FFF 2008 → Film Competition
Byousoku 5 Centimeters. A chain of short stories about their distance by Makoto Shinkai (2007, Japan)
After transferring to the same elementary school, Takaki and Akari became best friends. But when both families are forced to relocate, their lives change. After a year of separation, Takaki is about to reunite with Akari. Sitting on the train from Tokyo, memories of the past rush through his mind
Ben X by Nic Balthazar (2007, Belgium)
Ben is different. His life is a universe to itself, where he plays his favourite online computer game Archlord avidly, trying hard to train himself for the real world he lives in. The harsh world of a technical school is for him a daily kind of hell. Scarlite, the girl he has met in his on-line game, comes into his life, but that wasn’t part of the plan…
Black Sheep by Jonathan King (2006, New Zeland)
Terrified of sheep and dosed up on therapy, Henry Oldfield returns to his family’s farm to sell out to his older brother Angus, unaware that something baaaad is going on: Angus’ reckless genetic engineering program. When a pair of inept environmental activists release a mutant lamb from Angus’ laboratory onto the farm, thousands of sheep are turned into bloodthirsty predators.
De Profundis by Miguelanxo Prado (2006, Spain-Portugal)
There was once a house in the middle of the sea. The house had a tower and some steps leading into the water. In front of the steps, a woman often played her cello.
The woman was in love with a painter who longed to be a sailor. One day, she senses that, after a strong storm, her lover’s boat has crashed and he has drowned.
Gamera: Chiisaki yusha-tachi by Ryuta Tasaki (2006, Japan)
In a seaside town of Japan, the 11-years-old Toru finds a tiny egg on a mysterious red stone. What comes out of the shell is a little turtle. Toru’s friend Mai connects it to the monster Gamera which appeared 33 years earlier and defended humans from the attacks of evil monsters. At a certain point, a gigantic lizard-monster, named Zedus attacks the town. Toru is going to help the turtle to grow up and to fight against the monster.
Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro by Katsuhide Motoki (2007, Japan)
The Yokai world exists beyond human knowledge. There, Kitaro lives peacefully with his father and his friends. One day, he receives a letter in the Yokai mailbox. A grade school boy, Kenta, had written to ask for help. Ever since the Inari shrine in the mountain behind the housing complex where Kenta lives had begun to be dismantled to make way for a theme park, weird Yokai have appeared on a daily basis, punging the inhabitants into terror and chaos.
La Antena by Esteban Sapir (2007, Argentina)
In the middle of a long harsh winter, a whole city has been left without a voice. Mr. TV, a ruthless man, in order to build his monopoly has financed the creation of a dangerous machine that broadcasts on all TV screens hypnotic images designed to stimulate compulsive consumption of his products. This strange machine can only work with the singing of a certain voice.
Le Tueur de Montmartre by Borislav Sajtinac (2007, France)
The life of François, a failed painter, is devided up between his hatred towards an oppressive mother, the search for inspiration and a dull job. His only loyal companion is a big knife he inherited from his father. With that knife, he solves all his problems. His mother is his first victim, her assassination marking the beginning of his long career as a killer.
La Reine Soleil by Philippe Leclerc (2007, France-Belgium-Hungary)
Ancient Egypt, eighteenth dynasty. Akhesa, a beautiful 14-year-old princess, hardly sees herself as the future queen of Egypt… Her adventure begins when she opposes her father, Pharaon Akhenaton. The princess refuses to be confined to the royal palace for life, and is determined to find out why her mother, queen Nefertiti, was exiled to Elephantine Island.
Tekkonkinkreet by Michael Arias (2006, Japan)
In Treasure Town, where the moon smiles and young boys can fly, life can be both gentle and brutal. This is never truer than for Black (Kuro) and White (Shiro), two blending equal parts superhero, street urchin and innocent child who watch over the city, doing battle with an array of old-world Yakuza and alien assassins vying to rule the decaying metropolis. The film is taken from the homonym manga by Tayio Matsumoto.