Another side of Escape
On the second day of the festival we delve into the world of Big appetites, films that entice us to explore our needs and wants. The menu opens with documentary film The Neighborhood Street Fair by Ana Carolina Aliaga and Vitória Marques, inviting the audience to spend a day at the open-air fair in São Paulo and consider different visual and auditory stimuli. In Sous vide, a fiction film by Misja Overberg, chef Emil is troubled by his diminishing authority following the arrival of a new sous chef, Jort. The innovation Jort brings triggers Emils insecurities and moral dilemmas. Third up, the documentary Core Business by Lucija Marčec follows a group of students setting up political processes at the School of Political Sciences, a gateway for their future careers. Finally, the animated Hervé Case by Luna Eliane takes us on a surreal journey through the urban landscape, interconnecting various characters and their most intimate moments.
The second programme block discovers how life circumstances may create Knots, but also opportunities to untangle them. In The Taste of Pork Belly, Sophie Shui tenderly depicts everyday life in a poor Thai village through the eyes of a child, blurred by the adults whose actions are sometimes difficult to understand. Outside Noises by Amit Chish tells a story of unease and strife in an ordinary couple’s home when they are faced with difficult questions and possible actions. Documentary film Breadcrumb Trail by Katarina Lukec explores the exiled Serbs and their homecoming to native villages in Knin, bringing a strong sense of home to abandoned parts of Croatia, where human life is an almost endemic, but very resilient species.
Boiling closes the menu of the day, exploring how much can we take on before our fragile construction of identity crumbles. Documentary film Juvies by Jure Štern opens the door to a juvenile home, examining how those children and youth left behind manage to build their futures on shaky foundations. In the Iranian fiction film School Benches by Behrouz Shamshiri, a frail boy takes flowers to his teacher, but is forced to take it back home. Polish drama The Joy of Living by Szymon Wackowski faces us with the truth we are afraid to utter, while the Israeli See You ‘Round the Block by Daniel Gat an unwanted encounter turns into a lucky break. Animated Windows from the South by Eugen Bilankov explores a break-up through conversations between the author and his partner, closing the second day of the festival and preparing us for the festival finale.
While the emotions and passions are Boiling, and the Knots are clear to see, we hope you quenched your Big Appetite for great cinema for the day and invite you to vote for your favorite film and help choose the Audience Award winner.
STIFF — Student International Film Festival is supported by Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC), City of Rijeka, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Serbian National Council, and Goethe Institute Zagreb. The festival takes place in Art-kino Croatia.
