With the Sparks programmes, we hope to spark a passion for the medium of short film. Featuring highlights from this year’s competition submissions, the selection offers an excellent introduction to the world of shorts, showcasing a diverse film culture beyond the usual mainstream and YouTube videos.
The eight curated programmes presented here are the result of a comprehensive audiovisual enquiry into the vast territory of the Andean nations: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Los Estados Andinos offers a panorama of the political, social, cultural, and artistic scene of these seven countries, exploring the idiosyncrasies and traditions of each as well as their collective identity and common grounds.
Commemorative practices, reflections on identity, family relationships, and borders in both the geographical and mental sense – these are four weighty and highly complex themes in a country like Israel. The shorts in the Country in Focus explore the past and present of this still young nation, illuminating the historic premises of its existence, the ubiquitous conflicts on multiple fronts, the militarization of everyday life, and family relationships within this context.
Kurdwin Ayub is one of Austrian cinema’s most interesting voices. Her distinct cinematic style has been recognizable from her earliest works through her most recent film, «Sonne», and it continues to evolve. In her works, she addresses gender roles, identity and migration, patriarchal structures, youth culture, and the fast pace of our time – always in an authentic and personal manner. Both playful and analytical, Ayub and her films resist pigeonholing.
The Industry Events offer a platform for networking among film professionals, for discussing theoretical concepts, and for information and education about creative methods and aesthetic trends.
Kurdwin Ayub’s work explores gender roles, identity and migration, patriarchal structures, youth culture, and the fast pace of our time – always in an authentic and personal manner. Both playful and analytical, Ayub and her films resist pigeonholing. This selection of her shorts traces her evolution into one of Austrian cinema’s most interesting voices.
Family Holiday Kurdwin Ayub / Austria 2012 / 22'23" / DCP / colour / German / Doc
The first shot is a classic: the view through a car window to a petrol station in the desert. In 17 scenes, Kurdwin Ayub captures impressions of her holiday with relatives in Iraq. The father, who sings in front of the camera or enthusiastically gives an account of the country's development; the sisters, who spend their time on their exercise bike; the close-up of a cockroach. These home video episodes offer insight into the filmmaker's family with an impressive sense of dramaturgy, while at the same time depicting her battle against the usual tedium of holidays.
Like Lucifer Kurdwin Ayub / Austria 2019 / 4'31" / DCP / colour / no dialogue / Clip
Filmmaker Kurdwin Ayub dances through Vienna on her own to the sounds of Go! Go! Gorillo and explores places of public life in her black chador. She meets amused groups of men and apathetic passers-by. Nothing throws her off balance or makes her lose the beat. The highlight at the end is a wonderful Andrzej Żuławski quote in an underground station!
LOLOLOL Kurdwin Ayub / Austria 2020 / 20'58" / DCP / colour / German / Doc/Fic
Ti(c)k-To(c)k goes the movement. The mobile phone – including the one that cinematographer Caroline Bobek uses to film – doesn’t care much about antiquated conformities. This also applies to the language spoken by the people interacting in Kurdwin Ayub’s «LOLOLOL», which their parents – the «OK Boomer» generation – have little or no access to, because they’re more concerned with grammar than with the contexts of their children’s lives.
pretty-pretty Kurdwin Ayub / Austria 2019 / 1'15" / DCP / colour / English / Clip
In «pretty-pretty», Kurdwin Ayub’s self-staging meets Viennese Actionism, body horror coalesces with beauty, and the pain that Ayub has often before staged becomes physical for the first time. As she applies a fine needle, making viewers’ nerves twitch, a bloody, radiant smile spreads across her face.
Armageddon Kurdwin Ayub / Austria 2018 / 4'27" / DCP / colour / German / Ani
Anton and Franz haven been living together since they were bitten and turned into vampires in 1938. They talk about the difficulty of living as vampires. Their arguments recall those of normal human beings. And history repeats itself. As if that were not enough, they also don't really like each other very much.
Adele 1 Kurdwin Ayub / Austria 2011 / 5'13" / DCP / colour / English / Exp
A young woman sings Adele’s song «Someone Like You». It’s appropriate, she thinks timidly, because she knows what this feels like. Sitting in her living room in front of the computer, her gestures resemble the average YouTube video. In sync with the lyrics, she fights back the tears and finally interrupts her performance, leaving us with a feeling of mockery and a notion of the dissolution of privacy.
Boomerang Kurdwin Ayub / Austria 2018 / 21' / DCP / colour / German / Fic
A Mercedes is parked outside a house, apparently waiting, but the motor is not running. A girl walks by, approaches the door to the house. The driver leans out of the window, he wants to go up with her. «Go away, Dad, you're embarrassing», says the girl. «I love you», answers the father. But Dana is undeterred. She is on the way to her mother´s housewarming party. The mother has just moved into her own apartment after the divorce.
