Here’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. We are delighted to share the full lineup for our 2024 festival, our final edition, which will be screened in-person at Carlton Cinemas in Toronto from November 8-10. Thanks are in order to our amazing programming team: Cameron Carpenter, Keith Klegman, Shelagh Rowan-Legg, Amanda Clarke, Diana Sernick, Iris Bagola, Isabel Cupryn, Felix De Leon, Wenna Li, Fatma Ozen, Madison Charteris, Sylvia Zhang, Brennan Tilley, Maisha Rahman, Liz Aguiar, and Carolyn Dunk. We couldn’t have done it without your help!
![Shorts Not Pants 2024 Festival Poster [image]](https://shortsnotpants.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Shorts-Not-Pants-INSTA-POST-819x1024.png)
47 films from 18 countries. Narrative films (28), documentaries (8), and animated films (11); something for everyone. Some other facts: 22 Canadian films, 27 films directed by women, 5 student films.
______
THE FILMS
A LONG WALK (پیادهروی طولانی) (Iran, 16 minutes)
Dir: Sonia Sanjari
After losing Saeed on their trip to see fireflies, Mona feels and sees things she couldn’t before.
BASRI AND SALMA IN A NEVER-ENDING COMEDY (BASRI & SALMA DALAM KOMEDI YANG TERUS BERPUTAR) (Indonesia, 15 minutes)
Dir: Khozy Rizal
A husband and wife married for 5 years own an Odong-Odong at the carnival together, spending their days entertaining and taking care of other people’s children without any of their own. Between meddling relatives, self-doubt and an explosive confrontation, they uncover why they have not been blessed with a child.
BRACCIANTE (Canada, 13 minutes)
Dir: Christopher Beaulieu
Devastated by the news of his grandfather’s imminent passing, a third-generation Italian-Canadian contemplates a move to rural Italy. Wrestling with his family’s past and his own future, time seems to fold in on itself as the patterns of history return.
CONFESSIONS OF A JUMBOTRON ADDICT (USA, 9 minutes)
Dir: Mickey Duzyj
An obsessive basketball fan cracks the code for getting on his home arena’s Jumbotron, and wields his new power for good.
COOKIES (KAKOR) (Sweden, 10 minutes)
Dir: Alessandro Stigliano
A frustrated, underappreciated programmer is struggling to balance work and being father to a toddler. When his boss disrespects him once again in front of his colleagues, he finds a new way to channel all that built up rage – baking.
CRACKLE (Luxembourg, 18 minutes)
Dir: Fränk Grotz
Socially isolated record dealer Paul’s attempts to get close to a woman who fascinates him turn tragic when his frustrations cause him to lose control.
CREATE; SURVIVE (Canada, 20 minutes)
Dir: Alex Anna
How can you continue to create when you can barely feed yourself? Alex Anna presents their film Scars at a sunlit festival, but behind their apparent success hides a ceaseless fight with their own mind. Expressing the brutality of loneliness through a poetic act of cinematography, Create; survive confronts our virtual and public identities against the intimate reality of depression.
CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO DIE (Philippines, 17 minutes)
Dir: Sam Manacsa
Mila struggles as she remains unpaid at work and a love interest becomes a source of comfort through his constant phone calls. But a promise of hope may also lead to tragedy and sad love songs.
DORIS & BETTAN – MARBELLA MAYHEM (Sweden, 8 minutes)
Dir: Ellen Ekman
Doris & Betty – retired women enjoying the hard sun on a Spanish beach. Topless, smoking and sipping on cocktails. After complaints from a guest the manager tries to kick them out, but he is in for a surprise.
DUCK ROAST (Finland/Serbia, 13 minutes)
Dir: Jelica Jerinić
Mamu, a young immigrant, is trying to woo Date, a Finnish lady, by making dinner for her. Once the meal is served, she discovers that the main course is a bit too “exotic” for her taste. Things soon start breaking down along cultural lines, both in front of and behind the camera.
