SHORT FILM COMPETITION
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
20 new French short films will compete for the 2022 Awards. This exclusive selection of French shorts underlines the creativity of French production and putting new talent in the spotlight in Hollywood.
The competition will take place in three parts from Tuesday, October 11 to Sunday, October 16 in the morning. Each part will be screened twice (Free admission on a First Come First Served basis.) Attendees will vote for the 2022 Audience Short Film Award and the 2022 Jury Short Film Prize will be awarded by a Jury of professionals. You will have to see at least two of the three parts to vote.
(During week days, after the short film competition and before evening screenings, you can attend our program of free screenings and panels followed by a complementary wine & cheese reception)
THE AMERICAN FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL Short competition is presented with the support of Unifrance.
SHORT FILMS COMPETITION PART 1 (100’)
Tuesday, October 11 at 11 am / Friday, October 14 at 11 am • Truffaut Theatre
ANXIOUS BODY
Animation, Experimental • Japan, France • 2022 • 5’47
Written and Directed by: Yoriko Mizushiri
Produced by: Emmanuel-Alain Raynal, Pierre Baussaron (Miyu Productions), Nobuaki Doi (New Deer)
International Sales: Miyu Distribution
Living things, artificial things, geometric shapes and lines. When these various elements encounter one another, a new direction is born.
(Also presented with EVERYBODY LOVES JEANNE on Saturday October 15 at 1:20 pm)
GREEN-FIT
Comedy • Belgium, France • 2021 • 17’15
Written and Directed by: Maxime Pistorio
Produced by: André Logis (Panache Productions), Guillaume Dreyfus (Tripode Productions), Antonin Ehrenberg (Patafilm)
International sales: Shortcuts
Xavier joins a gym for free. For free? Well, nothing in this world is really free.
(Also presented with TWO OF A KIND on Saturday October 15 at 5:00 pm)
THE MIDWIFE / La ventrière
Drama • 2022 • 28’57
Directed by: Anne-Sophie Bailly
Written by: Anne-Sophie Bailly, Léna Mardi, Perrine Prost
Produced by: Pauline Lamy (La Fémis)
International Sales: La Fémis
In the late Middle Ages, a midwife’s daily practice is disturbed when a stranger demands that all women gather in the village church.
(Also presented with THE SUPER 8 YEARS on Wednesday October 12 at 1:00 pm)
THE SEINE’S TEARS / Les larmes de la Seine
Animation, Drama • 2021 • 8’42
Directed by: Yanis Belaid, Eliott Benard, Alice Letailleur, Nicolas Mayeur, Étienne Moulin, Hadrien Pinot, Philippine Singer, Lisa Vicente
Written by: Yanis Belaid
Produced by: Carlos de Carvalho (Pôle 3D)
International Sales: Je Regarde
On October 17, 1961, during the Algerian war, Algerian workers march down the Paris streets, demonstrating against the mandatory curfew imposed by French police.
(Also presented with ATHENA on Thursday October 13 at 5:00 pm)
GOOD MORNING MIDNIGHT / Bonjour Minuit
Drama • 2021 • 22’36
Written and Directed by: Élisabeth Silveiro
Produced by: Élisabeth Silveiro, Claire Chassagne (Ciné Astres Production)
International Sales: Ciné Astres Production
Sasha goes to a Parisian bar to drown her lonely sorrows, as she does every night. But this time, she meets Paolo, an attractive man who strikes up a conversation.
(Also presented with DIARY OF A FLEETING AFFAIR on Tuesday October 11 at 5:00 pm)
THE ONE WHO NEVER WATCHED FRIENDS / Celle qui n’a jamais vu Friends
Comedy • 2022 • 12’
Written and Directed by: Charlotte Gabris
Produced by: Sarah Lelouch (Watch’us Productions)
International Sales: Eroïn Films
About to join their wedding guests, Rachel confesses the unthinkable to her husband-to-be… She’s never watched the series Friends.
(Also presented with CORSAGE on Wednesday October 12 at 8:10 pm)
SHORT FILMS COMPETITION PART 2 (100′)
Wednesday, October 12 at 11 am / Saturday, October 15 at 9 am • Truffaut Theatre
THE CLIMATISOR / Le climatiseur
Comedy, Fantasy • 2022 • 3’10
Written and Directed by: Arthur Jeanroy, Damien Babikian
Produced by: Ante Bellum Films
A sales rep is nodding off at the wheel, when an intruder from the future suddenly appears in his car.
(Also presented with FINAL CUT on Sunday October 16 at 4:45 pm)
SCALE
Animation, Drama, Fantasy • France, Great Britain • 2022 • 14’54
Written and Directed by: Joseph Pierce
Produced by: Hélène Mitjavile (Melocoton Films), Chris Hees (Bridge Way Films), Jérémie Mazurek & Christophe Beaujean (Ozú Productions), Jirí Konečný (Endorfilm)
International sales: Salaud Morriset
Driving along the highway, Will suddenly loses his sense of scale. As his condition worsens, he struggles to pick apart the sequence of events that led up to his predicament.
(Also presented with PETER VON KANT on Tuesday October 11 at 4:00 pm)
SEPARATION
Drama • 2022 • 15’
Written & Directed by: Aurélien Achache
Produced by: Aurélien Achache (Tangible Films)
International Sales: Eroïn Films
Kiev, 1960s. Performing a spacewalk, an astronaut remembers his family, his childhood and what brought him there.
