European Union Short Film Festival
May 21, 28, 29, 2022
1:00pm at ByTowne Cinema
Time flies.
For the first time since May 2019, we are presenting the European Union Short Film Festival as a live, in-person event, and we couldn’t be happier.
The Canadian Film Institute, the Delegation of the European Union to Canada, and the participating EU Member States welcome you to the ByTowne Cinema for three matinée presentations of three 80-minute programs of impressive short films from 21 European Union nations, plus a very special short film from Ukraine. Indeed, in these trying times, we are especially honoured, as a gesture of cinematic solidarity, to open the EU Short Film Festival with the powerful and moving film from Ukraine, Peace and Tranquility.
Enjoy these amazing short works from the European Union on the big screen! We look forward to seeing you again in November as our European Union Film Festival will also return to the big screen as a live event.
Welcome back! Vive le cinéma!
Tom McSorley
Executive Director, Canadian Film Institute
Dr. Melita Gabrič
Ambassador of the European Union to Canada / l’Ambassadrice de l’Union européenne au Canada
Admission is free!
Keep scrolling to view the three programs!
Thank you to our festival partners
Pre-ordering your tickets is recommended (to help the venue predict attendance) but tickets are not required to enter the screening.
All films include English subtitles for any non-English dialogue.
Each screening runs approximately 75 - 80 minutes.
Please review the ByTowne’s COVID-19 Safety Measures. Masks must be worn at all times except when eating and drinking.
Program 1: Modern Times
Saturday, May 21 • 1:00pm
Seven surprising explorations of our troubled, dangerous, absurdist, and, yes, sometimes beautiful times.
Peace and Tranquility
2022 | 11 minutes | Ukraine
Director: Andrii Bondarenko
A moving meditation on Ukraine's history of war and peace through the eyes of the narrator as he discusses his childhood and family since the 1970s.
Recycled Travels (Călătorii Reciclate)
2020 | 10 minutes | Romania
Director: Alexandru Solomon
An exploration of lockdown and confinement through a monkey colony in the Caucasus and other visual allegories.
Snow Shelter (Sniego Pastogé)
2020 | 16 minutes | Lithuania
Director: Robertas Nevecka
A man searches for shelter in the cold dead of winter in a war-torn city.
Lucid
2022 | 3 minutes | Hungary
Director: Dweiri Mays
A woman struggles with depression and isolation in this evocative animated short.
Vis a Vis
2021 | 17 minutes | Luxembourg
Director: Émile V. Schlesser
Fed up with social distancing measures, friends decide to get together and party, only to discover that something suspicious is happening in the apartment across the street.
Haut les Cœurs
2021 | 15 minutes | France
Director: Adrian Moyse Dullin
13-year-old Madhi has a crush on a girl, Jada, but she does not know him. His older sister challenges him to confess his romantic feelings for her.
Mona Lisa
2020 | 10 minutes | Bulgaria
Director: Veselka Kuncheva
A man and woman transport hay on dusty, grey road. They stop for a rest and peer into each other's eyes.
Program 2: The Life and Art Tango
Saturday, May 28 • 1:00pm
Eight diverse takes on how life inspires art and, sometimes, vice-versa. After all, it takes two to…
Goya 3 de Mayo
2021 | 14 minutes | Spain
Director: Carlos Saura
Francisco Goya's renowned painting The Third of May 1808 is treated to a cinematic re-enactment in this docu-drama.
Tik-Tak
2014 | 10 minutes | Estonia
Director: Ülo Pikkov
A watchmaker and a mouse living in his apartment battle for control of the clocks.
The Dog Man (Ir-Raġel tal-Klieb)
2018 | 14 minutes | Malta
Director: Samuel Sultana
After the death of his wife, an elderly man collects stray dogs in order to deal with his grief.
Nestor
2019 | 6 minutes | Portugal
Director: João Gonzalez
A man lives in a house boat, perpetually swaying in the waves, where he copes with obsessive compulsive behaviours.
The Tough (Harda)
2019 | 14 minutes | Poland
Director: Marcin Polar
Speleologist Jarosław Surmacz is accompanied by filmmaker Marcin Polar as he explores a newly-discovered cave system in this claustrophobic documentary.
On the Bottom of the Laundry Bag (Auf dem Grund des Wäschekorbs)
2021 | 7 minutes | Austria
Director: Adele Razkövi
A woman's monotonous chore of doing laundry is interrupted when she enters a psychedelic world of colour and movement.
On the Hill
2020 | 9 minutes | Slovakia
Directors: Lukáš Ďurica and Juraj Mäsiar
A forest-dwelling robot attempts to preserve the flickering light of a fallen star.
The Bouncer (Poke)
2020 | 11 minutes | Finland
Director: Aleksi Salmenperä
A night-club bouncer takes inspiration from superheroes and decides to take action to protect victims of violence in this Finnish comedy.
Program 3: Family Ties
Sunday, May 29 • 1:00pm
Tolstoy famously wrote: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Let’s find out.
Safe Flight (Siguran Let)
2017 | 24 minutes | Croatia
Director: Aldo Tardozzi
A family planning a trip to Australia decides to take two separate planes out of fear of a crash; however, dividing the family into two groups proves more difficult than expected.
Love, Dad (Milý Tati)
2021 | 12 minutes | Czech Republic
Director: Diana Cam Van Nguyen
A woman discovers letters her dad used to write her from prison and decides to craft letters of her own.
Papa Zaza
2020 | 8 minutes | Belgium
Director: Géraldine Charpentier
A young girl awaits the return of her father from a hospital visit as she grapples with the reality of his ongoing disease.
Brat (Gör)
2021 | 10 minutes | Germany
Director: Anna Roller
A single mother faces judgement and ridicule from her community. When she learns her son is also tormented, she takes action.
When Apples Roll (Kad āboli ripo)
2009 | 7 minutes | Latvia
Director: Reinis Kalnaellis
A cat encouters a strange egg while apple picking in the orchard of an old town.
Goldfish (Hrysopsaro)
2017 | 14 minutes | Greece
Director: Yorgos Angelopoulos
A boy believes his goldfish is gay, to the dismay of his conservative father.
The Perfect Photograph (La Foto Perfetta)
2021 | 11 minutes | Italy
Director: Eleonora Mozzi
A woman attempts to take the perfect family photo, but things don't go as planned.