BEING JOHN SMITH
After enduring many decades of embarrassment and discomfort, the artist finally admits to the negative impact that possessing the commonest name in the English-speaking world has had on his psyche. Peppered with disparate fragments of autobiography, ‘Being John Smith’ takes us on a confessional journey that reveals just how important a name can be.
United Kingdom 2024 / 26:35 / Director: John Smith
CITY OF POETS
In a small semi-utopian city, all the streets are named after poets. When a war broke out, new neighbourhoods emerged to accommodate the refugees. Soon the citizens find themselves lost amid the memories of the forgotten poets.
Netherlands 2024 / 21:22 / Director: Sara Rajaei
L’AVANCE
Aliou, a student at the Beaux-Arts in Paris, sells a painting of his deceased mother for 3,000 euros to a renowned collector. The delivery of the painting becomes a long journey during which he will realise the weight of the money he earned.
France 2024 / 18:20 / Director: Djiby Kebe
MAN NUMBER 4
Gaza, December 2023. A confrontation with a disturbing photograph on social media triggers questions about what it means to be an onlooker.
United Kingdom 2024 / 9:48 / Director: Miranda Pennell
THE FLOWERS STAND SILENTLY, WITNESSING
When a Palestinian filmmaker based in Scotland unearths a rarely-seen Scottish film archive of Palestinian wild flowers, he decides to reclaim the footage. This tender film essay questions the role of image-making as a tool of both testimony and violence when connected to entanglements between people and the land.
United Kingdom 2024 / 17:00 / Director: Theo Panagopoulos