(Also presented with LIE WITH ME on Thursday October 13 at 8:00 pm)
WOMEN OF VIRTUE / Les vertueuses
Drama • 2022 • 30’
Written and Directed by: Stéphanie Halfon
Produced by: Anne Berjon (Mondina Films), Stéphanie Halfon (Delante Productions)
International Sales: Eroïn Films
When 9-year-old Etel gets her first period, her mother sees her as a woman. Then Etel discovers that, in her religion, menstruation means impurity.
(Also presented with MARIA INTO LIFE on Wednesday October 12 at 5:00 pm)
PAYRAISE / L’augmentation
Drama • 2022 • 2’22
Written and Directed by: Régis Granet
Produced by: Régis Granet
International Sales: L’Agence du Court Métrage
During an annual meeting with her human resources director, a young woman is informed that she won’t get a raise.
(Also presented with DIVERTIMENTO on Tuesday October 11 at 7:45 pm)
LOUISE
Animation, Drama • 2022 • 6’17
Written and Directed by: Constance Bertoux, Camille Bozec, Pauline Guitton, Pauline Mauvière, Mila Monaghan
Produced by: Gobelins – L’École des Nouvelles Images
International sales: Miyu Distribution
Rushing home after a performance at the Opéra Garnier in 1895, Louise, a ballerina, is stopped by a friend who wants her money back.
(Also presented with RISE on Saturday October 15 at 8:10 pm)
FACELESS / Anonyme
Comedy, Fantasy • 2022 • 23’35
Directed by: Eduardo Sosa Soria
Written by: Julie Ponsonnet, Caroline Fournier, Eduardo Sosa Soria
Produced by: Eduardo Sosa Soria, Julie Ponsonnet (Vagabondo Films)
International sales: Manifest
Driving to the Cannes Film Festival with his manager, an international movie star stops to satisfy a natural need. When he returns to his car, it has inexplicably disappeared.
(Also presented with SWEET BLACK FILM, THE BIRTH OF A BLACK HERO on Thursday October 13 at 4:10 pm)
SHORT FILMS COMPETITION PART 3 (100′)
Thursday, October 13 at 11 am / Sunday, October 16 at 9 am • Truffaut Theatre
SWEET DREAMS
Comedy • 2022 • 3’
Written and Directed by: Benjamin Ifrah
Produced by: Lock Stock
Judith, a call-center operator at a company selling dreams, is less than cooperative with a frustrated client who calls.
(Also presented with RUMBA THERAPY on Sunday October 16 at 1:30 pm)
BREAKPOINT / Le point de reprise
Drama • 2022 • 17’37
Written and Directed by: Nicolas Panay
Produced by: Marine Lepaulmier, Philippe Wendling (Les Films Norwolk), Patrick Hernandez, Véronique Siegel (Bagan Films)
Textile worker Odile and her colleagues are told to evaluate a group of brand-new young Tunisian workers, as the relocation of their factory is announced.
(Also presented with THE WORST ONES on Saturday October 15 at 7:50 pm)
STEAKHOUSE
Animation, Drama • Slovenia, Germany, France • 2021 • 9’30
Directed by: Čadež Špela
Written by: Gregor Zorc
Produced by: Tina Smreckar & Čadež Špela (Finta films), Fabian Driehorst (Fabien&Fred), Emmanuel-Alain Raynal, Pierre Baussaron & Olivier Catherin
(Miyu Productions)
International Sales: Miyu Distribution
Franc’s stomach is growling. Meanwhile, Liza’s co-workers surprise her with a birthday party. Will she get home in time for dinner?
(Also presented with EN GARDE on Wednesday October 12 at 4:00 pm)
YA BENTI
Drama • 2022 • 23’57
Directed by: Anissa Allali
Written by: Anissa Allali, Clémence Madeleine-Perdrillat
Produced by: Avi Amar & Katayoun Dibamehr (Floréal Films)
International Sales: Eroïn Films
Sabrina is about to marry Younes, a marriage that means everything to her mother and grandmother. But on the eve of tying the knot, Sabrina backs out.
(Also presented with SOULA on Saturday October 15 at 11:00 pm)
FREEDOM SWIMMER
Animation, Drama • 2021 • 15’
Written and Directed by: Olivia Martin-McGuire
Produced by: Ron Dyens (Sacrebleu Productions), Brooke Tia Silcox (No Thing Productions), Arte France
International Sales: Sacrebleu Productions
The story of a grandfather’s perilous swim, from China to Hong Kong, parallels his granddaughter’s own quest for a new freedom.
(Also presented with HAWA on Saturday October 15 at 1:40 pm)
FAIRPLAY
Drama, Comedy • Switzerland, France • 2022 • 17’29
Directed by: Zoel Aeschbacher
Written by: Zoel Aeschbacher, Gania Latroche
Produced by: Nelson Ghrénassia (Yukunkun Productions), Elena Tatti (Box Productions)
International Sales: Salaud Morisset
A teenager, a worker and a senior executive — three characters losing speed on the competition highway.
(Also presented with BLAZING NEON on Friday October 14 at 8:10 pm)
RULES OF SUCCESS
Animation, Comedy • 2022 • 12’37
Directed by: Théophile Gibaud
Written by: Damien Megherbi, Justin Pechberty, Théophile Gibaud
Produced by: Damien Megherbi et Justin Pechberty (Les Valseurs)
International Sales: Les Valseurs
Forty-year-old Peter still lives with his mother and has never worked a day in his life. Maybe it’s time to look for a job.
(Also presented with NOTRE-DAME ON FIRE on Friday October 14 at 5:00 pm)