Pregones/PRTT presented the 5th Anniversary of 21 Islands International Short Film Fest as a FREE ONLINE event, April 14-30, 2021. Voting is now closed, but films are still PLAYING FOR LIMITED TIME.
Selected from thousands of multilingual submissions originating in hundreds of qualifying locations worldwide, 21 Islands ISFF finalists compete for both Festival Jury Prizes and Audience Choice Awards.
AND THE 2021 WINNERS ARE:
2020 JURY AWARDS:
- Best Short: Philosophers Tofu. Taiwan. Dir. Shih Chun Hsiao
- Best Script: Lila. Gran Canaria. Dir. Lamberto Guerrair
- Best Directing: Veranico. Madeira Island, Portugal. Dir. João Brásir
- Best Cinematography: Itaca. Sardinia, Italy. Dir. Francesca Giuffrida
- Best Animation: Painting by Numbers. Australia. Dir. Radheya Jegatheva
- Best Editing: Leonidas and the Fish. Dir. Alexander Machlouzarides-Shalit
- Best Short Documentary: The Voice of the Sea. Pamban Island, India. Dir. Kashyap Kulkarni
- Honorable Mention: Absences. Canary Islands. Dir. Juanjo Neris
- Audience Favorite Award: Waves Washing The Shore. Cyprus: Dir. Halil Efe Akdmeir
21 Islands Film Fest 2021
Playing Now through April 30, 2021
Curated by:
Melisa Ramos & Pregones/PRTT
Films From
Australia | Canary Islands | Cuba | Cyprus | Dominican Republic | Fogo Island (Canada) | Indonesia | Ireland | Japan | Madagascar | Madeira Island (Portugal) | Malaysia | New Zealand | Pamban Island (India) | Philippines | Puerto Rico | Sardinia | Sicily | Taiwan | Tenerife | United Kingdom
Click any of the 5 Groups below to
VIEW THE FILMS ONLINE
GROUP 1
Duration: 88 mins. >>
1. PAINTING BY NUMBERS
Australia – 4.23 Min.
Director: Radheya Jegatheva
A child’s encounter with classic masterpieces triggers a confronting epiphany.
2. BLÜTE
Taiwan – 4:24 Min.
Director: Raito Low
A girl feels a tinge of love in her teenage heart for the first time. Plants symbolize femininity. Seeds represent birth and rebirth. Break traditional Eastern ideas of love, and let the seeds grow.
3. WE ARE ISLANDS
Canada – 5:21 Min.
Director: Mike Hoolbloom
On a fictionalized version of Fogo Island,a lifetime of photos and deep weather sightings, create a schooling for the couple, Miranda and Frank, who find themselves by embracing the climate.
4. STAY AT HOME, STAY SAFE, STAY SANE?
UK – 3:05 Min.
Director: Nick Hales
The slow decline of a worker over lockdown. A story that may, or may not, echo my own days of the Covid pandemic in front of the computer screen…
5. CLOTHES ON RAINY DAY
Taiwan – 4:09 Min.
Director: Shih Hung Wu
At times the father behaved like a baby, not able to cut the food with a knife but cutting his fingers. Endlessly boiling water. Chaos. He could only ignore outdoors sounds when bathing the baby.
6. COMPANION
UK – 3:33 Min.
Director: Jack Walton, Joe Helliwell
Companion is a short stop-motion film that expresses the friendship between a dog and a human. The story follows a dog’s life and the interactions he has with his owner and other animals along the way.
7. HARVEY’S DELIRIUM
Puerto Rico – 8 Min.
Director: Anthony Ortiz Gutiérrez
Harvey, a man with social issues, is forced by his mother to babysit a girl, but an unexpected accident forces him to make a sudden decision.
8. BABY STEPS
UK – 9:38 Min.
Director: Max Khan
A British drama film follows the story of a seven-year girl’s first step.
9. THE VOICE OF THE SEA
India – 15:08 Min.
Director: Kashyap Kulkarni
A community radio station, Kadal Osai based in Pamban Island, Tamil Nadu, India educates the fishermen community by spreading awareness of climate change and it’s effect on ocean and marine life.
10. CORONUS
Turkey – 5:30 Min.
Director: Arvin Medghalchi
During a virus outbreak and lockdown, a man is struggling to survive the situation while he is being chased by the virus itself.
11. NANTUCKET
Cuba – 6:48 Min.
Director: Yainier Salazar
In Nantucket, the authorities have limited the creative freedom of artists. A poet is caught in this type of illicit act. He sets out to find a place where he can unleash his creativity.
12. LEONIDAS AND THE FISH
Cyprus – 12:30 Min.
Director: Alex Machlouzarides-Shalit
A Cypriot boy’s perception of life changes when he catches a big fish.
13. UNPACKAGING
Spain – 9:21 Min.
Director: ziREjA
Trash is left scattered on the street during an outdoor party.This film mixes fiction and activism to shows the “b” side of all massive parties.
