This year's international shorts include 41 films from 18 countries. They are split into dramatic, documentary and animation.
Treevenge and 2 Birds
2 Birds (Smáfuglar, Two Birds)
(Country: Iceland; Year: 2008; Director: Rúnar Rúnarsson; Writer: Rúnar Rúnarsson; Stars: Atli Óskar Fjalarsson , Hera Hilmarsdóttir , Sigurður Jakob Helgason , Þórunn Jakobsdóttir),
Official Site
A group of teenagers experiment with ketamine and find themselves out of their depth.
2) Secret Machine
(Country: Germany; Year: 2008; Director: Reynold Reynolds),
Official Site
The second from a three-part cycle exploring the unperceivable conditions that frame life, using stop motion animation to portray the futuristic deconstruction of the female protagonist's form.
A'Mare
(Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Martina Amati; Writer: Martina Amati and Dario Cané),
Official Site
Andrea and Felice are two kids whose lives centre on the sea. One day during a fishing excursion their usual routine is disturbed when something unexpected appears from the water.
The Attack Of The Robots From Nebula-5 (El Ataque De Los Robots De Nebulosa-5)
(Country: Spain; Year: 2008; Director: Chema García Ibarra; Writer: Chema García Ibarra; Stars: Leonor Díaz, Pedro Díez, Carmina Esteve, José Manuel Ibarra)
"Almost" everybody is going to die very soon.
BAIT
(Country: Israel ; Year: 2008; Director: Michal Vinik)
On a hot summer day, tomboy teenager Nitzan is on her way fishing. Will she catch the right fish?
Love You More and Instead Of Abracadabra
The Blindness Of The Woods
(Country: Argentina ; Year: 2008; Director: Martin Jalfen, Javier Lourenco; Writer: Martin Jalfen, Javier Lourenco)
A narrative that combines the naive simplicity of fairytales with the Nordic erotic movies from the 1970s.
Captain Coulier (Space Explorer)
(Country: Canada; Year: 2008; Director: Lyndon Casey; Writer: Lyndon Casey)
An aloof space captain becomes restless among his robotic crew. Maybe intergalactic space travel isn't his shtick.
Crocodiles and I
(Country: Brazil; Year: 2008; Director: Marcela Arantes; Writer: Marcela Arantes)
The emotional conflicts and discovery typical of adolescence are expressed in Rachel's daily life and dreams.
Instead Of Abracadabra
(Country: Sweden; Year: 2008; Director: Patrik Eklund; Writer: Patrik Eklund; Stars: Simon Berger)
A magician's big break beckons.
James
(Country: Northern Ireland ; Year: 2008; Director: Connor Clements)
A young Irish man grapples with the impulses and thoughts about being gay.
Wet Season and Next Floor
Jerrycan
(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Julius Avery; Writer: Julius Avery)
A young boy is bullied into making a life or death decision, but can Nathan prove himself to his mates?
Love You More
(Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Sam Taylor-Wood; Writer: Patrick Marber; Stars: Harry Treadaway, Andrea Riseborough, Samuel Roukin, Paul Ritter, Pete Shelley, Harriet Ashcroft, Alex Kelly)
Two schoolkids get amorous while listening to the new Buzzcocks single.
A Mate (Kaveri)
(Country: Finland; Year: 2007; Director: Teeu Nikki)
Pera wants to try something kinky in the bathroom and he asks his straight mate to help him. However, Pera's wife comes home a bit too soon.
Miracle Fish
(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Luke Doolan)
A young outcast finds solitude in a fantasy world only to be brought back to reality when faced with a psychotic man.
Netherland Dwarf
(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: David Michôd; Writer: David Michôd; Stars: Jack Egan, Ewen Leslie, Mirrah Foulkes, Justin Rosniak)
Harry really wants a rabbit. Harry's dad really wants his wife back. And somehow in the middle of all this wanting, they both seem to have forgotten that they already have each other.
This Is Her and Miracle Fish
Next Floor
(Country: Canada; Year: 2008; Director: Denis Villeneuve; Writer: Jacques Davidts; Stars: Simone Chevalot, Luc-Martial Dagenais, Kenneth Fernandez, Mathieu Handfield, Ariel Ifergan, Neil Kroetsch, Jean Marchand, Sergei Marchenko, Deepak Massand, Gaetan Nadeau)
During an opulent and luxurious banquet, complete with hordes of servers and valets, 11 pampered guests participate in what appears to be ritualistic gastronomic carnage.
Omelette
(Country: Bulgaria ; Year: 2008; Director: Nadejda Koseva; Writer: Georgi Gospodinov)
While a woman makes an omelette we learn how difficult it is to make ends meet.
Pal/Secam
(Country: Russia; Year: 2008; Director: Dmitry Povolotsky; Writer: Dmitry Povolotsky; Stars: Alya Arabchikova, Vladislav Kuznetsov, Anastasia Lapina, Grigoriy Perel)
At the dawn of Perestroika, little Boris, ravaged by hormones, seduces the neighborhood with his mother's VCR.
The Stronger
(Country: UK; Year: 2007; Director: Lia Williams; Writer: Frank McGuinness, August Strindberg; Stars: Clare Higgins, Fiona O'Shaughnessy)
Who is stronger? The wife or the mistress?
Ten For Grandpa
(Country: Canada; Year: 2008; Director: Doug Karr; Writer: Doug Karr; Stars: David Alpay, David Huband, Catherine Black, Shannon Beckner, David Cormican, Ann de Villiers, Connor Edwards, Colette Kendall)
An introspective look at the enigmatic life of an influential ancestor that pushes an individual to immerse himself in a nefarious web of danger and infamy.
2) Secret Machine and Jerrycan
This Is Her
(Country: New Zealand; Year: 2008; Director: Katie Wolfe)
Showing as part of International Shorts: Love Bites at EIFF 2008.
Treevenge
(Country: Canada; Year: 2008; Director: Jason Eisener; Writer: Jason Eisener, Rob Cotterill; Stars: Jonathan Torrens, Sarah Dunsworth, Lex Gigeroff),
Official Site
Sometimes Christmas is worth crying over.
The Watch
(Country: Argentina ; Year: 2008; Director: Marco Berger)
Two young men find a surprise connection during an impromptu sleepover.
Wet Season
(Country: Singapore ; Year: 2008; Director: Michael Tay; Writer: Michael Tay)
Utilizing stop-motion animation, the production pays tribute to the filmmaker's real-life father who passed away six years ago.