INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION BLOCK 5 - SEAF 2021
Friday, November 12, 2021 9:15 PM EST, Run Time: 76 minutes

​Cheetah needs a break, longing for the gardener, lips melting off, marching with strange creatures, vocal tics personified, violently sexual fruit, hunting the innocent, odd librarians, a skyscraper death drop, creepy ghosts, squishy dildos, minotaur morphing, and animal instincts take over.
* This program contains some films that are not suitable for children
The Great Malaise
Director - Catherine Lepage (Canada)
Time - 5:19
A young woman offers a self-description that presents her life in the most glowing terms—telling us what we want to hear. The visual narrative tells a different story, illustrating with heart-rending power the weight of anxiety carried by this driven overachiever as she strives for happiness. Approaching the subject in a way that’s both honest and personal, director Catherine Lepage departs from the intimate and arrives at the universal.
Sweet Nothing
Director - Joana Fischer, Marie Kenov (Switzerland)
Time - 4:01
Rosa is sunbathing in her garden on a hot summer afternoon, when suddenly the idyllic peace is disturbed by the noise of a lawnmower. The gardener in the neighbouring garden is going about his work, while Rosa is increasingly ecstatic at the sight of his tender touch of the flowers.
Feed the Ghosted
Director - Pia Graf (Germany)
Time - 4:48
Feed the Ghosted captures the feeling of being overwhelmed by information overload in a globalized, digitized world and tells a story about a glittering everyday hero, who is thrown in the midst of a chaotic cyberspace.
Photay - Villain
Director - Sarina Nihei (United States / Japan)
Time - 3:53
A girl wanders around the mystical world with strange creatures.
Belly Talkers
Director - Kate Renshaw-Lewis (USA)
Time - 7:53
Growing up, I always explained my chronic vocal tic as the man who lives in my belly and likes to scream. Belly Talkers is a 7-minute animation about this man and the ties between tics, memory, and trauma.  Recordings of my vocal tics from the past two years are used as dialogue and as the film unravels the connections between the characters, the film’s medium becomes more experimental and tactile, blending 2D and 3D elements.
Fruit
Director - Ivan Li (Canada)
Time - 3:25
An in-depth technical analysis on Fruit.
MOM
Director - Kajika Aki Ferrazzini (France)
Time - 9:17
Set in a dystopian world, a young girl runs for her life while cameras broadcast the action. A declaration of love to the memories shaping our dreams for the future.
Library of Paradise, Garden of Pain
Director - Christopher Childs (United Kingdom)
Time - 3:20
In a luscious garden, a sickly man is cared for by a group of strange librarians.
The Dip
Director - Simona Mehandzhieva (United Kingdom)
Time - 4:32
Where 'Paris is Burning' meets Hieronymous Bosch. A dip, a shablam, a death drop is when a dancer strikes a pose and dramatically falls on their back. The higher the fall, the spicier the dip. The story follows Shesa Quinn dipping from the top of a skyscraper. Gagged by her stunt, the townsfolk bellow spiral into chaos. Will Shesa land a perfect dip?
DAD IS GONE
Director - Pere Ginard (Spain)
Time - 3:44
Dad is Gone. Dad is Ghost. Dad is Thing… spinning on its own skin.
Eating in the Dark
Director - Inari Sirola (United Kingdom)
Time - 9:05
Through snakey dildos, setting boundaries and a journey through a mind bending forest, we follow Siro's quest for self discovery.
Eyes and Horns
Director - Chaerin Im (Republic of Korea, Germany, United States)
Time - 6:15
Exploration of masculinity begins with the Minotaur, a mythical creature Picasso used to portray himself in his etching print series. The Minotaur goes through a violent struggle between being male and female. Finally, lines blur and boundaries of sexes disappear.
Hold Me Tight
Director - Mélanie Robert-Tourneur (Belgium)
Time - 6:06
In the heart of a dark forest, two silhouettes meet, attract and repel each other in an explosive bridal parade. "Hold Me Tight" is a bittersweet romance.