A long curtain moves in the wind, a door, a simple bed, and a dainty performer in an oriental wedding dress that is much too large. Left alone in a room that resembles a hotel room, she crazily sings and dances her heart out. In reality, she is at the house of relatives in Iraq, where the artist was stuck for three weeks. Just as disproportionate as the sprawling wedding dress is Lorraine Ellison´s voluminous, deep voice, creating an ironic contrast with Kurdwin Ayub´s fragile, girlish body.
Born in Iraq in 1990, Kurdwin Ayub grew up in Vienna. In her work, she addresses gender roles, identity, patriarchal structures, youth culture, and the fast pace of our time. She began filming at a young age, after convincing her father to buy her a video camera, and she hasn’t stopped since. From 2008 to 2013, she studied fine art and experimental animation at the University of Applied Arts Vienna as well as performance art at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. She launched her festival career at age 20, and only two years later, Viennale dedicated a programme to her.
Ayub’s filmography of the past 12 years is impressive, showing her evolution into one of Austrian cinema’s most exciting voices. Her distinct cinematic style is recognizable from her earliest works to her most recent film, «Sonne». In addition to exploring her central themes, she often plays with audience expectations, blurring the boundaries between authenticity, performance, and DIY culture.
As a child of immigrants, Ayub has always lived in two worlds: in the Iraqi culture she knows from home and from family trips to Iraqi Kurdistan, and in the Austrian world, where she grew up as a digital native with emo, anime, and indie music. A life between different cultures, structures, dynamics, and expectations is the norm for children of migrants. Ayub doesn’t need to research or imagine this experience to empathize with it – she knows it first-hand. While migration and integration are often idealized or didactically presented in films, Ayub shows us that the situation is often multi-layered – sometimes funny, sometimes stupid, challenging yet rewarding, but never one-dimensional.
Ayub’s early performative works are shaped by her personal perspective as a young woman. She questions gender clichés. How do women represent themselves? What is expected of them? What role do social media play? She likes to play with the aesthetics of self-made YouTube videos. Viewers who don’t know that the filmmaker herself is the performer might think that she found the videos on the internet. She explores the phenomenon of self-portrayal among young adults, yet her main concern is to explore who she doesn’t want to be.
Young people also play an important role in her films, which seem to give them room for being themselves and contributing their own ideas. The characters, mostly played by non-professional actors, seem naïve sometimes, unbalanced, and raw, which lends them authenticity. Ayub thus avoids a purely voyeuristic gaze and the nostalgic veneer of an outside view, seeing eye to eye with her protagonists. As she says about herself: «Knowing how to work with non-professional actors is something I consider one of my talents.»
Kurdwin Ayub’s films – whether performance, music clip, trailer, documentary, or fiction – are playful as well as analytical. They resist pigeonholing, which is what makes her an exciting and unconventional filmmaker. We are looking forward to her films and to lively conversations.
Curated by John Canciani
Kurdwin Ayub – Short Films
Kurdwin Ayub’s work explores gender roles, identity and migration, patriarchal structures, youth culture, and the fast pace of our time – always in an authentic and personal manner. Both playful and analytical, Ayub and her films resist pigeonholing. This selection of her shorts traces her evolution into one of Austrian cinema’s most interesting voices.
Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur is Switzerland’s major short film festival. For six days every November, we transform the city into a dynamic short film hub.
Kurzfilmtage offers discoveries for everyone: our thoughtfully compiled thematic programmes address current events or topics that our curators are passionate about. The competition programmes showcase the latest filmmaking from around the globe, while installations, performances, and other specials highlight the diversity of audiovisual forms. And a programme of special events including concerts, readings, and more enhance the festival experience.
A short film is not just a shorter film. Shorts are a distinct art form, which we showcase at our annual festival.
Short films come in all shapes and genres, and how long – or short – they are, varies quite a bit. Simpler production processes allow filmmakers to capture the zeitgeist and quickly respond to trends. Shorts can be entertaining or surprising, they can analyse society, take a political stance, or offer glimpses of worlds unknown to us.
We compile our short films into thematic programmes or specific sections, such as our competitions, paying close attention to the selection and sequence of films in each programme. All you need to enjoy short films is an open mind for new discoveries and surprises.
Competitions
Recent short films from around the world. The best shorts will be presented with awards on Sunday evening.
Hors Concours
Recent short films from Zurich, Switzerland, and around the world screened out of competition.
Main Focus
Films that explore a region, a social phenomenon, or an artistic trend.
Country in Focus
The cinema of a country from contemporary and historical perspectives.
Person in Focus
A spotlight on the work of a filmmaker.
Special Programmes
Short film programmes dedicated to topics that our curators are passionate about – or that are simply fun.
Family Programmes
Short film fun for young viewers aged 6+ and for the whole family.
Expanded Cinema
Installations, performances, and exhibitions present the medium of film in unfamiliar forms.
Special Events
Concerts, parties, readings, and many other events enhance the festival experience.
Talks & Panels
Moderated talks and panels after the screenings offer additional context and insight into films and themes.
Industry Events
A wide range of educational events and networking opportunities.
