Film Countries Archives: United Kingdom

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CineYouth Program

Pulling Focus: Documentary

  Canada, China, Spain, United Kingdom, United States     7 shorts | 74 minutes

Screenings & Events

Virtual Screening

Available to stream Mon, April 28 @ 12:00pm CT through Sun, May 4 @ 11:59pm CT for a 48-hour watch window.

Synopsis

Whether it’s a visual love letter to far away relatives, a detailed account of individuals’ experiences of colorism, or a behind-the-scenes look into the meticulous process of crafting authentic Lion Dance Heads, these seven personal documentaries shed light on lives, beliefs, and cultures.

Please note: Films in this program contain themes, images, language, that may not be suitable for all ages.

Films

A diagonal beam of sunlight highlights half of a painted cloud on the exterior of a dilapidated building

Places Nowhere

Alex Scott Chen | St. Louis, Missouri | Age 20

While discussing the topic of unexplainable memories with his friends, Filmmaker Alex Chen recounts a childhood memory of going to a mall with an exterior that was “painted like the sky.” He always figured it was a figment of his imagination… except his friend remembers the same mall. Assembling many years’ worth of archival and personal footage, Alex Chen attempts to rediscover the feeling of being in this long-forgotten mall.

A somber older woman glances out into the distance of Barcelona on a cloudy day.

Memories of a new destination (Records d’un nou destí)

The students of Cinema en curs (Mario Aranda, Sara Fernández, Laia Garcia, Rakel Hernando, Milenka Jurado, Olaya Lahoz, Carla Marcos, Alexandra Marcús, Martina Montes, Lucia Olmeda, Luna Reyes, Giselle Rodríguez, Nia Soler, Júlia Torrent, Llyne Salomé Zapata) | Spain | Ages 16–17

Told through postcards and first-hand experiences, this film is a touching tribute to those that have traveled away from home. This profound documentary provides an avenue for the filmmakers to have a deeper connection with their relatives, learn more about their lives, and comprehend the bravery it must have taken for each of them to start anew.

A young person, illuminated by a spotlight, enclosed by malevolent, penetrating eyes.

A-Okay

J Fitzpatrick | Canada | Age 20

In the form of a letter to their past self, filmmaker J Fitzpatrick takes the viewer on a deeply intimate journey through their early experiences (or lack thereof) of crushes and discovery of asexual and aromantic spectrums. Told in the second person perspective, A-Okay examines the highly sexualized society we live in and explores harmful stigmas surrounding sexual orientations, while also giving a voice (and advice) to those within the underrepresented communities.

A close up of a beautiful piece of art that uses paint, beads, and feathers.

Epiphany

Mai Man Xu | China | Age 17

This colorful documentary follows the mother and daughter team of Master Li and Master Zhou as they work through all the steps of creating traditional Lion Dance Heads. The observational camera work captures the details of their craft as Li and Zhou share their family heritage and the cultural significance of the artform.

A blue image of a couch with a psychedelic overlay.

Tainted by the Visual

Laura Calzada | United Kingdom | Age 20

Through an immersive viewing experience, filmmaker Laura Calzada explores the subjective experiences of blind individuals and uses different techniques to express sound artist Andy Slater’s experience of how vision loss reshaped his perception of sound.

A woman sits with her hands open in front of her, behind her are several wall-mounted guitars.

Stay Out of the Sun

Vivienne Ayres, Zola Franchi & Nidhi Kumar | New York, New York; Los Angeles & San Francisco, California; Amherst, Massachusetts; Washington D.C. | Ages 20-21

This vignette-style multimedia documentary discusses the global cultural practice of colorism. Various women recount their individual experiences and opinions about this issue from childhood through adulthood.

A woman in a motorized wheelchair laughs with a man sitting next to her.

Butterflies

Zav Jenabian | Canada | Age 19

In this celebration of love and resilience, high school sweethearts Quinn and Josh reflect on the prom night that turned a mother’s fears into a moment of triumph. Through heartfelt stories and reflections, Butterflies challenges perceptions of disability, demonstrating that love knows no boundaries and victories, no matter how small they may seem, are always worth celebrating.

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CineYouth Program

Between Me and You

  Australia, Canada, China, United Kingdom, United States     7 shorts | 69 minutes

Screenings & Events

Virtual Screening

Available to stream Mon, April 28 @ 12:00pm CT through Sun, May 4 @ 11:59pm CT for a 48-hour watch window.

Synopsis

Captivating visuals and unconventional storytelling illuminate a wide range of relations between parents and children, best of friends, and bitter enemies. These seven shorts explore how the different people we encounter in our lives can have a lasting effect on us for better or for worse.

Note: Films in this program contain themes, images, and language that may not be suitable for all ages, including guns and violence.

Films

Two Korean guys fighting with one guy holding a steel plate upward and the other guy using a broom to hit the plate

Check Please

Shane Chung | Chicago, Illinois | Age 22

In this comedy action film, a Korean and a Korean-American fight over their pride, honor, and who gets to pick up the tab.

A woman reads Karl Marx while another woman lies on her stomach looking through binoculars.

Bi-Nocular Panic

Anouk Witkowska Hiffler | United Kingdom | Ages 22

Two young girls spend an afternoon in the park spying on boys when one of them discovers something new about themself.

