For the eighth time, interfilm has the honour to present captivating short film screenplays by young international filmmakers. Nine contestants from Hungary, Iran, North Macedonia, South Africa, Great Britain, China, Philippines, Ukraine and Venezuela will present their idea for a short film to the public.
Experience Nikol Cibulya, Behnaz Eskandarnejad, Imran Hamdulay, Reuben Henry-Fellows & Adam Devine, Eva Kamchevska, Viv Li, Marion Lomboy, Zhanna Ozirna and Mario Orías at the presentation of their script ideas on Saturday, 14th November at 1 pm during the pitching sessions, online via zoom!
After graduating with an MA in Film Studies at ELTE University in Budapest, Nikol Cibulya started working as a production assistant. After that, she worked as a story-liner on the country’s longest running daily drama for three years. In the meantime, she started directing music and fashion videos and web commercials. In the past few years she has been working on daily TV series as a freelance director. She made two short films (IRINYI and FEVER) - both period pieces. Currently she is developing the script of a limited TV series called GRANNIES ON THE MOVE.
Maria Theresia gives birth - Hungary
live action
It is a story about the unreasonable expectations towards women. The young new queen has to give birth in public while acting like a leader and deciding about war and peace. She has to prove she can rule and she has to provide a male heir while everybody is watching her uncomfortably closely.
Behnaz Eskandarnejad
Behnaz is an Iranian Filmmaker, who graduated in Persian Literature and studied Cinema at Bamdad International Art Institute in Tehran/Iran. She worked as Unit Production Manager for 316, a feature movie directed by Payman Haghani in 2014. She was Assistant Director in CEREMONY NIGHT, a short movie directed by Behnam Abedi in 2019. Both movies attended many film festivals. So far, she directed the short movie THE PERFORMANCE in 2019. It has won the Award of Excellence at the 16th Accolade Film Festival and Best Actress at the “10” Film Festival.
Production company: Three Gardens Film
Things you can’t see. - Iran
live action/ animation
A desperate Mother tries to manipulate her young daughter to speak against her father at court. She wants to raise her child and her lawyer sees no other chance than to manipulate the little girl to get full custody.
Imran Hamdulay is a writer, director and producer based in Cape Town. He was the recipient of the 2019 Robert Bosch Stiftung award and the JCC Carthage Pro award for his feature film in development PIECES OF SELMA. PIECES OF SELMA participated at Durban Filmmart 2019 and was selected for Talentueuses Caméras D’Afrique at Cannes Marché du Film. He has had three feature film projects presented at Durban Filmmart with his most recent, THE ACCIDENT, winning the Cinemart IFFR Lab award.
The Wait - South Africa
live action
After arriving at the Cape Town police station to report a crime, Mzo finds an elderly man who has been waiting in the line for over three hours. Mzo takes it upon himself to help the man but he experiences resistance from the people ahead in line and a stifling bureaucratic system. The Wait is an examination of race and privilege and the fragile nature of a post-apartheid South Africa.
Like so many others, I fear I have been struck by the writer’s curse; given the ability to dream of what could be, only to be trailed by half finished word documents and incoherent working titles. When I’m not suffering from my need to write, I’m reading, (who would have thought?), as my aim is to get into the world of publishing. However, my dream will always be to be a screenwriter. As such, I am thankful for the opportunity Script Lab has provided in making that dream all the more tangible.
I’m single, no kids, I like long walks - Oops, wrong bio. It was during adolescence I decided I wanted to be a Screenwriter, primarily because I adore the concept of seeing stories come to life. When I’m not writing, I’m either mixing cocktails at work or baking vast amounts of cookies. Furthermore I am a bit of a nerd; I love Lord of the Rings and Star Wars (Oh to be a Sith). My ultimate dream is to have my own production company, and I’m ecstatic to be taking my first step.
Post It - Great Britain
live action
An ordinary stay at an isolated AirBnB quickly becomes a horrifying ordeal for Isaac, as he is forced to depend on a series of strange notes in order to survive. Can he trust the power of the notes to lead him to safety, or does the path only lead further into the darkness?
Eva Kamchevska was born and raised in Skopje, Macedonia. Being an only child wasn’t a lonely life for Eva, because she had her movies and TV. Soon after graduating from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, Eva starts working in the highest rated private TV station. Always wanting to learn more, Eva decides to cross the ocean and get back to studying. That is how she comes to VFS (Vancouver Film School), into the Writing for Film and TV program. Her goal is to make films and TV that mean something, that touch people, make them smile or leave them feel cathartic after a good cry.
Baby in the closet - Macedonia
live action
Would you abort your fetus if it turns out to be gay?
Viv Li is a filmmaker born and raised in Beijing. She holds a bachelor degree in Drama from University of Manchester and a master degree in Directing from DocNomads. She has worked as a writer in China before directing short films. In the past 10 years, she travelled extensively in Europe, South America and Asia. She enjoys working between genres, disciplines and cultures while focusing on the sensibility and tangibility of moments, relationships, sexuality and self-awareness.
Across the Waters - China
live action
In the dark night of a deserted Chinese mining town, a teenage wife discovers a glimpse of the outside world through a stolen walkman. The music she has never heard before triggers her urge to escape. And her only chance is an illegal truck driver.
Marion Lomboy is a 24-year old aspiring filmmaker from the Philippines. He has joined several filmmaking masterclasses, scriptwriting workshops, and related competitions locally and abroad, where he was shortlisted in some. He discovered that his passion lies in filmmaking even if his training is in Psychology. He dreams to become part of the emerging international exposure of Philippine cinema. He wants to make films that give both enjoyment and hope to those who need it the most.
Rosary - Philippines
live action
Rosary is about a day in the life of a young child with autism and his jobless older brother, who tries to adapt to their newfound life in the province. Things take a turn for the better when a nun and an orphan girl invite them to the monthly “Meet & Greet” of the local community.
Mario Orias is a Venezuelan-born storyteller based in Berlin, who specializes in film editing. Mario has worked in almost every genre, from fiction to documentary, for theatrical, television and online formats. He exercises his healthy obsession for effective narrative and rhythm in both his editing and writing. His most recent film, “Beyond the Visible: Hilma af Klint,” recently premiered in Germany, and was selected one of the best films of 2020 by the New York Times.
Permutation - Venezuela
live action
A socially engaged young woman from the Peruvian high society, trapped in an unhappy marriage, tries to scape her suffocating and conservative world and becomes a prominent guerrilla leader.
Zhanna Ozirna is a director and a screenwriter. Berlinale talents 2020 participant. Now she works on her feature debut GROUND ZERO. In 2018, Zhanna got an award Best Ukrainian film (86 IFF) and Jury Special Mention (Odesa IFF) for her doc short BOND. A winner of Oppose Othering grant program at GoEast Film Festival (2017, Wiesbaden). She works as a lecturer at Ukrainian Catholic University in Media Communications and as a program coordinator of international short film festivals.
Production: RADAR films
Anna & Gravity - Ukraine
animation
The human part of Anna the Bear wants to have sex with Alex the Deer. But her animal’s nature wants to eat him.