First edition of the Beneath The River Danube will be held in Belgrade, Serbia.
30 films from 23 countries all over the world will be shown on October 15th, 2023.
Last two months we have lived an amazing experience watching 1120 films from 89 countries around the world.
With proud and pleasure, we present films from this year’s official selection:
Vinyl on Bones – Malusi Bengu (South Africa)
Zee is a reluctant music healer and her newly manifested gift of musical healing weighs heavy on her shoulders. She works the inner city accompanied by her protector as she encounters the last remaining white person in the inner city, suffering from a severe mental breakdown. Zee brings her gifts to bear at a cost to her own personal being.
Epitaph to N/949 – Nacho Recio (Spain)
In a dystopian future with a society dominated by the meat food industries, who are the real terrorists?, who are the persecuted and eliminated by the ones that have the power?
To fly – Catherine Mazoyer (Chile)
There comes a time in life, when our body just stops listening. Sofia, a wheelchair bound woman, locked in her body, takes us on a journey that makes us understand that inside we never stop flying.
Witnesses – Dayana Araujo Cuello (Cuba)
Two Girls meet each other into the woods for fun then It happens a unexpected event between them.
Pitage – Ali Khaledi (Iran)
In the prison barber shop, A prisoner’s final request before his execution is to have his hair cut so that he will look good when he meets his family for the last time. He comes face to face with a prison guard who is willing to carry out the death sentence for leave taking.
WORLD PREMIERE
Sleeper’s ancient stone – Nebojsa Ilic Ilke (Serbia)
One of art’s greatest objectives is to refine its consumers. After setting aside his basic instincts, art’s spectator can dive into the work of art with no restraints, later coming out of it spiritually bathed and better than before.
WORLD PREMIERE
Ku-The Prejudice – Ranabir Das (India)
A 35-year-old boy from a modest Indian family, struggling with the weight of responsibility and the trials of finding employment. Day after day, he ventures out with hope, but luck evades him. Perhaps in the morning, he leaves home with aspirations to work, but unable to secure any job, he returns, hearing his mother’s worries about the household’s financial plight. Even his father rests on a bed of worries.
A Secret Hideout – Wei Chun Jen (Taiwan)
On a bright sunny day, three seemingly unrelated person are chatting on a roof top, but there’s a secret hiding among the conversation.
The Last Coffee – Kevin Eisenberg (Argentina)
Leandro, a rookie and insecure waiter of a seedy cafe, attends to a depressed man who reveals that he is going to commit suicide that same night. Leandro has in his hands the preparation of the client’s last coffee, and with it, the possibility of saving his life.
Traccce Perdute – Gianluca Gloria (Italy)
An old inspector and a clumsy assistant investigate the mysterious missing of an elder man. There aren’t traces of his family and a kidnapping is suspected. To solve the mystery they’ll need to go further through their family history, missing beloved ones, and illnesses that nurture memories.
Camera Obscura – Andrei Olănescu (Romania)
One day, I man buy an old polaroid from a stranger. Soon he finds out that it is not just for taking photos.
Echo – Daniel Vajda (Hungary)
The spiritual crisis and time travel of a hopeful but disillusioned philosopher in a universe
of imagination.
Crossfire! – Palmer Wells (Canada)
Through a cloud of cigarette smoke and a haze of gin and tonic, Jack Monroe and Violet Grey met and a fast romance began. But when ghosts from Jack’s past veer their ugly heads, his romance with Violet meets a fatal and tragic end just as quickly as it began.
Encounter in the Forest – Mark Velikanov, Yury Sysoev (Russia)
Resting with friends in the forest, Vasya goes deeper into the woods and stumbles upon three strangers sitting by the fire – a hero, a hussar and a Soviet soldier.
Velas – Pablo Iranzo Pineda (Spain)
It’s been 2 years since Tomás last saw his father. But on his 8th birthday, Tomás will discover that his father has been cherishing something for him all these years.
Open Call – Katia Crivellari (France)
Sacha is going to a dance open call. Nothing is happening as planned, he gets there late, ends up behind everyone and can’t see anything.
Freunde – Lavinia Zammataro (Italy)
A story of friendship, born during the Olympics of ’36, is the basis of this visual elegy. It is a tribute to a great experience of humanity and brotherhood between two great athletes that will last until the end of their days.
Under the Blue – Vishal Kodwani (Australia)
Australian player Dina Victorri is a member of the Queensland team and is currently competing in the national underwater hockey championships. She is known for her aggressive playing style and is a key part of her team’s success. As a member of the Queensland team, she is helping to ensure that the state continues to be a dominant force in underwater hockey.
Drmic – Marko Plejic (Croatia)
Observatory documentary film, in the style of direct cinema, shows the happenings on one of the asphalt-league football games in Zagreb.
The film explores aesthetics and patterns of masculinity, on and off the pitch.
La 1907 -David Rodríguez Suárez (Spain)
Jorge has been a fanatic of Industrial Futbol Club since he was a child. His grandfather, a former player for this team, used to take him to watch the matches at the stadium. Jorge gradually falls in love with Industrial and becomes a club member. But everything starts to change when he sits in the ultras fan section. Jorge stops being just a regular fan and becomes Viuda, the leader of the ultras. Jorge’s life takes an unexpected turn as he immerses himself deeper into the world of ultras.
I loved to see you – Ricardo Garcia (Brazil)
A little deaf boy falls in love with a blind girl. He needs to figure out how to communicate with her, while discover her perception of the world.
Bureaucracy – Victor Picallo (Spain)
An office worker needs to pee urgently but found himself behind a long line waiting for special permission. This short animation is about how works sometimes this world, when the bureaucracy can be over the people humanity rights without any feellings.
The Sprayer – Farnoosh Abedi (Iran)
In the land occupied with the sprayers army, no one has the right to grow any kind of plants either in public or private.
So many of the people and soldiers do not even know how dose a plant grows or look like, until one day one of the soldiers finds a seed buried deep down in the dust and his curiosity is just the beginning of something extraordinary, something big, something revolutionary.
Colorless – Abdul Hamid Mandgar (Afghanistan)
Narges is a girl who likes to dance a lot, but her brother beats her to dance until Narges does something.
Eternal Wanderers – George Richard Bruno (Italy)
Eternal Wanderers is a magical cinematic journey seen through the eyes of children. The film unfolds like a poetic chapter on the incredible power of each moment and the eternal hidden magic within each of us.
The Traveler – Jiahao Zhang (China)
n the year 2769 AD, the world’s population reached 10 billion for the first time. At the same time, with the depletion of natural resources, humanity ushered in an unprecedented era of great famine.
Beasts – Ricardo Javier Vinueza (Ecuador)
Beasts tells the story of Thirteen, a pig like any other who is born on an intensive breeding farm. He has suffered various types of abuse here, like any other animal destined for meat production. One day, due to a miracle of nature, Thirteen gets the strength to fight against the humans who have mistreated him.
The Bull – Patrick Forian (France)
Ulysses and Hercules, two small-time crooks, are tasked with getting rid of Bob, known as “The Bull”, who is causing trouble on the Normandy ridge. But as they open the trunk of the car, a doubt arises about their victim: Is it really Bob? And if it’s not him, what will they do with it?
Quandary – Ebubekir Sefa Akbulut (Turkey)
In a world where vitality is gradually decreasing due to environmental pollution, the fisherman who cannot find food establishes a bond with the fish he caught in the lake as a result of long efforts. He is torn between hunger and conscience.
RATP Pizza Robot – Hugues Beauregard (France)
In a near future, Kevin Dutreuil wants to hack a Pizza Robot, but it has updated its software.
