2022 SMARTPHILM FEST FINALISTS

Grow

Country: France

Director: Brice Veneziano

Synopsis: Theo, 5 years old, enjoys spending time near a little pond behind his house. One morning, he finds the little pond totally dried and meets a poor sick frog who asks him to save the planet.

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone 8 Plus

Duration: 1 mins

Present for Future

Country: Kyrgyzstan

Director: Kanykei Orozoeva

Synopsis: Amanda is walking in the forest. She is enjoying the beauty of nature, listening to sounds of stream, jumping around. She finds a rabbit on her way and wants to hold him. Then suddenly…

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone 11

Duration: 1 min

YOUR GAME IS OVER

Country: Spain

Director: Valerie Flores

Synopsis: The planet is seen as a big global playing field where some people try to do their best to protect it while forces like money, industrial pollution, ignorance, and violence neutralize all efforts by playing carelessly with her. The solution? We need the ball back and blow the final whistle of this destructive game to let a new team play.

Mobile device(s) used: iphone8

Duration: 1 minute

III-II-I

Country: Turkey

Director: Fatih Yılmaz

Synopsis: A commuter in a virtual simulation of a forest tries to connect with nature again.

Mobile device(s) used: Samsung S10 plus

Duration: 1:00 min 

Ruina

Country: Italy

Director: Kristian Xipolias

Synopsis: In a post-apocalyptic world, two men compete in a duel for the last bottle of water left on earth. Humanity falls into selfishness and individual despair.

Mobile device(s) used:  iphone 8

Duration: 3:13 min

Neighbooor

Country: Spain

Director: Digital 104

Synopsis: Luis lives by himself, and he is handling the quarantine quite badly. One day, while he is in the bathroom, he hears a voice coming from the air vent, calling for him. It’s Rosa, an enthusiastic neighbor who starts invading his privacy every time he goes into the bathroom. Luis puts up with every conversation with the politeness of a selfless neighbor but, for him, it’s a nightmare. It gets worse when she asks him for a favor.

Mobile device(s) used: Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro

Duration: 10:00 min

Signals Intelligence

Country: United Kingdom

Director: Nigel Gould-Davies

Synopsis: Three British intelligence officers plan an operation during lockdown. What could go wrong? We spent the pandemic seeing one another on screens. This digital panopticon deprived us of the layered subtexts that give meaning and play to human connection. We adapted to this strange condition, but wanted to subvert it too. And so on many a Zoom we see hints – a smirk, a raised eyebrow, a suppressed snigger – that unspoken messages are being sent and received. I wanted to explore this by asking: how far could it go for those who intercept and decode signals for a living?

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone 12

Duration: 5:59 min

Urine The Desert

Country: United States

Director: Ricardo Ramos

Synopsis: A man stranded in the desert has to resort to worst case scenario measures of survival.

Duration: 1:29 min

Space Junk

Country: United States

Director: Adam Peltier

Synopsis: An astronaut returns to Earth so he can meet his newborn baby girl…and attend his wife’s funeral.

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone13ProMax

Duration: 8:40 min

Cockroach

Country: Australia

Director: Claire Ford

Synopsis: A woman battles with whether it’s morally right to be spraying cockroaches. Maybe they just want to be free like she does?

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone 12 Plus

Duration: 2:16 min

English Made Simple

Country: South Africa

Director: Cara Rust

Synopsis: In this absurd comedy, misfits Jake and James, entertain themselves at a pretentious party. ‘English Made Simple’ explores the complexities of defining yourself as an outcast.

Mobile device(s) used: Samsung Galaxy S9

Duration: 5:00 min

Beneath the Lonesome Skye

Country: Australia

Director: Rob Layton

Synopsis: An underwater photographer on the Isle of Skye, north-west Scotland, raises awareness of the island’s fragile marine ecology by focussing on the small creatures essential to the bottom of the food chain.

