BFI London Film Festival: Debate Shorts - A World At War

9 Oct 2016

BFI Film Festival: 245 features. 74 countries. 15 cinemas. 12 days. One Festival.

A selection of short films that span the globe, highlighting activism, revolution, misguided patriotism, the refugee experience and war. From Syria to the Sahara and even an English council estate, we’re all on the frontline in today’s world.

Programme Notes

Battalion to My Beat, dir. Eimi Imanishi

Frustrated with the discriminatory gender roles at a Saharawi refugee camp, Mina longs to become a soldier.

Battalion to My Beat, dir. Eimi Imanishi, USA/Western Sahara/Algeria 2016, 14 mins
#YA, dir. Ygor Gama & Florencia Rovlich

First it’s paint bombs, then riots. Tweets proclaim what is to be done. Resistance is everywhere. Two young activists meet amid turbulent events.

#YA, dir. Ygor Gama and Florencia Rovlich, Germany/Chile/Argentina 2015, 15 mins
Import, dir. Ena Sendijarevic

A young Bosnian refugee family end up in a small village in the Netherlands. Absurd situations arise as they try to make this new world their home.

Import, dir. Ena Sendijarevic, Netherlands 2016, 17 mins
9 Days – from My Window in Aleppo, dir. Issa Touma, Thomas Vroege and Floor van der Meulen

Syrian photographer Issa Touma recorded the first days of the revolt in Aleppo from his window. An exceptional angle on the war in Syria.

9 Days – from My Window in Aleppo, dir. Issa Touma, Thomas Vroege and Floor van der Meulen, Netherlands 2015, 13 mins
Noor at Mytilini Port, dir. Treasa O’Brien

New Year’s Eve in a Lesbos port. A filmmaker meets Noor, a young Syrian woman. They make a short film together with a phone.

Noor at Mytilini Port, dir. Treasa O’Brien, UK 2016, 6 mins
Murderous Injustice, dir. Gavin Scott Whitfield

The real-life episodes contributing to a devastating hate crime are powerfully told in one shot.

This film contains scenes of a graphic nature.

Murderous Injustice, dir. Gavin Scott Whitfield, UK 2016, 13 mins
World War Cup, dir. Simon Ellis

A grim display of misguided patriotism and tribal thuggery during the England vs Germany 2010 World Cup match.

World War Cup, dir. Simon Ellis, UK 2016, 7 mins
Symbolic Threats, dir. Mischa Leinkauf, Lutz Henke and Matthias Wermke

Poetry or threat? An act of surrender or perhaps art? How one incident can be interpreted in many different ways.

Symbolic Threats, dir. Mischa Leinkauf, Lutz Henke and Matthias Wermke, Germany 2015, 15 mins