FESTIVAL DU FILM MERVEILLEUX ANNOUNCES SHORT FILM LINEUP AND 2022 JURY MEMBER POOL

FESTIVAL DU FILM MERVEILLEUX ANNOUNCES SHORT FILM LINEUP AND 2022 JURY MEMBER POOL

24 SHORT FILMS FROM FILMMAKERS ACROSS THE WORLD, INCLUDING 15 ANIMATED MOVIES AND 13 LIVE ACTIONS.

12TH FESTIVAL TO OPEN ON SEPTEMBER 21ST WITH AIFORT SORCERY ACADEMY AND CLOSE OUT ON SEPTEMBER 23 WITH WORLD PREMIERE OF CHUT !

             Credit photo © Joshua Woroniecki – Graphic Design © Jessica Bianconi

PARIS – ( September 5th, 2022) The 2022 Festival du Film Merveilleux today announced its lineup of shorts and animated films. This year’s festival takes place from September 21-23 and highlights everything from amazing Sci-Fi shorts to poetic short animated movies. The Long Story Short program spans 3 days of competitions, and showcases 24 films.There are 4 directors returning to the Festival with their latest projects.

Jenna Suru will be the President of the Jury of the 12th Festival du Film Merveilleux. Jenna is a French producer, director, screenwriter and actress who has been running the French Film production company Belle Époque Films since 2015. Jenna will be joined by Keith Simanton, IMDbPro Managing Editor; Blanca Lista, Head of Feature at The Jim Henson Company. Blanca won an Emmy® for Outstanding Children’s Program as Co-Executive Producer on ‘The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance’ for Netflix; she’s also Producing ‘The Portable Door’ starring Christoph Waltz and Sam Neill, as well as Co-Producing Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Pinocchio’ with Netflix. Kevin McTurk, filmmaker and Best Movie winner of the 11th edition of the Festival du Film Merveilleux. Kevin began his career in special make-up effects at Stan Winston Studios, working on Batman Returns, Interview with a Vampire, and the Jurassic Park films; Alix Bénézech, actress who has worked with directors such as Clint Eastwood, Christopher Mcquarrie, Catherine Corsini, Gilles Legrand, Yann Lequellec, Dominique Farrugia; Mi Kwan Lock, actress known for A Korean in Paris directed by Soo-il Jeon; Nicolas Duval, known for Raging ball, Peter and Urban Jungle; Mirit Mikhail, French Egyptian filmmaker. They will be awarded the 2022 Festival du Film Merveilleux Prizes: Best Movie, Best Animated Movie, Best Music, Best VFX, Best Screenplay, and Jury Prize. Tommy Mitram, a twenty-eight-year-old professional actor and former Festival volunteer, will present the Youth award; Estelle Baldassin, also a former volunteer of the Festival will be the Master of Ceremony. Estelle is an actress and has worked on short films, commercials, and Feature movies.

The Festival’s selection includes 2 movies off-competition The Gesture and the Word, starring James Michael, Tyler, Paul Dooley, Nicole LaLiberté, and Roxane Mesquida, directed by latvian American filmmaker Helen Alexis Yonov, and Un Monde Sans Crise, directed by french director Ted Hardy-Carnac, co-starring Tiphaine Haas and Bastien Bouillon.

Additional films in competition include The Last Game directed by Luis Belda; Princesse de Jérusalem, produced by la boite à songe et co-directed by Guillaume Levil and Nicolas Paban; Aifort Sorcery Academy, directed by Zhang,Yi-Zhen; Spoon, directed by Arthur Chays; Ils surveillent, directed by Quentin Moll-Van Roye;The Repeater, written by Grete Suarez; and At Last, directed by Lancelot Mingau with Jonathan Piteo, Julep Marie, Teena Sherpa among others.

Additionally, as part of the children’s program le kaleidoscope, the Festival du Film Merveilleux partnered with Alliance Française de Perth to allow international kids audiences to enjoy an array of animated short films on October 5th.

The Festival du Film Merveilleux is curated by Festival Director and Founder Benedicte Beaugeois, and Co-Founder and Deputy director Maureen Gerby.

The full short film line-up is detailed below. Photos, official catalogue & Jury Biographies assets can be found here.