EPHEMERA (Canada, 13 minutes)
Dir: Cici Clancy
Robin is a young woman who lives alone above a gas station in North Bay. Every night she watches truckers fill their tanks up and munch on pepperettes. Robin has a secret. Robin is a porn addict. Robin can’t feel anything anymore.
EXTRAS (Canada, 15 minutes)
Dir: Marc-Antoine Lemire
EXT. DAY – A sunny Sunday morning on a café terrace: Isabelle, an actor whose career is in a rut, meets Johanne, her agent, who might have a new part for her. Tension mounts both at the table and in the surroundings. Will expectations be met?
FESTER (Canada, 7 minutes)
Dirs: Studio Uproot
Dr. Bai is a scientist conducting research into a symbiotic entity. He’s discovered that it can speed the growth of plants but it turns them to ashes shortly after. He recruits the help of another scientist to help solve the problem of the symbiote, but something happens to Dr. Bai in the process. A short film about envy, plants and murder.
FRATER (France, 20 minutes)
Dir: Valentin Guiod
In the middle of summer, while moving out, Tom finds a family picture. At only ten years old, as the fantasy world of childhood seems to vanish before his eyes, Tom falls back into repressed memories. His recollection grows into a heartrending portrait of the family he once idealized.
HER BODY (Canada, 10 minutes)
Dir: Amelia Moses
A surreal encounter on an isolated beach forces a young woman to confront her reality. One night, 19-year-old Raegan flees a violent encounter with her boyfriend. After driving through the night scared and alone, she feels compelled to return to her abuser. On the journey back, she stops at a beautiful secluded beach where she discovers a dead body lying on the sand.
I WAS HERE (Canada, 8 minutes)
Dir: Alyson Richards
I Was Here follows Emma’s journey as she gets a tattoo and prepares for a photo shoot post mastectomy.
I’M NOT A ROBOT (IK BEN GEEN ROBOT) (Netherlands, 22 minutes)
Dir: Victoria Warmerdam
After repeatedly failing Captcha tests, music producer Lara becomes obsessed with a disturbing question: could she be a robot?
IN THE SHADOW OF THE CYPRESS (Iran, 20 minutes)
Dirs: Hossein Molayemi, Shirin Sohani
A former captain, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, lives with his daughter in a humble house located by the sea. Together, they live an isolated life and have to confront the challenges of a harsh life. Despite the captain’s deep desire to be a devoted and caring father, he finds himself unable to fulfill his role and connect with his daughter in the way that he longs to. One morning, their lives change forever when an unforeseen event occurs. Whether this event proves to be a newfound source of hope or an additional burden remains to be seen.
JUST BE AWESOME (UK, 14 minutes)
Dirs: Ed Kear, Cringo Williamson
With spiralling debts and a partner at the end of her tether, Alex, a mid 40s freelancer, desperately needs some work. A golden opportunity at an absurdly trendy agency offers a way out. But he’s going to have to play their game if he wants to land the role.
LIVE (Poland, 13 minutes)
Dir: Mara Tamkovich
A peaceful demonstration in Minsk is brutally put down by the police. Two female journalists from an independent Belarusian TV station are the only ones broadcasting the events live. When they are tracked down by a police drone, they face a dramatic choice. A drama inspired by the true story of Katerina Bakhvalova and Daria Chultsova from BELSAT TV.
LOSING BLUE (Canada, 15 minutes)
Dir: Leanne Allison
What does it mean to lose a colour? Losing Blue is a cinematic poem that delves into the impending loss of some of the most extraordinary blues on Earth—the otherworldly blues of ancient mountain lakes.
LUMEN (Canada, 13 minutes)
Dir: Stéphanie Bélanger
It has been raining heavily for months and the sixth wave is depressing humanity. In this prevailing darkness, Claude, 70 years old, compulsively buys lamps online to break his solitude and bring light into his life, at any cost.
