Ca’ Foscari Short Film Festival

East Asia Now

A special program curated by Stefano Locati

The 2024 selection is composed of four short films from Japan, Myanmar, Singapore and the Philippines. The four shorts address different themes – from friendship to loneliness, from the emptiness of today's media society to the sense of guilt – with a common intimate, almost metaphysical approach. 
The actions we see unfold in these short films are left to the free interpretation of the viewer, who finds himself navigating a kaleidoscope of contrasting emotions. The short format allows us to experiment with the sense of immediacy of the stories told, which however maintain the complexity of the characters and their motivations: from satire to parable, a poetic and unfathomable look at the contradictions of the human soul.

Program of proposed works

Two of Us (Suigyo no majiwari)

Directed by: Igarashi Kohei
Japan/France, 20’
Two childhood friends are at the end of a trip near a resort overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The two argue, while the cell phone of one of them continues to ring. With a measured style, rich in ellipses, Igarashi Kohei composes a mysterious ode to friendship and disillusionment. His dream-apocalyptic feature filmHold Your Breath Like a Lover(Iki o koroshite, 2014) was presented at the Locarno Film Festival.

The Altar (Pha-Yar-Sin)

Director: Moe Myat May Zarchi
Myanmar, 11’
A Buddhist tale about guilt, narrated in whispers with an experimental style that mixes photography, animation and ambient sounds. The result is an intimate and confessional experience that caresses the senses. Moe Myat May Zarchi is a Burmese visual artist who graduated from the New York Film Academy in 2016 and founded the organization 3-Act Films, with the aim of spreading experimental film culture in Myanmar.

Bagasi

Directed by:  Nelson Yeo
Singapore/Indonesia, 15’
A woman drags a bulky bag through the night streets of the suburbs. But the baggage is heavy, and every now and then she has to take a break. A melancholic story made of silence, dance and mystery, filmed with an intoxicating taste for the surreal. Nelson Yeo won the Golden Leopard Filmmakers of the Present at the Locarno Film Festival with Dreaming & Dying(2023), his debut feature film inspired by the previous short Dreaming (2021).

Primetime Mother

Director: Sonny Calvento
Philippines, 15’
An audition for a popular TV show for combative mothers turns into a nerve-wracking test for the contestants. A joyful and merciless satire on the exploitative nature of the entertainment industry and the tenacity of a mother who has nothing left to lose. Sonny Calvento is the director of the thrilling thriller of the mindThe Decaying(Nabubulok, 2017), his debut feature film. He had already participated in the East Asia Now selection with the exuberant short Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss(2019).