28. September 2014

Short Film Competition

The term „freedom” has become a topic of discussion again in recent times. Who is free and who is not, and how does this freedom actually feel? Which freedom is real and which is just a larger, prettier prison? The freedom of some might mean the lack of freedom for others, and those who are free might just be fooled by the illusion of freedom in the eyes of the unfree - an illusion to which they surrender gladly of their own free will. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king, so they say. But when the blind rise up, can they conquer the darkness and break their chains, without
the one-eyed man having to show them the way, to impose his view on them?

Thus, our freedom always depend on others. That is all the more obvious, regarding the ongoing conflicts around the world. Ideologies clash, megalomania has become commonplace, and the Leviathan reels its ugly head directly into the cameras of our smartphones every day. And all this opposing „freedoms” leave the bitter taste of an old world order that people no longer trust, one they only follow because they fear for their already fragile and short lives. A world order that already faced its end with the Cold War and economical crises, but that end remains out of sight until today.
This year’s LET’S CEE Film Festival’s Short Film Competition will reflect the highly interesting, often clever and surprising ways in which this matter, which is all the more relevant nowadays, is dealt with. What does our freedom taste like, how does it feel?

We were once more faced with tough decisions, being that the quality of all the submissions was surprisingly good and that the relevance to the topic was often carved out very intricately, adorned with local colours as well as universal cultural attributes, which are all essential to making good films. This applies to all the entries, from the Ukrainian film UKRAINIAN LESSONS to the haunting Polish science fiction film ALBERT, or the self-reflecting and funny Serbian production UKRONIJA. While we were reviewing the submissions, it once more became clear to us how differently we all define the term „freedom” and its configuration, how much this freedom actually depends on the respective point of view, and just how questionable the human ambition to force one’s own interpretation of freedom upon others really is. Nonetheless, all cultures and peoples relate the term „freedom” to certain humanist principles such as self-determination, mobility, freedom of speech, physical and physical integrity, and being able to exercise the „liberal” rights every human veing is entitled to. After all, it is that humanism that we all can agree upon as a guiding principle to defining freedom.

LET'S CEE Short Film Competition - all films HERE; the entry is free!

Other short films at LET'S CEE - all films HERE; the entry is free!