Neither Here nor There (First Look Shorts 2) 

Away 
Dir. Ruslan Fedotov. Hungary/Portugal/Belgium. 2022, 29 mins. In English, Ukrainian, and Hungarian with English subtitles. Andrey and Alisa are 16-year-old refugees living in Budapest. Together they look after fellow refugee children who are preoccupied by what they’ve witnessed and what’s going on back home, make protest art in a public park that elicits both pro-Ukrainian support and pro-Russian rancor, and struggle to adapt to what’s become and what’s to come. Belorussian director Fedotow (Where Are We Headed?) has an unparalleled knack for turning his observational vantage into insightful, emotional storytelling, and Away resonates well beyond its concise frame. Recipient of the IDFA Award for Best Short Documentary. New York premiere 

Before You Were Here 
Dir. Jeff Reichert. U.S. 2023, 11 mins. Anticipating his child-to-be while on a distant journey to the Peruvian Amazon, Reichert makes a cinematic time capsule of what and how he sees, while also asking other men about their first moments of becoming a father. World premiere  

It’s What Each Person Needs 
Dir. Sophy Romvari. Canada. 2022, 11 mins. By night, actor-artist Becca Willow Moss talks to lonely older men, prospective clients on a sugar dating website, while by day she regales lonely elderly women, retirees in long-term care facilities, with show tunes and traditional songs. She gives love because she doesn’t know how to love herself, she says. In this thoughtfully organized, docufictional portrait, Romvari probes questions of self-presentation, vulnerability, and authentic connection. International premiere 

Joanna d’Arc 
Dir. Aleksander Szamalek. Poland. 2021, 30 mins. Aneta is the manager of an erotic massage parlor in France. She left Poland to seek her own path, but things have gotten tangled, especially with a partner who chafes at her independent spirit. With her children growing up and depending upon her less, it may be time to change things up again, and reclaim her freedom. North American premiere 

Total running time: 82 mins 

 

 

 

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