youth welfare office. They are on the verge of preventing Sabine from losing custody of Tom. When suddenly the recently released from the prison and heroin addicted father is back on the doorstep, the family structure comes apart. Lisa starts to doubt what is best for Tom.
Director Kevin Tromp
Country Netherlands
In a strange and deserted world where time does not seem to exist, Sam wanders alone. While searching for the strength to cope with the loss of his mother, both light and darkness are crossing his path.
Director Villő Krisztics
Country Hungary
The Greek philosopher Socrates returns as a stray cat. He is taken in by Viola, who is desperately fighting for independence in the stifling milieu her mother has built around her. Everyone who surrounds Viola has opinions on her unstable spirit, yet Viola finds the company of the cat more entertaining.
Director João Gonzalez
Country Portugal
Nestor, a man with several obsessive-compulsive behaviours lives in an unstable houseboat which never stops oscillating.
Directors Xufei Wu, Chun Yao Chang
Country China
1920s, Southern China. A young bridegroom is visiting his aunt, who lives alone in the distant mountains. Bamboo grows everywhere like an ocean. The mansion is beautiful, and his aunt seems kind. Still, there is that locked room in the attic. And that strange noise. And secrets?
Director Jonas Rouyer
Country France
In order to forget the society he despises Philastère takes refuge in his passion, legends.
Director Victor Bargès
Country France
A car is stopped in a Serbian countryside. A young man, Ulysse, with facial injuries is on the phone. He turns over the back seat of his car and sits on the driver seat. There is not enough money. On the back seat, a couple of refugees are trying to reason the young man.
English