American Film Academy has announced the short list of short films that compete for the Oscar 2016. Among the 10 titles include two films from this year's competition Tofifest SHORTCUT: Palestinian Ave Maria and German Everything will be fine.
We are very pleased that Tofifest selectors have chosen from nearly 1,900 entries really the best films. They are now in excellent company. The race for the Oscar-winning short film faced 144 productions. Now the list has been narrowed down to 10 titles:
"Ave Maria" - reż. Basil Khalil
"Bad Hunter" - reż. Sahim Omar Kalifa
"Bis Gleich" ("Till Then") - reż. Philippe Brenninkmeyer
"Contrapelo" ("Against the Grain") - reż. Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer
"Day One" - reż. Henry Hughes
"Everything Will Be Okay" ("Alles Wird Gut") - reż. Patrick Vollrath
"The Free Man" ("Zi You Ren") - reż. Quah Boon-Lip
"Shok" - reż. Jamie Donoughue
"Stutterer" - reż. Benjamin Cleary
"Winter Light"- reż. Julian Higgins.
Everything will be ok / Alles wird gut
Austria, Niemcy, 2015, 30'
A divorced father picks up his eight-year-old daughter Lea. It seems pretty much like every second weekend, but after a while Lea can‘t help feeling that something isn't right. So begins a fateful journey.
Patrick Vollrath was born in 1985 and raised in a small town in Central Germany. 2005 to 2008 Film and Video Training at ARRI Film & TV in Munich, Germany. He started his career as an editor. Since 2008 Bachelor Film Studies in Directing at the University of Music and Performing Arts — Film Academy Vienna.
Awards: Cannes IFF – Small Golden Rail (2015); FEST New Directors/New Films Festival – Złoty Ryś / Silver Lynx (2015)
Ave Maria
Germany, Palestine, France 2015, 14'
The Nuns of the “Sisters of Mercy” Convent, in the middle of the West Bank wilderness, have their daily routine of silence and prayer disrupted when a family of Jewish settlers come knocking at their door for help after crashing into the convent’s wall.
Basil Khalil was born and raised in Nazareth. Basil studied for an MA in Screen Project Development at Screen Academy Scotland then moved on to London to work in Television productions. He is currently developing his debut feature comedy screenplay.
Awards :
MFF w Cannes - nominated to Golden Palm