The 24th Panorama will screen 14 short films that are nominated for the 2010 UIP European Film Academy Award.

Ghent film festival

AMOR

Dir. Thomas Wangsmo (Norway, 14’, fiction)

Five minutes. € 1,000. Everybody’s happy. In a city where young, rich people will spend whatever it takes to get what they want, Thomas provides them with a service no one else will.

Valladolid film festival

AMPELMANN

(Lights) Dir. Giulio Ricciarelli (Germany, 14’, fiction)

LIGHTS is a comedy. It is the story of a small-town police officer with big dreams of becoming a hero. His only problem is that the peaceful village at the end of the world offers no opportunity for heroism. So he decides to take matters into his own hands.

Cork film festival

LES ESCARGOTS DE JOSEPH

(Joseph’s Snails) Dir. Sophie Roze (France, 12’, animation)

Joseph is a shy, introverted little boy who collects snails. One day he gets swallowed up by his own tummy-button and discovers the disturbing world of the “navel-gazers”, people who, by only communicating with their navel, curl in on themselves and turn into snails…

Angers film festival

BLIJF BIJ ME, WEG

(Stay Away) Dir. Paloma Aguillera Valdebenito (The Netherlands, 24’, fiction)

Five fragments describing the relational problems between three family members, in particular the struggle of the mother, split between her partner and her daughter.

Rotterdam film festival

ONSKEBORN

(Out of Love) Dir. Brigitte Staermose (Denmark, 29’, docudrama)

Fusing documentary and fiction, OUT OF LOVE depicts the lives of children trying to survive the aftermath of war in Kosovo by selling cigarettes on the street. Through monologues performed by the children against the eerie backdrops of Pristina, the film tells their gripping and sad story of memory, loss and fear.

Berlin film festival

VENUS VS ME

Dir. Nathalie Teirlinck (Belgium, 27’, fiction)

Entangled in a realm of thought, twelve-year-old Marie has trouble growing up. When her young mother brings home a new boyfriend, questions remain unanswered and communication seems impossible. Frenetic, Marie tries to win back her mother while she silently finds solace in a world of memories.

Tampere film festival

LUMIKKO

(The Little Snow Animal) Dir. Miia Tervo (Finland, 19’, documentary)

It's not wrong to look for love - you just have to look for it in the right place.

Cracow film festival

TUSSILAGO

Dir. Jonas Odell (Sweden, 15’, animation)

West German terrorist Norbert Kröcher was arrested in Stockholm on March 31, 1977. He was leading a group planning to kidnap Swedish politician Anna-Greta Leijon. A number of suspects were arrested in the days following. One of the people arrested was Kröcher's ex-girlfriend, "A". This is her story...

Grimstad film festival

HANOI –WARSAWA

Dir. Katarzyna Klimkiewicz (Poland, 30’, fiction)

A Vietnamese girl, Mai Anh, illegally enters Poland. Now she only has to reach Warsaw, where she will join her boyfriend and start the life she has dreamed of. But the journey through Poland turns into one of humiliation and violence.

Edinburgh film festival

MARÍA’S WAY

Dir. Anne Milne (UK/Spain, 16’, documentary)

MARÍA’S WAY is an observational documentary which allows a glimpse into the ways of the modern pilgrim and a woman who awaits their arrival at her small slice of the Camino de Santiago.

Vila do Conde film festival

TALLERES CLANDESTINOS

Dir. Catalina Molina (Austria/Argentina, 40’, fiction)

A job as a seamstress tempts Juana, a young Bolivian woman, to neighbouring Argentina. Her husband and child remain behind in their homeland. It doesn’t take long for the illusion of financial gain to burst – Juana is being exploited while her employer’s demands become even more absurd and working conditions become unbearable. When her son becomes ill, Juana decides to return, but as far as her employer is concerned, leaving is not an option.

Sarajevo film festival

RENDEZ-VOUS A STELLA-PLAGE

Dir. Shalimar Preuss (France, 18’, fiction)

Volunteers hold funerals for unknown or forgotten deceased individuals. On the beach, a phone booth is ringing. A young couple strolling by picks up the receiver. At the other end of the line, a mother is trying to reach her daughter.

Locarno film festival

DIARCHIA

(Diarchy) Dir. Ferdinando Cito Filomarino (Italy, 20’, fiction)

Giano and Luc hardly know each other. They are driving through the woods, about to take shelter from the rain in Luc’s villa. After having an argument, they start wrestling playfully, but suddenly an accident happens. Panic-stricken, Giano doesn’t know whether Luc is dead or unconscious. When Luc’s sister arrives home unexpectedly, Giano tries to talk to her but she ignores him. He carries Luc’s body to the woods, where he finds the courage to look at the lifeless body.

Venice film festival

THE EXTERNAL WORLD

Dir. David O’Reilly (Germany, 15’, animation)

A boy learns to play the piano.

Drama film festival

ITT VAGYOK

(Here I Am) Dir. Balint Szimler (Hungary, 37’, fiction)

Viktor can’t sleep, so he wanders around in the city. He meets various friends as well as strangers. He is looking for something. Just like the rest of us.