Pierdete entre los muertos by Ruben Gutiérrez

In the past years, we have seen a tendency for short films to get longer, and features to get shorter. Since 2014 IFFR highlights a new format on the rise: the mid-length film, between 45 and 62 minutes. The Bright Future Mid-length programme of 2018 consists of ten films, five of which are world premieres. From a tale of revenge in the Mexican desert to the reincarnation of Walter Benjamin taking the Staten Island Ferry. After each screening there will be extra time to meet the director. 

World premieres:

Good Evening to the People Living in the Camp, Joost Conijn, France/Greece/Netherlands, 2018, world premiere

The long awaited new work by Dutch artist and filmmaker Joost Conijn: an unorthodox portrait of refugees in Europe.

Everyone in Hawaii Has a Sixpack Already, Marvin Hesse, Germany/Spain, 2018, world premiere 

Hesse’s intimate coming-of-age documentary on the island of La Gomera. 

La muerte del maestro/Death of the Master, José María Avilés, Ecuador/Argentina, 2018, world premiere

A mysterious narration of an old farmer’s experience of the 2016 Ecuador earthquake. 

Der Schurke Robert Otto/Villain Robert Otto, Florian Haag, Germany, 2018, world premiere

A remarkable debut by Florian Haag who sketches the rigorous portrait of Swiss writer Robert Walser.

Pierdete entre los muertos/Drown Among the Dead, Ruben Gutiérrez, Mexico, 2018, world premiere

A bizarre yet comical nightmare in the Mexican desert.

As well as:

Exile, Zoe Beloff, USA, 2017, international premiere

Bertolt Brecht and Walter Benjamin are alive and kicking, and they roam around New York City!

Au-delà de l'un/Beyond the One, Anna Marziano, France, 2017, European premiere

An elegant 16mm essay investigating love and new forms of relationships in Europe and India.

Cartucho, Andrés Chaves, Colombia, 2017

Portrait of El Cartucho in Bogotá, a hell hole that used to belong to drug lords.

Playing Men, Matjaž Ivanišin, Slovenia/Croatia, 2017

Serious absurdism by the great hope of Slovenian cinema. 

Stomach of the World, Eva Kotatkova, Greece, 2017

A playful meditation on capitalism.