SET I - TASTE

In the 1990s, 8-year-old Agata leaves Poland for Belgium. Her perspective transforms the migratory reality into an initiatory experience. 
 
Sylwia Szkiłądź is a director of short animated films. She was born in 1987 in Podlaskie (in Poland), which she left at the age of 8 with her parents to live in Brussels. However, Podlaskie was and remains one of her most important artistic inspirations. Her film productions include: ‘Limaçon et caricoles’ (2012) co-directed with Nim Gamboa, ‘La Soupe aux fraises’ (2014) and ‘Le Renard minuscule’ (2015) co-directed with Aline Quertain. She works freelance on various forms of animation: video clips co-directed with Jessica Poon ‘The Skeleton band’, ‘The Midnight Secret socks party’, animations created with Marion Sellenet for the series ‘Les Chroniques végétales’. She shares her knowledge and experience of animation with children and adults by organising workshops in centres and schools. She currently lives and works in Belgium, France and Poland.  

With the sea and the urban Algarve as a background, we follow a complete cycle of the life of a special shellfish called PERCEBES, goose barnacle. From their formation, to the dish, in this journey, we cross different contexts that allow us to better understand this region and those who live there. 

Alexandra Ramires – After graduating from the Fine Arts University of Lisbon, Alexandra and Laura begin working in animation film in 2009.  

Since then, their paths have always been intertwined. They've been part of the technical teams on various films, directed together and separately, and recently started producing. They both believe in the power of collaboration. They are 2 of the 6 founding members of BAP- Animation Studio, a Cooperative of animation authors, which since 2013 has been their nest for developing and making films, along side other internationally recognised authors. Together they made the films Água Mole (2017) and Percebes (2024). Individually: Alexandra directed Elo (2020) and Laura directed Three Weeks in December (2012) and The Garbage Man (2022). These are films with a strong festival path as well as national and international recognition. 

This poetic dialogue unfolds between a young girl and her deceased great-grandfather, intertwining images from a German town where he was sent to a work camp during World War II with a delicate narrative as the girl pens a letter. The past seamlessly blends with the present, and flashes of memory mix with moments of oblivion. Leo Sokolosky, the letter's intended recipient, is the ghost of her great-grandfather’s friend from the camp, serving as a mystical link between her world and his. The film explores questions about ideals in today’s world and expresses the longing for someone close who is no longer around. 

Weronika Szyma – animation director. Born in 1996 in Warsaw, Poland. A graduate of Masters degree in Animation at The Polish National Film School in Łódź. Author of short films, including "Blue" (2023), “Once upon a time in Israel” (2021) and “Lushfulness” (2020). Her films were selected and awarded at numerous film festivals around the world. Working mostly in analog media. Her works concentrate on feminism, body, lingustics, cultures and world conflicts. 

Can we say that we were sexually assaulted by our brother to our own mother? The obvious answer should be yes. However, few come out of the silence. The question we ask ourselves is “Why aren’t we talking about it? 

Average student and good in mathematics, I continue to go to an engineering school. I stop halfway through the first year. I can't figure out where I'm going with these studies. I find myself working in moving and catering. My parents ask me to find a new school, I must make a choice. I'm going to an open day for assistant engineer. I enter the classroom and I understand that it will be impossible for me to resume this type of study. I needed to choose a radically different profession, and above all to make a choice that came from me. I'm getting into animation. Having never drawn except stick figures. I needed 2 years of refresher training at the Atelier de Sèvres School. I manage to join the ASA School after. Drawing does not become a passion, I find my way in stop motion. My internships taken in the 2nd year for “Canard” by Élie CHAPUIS and “Electra” by Daria KASHCHEEVA confirm this to me. So I naturally choose stop motion as a technique for my graduation film. 

Utopian symbolic playgrounds from  memories are interconnected through sharp, flickering lights.  

Description: Lights, Haze is a poetic documentary that explores the ambivalence of memory through the real locations on the outskirts of Tbilisi. The film uses light as a central symbolic element to express the complexity of these reflections. Crafted with a blend of 2D frame-by-frame animation—both digital and analogue—the film weaves in a cyanotype sequence, where frames were printed using real light, adding an experimental and dreamlike quality to the narrative. The film emphasizes extreme subjectivity within the genre of animated documentary. 

Tata Managadze – Born on December 12, 1997, in Tbilisi, Georgia, Tata Managadze holds a BA in Media Arts from the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts and an MA in Animation from the RE:Anima Joint Masters program. 

Six years old Lily visits her grandmother after grandma had a mastectomy and doesn’t have breasts anymore. At night, Lily finds out that the shadow of grandma has the breasts, Lily follows her and tries to get the breasts back for her grandma. 

Shadab Shayegan, born in Tehran, Iran. At 18, she moved to Vienna to study music composition at the University of Performing Arts. While experimenting with composing sounds, she discovered her interest in combining images with sounds, which led her to explore animation. This passion inspired her to join the Animation and Painting class at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. To further develop her skills, Shadab pursued Animation Directing at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg in Ludwigsburg, Germany. There, she worked on her diploma film "Pear Garden," which was longlisted for BAFTA student award. 

At a midnight highway rest area, the weary travelers each quietly relax their minds. A brief moment spent with complete strangers is lonely yet somehow comforting. 

Saki Muramoto – Born in Japan, 1988. Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, Graduate School of Film and New Media, Department of Animation in 2013. Now I'm working as a freelance animation director and illustrator.