Download the PR PDF Here

2022 LONG STORY SHORT FILM SELECTIONS

Aifort Sorcery Academy directed by ZHANG, YI-ZHEN
It’s the story of a young girl who enters the dreaming magic academy, but finds that the courses are not her favorite, and then strives to achieve her goals alone.

The Gesture and The Word directed by Helen Alexis Yonov
Gilbert is a lonely postman whose only friends are the people on his route. There’s Mr. Rostall, a blind widower and retired poet and professor. There’s Aurore, who gets postcards from her boyfriend Eric as he travels around the world. And then there is Eloise, a lovely florist in the neighborhood who gives Gilbert a flower for his jacket every day, along with a lesson in the symbolism in each bloom and a hopeful sign of her affections. When Aurore suddenly stops receiving postcards from Eric, Gilbert secretly begins to recreate them, recruiting Mr. Rostalle, who believes he’s helping Gilbert express his growing feelings for Eloise. But the effort has unintended consequences, and Gilbert must deal with his fears and inability to express himself with Eloise.

L’enfant et l’oie directed by Jade CHASTAN, Alice FAILLA, Jérôme GINESTA, Justine HERMETZ, Sophie LAFLEUR, Vincent LENNE
In a remote countryside, a small child, fascinated by the sky, meets a goose in search of freedom, and flies away with it. Living a daydream, their journey turns sour when they find themselves stranded on the rooftops of a city.

Un Monde Sans Crise directed by Ted Hardy-Carnac
Emilie, a young woman in her thirties who is as spontaneous as she is clumsy, misses one job interview after another. Under pressure, harassed by the owner of her apartment, she has high hopes for the new interview she got that afternoon. But in a near future where social demands are no longer quite the same, nothing is going to happen as planned.

Un Brin de Causette directed by Elisa Baudy, Jeanne Dalmas, Flore Péan, Gabin Ageorges, Bradley Lejeune
In search of a social connection, Oscar calls strangers until he meets Arlette. As the dialogue progresses, he shares with her his perception of the world.

Colin Pané directed by Paul Bouchart, Stéphanie Hu, Clément Opinel, Juliette Danesi, Camille Fruit
Colin passionately recounts the adventures of his fish-shaped kit to Dimitri, the new student in his class…

The Basilisk directed by Chloé Delestrain, Owen Masson, Lancelot Myja Le Guludec, Morrigane Haudry, Nathan Peyren, Gaël Lejeune, Baptiste Belperin
A man receives a disturbing phone call from one of his colleagues about an AI that would come into existence.

Spoon directed by Arthur Chays
To escape from everyday life, it’s very simple: you need motivation, a ladder and a spoon. But is it really that easy ?

Coincidate directed by CHEN, WEI-LIN
It was originally thought to be an only meet in life, but they seemed to be made for each other and quickly fell in love. “Two strangers have fallen in love, but only one person knows that it is not a coincidence.” There is a hidden side behind the seemingly ordinary encounter.

Distance – ACT I: The Peacock and the Sphinx directed by Eddy Loukil
As the bell rings, the stranded King and Queen of the Oxidized Realm initiate their old, tedious dance. When the ostentatious act builds up to reach its climax, the masquerade gives way to reveal the hidden wounds of the relationship.

Ils surveillent (They’re watching) directed by Quentin Moll-Van Roye
Every night, Anne observes the stars in the hope that a mystical force brings answers to her torments. Her husband is helpless in the face of this sickly obsession that affects their relationship. What if Anne was right to believe it?

Red directed by Aurélie Braun, Naïna Ardinet, Ludovic Pedro, Tommy Dimanov, Adrien Pirès, Emeric Venière
In an overpopulated Cyberpunk universe, two sisters are separated by the population’s uprising against the one-child policy.

Call and Response directed by Morgane Duprat–Peter, Laura Sadi Honniball, Sélena Aledji, Anthony Okoko, Daphné Kutnowski, Yoann Bouabré
In the 1950s, Paris was the capital of the liberation of the arts and music. A jazz audition brings together two rival musicians who will try to impress the jury.

Neurosis : A Cosmic Odyssey directed by Clément Bardonneau, Alexandre Husson, Mattias Pham-Ngoc, François Pinet, Joséphine Verrier
A writer lacking inspiration wanders in a city whose environment gradually becomes a disturbing representation of his work…

The Repeater directed by Grete Suarez
A radio repairman hikes up a mountain to fix the repeater tower. A simple task turns into an arduous journey when he encounters a string of strange occurrences that forces him to face a painful truth in his life.

