December 21, Short Film Festival on the Shortest Day of the Year
The winter solstice occurs every year in the Northern Hemisphere on 21 or 22 of December, which is the shortest day of the year. That is, the day when the hours of sunlight, between sunrise and sunset, are less than any other day on the calendar.
For this reason, all over the world, the winter solstice is an occasion for the celebration of short films, with screenings in cinemas, events and festivals.
The Shortest Day (Le jour le plus Court) event started in France in 2011 and has since become a worldwide annual tradition.
For this reason, it is called SHORT FILM DAY
The Monthly International Festival of Short Films DocumentaryKalamata, or "Kalamata ShortDocs", is celebrating the day with a special event.
On Tuesday, December 21, a part of the Greek short documentaries that were submitted to the competition for the Month of December will be screened.
As it happens every month, the audience is invited to vote for those who will qualify for the annual program of the 1st International Short Documentary Festival of Kalamata, in October 2022 and will be nominated for the two major audience awards (Greek and International Documentary).
The international productions as well as the Greek ones that will be submitted by the end of December will be presented on the first Saturday of the next month (January 9, 2022) and the votes of the audience will be taken into account.
The screening and voting of the seven films, lasting a total of two hours and ten minutes, will take place in a special screening that will take place simultaneously in the two rooms of the Creative Documentary Center of Kalamata (Screening Room and Cafe), according to the rules and distances imposed by the emergency conditions of the pandemic at 7:00 p.m.
Official selections:
Watch Your Step: Vatchemanis (Watch Your Step: Βατσιμάνης)
Director: George Lampros
A short documentary film about the special and unknown to most people profession of Vatchemanis.
Duration: 25:32
And while they were growing, I felt like I was shrinking (Και ενώ μεγάλωναν, ένιωθα σαν να συρρικνώνομαι)
Director: Eleftheria Panousi
A diary-like narration that follows the process of caring for, and growing seeds, triggers correlations on body, gender, fear and stereotypes that manifest as insecurities and existential quests.
Duration: 08:34
Carols (Κάλαντα)
Director: Jenny Tsiropoulou
Nikos does not get to experience human contact, nor the joy of saving lives. He studied medicine but went on to become a forensic medical examiner. The cadavers he examines whisper their stories. As he grows older and his kids grow up, his fear of death weighs heavier. It’s a rainy New Year’s Eve, and the morgue is full. Nikos is hopeful. Will the children stop by to sing carols and loosen death’s grip?
Duration: 17:30
A story in 14 words (Μία ιστορία με 14 λέξεις)
Director: Eirini Steirou
In this hybrid first-person account, a Greek islander opens up to his filmmaker granddaughter about his violent coming-of-age as a refugee, warrior and political prisoner in North Africa during WWII. An experimental representation of personal war memory that combines home movie and archival footage.
Duration: 11:50
Rea (Ρέα)
Director: Aristarchos Zisimatos
Αthens 2020 Rea and Aris share an apartment and spend the days of total lockdown, together. Duration: 10:59
A Little Story (Μια μικρή Ιστορία)
Director: Nikos Theodosiou
A chance meeting, seventy years later, of Roviros Manthoulis with Euripides, a comrade in EPON during the years of German occupation, brings to light a "little" story. The tragic end of a group of young people who sought to continue the fight in Athens while the fierce battles between the Democratic and the Government army were raging in the mountains.
A chance meeting, seventy years later, of Roviros Manthoulis with Euripides, a comrade in EPON during the years of German occupation, brings to light a "little" story. The tragic end of a group of young people who sought to continue the fight in Athens while the fierce battles between the Democratic and the Government army were raging in the mountains.
Duration: 28:57
SKG + DRAG = BFF?
Director: Eleftherios Hajianastasioo
The documentary focuses on 4 artists, Kharma Queen, Amelie Tea, Aurora Paola Morado and Dr. Oglie Boss, who describe what it is like to be a Drag Queen-King in the second largest city in Greece. The video consists of interviews and scenes from the performances of our Drag artists, as well as shots of our city. Finally, it focuses on the problems they face, but also on how much release it is for them to express themselves through drag.
Duration: 26:19