Cast: Shalin Aggarwal, Hassan Masood
Cinematography: Vincent Venturella
Sound and Editing: Masood Haque
Music: Philip Glass
Written, Produced and Directed by: Masood Haque

SYNOPSIS
The younger brother of a suicide bomber is tragically drawn into violence he cannot understand.

THE FILMMAKER
Masood Haque is currently in his first year of graduate school in the Media Arts Department of City College of New York.

The City Eats Its Weak
AUSTRALIA / 2006 / 15 MIN / ENGLISH

Cast: Thomas Michael Wright, Guy Kable, Kristy Barnes-Cullen
Cinematography: Adam Arkapaw
Sound: Rami Frieha
Producers: Sacha Rodriguez, Adrian Moses
Written, Edited and Directed by: Sasha Whitehouse

SYNOPSIS
Kay can’t eat. Kay can’t sleep. Kay can’t do anything about the city as it slowly consumes the people around him; but what is this thing growing on his chest?

THE FILMMAKER
Sasha Whitehouse is a 26-year-old filmmaker from New Zealand who grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He reads too much science fiction and loves Japanese cinema. He has worked as a director, cameraman and editor. Sasha likes frisbee and security cameras give him the creeps.

Cast: Oliver Cassidy
Animation,
Cinematography and
Editing: Hei Cheng
Sound and Music: Oliver Cassidy
Directed by: Hei Cheng

SYNOPSIS
"The Colour of Rain" is based on how changes in weather can affect one's daily emotions. The audience will experience the contrast of darkness and light expressed in the changeable English weather.

THE FILMMAKER
Cheng Chun Hei was born in Hong Kong where he trained first in painting and Chinese calligraphy. He later obtained a bachelors in graphic design from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London, in 2005, and is currently studying at the Royal College of Art for Animation. His work has been screened at various venues including at the Direction Exhibition 2005-2006 at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and at the main exhibition space at Central St. Martins' Lethaby Gallery on Southampton Row.

Cast: James Vidos, Lesley McBurney, Brian Anthony Wilson, Emily Kirst
Cinematography: Demian Barba
Editing: Ziggy Attias
Sound: Neil Benezra
Music: Blow UO Hollywood
Screenplay: Brian Evenson
Producers: Sergei Krasikau, Ziggy Attias
Directed by: Ziggy Attias

SYNOPSIS
A father discovers his young daughter has died from fever in rural America. At first devastated, he quickly realises that he does not want his fragile wife to see that the girl has passed away. While composing himself, he decides to hide the girl in the barn so he may prepare his wife for the dire news. But upon approaching his wife in the kitchen, he finds himself unable to face her with the news.

THE FILMMAKER
Ziggy Attias established Ziggy Films in 1996 and has made two documentaries that have been aired on PBS. The first was the award-winning documentary “Traveling the Distance”, about the Shinnecock Indians’ 50th Anniversary Labour Day Pow-Wow that The New York Times calls “an important anthropological reference.” The second, “Ride on Brother”, is about the cathartic cross country bicycle journey of seven NYC firefighters in the wake of 9/11. Attias is also in post-production on “The Nepal Diaries”, a three-part personal journey through the Kingdom of Nepal.

Cast: Ujwal Chopra, Dharmendra Chandel, Reshma Shetty, Rajesh Balwani
Cinematography: D. Deb
Editing: Archana Singh
Sound: Raaja
Music: Jon, Deepak
Screenplay: Atin Dasgupta, Snehal Patel
Directed by: Atin Dasgupta

SYNOPSIS
Jatin has just moved into a rented flat in Mumbai. The very first night his neighbour Rahul invites him over. All is well until Rahul and Sanjana, Rahul’s feline paramour, reveal that an artist who used to occupy Jatin’s flat, died a gory and unfortunate death. Rahul’s increasingly grave and jingoistic exposition recounting the ignominious circumstances that led to the artist’s demise, coupled with the seamy posturing of Sanjana inside the room, paints an ominous picture of decadence and decay in Jatin’s mind. The very next day he confronts his estate agent, demanding an explanation for being kept in the dark. But the agent has a different story to tell. Two cascading back-to-back twists end this gripping entertainer.

THE FILMMAKER
Atin Dasgupta was born in 1976 and is a resident of Mumbai. He holds a degree in fine arts, specialising in painting, from the reputed Sir JJ School of Arts in Mumbai. Atin worked as an FM Radio anchor and producer with All India Radio during his college years, a job that later helped him become a writer and producer for Channel [V] India. With the channel, he wrote, produced and directed a host of innovative and popular reality and feature-based programs. In 2005, Atin left Channel [V] to concentrate on writing and independently directing short and feature films. “The Neighbours”, co-written and directed by him, and completed in July 2006, is Atin’s first short film.

