Manifesto offers a portrait of an activist trojan horse operating within the confines of an art academy in Oslo, Norway. Ane Hjort Guttu delves into her own experience as a teacher to offer an incisive, accurate snapshot of life in the institution as it is experienced by the residents of art academies today. Underneath the tongue in cheek tone of the film lies a biting critique on the growing push towards ‘efficiency’, standardization and control within the educational system.

Norwegian spoken, English subtitles

It is rather safe to say that very few people had their best year ever recently. James N. Kienitz Wilkins scans the pages of Richard Scarry’s children’s book classic Best Busy Year Ever with a 16mm camera. Accompanied by Claude Debussy’s Petite Suite his captivating voice describes every activity he observes in a stream of consciousness, seemingly yearning for a return to the so called ‘normal’. 

English spoken, no subtitles

A foley artist creates sounds for a film starring a dressage horse and dissolves into his own imitation. As the character in the film, played by the gender fluid performer Simon(e) Jaikiriuma Paetau, seems to transform into a gender-defying centaur, the film reflects on the boundaries between the human and the animal as well as on fictional gender roles and their transcendence. Passage also alludes to Eadweard Muybridge’s pre-cinematic experiments with horses. 

A chirping bird bears bad tidings. Shot on 35mm and manipulated with CGI animation The Parents Room shows a nuclear family in its darkest hour. Each member describes the harrowing event from its own perspective. A macabre operetta that marks another chapter in the versatile oeuvre of Diego Macron, with an eerie but mesmerising score that will haunt your mind long after you’ve left the screening room. 

English spoken, no subtitles