MARGARETHE 89 (France, 18 minutes)
Dir: Lucas Malbrun
Leipzig, 1989. Margarethe, a young punk opposed to the East German regime, is detained in a psychiatric hospital. She dreams of breaking out to join the man she loves – a punk musician named Heinrich. Though the regime’s days may well be numbered, the Stasi informants are more present than ever.
MAYBE ELEPHANTS (Canada, 17 minutes)
Dir: Torill Kove
In the ’70s, three rebellious teenage daughters, a restless mother, a father struggling with potatoes, and maybe some elephants, find themselves in bustling Nairobi. The family will never be the same. Created by Oscar®-winning animator Torill Kove (The Danish Poet), Maybe Elephants is a playful and loving autobiographical homage to family, adolescence and the therapeutic power of memories, however unreliable.
MISERABLE MIRACLE (Canada, 7 minutes)
Dir: Ryo Orikasa
Miserable Miracle was inspired by Henri Michaux’s book of poetry and drawings of the same name. Masterful in both vision and execution, the film explores the limits of language and perception, creating dazzling connections between sound, meaning, shapes and movement. Propelling viewers beyond the page, guided by Tony Robinow’s feverish voiceover, the poems map the human psyche to the very edges of alienation and transcendence.
MOTHERS AND MONSTERS (Canada, 16 minutes)
Dir: Edith Jorisch
For a very special celebration, a host-mother has gathered mothers and their perfect children for a great banquet. Orchestrated by the host-mother, the banquet is suddenly disrupted by strange disturbances. What is hiding behind the scenes of this perfect ideal world? Mothers and Monsters is a surrealist satire about modern-day maternity and the ideal of the family at a time where capitalism has reached its apex.
NUN OR NEVER! (Finland, 11 minutes)
Dir: Heta Jäälinoja
A nun digs a man up from the ground and loses her grip on everyday life. Can secrets and harmony coexist?
PIRSAS (Colombia, 16 minutes)
Dir: Angélica María Torres Tamayo
Sixteen years ago my brother was one of the 11 boy scouts of the PIRSAS group who died in an avalanche while climbing the Ruiz snow-capped mountain, my family was broken, no one knew how to deal with the grief. 16 years later, the reconstruction of the ascent to the snowy mountain and the inquiry into the pain of my family is the way to build a personal and intimate story about death, grief and emotional adaptation.
PLAYING GOD (Italy, 9 minutes)
Dir: Burani Matteo
A clay sculpture comes to life in the darkness of a workshop, surrounded by strange creatures…
SARA (Canada, 11 minutes)
Dir: Jessica Hinkson
As Sara navigates the stress of her flight being delayed multiple times, a missed call from an unknown number sends her spiralling into distress. Taking refuge in a bar, an unlikely stranger becomes the confessional she didn’t know she needed and the support to tackle her diagnosis.
SEA SALT (Czechia/Lebanon, 19 minutes)
Dir: Leila Basma
On this hot summer day, 17-year-old Nayla is faced with the same dilemma every Lebanese youngster is faced with today – to leave or to stay. Two men in her life have set ideas about it, but both might wake up to a surprise.
SHOOTING WATERMELONS (SPARARE ALLE ANGURIE) (Italy, 20 minutes)
Dir: Antonio Donato
Federico is on holiday with his father and brother in a summer residence in Sardinia. Their father, Aurelio, is a severe and overtly masculine man who makes Federico feel anxious and inadequate. When a wealthy German family invites them to dinner, Federico discovers he is not so different from his father.
SOMBER TIDES (MARÉE NOIRE) (Canada, 12 minutes)
Dir: Chantal Caron
Somber Tides is a cry from the species, startled into survival against the elements. One last breath before being trampled by the Earth or maybe conversely a battle to wage against winds and tides clutching on before extinction.