Cast: Andrew Sutranz, Nina Pearce
Cinematography: John Simpson
Editing: Sean Ascroft
Sound: Jamie Green
Music: Hylton Mowday
Producers: Sean Ascroft, Karl Mather
Directed by: Sean Ascroft

SYNOPSIS
Bubbleboy is a sad outsider who lives alone and is so afraid of pointed objects that he wraps everything, himself included, in bubblewrap. He never ventures from his house because the outside world is too terrifying. The film tells the story of his self- imposed exile from the world and how, one day driven by dwindling supplies, he ventures out and is assaulted by thugs. Left for dead, he finally meets the girl of his dreams who restores his faith in life.

THE FILMMAKER
After being rejected by the police force and months of arduous soul searching, Sean Ascroft studied graphic arts at the School of Visual Arts and subsequently became a mail boy at the advertising firm J. Walter Thompson. This determined his career direction in advertising TV production. From JWT Advertising to Clemenger to FCB and finally to DDB Sydney, Sean worked his way up to Head of Television. During his 16 years at DDB, Sean has been instrumental in producing many award-winning commercials for clients such as McDonald's, Konica, Minolta and Gatorade. In his spare time, between raising a family, he makes commercials for the children's charity, The Humpty Dumpty Foundation.
“The Story of Bubbleboy” has been selected for a number of film festivals and won an award at the Tropfest 2006 for a 3rd place in Best Music Score.

Animation and Art Direction: Adam Aiken, Shelley Revill
Sound and Music: Birdengine
Producers: Adam Aiken, Shelley Revill for Sherbet
Edited and Directed by: Adam Aiken, Shelley Revill

SYNOPSIS
Clockwork creatures living in harmony in an organic world, survive an attack to mend their ailing master.

THE FILMMAKERs
Adam and Shelly both have both been working at Sherbet for four and five years respectively. They have worked on campaigns and series aired on BBC 2 and BBC 3. Adam Aiken has a BA in fine art from the Southampton Institute, where he specialised in film and photography, graduating in 2000. Shelly graduated from Bath Spa University College with a BA (Hons) in graphic design in 2000.

Towers of Silence
PAKISTAN / 1976 / 54 MIN / ENGLISH-URDU

Cast: Judy Van Hook, Jamil Dehlavi, Ajaz Ahmed, Jalal Khan
Cinematography: Jamil Dehlavi, Anthony Zaza
Editing: Jamil Dehlavi
Music: Shareef Khan Poonchwala
Screenplay: Jamil Dehlavi
Written, Produced and Directed by: Jamil Dehlavi

SYNOPSIS
A surreal impression of a young boy's ritualistic obsession with death. Part of Spotlight on Jamil Dehlavi.

THE FILMMAKER
Jamil Dehlavi is an independent filmmaker of Pakistani origin based in London. His father was a diplomat, so the family travelled extensively before he was sent to study in England. After reading law at Oxford, he was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn, then changed course, preferring instead to enter the world of cinema. Jamil studied film at Columbia University in New York and went on to produce and direct several international award-winning feature films.

Cast: Sampo Sarkde, Sue Lemstrem, Fabian Silen, Jessica Cadeberg
Cinematography: Fredrik Forssell
Editing: Tommi Seitajoki
Sound Design: Joonas Hakava
Screenplay: Tommi Seitajoki
Producer: Anton Lindberg
Directed by: Tommi Seitajoki

SYNOPSIS
An absurd tale about John Franc and his desperate endeavour to find his place in a corrupt and desolate world.

THE FILMMAKER
Tommi Seitajoki studied film directing and screenwriting at Arcada Polytechnics, Helsinki . "Transport" is his graduation work and has won the first prize at the Kinokisa Film Festival in Finland . The film has also been screened at the Signes du Nuit in France.

Tricko (The T-Shirt)
CZECH REPUBLIC / 2006 / 11 MIN / SLOVAKIAN

Cast: Marian Mitas, Andrej Kovac
Cinematography: Tomas Sabo
Editing: Matej Benes
Sound: Martin Hejl
Music: DFL & Domora, Pete Williams
Producers: Pavel Simbartl, Raffo Tatarko, Igor Brossmann
Written and Directed by: Hossein Martin Fazeli

SYNOPSIS
Mark is half American and half Slovak. And he has strong beliefs. On a trip to Slovakia, he meets Tomas, a shop assistant, who is wearing a T-shirt that offends his beliefs.

THE FILMMAKER
Hossein Martin Fazeli is an Irani-Canadian film director. He makes short films, documentaries and public service announcements. Hossein has been involved in various aspects of filmmaking over the last 10 years in Europe and North America.

