We announce the lineup of the Film and Art School Etudes Competition of the 32nd edition of EnergaCAMERIMAGE International Film Festival.
First held in 1997, Film and Art School Etudes Competition (formerly Student Etudes Competition) supports the development of novice filmmakers and provides unique opportunity to confront cinematic achievements of students from various parts of the world. Each year, a growing number of film schools submit their best etudes for consideration of the EnergaCAMERIMAGE selection committee. The winners are chosen by an international jury of prominent filmmakers and industry professionals.
The author of the best cinematography wins the coveted László Kovács Student Award - The Golden Tadpole. Silver and Bronze Tadpoles are awarded for the second and third place respectively. Additionally, Polish Filmmakers Association will award the winner of the Student Etudes Competition a cheque for PLN 10 000.
BORROWED HANDS
A young woman with cerebral palsy decides to hire a sex worker to experience her first sexual encounter, but it does not turn out as expected, resulting in intimacy.
Original title: Manos Ajenas
Director: Adrián Monroy Molina
Cinematographer: Melissa Nocetti
School: Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (CCC)
Country and year: Meksyk, 2023
BREAKING GLASS
A tribute to the resilience of dreams, the tenacity of the human spirit, and most of all the enduring impact of those who defy convention to reach new heights. Bonnie's story is not only an inspiration, particularly to young girls and women, but a reminder that no dream is too lofty, no challenge too daunting, and no sky too vast to conquer.
Director: Nicolás Bori
Cinematographer: Valentin Lilgenau
School: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
Country and year: Niemcy, 2024
EYE OF THE FEN
Far in the future. A young Finno-Ugric individual sets out to seek answers to life’s big questions, but ends up becoming a slave of a cult that cherishes ancient knowledge, only to realise that the answers they have been given are contaminated - quite literally.
Director: Topi Raulo
Cinematographer: Arttu Liimatta
School: ELO Film School of Aalto University
Country and year: Finalandia, 2023
HOW TO SKIN A CHEETAH
Bobby's tales of hunting game on the plains of Tanzania inspire a sinister side in her mollycoddled co-worker Lucas.
Director: Meghan O'Shaughnessy
Cinematographer: Naoise Kettle
School: National Film School at IADT Dún Laoghaire
Country and year: Irlandia, 2024
JAK WSZYSCY INNI
This is a story of a young soldier, Willi Langner, who, with World War II coming to an end, refuses to sacrifice himself for the madness of national socialism. But he is trapped in a bunker that he must defend from the Soviets together with a colleague and a commander who is loyal to the regime. His life will depend on his decisions.
Original title: Wie All Die Anderen
Director: Max Bommas
Cinematographer: Oscar Pinaud
School: Warsaw Film School
Country and year: Poland, 2023
LAND OF DREAMS
It is 1946. Recently repatriated Paula is trying to feel at home in Friesland after her experiences in a Japanese internment camp. She is taken in by family she has never met before. Her presence is tolerated, but not fully accepted. Suspicion grows among the family when, since her arrival at the potato farm, brown rot is found on one of the potatoes. Paula feels she has to survive once again, but this time she finally has a choice.
Original title: Droomland
Director: Bart Niewenweg
Cinematographer: Stern Nordsiek
School: University of the Arts Utrecht (HKU)
Country and year: Netherlands, 2024
LAZARUS
Toma and Elena bid farewell to their recently deceased, 5 years old son through VR technology. For Elena, this turns into a dangerous obsession. Toma is forced to delete the project.
Original title: Lazar
Director: Orlin Menkadzhiev
Cinematographer: Veselin Menkadzhiev
School: National Academy for Theatre & Film Arts (NATFA)
Country and year: Bulgaria, 2024
I AM NOT THERE
Piotr returns to his family home after years to confront his alcoholic father and rebuild his relationship with his brother Krzysiek. The film tells the story of a man who must face a past that is catching up with him.
Original title: Nie ma mnie
Director: Daniel Le Hai
Cinematographer: Daniel Le Hai
School: Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School
Country and year: Poland, 2024
ORCHID
A short film about who we once were and what we become.
