Film O’Clock International Festival’s fourth edition – diversity and innovation in the cinemas of eight countries

The Film O’Clock International Festival team reveals the 10 titles in the international short film competition and the two industry events that will take place during the fourth edition of the festival. Scheduled to take place between February 28th and March 3rd, 2024, the festival will be hosted by prestigious film universities, cinemas and other partner centers from Romania, Lithuania, Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria, Greece, Egypt and South Africa. The event will include simultaneous screenings, discussions with the creative teams and online conferences for professionals and moviegoers.

The program focuses on the exclusive presentation of films produced in the 8 participating countries, highlighting the unique artistic visions and diversity of cinematic stories of talented creators.

As for the international short film competition, the curatorial committee, consisting of Mirona Radu (Romania), Andrew Mohsen (Egypt) and Zhana Kalinova (Bulgaria), chose the 10 films from over 100 entries. They are competing for two prizes: the public prize and the jury prize, worth €700 and €500 gross respectively.

Here is the full list of selected films:

1. “1991“, directed by Linas Ziura, Lithuania, 2023, 12 min., fiction
2. “A Void“, directed by Jordy Sank, South Africa, 2022, 26 min., fiction
3. “Bad News“, directed by Liviu Rotaru, Moldova, 2023, 29 min., fiction
4. “Fracture“, directed by Dimana Pastrakova, Bulgaria, 2023, 30 min., fiction
5. “Hypatia“, directed by Andrei Răuțu, Romania, 2023, 17 min., fiction
6. “Mother“, directed by Naji Ismail, Egypt, 2022, 20 min., fiction
7. “Ready“, directed by Eirini Vianelli, Greece, Belgium, 2023, 11 min., animation
8. “Suruaika“, directed by Vlad Ilicevici, Radu C. Pop, Romania, 2022, 9 min., animation
9. “Walking Up in Silence“, directed by Mila Zhluktenko, Daniel Asadi Faezi, Ukraine, 2023, 18 min., documentary
10. “When the MIGs fly“, directed by Philip Găicean, Romania, 2023, 15 min., fiction

Director of the O’Clock Film Festival, Mirona Radu, shares her enthusiasm for the strong selection of short films, highlighting the diversity and innovation in the cinemas of the eight countries. “I am grateful to all those who entered their films; it was a privilege to watch them and now it is a joy to present them further. We do not divide good films by genre; from the 10 titles, we chose two animations and one documentary, the rest being fiction films and most of them being produced in 2023, thus very recent and many premiering in these countries, and coming with the pedigree of prestigious festivals in the world.”

This year, the festival received over 100 submissions from the 8 countries, representing the largest number of submissions to date. “This reflects how the festival has grown over the last 3 years and built a fan base from different countries who have been waiting for entries to open. Not only the number of films submitted reflected the filmmakers’ confidence in Film O’Clock, but also the quality of the films. We’ve received films that have been part of many major festivals, including Cannes and Berlinale,” says Andrew Mohsen, Film O’Clock International Festival selector.

Through the selection process, selector Zhana Kalinova traveled virtually through the eight participating countries, observing both well-established film industries and positive trends in developing ones. “Each short film offered a unique insight into the culture of its country or attempted to transport the viewer to an imaginary space unrelated to any state. Themes such as family ties, societal changes, poignant realism and borderless imagination are among the subjects explored in the short films presented this year.”

The two conferences dedicated to professionals, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, respectively March 1st and 2nd, will address topics of great interest such as heritage, artificial intelligence, and mental health in the film industry. Special guests and conference agenda will be announced soon.

The fourth edition of the festival is organized by Creatrix Fama, Mockra Productions and ABI Foundation, with the support of DACIN SARA. We thank the partners: Lithuanian Film Center, CNC Moldova, I. L. Caragiale National University of Theater Arts and Cinematography, Zhovten Cinema from Kiev, Neelsie Cinema from Stellenbosch University, Academy of Arts from Vilnius, Romanian-Hellenic Cultural Association Art and Culture from Athens.

For more details, please visit www.FoC-IFF.com.

Romania Journal supports the festival as media partner.