STRANGERS (Canada, 14 minutes)
Dir: Leah Doz
After missing their bus on a cold winter night, a young girl confronts the limits of her mother’s love.
SURFACE (RAJAPINTA) (Finland, 20 minutes)
Dir: Anna Kekkonen
Rajapinta is a documentary about four people and their unique experiences in a water environment where they can move more freely, use their bodies and sense their surroundings exceptionally. Each of them has some disability or illness.
TAXI (Cyprus, 15 minutes)
Dir: Constantinos Nikiforou
Navigating the scenic roads of Cyprus, a taxi driver recounts gruesome details of her husband’s death to her captivated passengers, keeping them on the edge of their seats. But at the journey’s end, she faces the weight of reality she cannot elude.
THE GOD MAN (Canada, 9 minutes)
Dir: Andrew Foerster
The God Man chronicles Jonah Weisman’s discovery of a colossal humanoid object in space. As an astronomer at the Lick Observatory, Jonah identifies the mysterious entity, sparking global intrigue and debate. Despite uncertainties about its origin and purpose, Jonah becomes fascinated, eagerly awaiting its approach.
THE NICEST PERSON IN THE WORLD (LA PERSONA MÁS AMABLE DEL MUNDO) (Canada, 3 minutes)
Dir: Andrés I. Estrada
In order to prove who is the nicer person, two men will go to extreme lengths to demonstrate their thoughtfulness and politeness towards the other.
THE SWEATER (Canada, 9 minutes)
Dir: Maziyar Khatam
Pressured into giving away his clothes, an emasculated young man obsessively attempts to reclaim his cherished sweater before it vanishes into the donation abyss.
THEY CALL ME THE TATTOO WITCH (USA, 14 minutes)
Dir: Lindsay Nyman
In Hanoi, Vietnam, tattoo artist Tran Ngoc specializes in the rare and challenging art of tattooing over scars. Despite the social stigma surrounding tattoos in Vietnam, Ngoc empowers her clients, including breast cancer survivors and women with self-harm scars, to reclaim their bodies, demonstrating that her work is a profound act of compassion and resilience.
THREE SCREAMING VAGINAS (TROIS VAGINS QUI CRIENT) (Canada, 15 minutes)
Dir: Alexia Roc
Three Screaming Vaginas is a triptych short film which interweaves three respective intimate stories. It immerses us in the daily lives of three women, revealing to us the challenges and splendours of the vaginal experience, with humour and sincerity.
TO YOUR EARS (À TOI LES OREILLES) (Canada, 13 minutes)
Dir: Alexandre Isabelle
While the townsfolk are celebrating the village’s anniversary parade, Étienne tries the impossible: to show them how beautiful his family’s cacophony really is.
TODOS LOS FUTUROS (Argentina, 12 minutes)
Dir: Bárbara Cerro
On the planet Gasto, night is eternal. Todos los futuros chronicles the arrival and evolution of humanity on this fictional planet.
URBAN (CENTRICO) (Spain, 19 minutes)
Dir: Luso Martínez
For the long weekend, Ernesto and Nati were not looking for more excitement than visiting the city’s main tourist attractions and going to the theme park, little Pablo’s birthday present. They just wanted to spend a weekend enjoying the big city and that cheap accommodation seemed like any other. But it wasn’t.
VULTURE CULTURE: CREATING AFTERLIVES (Canada, 17 minutes)
Dir: Teya Nicolaou
What do we have to learn from dead things and the people who love them? For some, vulture culture offers a deeper connection to nature. For others, it is a way of confronting death and processing grief. For others, the ultimate form of artistry.
WAKE (Ireland, 5 miniutes)
Dir: Michael-David McKernan
Two grieving fishermen join an impossible rescue mission at sea.
WAYWARD (Canada, 7 minutes)
Dir: Mike Mildon
A voice actor’s attempt to bring a children’s cartoon character to life takes a disastrous turn.