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone 13 Pro Max
iPhone 12 Pro Max

Duration: 4:11 min

(PAUSE)

Country: Chile

Director: Marcelo Lagreze

Synopsis: The city was quiet and hauntingly beautiful. Peace flooded on the places that before, had noisy crowds. We were experiencing the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the environment on the subway, was not different. A place that used to be flooded with people, became into an empty place that invited us to a parenthesis, a PAUSE to think and reflect…

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone XR

Duration: 2:20 min

Out of Thin Air

Country: United States

Director: Alexandra Guillossou

Synopsis: This documentary short outlines the Philosophy of Available Resources from an actor who practices it not only in film but also in furniture making.

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone XR
iPhone 11 Pro
iPhone 7

Duration:3:00 min

MIRA

Country: France

Director: Bastien Simon

Synopsis: Using slam poetry, Mira tells us his story of exile and his passion for music. On his way to France he finds a long cable and begins to pull it…

Mobile device(s) used: Xaomi Redmi S2

Duration: 1:00 min

After the Flood

Country: United States

Director: Alexandra Guillossou

Synopsis: An observational piece on two seemingly dissimilar St. Louis events that took place in June 2019. Man and nature can be equally explosive and yet only one has the option of choice.

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone XR

Duration:2:53 min

The Road to Transformation

Country: Turkey

Director: Merve Okeefe

Synopsis: The inspiring true story of a woman, a dog and a magical journey.

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone 7

Duration: 5:54min

244 Years Later

Country: United States

Director: Greg Berman

Synopsis: A reflective and allegorical look at American society, both past and present.

Mobile device(s) used: iphone 11

Duration: 2:00 min

Mundane!

Country: United States

Director: Nathania Zaini

Synopsis: Mundane! is a stop motion/ live action film, created in a little more than 1 week. The story is about a person who is always preoccupied with her daily routine that she forgets how to enjoy the little wonders happening around her.

Mobile device(s) used: Sony Xperia 1

Duration: 1:55 min

Crossed

Country: France

Director: Jean-Charles Fritz

Synopsis: Paris. A night. Murielle, retired, goes home until she crosses paths with Julie

Mobile device(s) used: HUAWEI P20 PRO

Duration: 1:00 min

Photo

Country: Russian Federation

Director: Roman Sinitsyn

Synopsis: The story of two people and one photo

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone XR

Duration: 1 min

I am not afraid

Country: France

Director: Hugo  Roblin

Synopsis: Entirely shot with an Iphone, “I am not afraid” is a movie about a child speaking about his trip through the Mediterranean Sea, the last step before freedom.

Mobile device(s) used: iphone 8

Duration: 1 min

Filtered

Country: Canada

Director: Scott Morris

Synopsis: The lives of Two best friends are revealed through cellphone footage when one night they decide to go to a party, and on their travels home, they’re stalked by an unwanted person.

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone 8

Duration:8:04 min

Like Us

Country: United States

Director: Ian Leer

Synopsis: Inspired by a true friendship, this is a dog tale about humanity.

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone 8 Plus
iPhoneXs

Duration: 4:50 min

Resilience

Country: United States

Director: Antonio Chavez Trejo

Synopsis: Eris a young tormented woman goes into an introspective path as her depression grows, forcing to question herself the reasons of her existence while the darkness within her begin to tempt her to put an end to the depression and pain once and for all.

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone X

Duration: 8:30  min

It’s cold up there

Country: France

Director: Milot Annabelle

Synopsis: Amandine is a lively, smart little girl. She lives alone with her father; and she’s has a secret…

Mobile device(s) used: –

Duration:4:00 min

The Exit

Country: United States

Director: Cameo Wood

Synopsis: A woman tries to leave a room, but cannot. Made on an iPhone 11 Pro from start to finish in seven hours as a part of ‘We Make Movies’ Smartphone Studio.

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone 11 Pro

Duration: 1:29 min

The Painterist

Country: United States

Director: Khalid Khan

Synopsis: The word,’ Painterist’ was coined for this short film; its title is often mistaken as “Paint” although it is “Pain”. This fictional biopic story is about the life of a fine artist, whose name was Shahid. Being an unknown painter, he had been selling his artwork to a dilettante lady, Tanya, for a fistful of money. One day he comes to know, he was selling his soul! Intellectual piracy is motif of this avant-garde movie. “The Painterist” acknowledges and appreciates the artistic ardour of those creators who have been ripped off by art-stealing, credit-hijackers in this bandit territory, but their passion is invincible. Tagline: “Soul is not for sale”

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone X

Duration: 3:00 min

Chapter 1

Country: Lebanon

Director: Nataly Chehade

Synopsis: A portrayal of apathy. A young lady by the name of Dola commits an unusal crime on her birthday.