Director: Tin Brendel
Cinematographer: Tin Brendel
School: Łódź Film School
Country and year: Poland, 2023
PHOTOGRAPH 1
Two perspectives on the same1950s fashion photoshoot in which a career changing photograph was taken for both the photographer and the model. Both can agree the photograph was great, however their personal recollection on the shoot are starkly different.
Director: Oscar Simmons
Cinematographer: Christopher Hudson
School: National Film and Television School (NFTS)
Country and year: UK, 2024
POWER OF THE MIRROR
The intimate relationship between the popular model Aster and his self-aware reflection in the mirror is put at risk when the prominent singer Zoe goes missing. Aster was the last one to see her.
Original title: Macht des Spiegels
Director: Ido Gotlib
Cinematographer: Benjamin F. Meyer
School: Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF
Country and year: Germany, 2024
RED
On a December night in 1947, in a hotel on the outskirts of town, the mayor's son is discovered dead in a room. Amidst corrupt cops and unexpected foes, beneath the crimson glow of the hotel's neon lights, masks are unveiled: who is Louise, the one trying to cover up the case? What really happened on the night of the murder?
Original title: Rouge
Director: Jason Boussioux
Cinematographer: Anton Belyakov
School: ENS Louis-Lumiere
Country and year: France, 2024
REMAINS
A Windrush migrant is employed as a servant on an estate, presumably to look after the master, the manor, and a collection of colonial artefacts but is made to wonder whether he was in fact procured to be its most prized possession.
Director: Theja Rio
Cinematographer: Natdanai Naksuwarn
School: National Film and Television School (NFTS)
Country and year: UK, 2024
REPLIKA
A small house sits in a middle of a cavernous hall; this is Hugh’s home. As a group of faceless figures begin to surround his space, he must decide whether or not to face them.
Director: Max Olson
Cinematographer: Audrey Biche
School:American Film Institute Conservatory (AFI)
Country and year: USA, 2023
SALON SYRENA
In the mysterious Siren Salon, a young woman in an abusive marriage must decide how many inches – and people – she’s willing to cut off.
Director: Ella Grace Rodriguez
Cinematographer: Nicholas Buckwalter
School: USC School of Cinematic Arts
Country and year: USA, 2024
THE DAM
Michał wants to forget about the past, marked by the disappearance of his son, and start a new chapter in his life. An unexpected message from a mysterious witness to an event that happened years ago, thwarts his plans and forces him to once again confront his memories, which turns out to be more difficult than he expected.
Original title: Tama
Director: Giovanni Pierangeli
Cinematographer: Kacper Gawron
School: Łódź Film School
Country and year: Poland, 2024
THIS PECULIAR DAY
Most probably there's nothing more pathetic and sad than the midlife crisis of an artist who truly has it all but realizes it way too late.
Original title: Tento divný deň
Director: Emília Ondriašová
Cinematographer: Alex Miartuš
School: The Academy of the Performing Arts in Bratislava (FTF VŠMU)
Country and year: Slovakia, 2023
TITANS
Bound by an unbreakable promise, Lu and Ika pledge to remain inseparable. But as they step into the opulent world of the Prussian court through their marriages, their oath faces a formidable trial.
Original title: Titaninnen
Director: Jannik Weiße
Cinematographer: Lisa Jilg
School: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
Country and year: Germany, 2024
TRAINS PASSING BY
Anne is caring for her mother and endlessly assembling ballpoint pens at home. Her monotonous everyday life is only interrupted by the constant ringing of the telephone. The wrong number again. Old conflicts break out again between mother and daughter, the distance between them seems irreconcilable. Until one day the phone rings again.
Original title: Kugellager
Director: Stella Artemisia Refle
Cinematographer: Lena M. Riedler
School: University of Applied Sciences Salzburg
Country and year: Austria, 2023
WANT
Immortality is finally within the Sorcerer’s grasp, but his beloved servant does not wish to join him.
Director: Zalman Zuckerbraun
Cinematographer: Max Losson
School: Florida State University College of Motion Picture, Television and Recording Arts (FSU)
Country and year: USA, 2024