Cast: Rishi Prasad, Prashant Issar, Anuj Tikku, Sameer Sippy,
Debeyendru Bhattacharya, Pramathesh Mehta
Cinematography: Mahendra Shetty
Editing: Vikramaditya Motwane
Sound: Kunal Sharma
Producer: Rumana Hamied
Written and Directed by: Vikramaditya Motwane

SYNOPSIS
Akshay Kumar has been trying to ‘make it’ as an actor in Bombay for five years. Armed with a monologue full of clichés, he travels from office to office, from producer to director, from dawn to dusk. Blind to all criticism, he forges on… until the day he gets an offer that could make him a star.

THE FILMMAKER
Vikramaditya Motwane was born and raised in Bombay. He began his career as an assistant director on television shows for Walt Disney before assisting Sanjay Leela Bhansali on the international hit film “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam” (1999). He was associate director on Bhansali’s subsequent film, “Devdas” in 2002, and he choreographed the song sequence in Deepa Mehta’s “Water” (2006). Whilst working on a number of music videos and commercials, Vikramaditya is currently working full time as a screenwriter and developing his own feature film. “Undisputed” is his first narrative short.

Villa Mafia
LITHUANIA / 2006 / 1 MIN 45 SEC

Animation and Editing: Rimantas Lukavicius
Sound and Music: Happyendless
Written, Produced and Directed by: Rimantas Lukavicius

SYNOPSIS
The unstoppable devil machine. The bug in the metro system. “Villa Mafia” or “Villa Maria?”

THE FILMMAKER
Born in 1983 in Kuanas, Lithuania, Rimantas Lukavicius started to experiment with motion graphics in 2001. He is now working in RGB Production House as a designer, and is also studying Photo/Media in Vilnius Art Academy. His short film “Ku Ku” won the Best Animated Short film at the 5th KaraFilm Festival.

Cast: Maneej Premnath
Cinematography: Ashu Solanki
Producers: Maneej Premnath, Ashu Solanki
Written, Edited and Directed by: Maneej Premnath

SYNOPSIS
A human being experiences himself, his thoughts and his feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison, restricting personal desire. People must strive to free themselves from this prison by widening their circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures. "Who Am I" is a journey into the subconscious mind of a person.

THE FILMMAKER
After assisting various directors in television and films for three years, Maneej Premnath has moved into the director's seat with his short films "Why? … again!" "Chance" and "Who am I?"

Will Think For Food
INDIA / 2005 / 4 MIN / ENGLISH

Cast: Parvinder Kaur, Amalendu Chaudhury, Anand Gandhi, Rahi Barve, Kunal Mithril, Akash Pandey, Leela Bai
Cinematography: Amalendu Chaaudhary & Anand Gandhi
Editing: Kapil Khambra & Tanu Maheshwari
Special Effects: Anand Ghandi
Animation: Anurag Sharma
Sound: Vijay Chawla
Producer: Neeraj Suji , Films Rajendraa
Written, Narrated and Directed by: Parvinder Kaur

SYNOPSIS
This film is a personal statement by the director, who faces a mental block when presented with the theme of food. A take on the entire process of filmmaking itself, it highlights the struggles of a wannabe filmmaker desperately trying to strike out on her own.

THE FILMMAKER
Parvinder Kaur is a filmmaker based in India

Cast: Bikram Hazarika, Urmila Mohonta, Kobindra Das, Ulka Bokil
Cinematography: Sandeep Patil
Editing: Suchitra Sathe
Sound: Ajeet Singh Rathore
Art Direction: Sandeep Patil
Producer: Tripurari Sharan
Written and Directed by: Reema Borah

SYNOPSIS
Jeevan is a primary school teacher who lives with his wife and his mother in a remote village of Assam, where they face floods of the mighty Brahmaputra every year. There is no luxury in their lives. Only struggle. Struggle against nature, government and militants, and even struggle against their own people. Still, they live with hope for a brighter tomorrow.

THE FILMMAKER
Reema Borah was born in Assam and did her masters in performing arts from Punjab University. Presently, she’s pursuing a film direction course at the Film and Television Institute of Pune, India. “Xihotor Kotha” has made its rounds at international film festivals, and has won the National Award for Cinematography in the Kodak Film School Competition in 2005 and the International Award for Cinematography in the Kodak Film School the same year.

Zang, Ranj, Zindagi (Color, Pain, Life)
IRAN / 2005 / 15 MIN / PERSIAN

Cinematography: Reza Pishe Ehsan
Editing: Zahra Abdollahi
Sound: Hadi Soleimanzade
Music: Mousa Alijani
Producer: Effat Soufi
Directed by: Zahra Abdollahi

SYNOPSIS
Jajim is an Iranian traditional hand woven rug that is considered a basic household possession among villagers. It is used at different occasions of their life, from the birth of babies to their death ceremonies.

THE FILMMAKER
Zahra Abdollahi was born in 1965 and is a member of the Iranian Young Cinema Society. She has been involved in a number of amateur films and is currently directing short films.