WATCH GROUP 1
VOTE HERE
GROUP 2
Duration: 80 mins. >>
1. GOOD FLOWER
Taiwan – 4 Min.
Director: Yen Sheng, Wu
A short film combining stop motion animation and live action. It is a reinterpretation of sexual violence and power, a reminder that such behavior has always existed and of the people facing it.
2. LOCKDOWN 28
Malaysia – 3:31 Min.
Director: Vesyee
A young boy is hoping to get out from his house, which has been in “lockdown” for 14 days by the Malaysian government during the COVID-19 Movement Control Order.
3. VACATION
UK – 4 Min.
Director: Jack Davies
An inventor sends a man through space and time, with unplanned results.
4. BELIEVE IN YOU
Sardinia, Italy – 7 Min.
Director: Emilio Mercanti
A boy who wakes up in a room and has to follow the instructions of a mysterious manual.
5. PAPER CUT
Taiwan – 2:15 Min.
Director: Hui-ching Tseng
The film uses commercial product catalogs to create visual animation effects through paper-cutting. The purpose of the experiment is to find new possibilities by breaking the limitations of the media.
6. FAMILY TREE
Ireland – 9:21 Min.
Director: Emmet O’Brien
Seymour, a lonely sycamore tree becomes excited when a new family moves in to the house on the grounds where he lives.
7. ABSENCES
Canary Islands, Spain – 4:40 Min.
Director: Juanjo Neris
A man’s mental illness constrains the ways in which he sees the world.
8. SOLUNSUG
Malaysia – 8 Min.
Director: Iroet Marteni
A group of children set to save their village from a drought.
9. AIM POINT
Japan – 15 Min.
Director: Keishi Suenaga
Subaru Moritani, a cop chasing her dad’s killer.10 years after his death, Subaru waits for her best friend, Nanayo Ohmori, at a bar. She wanted a calm night, but Nanayo had something else in mind.
10. LILA.
Spain – 20 Min.
Director: Lamberto Guerra
One night. Three women. Three generations. A grandmother,a mother and a daughter are about to lose Lila, their pet of 20 years.This will expose their unresolved conflicts, fears, mistakes and secrets.
VOTE HERE
GROUP 3
Duration: 90 mins. >>
1. MORE THAN 2
Taiwan – 9:13 Min.
Director: Yen Sheng, Wu
Two aliens come to Earth from Ocean to sneak into human society, life and culture. Then they learn about Earth’s unwritten rules, like gender stereotypes. Tortured, they are disappoited with humans.
2. ANONG NANGYARI KAY ANDREW MAGISLANG?
Philippines – 10 Min.
Directors: Cris John David Manero, Neo Bryce Largo, Ivan Romar Cabanial
Influencer and vlogger Andrew Magsilang’s crew tries to recall the events leading up to his mysterious disappearance. And in doing so, they paint a vivid picture of who he is.
3. STEMBRANE
Ireland – 4 Min.
Director: Garreth Joyce
A neglected plant has a message for its pre-occupied owner.
4. HEART OF BRASS
UK – 3.30 Min.
Director: Lauren Sandercock
A surreal account of events surrounding a determined passion for brass music.This autobiographical film reflects the bitter-sweet love of finding joy from an outside perspective.
5. BIJI
Malaysia – 6:33 Min.
Director: Kin Lek Chew
In a rainforest controlled by Mother Tree, only Biji (circle seed) is different, expressing himself thru dance. Rejected by Her, he begins to lose his color. But they find that each seed is different, and can become any plants they want to be.
6. SCUTTLE
UK – 7:58 Min.
Director: Harry Crossman
It’s Lea’s last night before she moves .In bed after a long day her slumber is interrupted by an unwelcome guest, forcing Lea to deal with the result of her actions.
7. VERANICO
Portugal – 14:37 Min.
Director: João Brás
Summer 2016. In this sea of unforeseen events, passions, voids, escapes and deceits, Rodrigo is surprised by the outbreak of fires in Madeira Island. What will happen to him if the wind shifts?
8. DRAMA OF A SINGLE BODY
Ireland – 2:44 Min.
Director: Melina Anson
A dummy for a drama. A cold and monotonous winter afternoon in Smithfield, Dublin.
9. MY CITY
UK – 15 Min.
Director: Ainslie Senfuka
A reflection on city life, a rhythmic, spoken word-like visual journey through city energy, movement, social disparities, politics, turning into news-like depiction of London.
10. FLIT
UK – 11:21 Min.
Director: Jack Allen
A world-renowned, professional fly killer,Carl, is on the cusp of finalising his latest and most powerful invention; a machine that with a single pulse will annihilate every single fly in the world.
11. REMEMBRANCE
Dominican Republic – 2:14 Min.
Director: Rodery Pérez
The power of memories can be the biggest source of hope in difficult times. When someone is far away, or has passed away, they don’t need to be MISSED. They need to be REMEMBERED.
12. PHILOSOPHER’S TOFU
Taiwan – 9:41 Min.
