Ghent Film Week: Contemporary Shorts 3
- Aug 21
- 3 min read
SATURDAY, 3 OCTOBER / 20:00 - 22.00
This screening session includes 8 short films.
All films are in English and/or have English subtitles.
@ Velvet Room, Alpacastraat 29, 9000 Ghent, Belgium Entry is free and includes a drink!
The Ghent Film Week is often referred to as Europe's most obscure film festival. An island oasis for art amidst a sea of commercialism. Sure, it's modest in form, as we mainly focus on screening films and less on the glitter and glamour. The festival focuses on contemporary cinema and video art and places its films where they belong – within the vibrant context of other art forms.
A Blink and A Whisper (United Kingdom) by Annamaria Pennazzi
A Blink and Whisper is a surreal, intimate exploration of the connection between an eye and a mouth. Through close-up imagery, evocative sound, and rhythmic gesture, a cautious eye meets a playful, seductive, theatrical mouth in wordless dialogue. Desire and fear unfold through vulnerability. When the eye withdraws, another blink in the shadows suggests quiet recognition and unexpected companionship.
Running time: 00:05:46
Mascha (Germany) by Laura Engelhardt
Mascha has no permanent home and lives in her car. But when she loses the car one day, she has to search for a safe place to spend the night in the city.
Running time: 00:13:24
Equal (United States) by Tom Bessoir
‘Equal’ is a cinematic exploration of Richard Serra’s sculpture of the same name on display at the Museum of Modern Art. The sculpture consists of eight forged-steel blocks stacked in pairs. Each rectangular block measures 5 feet by 5 and 1/2 feet by 6 feet and weighs 40 tons. The blocks are rotated and stacked so that the top and bottom blocks align differently. Yet the four stacks are each 11 feet tall. This simple form makes me think about space, mass, weight, and time. Like the sculpture, my film seeks to both overwhelm the viewer and invite contemplation.
Running time: 00:03:47
The Locker Room (Spain) by Miguel Bensadón Oliart
After the first game of the year, Marc faces tryouts as a rookie on his football team. As he tries to be accepted by the team, in an atmosphere full of sweat and violence, he will consider whether he wants to be a part of it.
Running time: 00:16:53
Something Has to Give (United States) by Allison Fan, Fred Midgley
Redemption, rebirth, and the desire for salvation in times of profound loss. Set in the haunting, atmospheric confines of a stark, empty warehouse, the space becomes a canvas where bodies move between tension and release, seeking the answer to whether this earth is a sanctuary or a sterile, white room—a place devoid of life or full of it.
Running time: 00:06:26
Waiting for the End of the World (United States) by Jeffrey Hoyt
A quiet mosaic of small-town America, tracing the subtle fractures in everyday life.
Running time: 00:12:21
Womb Space (Belgium) by Marisa Papen, Michael Chichi
Suspended across a clearing in the Belgian forest, Marisa encounters her 13 menstrual paintings. In a cosmic rite of passage, they orbit like sacred artifacts in the Metatron constellation. Serving as a mythic continuation of ‘Flow of Life’, she emerges from the embryonic chrysalis, her movement straddling the edge of alien and animal. Through somatic synesthesia she releases into a deeper rhythm of existence. Reawakening in a bed of shiny moss, her gaze opens to a heightened realm — an enchanted, sensual world woven from the textures of Mother Earth.
Running time: 00:06:42
A Carcass (France) by Djimili Dimou
In a collapsed world, Penelope tries to lead a normal life. Experiencing profound loneliness, she bonds with the corpse of one of her many attackers.
Running time: 00:20:00
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