In cinema screening: IFI Sunday 22nd August 6.30pm. Will also be available on IFI @ HOME BOOK HERE FOR ONLINE SCREENING
DFFF presents an immersive, diverse selection of films that challenge stereotypes and represent the female experience through brave, innovative filmmaking.
The programme weaves together an eclectic mix of female filmmakers whose work navigates the theme of Care and Connection through examinations of the everyday and the extraordinary, the desperate and the fantastical. How can we offer ourselves true care? How do we find connection in everyday objects, in glitter, in escape? In past festivals, we considered short films that strayed from the theme, but so many of this year’s entries touched on it in novel, provocative ways that the difficulty came in tailoring a selection of only twelve films from scores of fantastic entries. It is an honour to provide a platform for these voices. In this spirit, BEST IRISH & INTERNATIONAL SHORT AWARD PRIZES include personal mentoring by leading story consultant, Mary Kate O Flanagan and a one-off consultancy with Festival Formula’s Katie McCullough. RUNNER UP PRIZE: CAMERAKIT Voucher.
THANKS TO GUEST JUDGES: Oonagh Kearney, Nessa Wrafter and Ciara Chambers.
VITILIGO Directed by Soraya Milla, France, 2019
Being from mixed cultures means going through constant waves of doubt”. Vitiligo invites you to experience the mindspace of two women, both plunged deep in an internal questioning of their external appearance.
SPRING IN AUTUMN Directed by Ghasideh Golmakani, Iran, 2021
An Iranian woman leaves her husband and travels to Russia. Memories of her World Cup trip come up, as well as an uncomfortable secret...
MAM’S OLD CHAIR Directed by Sheena Walsh, Ireland, 2021
A film about repair, reuse, community and the joy that can be garnered from every day objects. The chance find of an old chair highlights how locally sourced, locally made goods can be repaired and reused across many generations.
IT WAS ALL A DREAM Directed by Aisha Bolaji, Ireland, 2021
'It Was All a Dream' is a visual interpretation of Langston Hughes' 1926 poem 'As I Grew Older'. Narrated by a Black mother, this experimental piece focuses on Black femininity and Black beauty.
ON THE COUCH WITH MY DEPRESSION Directed by Angharad Gladding, New Zealand, 2020
Full of excited anticipation, a poet plans to go to a book party. Then along comes depression. A film about yearning simply to be able to clean your teeth and leave the house.
NO MORE DEAD FRIENDS Directed by Laura Robinson, Ireland, 2020
An intimate portrayal of grief after the loss of a friend.
BEAUTIFUL YOU Directed by Bernadette Kolonko, Germany, 2020
While Christine tries in vain to get her mute daughter to speak again, an unexpected encounter occurs: She meets Leonore and feels attracted to her. Driven by the duties of family life, Christine becomes increasingly conscious of how her own speechlessness prevents her from expressing herself and her desires.
ASCENDING GRACE Directed by Claire Byrne, Ireland, 2020
First officer Maedhbh has high hopes for her first day of work, but when she fails to impress Captain Cara and with a cabin full off restless passengers waiting to take off, it's far from what she expected...
HEKADEMIA Directed by Gloria Mercer, Canada, 2020
In the near future, Marion is an isolated teenage girl living in a high rise above the city and dreaming of the forest. Inside a lonely apartment, she struggles to overcome her stifled relationship with her mother. She enrols in a virtual reality high school, where she befriends another student named Cassidy. But as Marion spends more time at school, she starts to wonder how much is real and how much is part of the simulation.
ROLES Directed by Paola Gutierrez, Argentina, 2020
Everyday Gonzalo challenges with their own body the mandates of the sex-gender system. From their work as a diplomat to their experimentation with Queer Tango in the “milongas” of Buenos Aires, they move without wanting to be defined or classified. By giving testimony about a dissent, “Roles” opens up a range of infinite possibilities for us.
ALIENATED Directed by Robyn Coleman and Dayna Crossan, Ireland, 2021
In a tiny cafe in Dublin, a hardworking Alien barista is faced with more than an order, as she hustles to make coffees for two overly nosey customers.
HEN Directed by Janna Kemperman, Ireland, 2019
Five women spend a night together at a secluded house, to celebrate the future nuptials of the bride to be. During the course of the night, alliances are formed, confrontations erupt and festivities become tense and the women quickly learn that every sacrifice has a cost. The darkness of their terrible act fractures those responsible, trapping them in a perpetual loop oscillating endlessly between hope and despair.