Made in Corona: Inside Stories

Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2020
Programme
Shorts Panorama

There are certain elements out there who have decided to make people feel bad if the time in lockdown isn’t used “wisely”. So if you’ve come out of quarantine without knowing at least 15 recipes for sourdough or speaking Klingon then you’re somehow branded a failure.

Yet the films in Inside Stories don’t ignite sparks of jealousy about supremely talented people who did more with their time in isolation than eat beans and watch a boxed set of Desperate Housewives. Indeed, there is much comfort in the works on offer as they speak of a collective experience, a desire to explore and make sense of our complex lives even when faced with the most confined of circumstances.

Of course, the films here are – considering the restrictions that the filmmakers had to face – remarkable technical achievements. But they never fall into being technical exercises and mine a rich emotional vein that speaks of the darkness and light and the heart of confinement.

With films like these, any space you may be forced to inhabit doesn’t feel as small as it once did.

Films

World premiere

May 1st

Local title
Esimene mai
Director
Claudiu Mitcu, Ioachim Stroe, Andrei Butică
Country
Romania
Year
2020

Every year, the weekend of May 1st announced the opening of the new summer season, a moment in which open air events start to bloom, be it for concerts, vacations or open terraces throughout town. In 2020 though, May 1st comes in a completely different tone, as if out of time, with cities and the seaside completely empty. The film follows the eerie silence around this unusual May 1st.

Director
Claudiu Mitcu, Ioachim Stroe, Andrei Butică
Runtime
Language
Romanian

World premiere

Early 'Tines: A Quarantine Movie

Local title
Varajane 'tiin: üks karantiiniaegne film
Director
Peter Shaheen
Country
USA
Year
2020

One man's emotional journey and descent into quarantine madness.

Director
Peter Shaheen
Runtime

International premiere

Living In A Box

Local title
Elu kastis
Original title
Living In A Box
Director
Theodore Ushev
Country
Canada
Year
2020

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Director
Theodore Ushev
Runtime

Beer Without Alcohol

Local title
Alkoholivaba õlu
Director
Asoka Handagama
Country
Sri Lanka
Year
2020

It’s lockdown time. One couple, a young man and a woman are in conversation over a drink. As it progresses, it’s revealed that the conversation is about ‘falling in love’. Although it appears that this conversation takes place in a siting area of a house, they are from different parts of the world, brought together through video conferencing technology.

Director
Asoka Handagama
Runtime
Language
Sinhala

World premiere

Heart Time

Local title
Südameaeg
Original title
Südameaeg
Director
Hõbe Ilus
Country
USA, Estonia
Year
2020

The film intimately threads fragments of phone calls dialed during pandemia into a narrative that shares worry, support, and reflections on the everyday between three daughters in New York and their parents in Estonia, Portugal and Delhi.

Director
Hõbe Ilus
Runtime
Language
Estonian, Hindi, Portuguese

Baltic premiere

Stockholm Syndrome

Local title
Stockholmi sündroom
Director
Ben Marshall
Country
United Kingdom
Year
2020

A seemingly innocent phone call between a young woman and her Swedish mother slowly reveals chilling secrets that don't bode well for her Tech-Deck obsessed partner.This snappy black comedy was written, shot and edited in London’s lockdown and has gone on to gain some amazing accolades which include; winning the international Lockdown Film Festival, being showcased online by the BFI and gaining official selection status at multiple festivals worldwide.

Director
Ben Marshall
Runtime
Language
English, Swedish

International premiere

Antivirus

Local title
Antiviirus
Director
Anastasia Sima
Country
Greece
Year
2020

Athens 2020. Quarantine days. Daphne, a young singer, decides to break down the wall that separates her from her annoying neighbor.

Director
Anastasia Sima
Runtime
Language
Greek

PHILIPPE PROUFF'S ABC

Local title
Philippe Prouffi tähestik
Original title
L'ABECEDAIRE DE PHILIPPE PROUFF
Director
Philippe Prouff
Country
France
Year
2020

For 26 days, between April 6 and May 1st, 2020, Philippe Prouff stayed on his imaginary island he had previously drawn in his atlas. There, he composed this poetic and quirky alphabet, sharing each of its letters to make you travel in his own way.

Director
Philippe Prouff
Runtime
Language
French

Touch Me

Local title
Puuduta mind
Director
Yorgos Zois
Country
Greece
Year
2020

In a distant future world, where water and air are contaminated, and it is prohibited to touch one another, a girl and a boy decide to go to a beach.

Director
Yorgos Zois
Runtime