Director: Shih Chun Hsiao
A young woman wants her lover back. She seeks the elixir of love from a witch in an izakaya restaurant. However, the price is higher than she expects.
13. THE INFINITE CONFINEMENT
Spain – 5 Min.
Director: Victor Moreno
A hopeful message about confinement as part of the human condition.
14 filmmakers shoot their days of quarantine inspired by the book “Species of Spaces”, by George Perec.
WATCH GROUP 3
VOTE HERE.
GROUP 4
Duration: 88 mins. >>
1. Wu Yu Zi
Taiwan. 3 Min.
Director: Scott Saulters
A young Taiwanese woman struggles with the dichotomy of modern and traditional influences on love and interpersonal relationships.
2. WAVES WASHING THE SHORE
Cyprus – 4:04 Min.
Director: Halil Efe Akdmeir
On the one hand, a child trying to get his freedom, on the other hand, the other kid playing freely with his ship.
3. RESONANCE INK
Taiwan – 3:05 Min.
Director: Hui-ching Tseng
Inspired by a piece of music titled “ Mollis” by József Iszlai. This is an experimental animation using non-traditional animation material found in daily life.
4. ITACA
Italy – 19:42 Min.
Director: Francesca Giuffrida
A young woman returns to a small island in the Mediterranean Sea where she loved a mysterious girl who haunts her dreams. By recalling her past, she might overcome pain that keeps her life in limbo.
5. BE REBORN
Spain – 4:23 Min.
Director: Agustín Domínguez
Growing up, we girls are taught to colour within the margins someone drew for us. We are taught to say yes even when we want to say no. We are taught stay in the smallest place we can find.
6. HERE IS NOT THERE
Singapore – 19:58 Min.
Director: Nelson Yeo
Xun, a Chinese migrant worker, falls in love with Chong, a Malaysian colleague at her warehouse job. One day, Xun announces she is pregnant, a deportable offense, and their fates are altered forever.
7. CATCH & RELEASE
Australia – 9:59 Min.
Director: Jay Jay Jegathesan
A mystery that cuts to the heart of self-knowledge and transformation. Meet Brock Aloysius Chopra and the women who changed his life.
8. PETER WALTER
UK – 11 Min.
Director: Teresa de Almeida
Peter must escape his overprotective parents in order to become a Second World War journalist.
9. SUNFLOWER
Ireland – 2:02 Min.
Director: Jordan Beatty
A giant man on a tiny planet fishes for stars to keep a cycle of light going.
10. HARUNOHI
Japan – 4:11 Min. Director: Imai Yuka
Everyone has it. A “Kindness” that tends to freeze when cold days continue. “A Spring day” is a reminder of such kindne.
11. TAKE CARE
Spain – 7 Min. Director: Jonay García
Alba fulfills her dream of focusing on ballet. She tells her mother this despite the distance.Today they talk again.
WATCH GROUP 4
VOTE HERE!
GROUP 5
Duration: 86 mins. >>
1. ORANGES
Spain – 18:59 Min.
Director: Cora Cruz
Claudio and Ofelia have had a hard day. They both have a late-night conversation in their flat that becomes increasingly intense.
2. SHIT HAPPENS
Indonesia – 5:15 Min.
Director: Conrad Pamungkas
A Father tries to buy his little daughter a new television.
3. PIT
Ireland – 19:10 Min.
Director: Éadaoin Fox
A fascist government takes power. Morgan, an ex-soldier of the regime-turned-dissident, helps it rise to power, ending up the cause of his imprisonment. Morgan is interrogated by a robotic agent.
4. PLAN B
Taiwan – 5 Min.
Director: Scott Saulters
A generation Y – brother sister team – devise a cunning plan to return a lottery ticket to it rightful owners.
5. SENDING TO THE SEA
UK – 13:20 Min.
Director: Iris Perovic
An Italian girl relives her memories with a sailor. Her loss and recovery are intertwined with the sea that has a big influence on her.
6. INTERMITTENT
Puerto Rico – 13 Min.
Director: Javier Ortiz Medina
Alejandro is a former university professor diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. His wife and son try to bring him back to present time.
7. FILIPPA IN QUARANTINE
US – 7:39 Min.
Director: Catherine Nuñez
Filippa, in her day 367 of quarantine, can’t stand her husband anymore and breaks social distancing to run into her lover arms. An adaptation of Day 6, Story 7 of The Decameron by Giovanni Bocaccio.
WATCH GROUP 5
VOTE HERE!
ABOUT
Pregones/PRTT is proud to present the 5th Anniversary of 21 Islands International Short Film Fest. Starting April 14, 2021 with online WATCH & VOTE period now EXTENDED through April 30th!
Selected from thousands of multilingual submissions originating in hundreds of qualifying locations worldwide, 21 Islands ISFF finalists compete for both Festival Jury Prizes and Audience Choice Awards. YOU GET TO VOTE!
This program is made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Southwest Airlines is the official airline of Pregones/PRTT. For a full list of our funders, visit www.pregonesprtt.org.