To-watch: short films

A young man faces the abrupt loss of his friend.

In a small and colourful town, a little girl, a tiny grey mouse, a plentiful sycamore tree, a troublesome moth and a vivid community of posters coexist in a forgotten street corner.

2 Birds takes place during one bright summer night and follows a group of young teenagers on a journey from innocence to adulthood. The main character is a timid boy who has a typical schoolboy crush on a girl his age, who happens to be a friend of his mate.

Young Conradin keeps a sort of pet, a polecat which is hidden from the unpleasant aunt who is his guardian. He also sends prayers to an imaginary deity, Sredni Vashtar, that he be delivered from the aunt - and his prayers are answered.

One hot summer afternoon, two boys try to earn the cash for a movie in this beautiful evocation of the landscape of childhood.

A young couple confronts a painful future by looking to the past.

L TRAIN is the story of Sunny, a teenaged African American girl. Her commute through an inner city Chicago winter reinforces a negativity in her, until one day an encounter with a young woman who is differently-abled forces her to consider replacing her anger with compassion. L TRAIN aspires to be a brief, humble reminder of what we all might miss everyday.

A struggling single mother is determined not to let her four young children be an obstacle in the pursuit of starting a relationship with an old acquaintance.

Based on the fairy tale by Andersen. A film about love and friendship. The little mermaid falls in love with a handsome prince and saves him from death. To be with him, the Little Mermaid loses her voice in exchange for a human form.

At a bookstore after closing hours, the characters Macbeth and Mina Harker spring to life and immediately go on a fateful romantic escapade.

When one boy tears another boy's book, it is up to the two of them to decide how to handle it.

A 10 minute long journey of emotions that befall children faces. Fear, Curiosity; a Smile. They all sit in a dark theater. What they see, we don't; we can only guess from their faces.

A narrative story based on a series of interviews with children about their dreams.

A documentary of the caryatids in Paris accompanied by the poetry of Baudelaire and the music of Offenbach.

A woman returning home falls asleep and has vivid dreams that may or may not be happening in reality. Through repetitive images and complete mismatching of the objective view of time and space, her dark inner desires play out on-screen.

It's the Christmas season. With her mom's help, Lynne, a girl of perhaps eight, dresses up; her younger brother Steven plays with a toy car. The children leave with their dad, who's affectionate with them. They walk down a railroad track where an unkempt woman waits with two children, about the same age as Lynne and Steven. The children go with them. They're all headed to a holiday party at a pub. Lynne notices that the girl acts all too familiar with her dad. What's going on?

Aphrodite is thirteen and a half. Her friends call her Tin-Tin. Aphrodite is in love with Lou. Aphrodite wants to grow up.

Tina and Marlene. A friendship between two girls in the middle of nowhere in Brandenburg, East Germany. Alcohol filled weekends between suburban disco and football fields, Berlin far away. Relentless they head for the night, to fulfill their longing for intimacy and recognition.

Seven girls, a mansion perched on a Cycladic rock, a cycle of lessons on discipline, desire and demise-infinitely.

Palle, a young boy wakes up to find all other people have gone, leaving him free to do whatever he wants

A young man encounters many people while swimming in Britain.

A tour of the landscape and wildlife of the Western Isles in Scotland.

The films follows a Hungarian refugee arriving in London, speaking no English and with little money, the only prospect of help being an address given to him by a fellow refugee. He makes poignant observations about British society, playing the critical flanuer. Finally, after much disappointment, he finds the correct address and receives food and shelter. This film was shown as part of the last Free Cinema programme, Free Cinema 6. It was screened alongside Michael Grigdby's 'Enginemen' (1959), Karel Reisz's 'We Are the Lambeth Boys' and Elizabeth Russell's surrealist 'Food For A Blusssssh'. It certainly follows the documentary style characteristic of the movement, and the attitude of 'the importance of people...significance of the everyday' (Free Cinema Manifesto 1956). It is also thematically comparable to Mazzzetti's 'Together' (1956), as the outsider figures are taking the place of protagonist.