codec.34 PAIN

Amidst cityscapes, an experimental short film unravels a woman's exploration of inner pain.

The Art of Being Normal

David Piper has always been an outsider. His parents think he's gay. The school bully thinks he's a freak. Only his two best friends know the real truth: David wants to be a girl. On the first day at his new school, Leo Denton has one goal: to be invisible. Attracting the attention of the most beautiful girl in his class is definitely not part of that plan. When Leo stands up for David in a fight, an unlikely friendship forms. But things are about to get messy. Because at Eden Park School secrets have a funny habit of not staying secret for long, and soon everyone knows that Leo used to be a girl. As David prepares to come out to his family and transition into life as a girl and Leo wrestles with figuring out how to deal with people who try to define him through his history, they find in each other the friendship and support they need to navigate life as transgender teens as well as the courage to decide for themselves what normal really means.

Anchor

A 16-year-old athlete sabotages her teammate to be the new anchor leg runner.

A Day, That Year

5 years old Yang spends an afternoon with his mother on a shopping trip. When he throws a tantrum after feeling neglected, she decides to punish him by walking away. A seemingly harmless punishment eventually becomes a pivotal childhood experience for Yang that will forever change him.

The Final Day

Yadira, a creative young Cuban girl, struggles packing on her final day home. Embarking on an immigration journey alone, her suitcase feels too small to carry everything her heart holds.

Shoegazer

What happens when a bartender on a mission to find her cheating boyfriend gets stuck driving a drunk high-schooler home? Trans Am, emergency room, strip club, showdown, vomit, sunrise. Yeah.

The Kidnapping of the Bride

Luisa from Argentina and Fred from Germany are confronted with their social roles at their wedding. The German tradition of kidnapping the bride shakes the couple’s equality. There is no room for love in this role-play of marriage.

Mae

Mae and Gemma spend one last night together knowing that, in the morning, their relationship will be over. Mae struggles to get through to Gemma, who does everything to cling onto what she thinks is the perfect relationship. Through manipulation and seduction, the two women try to understand how what is tearing them apart is also what is keeping them together.

Camera Buff

Filip buys an 8mm movie camera when his first child is born. Because it's the first camera in town, he's named official photographer by the local Party boss. His horizons widen when he is sent to regional film festivals with his first works but his focus on movie making also leads to domestic strife and philosophical dilemmas.

Princess

The Night of the Agama

Prague, night station in winter. Radka with a small daughter, a suitcase on wheels and a sports bag get off the bus. Luděk slowly walks back home through the streets of the same city, knowing that no one is waiting for him. A few hours before dawn, the initially purposeful intersection of lonely destinies can resemble a family. A Night with Agama is about the meeting of people who are dependent on the help of others, yet have to help themselves first and foremost.

Remembering Isabelle

An off-screen narrator reminisces about his fun-loving, ex-girlfriend, Isabelle, and the elevator game that she created. By describing the way the game is played, he highlights all the things he misses about her and in the end, expresses his regret about losing her.

Parole

Filip is released on parole from a youth detention center and returns home to his mother, who is being seemingly helpful with his integration back to life. However, in a familiar environment surrounded by people from his past, Filip's frustration starts to show.

The Dynamite Watcher

Three separate short stories by Jan Drda from the collection The Dumb Barricade: The Dynamite Watchman, Hatred and Traces.

DO

The Magician

As his sanity boils in the hot, syrupy dark void of his dying soul, Aden Tanner, a cocaine-addicted, undercover cop infiltrates the criminal underworld at the expense of his own identity.

Monkey or Man

When a circus trio have a particularly disastrous show, Mandy the Acrobat must decide whether to run away from the circus, or to stay and help her friends.

Samuel

After a family tragedy, Samuel develops severe agoraphobia and OCD. We follow him as he tries to navigate his solitary life and overcome his crippling illnesses.

Blues for Herold

A struggling young man secretly plays a magical trumpet that transports him from his desolate world into a colorful "bliss." When his younger brother discovers his secret, their relationship is put in jeopardy.

Promised Land: A Musical

To find out whether he has any talent, Danny, a Hollywood actor going nowhere fast, sets off in pursuit of Irving J. Schwartz, the greatest agent in the world. In a frenzy of musical numbers and disguises, Danny makes his way through the promised land toward discovery of who he is and what it takes to be an actor