Short Film Screenings: Through the Lense of Desire
Explore different manifestations of desire with three short films that delve into its diverse conceptions. Throughout history, desire has been understood as a root cause of suffering as well as a force that allows people to understand various ideas of higher truths. Today, desire is seen as both an inherent aspect of our uncertainty about the future as well as a dynamic interplay between power, individual subjectivities and cultural identities. From a deep longing and reunion in a time of adversity, a fight against one’s own morals for the mere allure of an idea and its possibilities, to desire that is challenged and crushed by bizarre occurrences - this screening will invite you to contemplate your own relationship to desire through a variety of cultural perspectives.
This short film screening event showcases the works of talented filmmakers from France, Lithuania and Japan, offering a vibrant exploration of different cultures, perspectives, and storytelling techniques. The work of these filmmakers has been shown at a number of international film festivals and pushes boundaries on what it means to do narrative cinema through their use of symbolic cinematic language.
the Films
The Eel (2023) ‘35 min
Matas returns to his neighborhood in Vilnius, Lithuania after fleeing the war in Ukraine. He finds his wife and the friends he left behind when he joined the conflict.
The Directors
Rostislav Kirpicenko is a 26 year old film director who was born in Lithuania, but grew up in Ukraine. When he was 17 years old, he moved to Czech Republic to follow his career as a football player. After some years in Prague and Germany, he stopped football and moved to Paris. In 2019, he entered La Fémis to study film directing.
Sacha is a 27 year old film director from Paris. When he was 18, he entered Les Beaux-Arts de Paris. As a visual artist, he developed installations in which he gradually included actors. After a year spent in Santiago de Chile, he was admitted to La Femis for the film direction department in 2019.
“On February 24, 2022, the Russian invasion of Ukraine reminded us that war is not just a memory. As filmmakers and friends, one who grew up in Ukraine and the other from a hidden Jewish family, we were struck by this reminder. We had long discussions about the meaning of art, guilt and tenderness. We didn't want to make a war film, but rather to depict what war does to our humanity. To tell the story of Matas, we shot in Lithuania, a country threatened many times by Russia.”
Naiku (2023) ‘20min
Adomas encounters a group of eccentric hooligans tearing through streets in a car. Drawn into a violent tournament with an unusual trophy at stake, Adomas finds his morals shifting.
Pijus Mačiulskis is an independent film director from Lithuania who has been creating since 2015. He has graduated Film Studies at King's College London, where he had been learning about the theoretical, social, and philosophical evolution of cinema and creating electronic music.
Pijus Mačiulskis (pictured left)
“I am intrigued by games.They restrict our acts but also seem to free us in our joy and sometimes cruelty. I love films that appear uniquely different to everyone but also remain close and personal to all. This is possible because a film can show without telling. Such stories intrigue me because they are like games: they set us within stable rules which embrace and expose how differently we understand the world. Naiku is a set of rules too.”
“Naiku” is a story about desires that hadn’t become goals just yet and are destroying themselves. It is also a tale about a mysterious and competitive game that was partially inspired by a memory from Pijus’ life - “I used to play basketball in a very competitive environment. During one winter, we were at a championship in a small town on the very edge of Lithuania at a half-star hostel, where there was a pool table without any cues, only the balls. 13-year old kids who wanted to be kings of the herd were left alone and created the most savage, finger-bloody games they could.”
The Head of the Factory (2023) ‘20 min
A professional photographer walks into a factory and is welcomed by a factory head with a big creepy smile. And bizarre things start to happen.
Yugo Suzuki is a Japanese film director currently living in Tokyo. He moved to Thailand when he was young and afterwards, moved to Canada to study filmmaking. His films were screened at multiple film festivals both inside and outside of Japan.
Yugo Suzuki (pictured right)
“My definition of art is to put a frame on something, whether it's a thing or a thought. Through the viewer's eyes, the spotted thing is interpreted in many ways. I believe films can be art. Hope this film can do that for you."
Join Us
Don’t miss this opportunity to experience the world through the unique perspectives of these international filmmakers. Immerse yourself in the art of storytelling, where film and photography meet to create something truly extraordinary.
We look forward to welcoming you to an evening of cultural exploration and artistic innovation at Huis Van Iemand Anders.