Rebels With Their Shorts 1

Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2021
Programme
Rebels with a Cause Competition

The very best works of art push boundaries. They dare us to think about the world in which we live. They challenge our traditional views. They show us that there are more things in heaven and Earth.

The shorts in the Rebels With A Cause programme embody these ideals with their bold and provocative techniques. But while these films often revel in the surrealistic, it is perhaps appropriate – in a time in which the real world often seems to be nonsensical – that they deal with many important and pressing issues of the day..

These films will take part in Rebels With A Cause, a competition section of the Black Nights Film Festival dedicated to films that defy the traditional modes of filmmaking. The selection provides a mixture of new filmmakers who will lead the way in cinema over the coming years and more established talents.

Each short will be eligible for the honorific prize of Best Rebels Short chosen by the Rebels With A Cause jury members.

Films

Baltic premiere

Vadim On A Walk

Local title
Vadimi jalutuskäik
Title in Russian
Vadim On A Walk
Original title
Вадим на прогулке
Director
Sasha Svirsky
Country
Russian Federation
Year
2021
Programme
Rebels with a Cause Competition

Finally, Vadim goes out of a tight square space where he has been used to sitting. He embraces the brave new world and his renewed life.

Director
Sasha Svirsky
Runtime
Language
Russian

European premiere

Lefkamos

Local title
Lefkamos
Title in Russian
Lefkamos
Director
Yorgos Tzikas
Country
Greece
Year
2021
Programme
Rebels with a Cause Competition

The boys are scared. They let someone steal their sheep, without saying a word to him. The girl is not very well. She sleeps all day long, but she wakes up for a little bit during the night. They want her to get better. So they wake up in the middle of the night just to feed her. Maybe at some point she will get better. Maybe at some point she will wake up on her own.

Director
Yorgos Tzikas
Runtime
Language
Greek
Subtitles
English

Baltic premiere

How to Die Young in Manila

Local title
Kuidas Manilas noorelt surra
Title in Russian
How to Die Young in Manila
Director
Petersen Vargas
Country
Philippines
Year
2020
Programme
Rebels with a Cause Competition
Genre
drama

A teenage boy follows a group of young hustlers, thinking one of them may be the anonymous hook-up he has arranged to meet for the night. As he anxiously finds a way to get closer, each of the other boys inexplicably turn up as dead bodies strewn in pavements, until only one of them is left.

Director
Petersen Vargas
Runtime
Language
Tagalog
Subtitles
English

Baltic premiere

The Walk

Local title
Jalutuskäik
Title in Russian
The Walk
Director
Yoakim Bélanger
Country
Canada
Year
2020
Programme
Rebels with a Cause Competition
Genre
experimental film

Women of all ages emerge from the shadows and together, walk toward a light, Guided by their instincts, they will face and transcend their own limits.

Director
Yoakim Bélanger
Runtime

International premiere

Cassandra Bitter Tongue

Local title
Kassandra terav keel
Title in Russian
Cassandra Bitter Tongue
Director
Ana Moreira
Country
Portugal
Year
2021
Programme
Rebels with a Cause Competition

In Homeric epics, Cassandra is the tragic character par excellence: a figure cursed with the gift of prophecy, but discredited. In this narrative, Cassandra makes use of screens and the digital age, as a means for reflecting on the current relationship between intimacy, affection and pleasure between human beings.

Director
Ana Moreira
Runtime
Language
Portuguese
Subtitles
English
Trailer

World premiere

They Were to Cross the River

Local title
Nad pidid ületama jõe
Title in Russian
They Were to Cross the River
Director
Faeze Karimpour
Country
France
Year
2021
Programme
Rebels with a Cause Competition

Once upon a time, a girl and her brother fled their past to live their love freely. To do so, they had to cross the river.

Director
Faeze Karimpour
Runtime
Language
French
Subtitles
English

European premiere

Babythump

Local title
Leidlaps
Title in Russian
Babythump
Director
Ian Killick
Country
United Kingdom
Year
2021
Programme
Rebels with a Cause Competition

A couple, Donny and Marie, awake one morning to find a baby has appeared in their apartment. Unsure what to do, and bewildered by the intrusion, they seek guidance from the eccentric Dr.Hoofenhoffer.

Director
Ian Killick
Runtime
Language
English
Trailer