EDINBURGH SHORT FILM FESTIVAL 2022 PROGRAMME 
Oct 28th – Nov 13th 2022
We’re thrilled to present our full 2022 programme!
Thanks to our selection committee, juries and our head programmer, Rebecca Selby-Heard, for all their hard work.
FRIDAY 28TH OCTOBER: PRE-LAUNCH NETWORKING WITH CINETOPIA
Venue: The Royal Dick Bar, Summerhall
Time: 7:00pm-11:00pm FREE
We’re kicking off our 2022 programme with a free, pre-launch networking event with our partners, Cinetopia at The Royal Dick bar in Summerhall. Come along and meet Edinburgh-based film-makers and find out more about this year’s ESFF!
FRIDAY 28TH OCTOBER
Venue: Summerhall
Time: 7:30pm-9:30pm
EPIPHANY – TICKETS
It only takes a second to make a life changing decision! Sudden realisations and difficult choices flow through this eclectic programme of international shorts. Featuring a heart-warming family comedy from Ireland, an intense-domestic drama from Scotland, and an incredible drama from Pakistan which first premiered at Venice International Film Festival.
Our opening night, with (brief) highlights from our friends at the 7 Second International Film Festival and networking hosted by Cinetopia.
SANDSTORM Seemab Gul UK Premiere Venice International Film Festival 2021
MOMENT OF IMPACT Blair Stewart Best Documentary Short Port Blair International Film Festival 2022
CHIATURA Toby Andris Palm Springs ShortFest 2022
ERASED Tom Lynch UK Premiere
WHEN WILL THE WARMTH COME? Oleksandra Pletenetska UK Premiere
THE MADMEN’S DIAGONAL Doria Tillier UK Premiere Audience Award, Best Picture Award Festival International Court de Voiron 2022
THE ENIGMA OF FAINA Durna Safarova UK Premiere Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2021
TOO ROUGH Sean Lìonadh Best International Short Film Galway Film Fleadh 2022
RUTHLESS Matthew McGuigan Best Irish Short Film IndieCork Film Festival
Content Advisory: strong violence, domestic abuse, coercive control and descriptions of torture.
SATURDAY 29TH OCTOBER
Venue: Summerhall
Time: 2pm-4pm
LOW BUDGET FILMMAKING WORKSHOP & PANEL (2 hrs)
Low Budget Filmmaking Workshop
Our panel of invited guests will dissect low budget filmmaking from finance to casting, location shooting to essential crew; and beyond.
In collaboration with the Glasgow Media Access Centre and led by documentary filmmaker Duncan Cowles, the panel includes our festival ambassador, the award-winning actor Jamie Robson, filmmakers Sabina Torres, Derek Anderson, Nazia Mohammad and GMAC’s Ana Songel.
Free Entry
SATURDAY 29TH OCTOBER
Venue: Summerhall
Time: 7:30pm – 9:30pm
SCOTTISH SHORTS – TICKETS
Scottish shorts explored in our programme which we’ve co-curated with Glasgow Media Access Centre, including shorts commissioned via GMAC’s ‘Little Pictures’ programme and some ESFF filmmakers to watch out for.
STOP THE WORLD Matthew Hickman
INDUCTION Derek Anderson
PRESS KEY 5 Lipa Hussain
UNSEEN Strath Martin
CARRY ME HOME – A FERRY TALE Seth Hardwick
FOLDING Paul Sng
I MISS HUGS Ana Songel
THE QUEEN’S SPEECH Helen Guinn
AN ANXIOUS PUPPET Sabina Torres
Content Advisory: strong language, domestic abuse.
SUNDAY 30TH OCTOBER
Venue: Summerhall
Time: 7:30pm – 9:30pm
HAUNTED FIGURES – TICKETS
Horror and Thriller combine to both intrigue and abhor in this strand. Creatures from other realms haunt the living, uncomfortable images dance until they seem familiar, and obscure characters unveil the terror of what lies within. Immerse yourself in this programme, until you begin to question your own reality.
Featuring animation award winners, an amazing premier of a Scottish short and a highly cinematic Thai horror that won the Director’s Choice Award at Cannes 2022.