Almost Unreal directed by Eve de Montbrial, Léa Vasselle-Bossy, Margaux Kempff, Grégoire Deranville, Ambre Jacques, Eléonore Chaumont, Alexis Descamps
Obsessed by the loss of his little sister, an old cleaning man creates a wonderful collage world, hoping to bring her back. But when he thinks he has her back, his perfect world shatters…

A l’article de l’amour directed by Clara Duvert, Margot Chauchoy, Cédric Bagein, Laure Maitrehenry, Mattéo Martinez, Julien Cabeza.
On the occasion of her wedding anniversary, Brigitte tries everything to rekindle the flame between her and her husband, a former undertaker. When she discovers that her neighbor Martha’s latest construction looks like a coffin, Brigitte has only one thought: to steal the coffin and give it to her husband so that he will finally look at her. so that he will finally look at her.

Franceska directed by Alberto Cano
The cold night hangs over the old Frankenstein?s castle. Victor, the scientist willing to challenge science, sets out to carry out his most ambitious plan: bring his admired Franceska back to life. With the collaboration, or not, of Igor, his invaluable and loving assistant; Victor will face the greatest challenge of his career.

At Last directed by Lancelot Mingau
The weight of a choice is on a man’s shoulders. 10 years after Ben arrived in New York, he was sent there to make a big decision – At the end of his ten years, he only has one day left to make his choice. Choice that could concern all of us.

Parapluies directed by José Prats, Álvaro Roblès
In a remote village where it rains incessantly, Kyna, 6 years old, spends her days playing carefree, well sheltered under the “umbrella-bar” of Din, her father. One night Nana, her beloved dog, disappears. To find her, Kyna must face her greatest fear, the rain.

The Last Game directed by Luis Belda
Alvaro and his friends are about to play one of their usual role games when a disturbing discovery will change the game forever.

Princesse de Jérusalem directed by Guillaume Levil et Nicolas Paban
Working at the office during the day, taking care of his father in the evening: this is the daily routine of Pierrot, a simple and endearing bachelor. For several weeks, he has been chatting with a young woman on the Internet. That day, she asks him to help her.

S.O.S directed by Sarah Hafner
Pollution, global warming, overpopulation, for Jean-Claude and Maddy, there is only one solution: to leave the earth and ask for help from extraterrestrials. But when a little green man comes along to save them, things don’t quite go as planned.

Chut ! directed by Virginie Kahn
Between fairy tales and children’s comedy, Chut! is freely adapted from a live performance. In the 1920s, an inhibited young boy and a girl discover a marvelous book in which live three tiny beings – living letters – that only they can see and hear.

About the Festival du Film Merveilleux
The Festival du Film Merveilleux is an international Film Festival held in Paris, focusing on themes of magic and fantasy. The Festival provides artists with outstanding programs to limelight their work. It amplifies to the audience access to extraordinary storytelling, amazing short films, and innovative experiences such as VR and digital experience. The Festival was founded in 2010 by female co-founders Benedicte Beaugeois, and her childhood friend Maureen Gerby. It’s an international competition, The Long Story Short, and also organizes throughout the year a French American Quarter program aimed at strengthening ties between the two countries; the TeaTime program, which highlights British directors and producers; an educational program for children, The Kaleidoscope; a worldwide rebroadcasting program, Movies Around The World, and a program during the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes Digital.

About the 2022 Festival du Film Merveilleux
The 2022 Festival du Film Merveilleux is supported by our partners: Google for nonprofit,
La mairie de Paris, La mairie du 6eme, Christine Cinéma Club, l’Alliance Française de Perth and Solidatech.
Press Contacts l press@festival-film-merveilleux.fr
Programmation : https://festival-film-merveilleux.fr/festival-du-film-merveilleux-2022/
OFFICIAL CATALOGUE : https://festival-film-merveilleux.fr/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Festival-Du-Film-Merveilleux-Offical-catalogue-22.pdf
JURY : https://festival-film-merveilleux.fr/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Festival-Du-Film-Merveilleux-Jury-2022.pdf