2020 Short Film Programme

Rewind

Stephen Koepfer, Paul Varacchi | 2019 | English | Action | 5 mins

Two men meet to settle a score, but there can only be one winner. Who will it be?

Black Belt Brian

Robert Worsey | 2020 | English | Action | 5 mins 

Black Belt Brian follows a young martial artists on the day of his Black Belt Grading; struggling to balance romance, training, and a real life conflict.

Slayer

Dimitri Kanjuka | 2018 | English | Action/Horror | 10 mins

Slayers are people who hunt vampires and other monsters in a steampunk world. For them, it's like every other job. But not always everything goes according to plan

Draw

Martin Kamminga | 2020 | English | Animation | 2 mins

Two kings do battle for supremacy on the chess board

Just a Girl

Claudia Grace McKell | 2020 | English | Drama/Action | 22 mins 

An ex-karate champion loses her hearing and moves to a rural village with her family. During an altercation in an amateur karate competition Rachel is disqualified and realizes that failure is the only key to becoming victorious.

Red Corner

Micah Hinchcliffe | 2019 | English | Documentary | 18 mins

Tyler, a 16 year old Muay Thai practitioner from London travels to Thailand alongside his coach and team to train for a fight on his return.

Cutting

Micah Hinchliffe | 2019 | English | Drama | 17 mins 

Christian faces a long and intense night of physical suffering to get down to the weight limit for his fight, but is he ready for the emotional toll?

Resolution

Neil Kemp, Nathan Loynes | 2019 | English | Drama | 10 mins

RESOLUTION is a 10 minute poetic monologue from a troubled teenage girl set to narrative scenes based around the themes and social issues of teenage identity formation, race, child separation and parental alienation. A contemporary coming of age story set in the north of England, the plot twists around the poetry of 15 year old Kairos.

The film illustrates Kairos’ emotions about her absent father and her trying to make sense of it all through eastern philosophies and self-actualisation. Ultimately, it’s a journey that illustrates what it means to be a young person in modern Britain, with an underlying positive message that aims to re-assure and inspire a young audience.

The Easy Lift

Sam Bradford | 2019 | English | Action, Thriller | 7 mins

 Private Investigator, Veronika Castle returns to her office late one night to find Wallace, a local grifter, snooping through her case files.

Let Me Run

Elmar Bayramov, Konul Kangarli | 2019 | English | Action | 12 mins

This is a story of ORKHAN ADIGOZAL (Tural Manafov), preparing to deliver a motivational speech in front of a large audience tomorrow; he has been disabled as a result of an injury for 9 years now. He shares examples from his own life to tell the story of the POWER OF IMAGINATION, which can typically be created by people with their brain power and can allow them to make their lives as interesting and entertaining as movies.

Kolyamba

Anna Fedorova | 2019 | Russian | Documentary | 17 mins

Preparations are under way to the Taekwondo Federation Cup. An 8-year-old boy, Kolya or Kolyamba as his friends and his coach call him, is exercising hard and preparing for his demonstration with his team. Kolya is used to being the winner and thinks of himself as a leader. But then he meets a more experienced opponent. A defeat. The team demonstration is about to start, and Kolya must summon up his courage. His mother is beside him and she is the only person who knows what it cost him to take a single step when he couldn’t even walk. The strength of spirit and will are not just words for him. This is his life. His battle. And he must win it.

No Words Needed

Mattia Del Zotto | 2019 | Italian | Action | 5 mins

Special agent Giorgio interviews Rebecca, an operator from a different branch of the Italian special forces, reviewing the latter's latest missions and her brutal methods.

Undercover

David Cheung | 2020 | English | Action | 10 mins

A man goes to war to stop corruption

The Centreline 中心線

Elliot J. Spencer | 2020 | Chinese | Experimental | 10 mins

“The Centreline” is the story of a Martial Art novice under economic and social pressure to abandon his dilapidated fishing village and move to a first-tier City.

Set in Guangdong Province China, this unique and gritty experimental narrative is an exploration of one individual's expression of Martial Arts in a challenged and changing society.

The Gentle Pitbull

Laurie King | 2020 | English | Documentary | 6 mins

The pit bull is not going to let go of that rope until you let go of the rope -- a portrait of tenacity and passion set in a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu studio

The Fight

Bradley Shemmell | 2020 | English | Drama/Action | 10 mins

A recurring nightmare leaves a young boxer feeling insecure and vulnerable. He finds the confidence to overcome his subconscious fears when his girlfriend writes him a poem.

Blood Feud

Adem Suljic | 2019 | English | Action | 9 mins

After leaving his life of crime, John is pulled back into the underworld by an old, scorned street friend who's kidnapped his younger brother and is hell bent on revenge.

Renters

Kris Atkins | 2020 | English | Comedy/Action | 9 mins

A young couple struggling to find sizeable and affordable accommodation in an increasingly competitive Auckland renting market become entangled in physical combat as they vie for the right to rent a cluttered garage in a strange couple’s suburban home.

The Immortal

Dom Fred | 2020 | Italian | Fantasy | 10 mins

Driven by two opposing supernatural forces, three modern-day swordsmen fight each other to the death on a quest to win a mysterious divine prize.

Eggxit

Tanguy Guinchard | 2020 | French | Comedy/Action | 6 mins

Two groups of thieves arrive in the same night in the same museum to steal the same object. The two groups get mixed up, with either of them noticing.

The Fat Lady Sings

Ben Crabb, Jack Harrison | 2020 | English | Drama/Action | 18 mins

Low on chips, with the odds stacked against her, a poker player recalls an urban legend of violence and revenge.

First Born

Justin Bruce Lee | 2019 | English | Animation/Drama | 6 mins

The short film revolves around Arthur, a young boy with a passion for Kung fu. However his younger sister, Aurora, has a natural talent for the sport. As a result, she received most, if not all the praise from their father. So in an attempt to prove his worthiness, Arthur must put on a near perfect performance at the upcoming competition.

The Last One Standing

Aurélien Grellier-Beker | 2020 | French | Experimental | 4 mins

Alone in the dark, a man boxes his way through his fears and hopes.

Exploration of 6 Popular Action Genres

Peps Goh Yi Chong | 2020 | English | Experimental/Action | 14 mins

A 15 minute piece exploring 6 popular action genres in Sunny Singapore, a small island state in South-East Asia. 6 unrelated scenes strung together with smooth transitions, each piece explores the genres in earnest, from choreography to cinematography to editing style to the original music composition, it aims to make each feel as vastly different from the next as possible.

Officer Down

Simon Pearce | 2020 | English | Action/Drama | 19 mins

A young British police officer, trapped during civil unrest, must overcome his fears and bias, to save an enemy that could be his only hope…

Red

David Newton | 2020 | English | Thriller/Action | 19 mins

When Daniel, an ex soldier, makes a dangerous choice to find his daughter a matching organ through unofficial channels, he awakes in a bath of ice, missing one of his own kidneys. Discovering he's trapped in the 'Organ Harvesting Den' in the middle of nowhere, he must now fight for survival long enough to find his missing daughter.