A man and a boy look at a large "One Child Policy" poster.

Until He’s Born

Qingxuan Wang | China | Age 18

Years after the death of his unborn brother, a teenager comes face to face with his guilt and grief in this beautiful rumination on tradition and family set during China’s one-child policy.

Close up of a man's smiling face on the right side of screen.

Loose Lace

Emma Snyder | Chicago, Illinois | Age 20

Lighten up with this lighthearted film, which unites two of our favorite things – skating and pizza – to subtly depict humans being human.

A woman in the middle of the foreground with two other people in the background, looking straight forward

Desync

Minerva Marie Navasca | Canada | Age 22

Confronting the past, a young Filipina filmmaker re-lives a painful conversation with her mother to produce the perfect movie scene of a mother and daughter cooking. Sophisticated camera work shifts the scene between the present-day movie set and her memory exploring the complexity of the mother-daughter dynamic.

A young man wearing headphones moves expressively while other young people sitting at tables in the background look at something unseen.

Just. Drop. Dead.

Yael Green | Australia | Age 22

Two inept hitmen struggle to complete their latest job. Their target? A man with dance moves so rhythmic that he seems to dodge death at every turn.

Three people sitting on the beach with their backs to the camera.

The New Raymond

Joe Blaugrund | Chicago, Illinois | Age 22

After an attempted break-in goes wrong, a burglar is held captive by the homeowners–a grieving couple with a sinister plan for bringing their son back.

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The Brutalist

  Brady Corbet

  United Kingdom     215 minutes

Synopsis

Escaping postwar Europe, visionary architect László Toth (Adrien Brody) arrives in America to rebuild his life, his work, and his marriage to his wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones) after being forced apart by shifting borders and regimes during wartime. On his own in a strange new country, László settles in Pennsylvania, where the wealthy and prominent industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce) recognizes his talent for building. But power and legacy come at a heavy cost.

This film will be screened in 35mm.

  

 English, Hungarian, Yiddish, Hebrew, Italian with subtitles

Screenings & Events

Media

Film Credits

  •   Trevor Matthews, Nick Gordon, Brian Young, Andrew Morrison, Andrew Lauren, D.J. Gugenheim
  •   Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold
  •   David Jancso
  •   Lol Crawley
  •   Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy, Stacy Martin, Isaach De Bankolé, Alessandro Nivola
  •   Daniel Blumberg
  •   Carter Stanton, Aaron Himmel, Joshua Horsfield
  •   Brookstreet Pictures, Kaplan Morrison, Andrew Lauren Productions

Sponsors

Film Patron

Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation

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In black and white, a baby lies on its back beneath a framed window of space with a white orb gleaming at its center.

Space Plug [short film]

  Marcus Anthony Thomas

  United Kingdom     14 minutes

Synopsis

A baby is born into a mysterious white room in outer space. There, they grow up nourished by an extraterrestrial creature, but plagued by a desperate desire to break free. Deeply unnerving and wildly inventive, this one-of-a-kind sci-fi journey bursts with style and intrigue.

This film screens as part of the After Dark Shorts: Disturbing Diversions program.

 No Dialogue 

Film Credits

  •   Jordi Morera
  •   Marcus Anthony Thomas
  •   Raluca Petre
  •   Sonja Huttunen
  •   Anthony J. Abraham, Iniki Mariano
  •   Oliver Wegmuller
  •   National Film and TV School

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After Dark Shorts: Disturbing Diversions

  Various

  France, Hong Kong, Mexico, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States     99 minutes

Synopsis

This collection of uncanny and unhinged stories from around the world represent the growing global appetite for genre films. Full of inventive stories with stunning practical effects, this program will delight late night moviegoers of all stripes. Featuring works by Jake Myers, Marcus Anthony Thomas, Juefang Zhang, Tzuhsuan Peng, Suki-Rose, Cricket Arrison, Rodrigue Huart, Marinthia Gutiérrez, and Blake Simon.

A musician stuck in an office job tries the free kombucha that boosts his coworkers’ productivity, only to discover its sinister side effects in Kombucha! (United States). In Space Plug (United Kingdom), a baby is born into a mysterious white room in outer space. There, they grow up nourished by an extraterrestrial creature, but plagued by a desperate desire to break free. Where The Mountain Women Sing (Hong Kong, Taiwan, United States) blends documentary and found-footage narrative as two filmmakers attempt to capture a bloody shamanic ritual in Northeastern China. In Addiction (Taiwan), a policeman obsessively surveils a girl who owns a small store along a desolate road, unaware that he’s not the only hunter lurking in the area. In Chomp (United States), the relentless pace and high-stakes pressure of a bustling news studio creates the ideal environment for a new kind of monster to emerge. In Transylvanie (France), a newly transitioned vampire tries to transform a neighborhood boy into her eternal companion. But she’s underestimated the lengths it will take to prove her bloodthirsty identity. In She Stays (Ella se queda) (Mexico), Laura navigates a night out in downtown Tijuana, eagerly anticipating the moment her destiny will unfold. And Faces (United States) is a mind-bending portrayal of a shape-shifter’s use of appearances to lure in victims, showing that, at the center, they are only social disguises.

 Chinese, English, French, Mandarin Chinese, No Dialogue, Spanish 

Content Advisory

Screenings & Events

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