RED ROOM Bryan M. Ferguson
THE AWAKENING OF THE INSECTS Stephanie Lansaque & Francois Leroy UK Premiere Best Original Music Annecy International Film Festival 2021
ANIMATION Kate Sullivan
THE WELL Peter Stanley-Ward
THE HORSE LATITUDES Damon Mohl UK Premiere 17th International Festival Signes de Nuit
COMBUSTIBLE Louis Grossot, Quentin Maillet, Betty Natale, Benoit Brissiaud, Pierre Picquot UK Premiere
CINEGRAFFIC SCORE Iloobia UK Premiere
RIM Hagar Faibish UK Premiere Best Student Animated Film Award – Golden Kukor Animation Festival
KASSANDRA Ivar Wigan UK Premiere LA Shorts International Film Festival 2022
OST. Abhichoke Chandrasen UK Premiere Festival Director’s Choice – Best Horror Award Cannes Film Festival 2022
Content Advisory: strong and offensive language, violence, bloody violence.
THURSDAY 3RD NOVEMBER
Venue: Summerhall
Time: 6pm – 8pm
A KIND OF LOVE – TICKETS
Love knows no bounds in these shorts which explore the unexpected ways we experience feelings of warmth and adoration. Featuring Scottish animation, multiple international award-winning shorts and UK premiers, this programme also includes an engrossing drama-thriller, which won the Special Jury Award for Screenwriting at Sundance.
THE CRIMINALS Serhat Karaaslan UK Premiere Special Jury Award for Screenwriting Sundance Film Festival 2021
COVID LOVE Rene Nuijens UK Premiere Best Comedy & Supporting Actress SEVIFF Sevilla Indie Film Festival 2022
PHOSPHENE Rowan MacDonald Best Student Film Cannes World Film Festival 2022
BINGE LOVING Thomas Deknop UK Premiere Humo Award Leuven International Short Film Festival 2021
EMPTY LITTLE PEOPLE Josh O’Caoimh & Mikai Geronimo UK Premiere
MY FRIEND Michaël Bier & Hervé Piron UK Premiere Press Award Cluj Shorts 2022
MOON Zoé Pelchat Grand Jury Award Amarcort Film Festival, 2021
Content Advisory: strong Language, suicide attempts and blood.
FRIDAY 4TH NOVEMBER
Venue: Summerhall
Time: 7:45pm – 9:45pm
ITALIAN SHORTS –TICKETS
The ESFF and The Italian Cultural Institute presents a night of curated Italian Short Film with The Adriatic Film Festival and The Italian Short Film Center. We’re exploring contemporary Italian life and society with some great films from all corners of Italy and a Q and A with invited guests from the Adriatic Film Festival.
GITA DI FAMIGLIA Francesco Della Ventura
BIG Daniele Pini
RADIO RIDERS Paola Piscitelli & Fabio Corbellini
LA NOTTE BRUCIA Angelica Gallo
L’ULTIMO SPEGNE LA LUCE Tommaso Santambrogio
MAESTRALE Nico Bonolomo
NOTTE ROMANA Valerio Ferrara
Content Advisory: strong and offensive language, violence, bloody violence, domestic abuse
SUNDAY 6TH NOVEMBER
Venue: The Voodoo Rooms
Time: 7:30pm – 9:30pm
TIES THAT BIND US – TICKETS
We are all tied to something, perhaps this is a universal sensation? The programme explores feelings of being bound to something or someone, ties to a forgotten time, the laws that constrict us, or even the ties of family and friendship.
Featuring two Scottish-made dramas, an incredible documentary from Afghanistan, animations from Finland and Ukraine, as well as an outstanding short from Iceland. This programme proudly hosts the UK premier of an engrossing Italian drama. Free for Students.
GO HOME Razan Madhoon London Short Film Festival 2022
WHEN MOM IS GONE Zeynep Kececiler London Documentary Film Festival 2022
RECIPES FOR BAKING BREAD Sara Nesteruk UK Premiere Best Experimental Film Intershort Festival
KIN Ruby Cedar Glasgow Short Film Festival 2022
DRINK MY LIFE Marzibil Saemundardottir UK Premiere
INCHEI Federico Demattè UK Premiere Toronto International Film Festival 2021
ALL MY MOM’S PHONE CALLS Iiti Yli-Harja UK Premiere Tampere Film Festival 2022
Content Advisory: strong language, substance abuse, insinuation of suicide and sexual violence
FRIDAY 11TH NOVEMBER
Venue: Summerhall
Time: 7:30pm – 9:30pm
JOURNEY – TICKETS
Freedom, truth, self-discovery and spirituality are all explored in this strand of international shorts. Featuring fantastic dramas that premiered at Cannes and Venice alongside an award winning stop-motion claymation from Australia.
