THE BUTTERFLY CIRCUS, BY JOSHUA WEIGEL

At the height of the Great Depression, the showman of a renowned circus discovers a man without limbs being exploited at a carnival sideshow, but after an intriguing encounter with the showman he becomes driven to hope against everything he has ever believed.

19:01 - By Unknown 0

SPASIBO, BY ANAÏS SARTINI

A gay short film about human rights in Russia. Awarded by Amnesty International - Special Prize for Human Rights.
More info:
spasibo-shortfilm.com
facebook.com/spasiboshortfilm
SPASIBO is a short-film made in reaction to the homophobic law in Russia, which came into force the 17 of march 2012 in Saint Petersbourg. Today, the law is extended on the entire Russia.
The film got the Special Prize for human rights at the Cinema and Human Rights Film Festival, Amnesty International, Paris 2012. Clément, a French actor, goes to Saint Petersburg to participate into a film festival. When he gets there, he realizes he has disappeared: nobody can hear him and see him. He meets Andrei, a Russian gay who lives the same thing.

22:50 - By Unknown 0

FADE TO BLACK, BY AMER ALBARZAWI

This series of changes and their psychological toll is at the forefront of “Fade to Black,” a one-minute stop-motion film that Albarzawi filmed with actor Farah Presley. The two have lived together in Istanbul, Turkey, since the end of 2014 and began working on the film in March. Stop-motion seemed like a “new way” of portraying the effects of the war as well as an accessible one, with the materials they needed easily attainable, Albarzawi said. “I like stop-motion because we can use many of materials around us,” he said.

Each frame speaks to a moment from the months Albarzawi lived in Raqqa as the city watched its former way of life disappear, he said. It is more important than ever for Syrian artists to keep producing work, in part to keep Syrian history and culture alive, he said. “The culture now, in Syria, I think it’s disappearing … Maybe we will lose our culture,” he said. Syrian art can also help correct the misconceptions that dominate many conversations about Syrian refugees in the U.S., Albarzawi said. “They have to know, we are normal people, we are human, just like all humans,” he said. “We are Muslims, and we are not terrorists.”

The film won the Special Jury Prize at the Toronto Urban Film Festival this year, and the two are already working on their next film, Presley said. “As a Syrian artist, I think it’s important to show what’s going on in Syria now, to reflect the reality,” Presley said. “Because Syrians are the only ones who know what’s really going on. They feel it in every step.”

22:48 - By Unknown 0