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MOTELX’s International Shorts Section Announced
After revealing on 16 July the short films selected for the Best Portuguese Horror Short Film Award, it is time to announce MOTELX’s selection of the best international shorts of 2018 and 2019. This year’s crop of films comes from countries such as Thailand, Italy, Spain, USA, France, UK, Canada and New Zealand. They will be shown before the features or at the infamous sessions Shorts at Lunch.
After revealing on 16 July the short films selected for the Best Portuguese Horror Short Film Award, it is time to announce MOTELX’s selection of the best international shorts of 2018 and 2019. This year’s crop of films comes from countries such as Thailand, Italy, Spain, USA, France, UK, Canada and New Zealand. They will be shown before the features or at the infamous sessions Shorts at Lunch.
Amongst the most anticipated shorts are “The Haunted Swordsman”, an animation epic made with samurai puppets by visual effects master Kevin McTurk (VFX “Jurassic Park”, “Hellboy”, “Stranger Things”), and “Aquarium”, Lorenzo Puntoni’s thriller about a mass shooting at a public swimming pool – a film that has gathered acclaim in over 40 festivals around the world. Also causing a stir in the international festival circuit is T.J. Yoshizaki’s “Hot Dog”, an experimental short about an LA policewoman who has a fatal confrontation with a hot dog seller.
Other highlights include “The Desecrated”, from the creator of “Ghost Whisperer” (John Gray); “The Procedure 2”, the sequel to the hit short of MOTELX 2016: the surrealist sci-fi of “Your Last Day on Earth” (Marc Martínez Jordan); and the dark comedies “O.I.” (N’cee van Heerden) and “Possessions”, a mockumentary by Zeke Farrow about a man who decides to sell all his belongings, including a piece of the Berlin Wall that is cursed.
The section will also present three shorts by Portuguese directors, serving up psychopath artists in “Dessert” (Martim David Gomes), gruesome rites of passage in “Nojo” (Pedro Mira) and vampires from Haiti in “Look No Further” (André Marques).
The daily schedule of sessions will be revealed in August, together with the Festival’s complete programme. Previously announced highlights include international guest Ari Aster, the director of “Hereditary” and “Midsommar”, and special screenings to celebrate the 40thanniversary of “Alien” and the first Friday the 13th in MOTELX’s 13-year history.
Amongst the most anticipated shorts are “The Haunted Swordsman”, an animation epic made with samurai puppets by visual effects master Kevin McTurk (VFX “Jurassic Park”, “Hellboy”, “Stranger Things”), and “Aquarium”, Lorenzo Puntoni’s thriller about a mass shooting at a public swimming pool – a film that has gathered acclaim in over 40 festivals around the world. Also causing a stir in the international festival circuit is T.J. Yoshizaki’s “Hot Dog”, an experimental short about an LA policewoman who has a fatal confrontation with a hot dog seller.
Other highlights include “The Desecrated”, from the creator of “Ghost Whisperer” (John Gray); “The Procedure 2”, the sequel to the hit short of MOTELX 2016: the surrealist sci-fi of “Your Last Day on Earth” (Marc Martínez Jordan); and the dark comedies “O.I.” (N’cee van Heerden) and “Possessions”, a mockumentary by Zeke Farrow about a man who decides to sell all his belongings, including a piece of the Berlin Wall that is cursed.
The section will also present three shorts by Portuguese directors, serving up psychopath artists in “Dessert” (Martim David Gomes), gruesome rites of passage in “Nojo” (Pedro Mira) and vampires from Haiti in “Look No Further” (André Marques).
The daily schedule of sessions will be revealed in August, together with the Festival’s complete programme. Previously announced highlights include international guest Ari Aster, the director of “Hereditary” and “Midsommar”, and special screenings to celebrate the 40thanniversary of “Alien” and the first Friday the 13th in MOTELX’s 13-year history.