WHITE ROOM Jakub Jirásek Human Rights Award Festival Cinéma et Droits Humains (Amnesty International)
4AM Mehdi Fikri UK Premiere Venice International Film Festival 2021
JOURNEY Sean Sevestre Remi Winner 55th Worldfest Houston International Film Festival 2022
INAYA’S ROOTS Camélia Jordana UK Premiere Cannes Film Festival 2021
SMALL Jonathan Payne
AUGUST SKY Jasmin Tenucci Cannes Film Festival 2022
SHE WOLF TOTEM Verónica Echegui UK Premiere Best Fiction Short Film Spanish Academy Goya Awards 2022
AN OSTRICH TOLD ME THE WORLD
IS FAKE AND I THINK I BELIEVE IT Lachlan Pendragon UK Premiere Best Australian Short Film Melbourne International Film Festival 2022
Content Advisory: Strong language, descriptions of torture and sexual violence.
SATURDAY 12TH NOVEMBER
Venue: Summerhall
Time: 7:30pm – 9:30pm
EUROPEAN FILM FESTIVALS SHOWCASE – TICKETS
Braving Brexit with their best films, we’re delighted to welcome Shortcutz Amsterdam, Adriatic Film Festival, Agence Belge du Court Métrage and Munich’s Unified Filmmakers, screening their award winners! A panel discussion hosted by Aidan Stanley of RTE to talk about what makes a great short film, follows the screening.
TIERRA BOMBA DIVE Joya Berrow & Lucy Jane Unified Filmmaker
MAMMARRANCA Francesco Piras Adriatic Film Festival
FOUNT Evrim İnci Unified Filmmakers
HOLIDAY Michiel Dhont Agence Belge du court métrage
RELICS Jonathan Dumosch & Rotem Ezra Unified Filmmakers
LES GLACONS Sara Dufossé Agence Belge du court métrage
THE HUMAN Harko Wubs Unified Filmmakers
FREEFALL Emmanuel Tenenbaum Shortcutz Amsterdam
Content Advisory: Strong language, mild violence
SUNDAY 13TH NOVEMBER
Venue: Summerhall
Time: 7:30pm – late
OTHER’S STORIES + AWARDS CEREMONY & CLOSING NIGHT PARTY – TICKETS
The stories we tell help to shape the world around us. Perspectives merge in this wonderful mixture of animation and comedy from around the globe. From a beautiful Scottish animation exploring the deep sea, to a Spanish Sci-Fi exploring the complexities of human nature; this programme features all sorts of stories!
Our awards ceremony and closing night party follows the screening.
SEND KELP Sophie Ann Lamb
HOODS OFF Natasha Gilmore and St Albert’s Primary School Cinedanza Festival 2022
BOREALIS Antoine M.Des Gavroches,Solène Juignet,Julien Giard,Noëlie Girard,Julien Tassan,Yann Meessen
THE MONKEY Xosé Zapata & Lorenzo Degl´Innocenti UK Premiere Winner 36th Goya Award Best Animated Short Film 2021
RUEBEN THE ROLLER ROO Will Prescott UK Premiere Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival 2022
I GOTTA LOOK GOOD
FOR THE APOCALYPSE Ayce Kartal UK Premiere Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2021
CRAYOLA DREAM THEATRE Sarahjane Swan & Roger Simian (Avant Kinema) UK Premiere
LIFE AND DEATH Volunteer Animation of Ukraine
A FRIEND’S FRIEND Julien Henry UK Premiere Brussels Short Film Festival 2022
REACH THE VORTEX Pedro Poveda UK Premiere Best Short Sombra- Festival De Cine Fantástico 2022
Content Advisory:Strong language, physical assault, bloody violence, and racism.
AWARDS CEREMONY AND LAST NIGHT PARTY FOLLOW THE SCREENING