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone 12 Pro

Duration: 00:00

Forever Home

Country: Kenya

Director: Artsy Solomon

Synopsis: A group of nomadic pastoralists in Northwestern Kenya decide to settle in a barren patch of land at the edge of Lodwar Town.

Mobile device(s) used: Samsung Galaxy A30

Duration: 9:00 min

The Unseen

Country: United Kingdom

Director:Tom Major

Synopsis: In the UK, one person dies each day due to gambling. The Unseen is a short sub 3-minute film about living with a gambling addiction. The story is narrated by myself from a poem I wrote titled “A Wheel That Spins” – Based on my real-life experience. The wheel represents the wheel of life and a wheel of chance. The wheel keeps on spinning – morning, noon and night.

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone 13 Pro Max

Duration: 2:50 min

Fragments

Country: India

Director: Georgy Abraham

Synopsis: A woman, who would do anything to replace the present with her past, finds a means to relive her childhood memories. It is amazing how a single photograph can take you back in time.

Mobile device(s) used: iphone 6S

Duration: 7 min 8 seconds 

Balance

Country: Singapore

Director: Ryamond Limantara

Synopsis: “There isn’t enough room for the both of us.” Two painters battle out what space they have to paint in their own style.

Mobile device(s) used: iPad Pro

Duration: 3:38 min

Moon

Country: Italy

Director: Roberto Incerti

Synopsis: A garbage man, grappling with the usual routine, wanders around the city alone. But something incredible is about to happen to him.

Mobile device(s) used: iphone13

Duration: 5:18 min

Lockdown

Country: Germany

Director: Alex Dridger

Synopsis: A deep mystery haunts in one woman’s home during the lockdown

Mobile device(s) used: Google Pixel 6

Duration: 10:00 min

TAPE

Country: United States

Director: Cody Slice

Synopsis: A man finds a video tape at parking lot and discovers it wasn’t a random tape.

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone X

Duration: 05:20 min

Therteen

Country: Ireland

Director: Cathriona Slammon

Synopsis: A silent psychological horror film in which an isolated young girl has visions of a mysterious predator on the eve of her 13th birthday. This was filmed on a cameraphone during the pandemic, with no equipment, no crew, and no budget.

Mobile device(s) used: Samsung Galaxy S8+

Duration: 9:57 min

SHC: Freak Accident

Country: United States

Director: Thomas Burke

Synopsis: A mysterious phenomena occurs during a video call, leading to a Texas resident’s death.

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone 13

Duration: 1:57 min

Dark Passage

Country: United States

Director: Roshni “Rush” Bhatia

Synopsis: A part time driver’s last ride of the night may be the last ride of his life.

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone

Duration: 1:00 min

Time

Country: Mexico

Director: Ananké Films Producción

Synopsis: Christina wakes up in a place that’s completely foreign to her, a place where she will have a defiant encounter with Time.

Mobile device(s) used: Xiaomi 10

Duration: 7:27 min

The Experiment

Country: Brazil

Director: JJ Erenberg

Synopsis: Two young scientist made a huge discover. Now is time to test it. Will they survive?

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone 11

Duration: 1 min

Filters

Country: Colombia

Director: Ginna Parra

Synopsis: Filters tells the story of Zanti, the Zombi. A child in the body of a giant, this doesn’t allow him to look like the other children of his age or have the same kind of life they have. So to achieve his greatest motivation: Being a human; he uses filters in his social media, managing to get an appointment that will not only change his motivation but the course of his life.

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone x

Duration: 5:00 mins

Bookshelf

Country: Russian Federation

Director: Anton Kononov

Synopsis: The guy finds a small portal to the parallel universe in the library.

Mobile device(s) used: iPhone 8

Duration: 2:13 min