Leiria Film Fest takes to the competition 38 films by authors from five continents

“It’s the first time in the festival’s history that we’ve managed to have such a large global representation, from different views of the world,” Bruno Carnide, one of the festival’s directors, told the Lusa agency.

Among the more than 400 films submitted, 38 were chosen, “15 of which are national premieres, this is the first time they will be shown in Portugal”, highlighted the organizer.

The documentaries, fiction and animations to be shown from Wednesday onwards are signed by directors from countries as diverse as Australia, Israel, Cape Verde, Canada, as well as Portugal.

“Our idea at the festival, and this has been happening since 2013, is to try to have films in which the public goes to the screening and does not leave indifferent”, notes Bruno Carnide.

The Leiria Film Fest seeks to show “remarkable stories” and “strong narratives”, which “make the viewer return to other sessions or other editions”.

Among the 38 films chosen, the festival director highlights three: “A Russian short film, a Ukrainian short film – which will have its world premiere – and a short film from Israel, because there are three films from three nations that are currently are involved in military conflicts.”

The choice of the films in question for the final batch – “Deadline”, by the Israeli Idan Gilboa, “The people who keep living”, by the Ukrainian Kate Tiuri, and “Thirty seconds”, by the Russian Ivan Sosnin – was not intentional, he explains, but “it ends up being super interesting”.

“More than us here pointing fingers because of these conflicts, maybe [é melhor] hear the voice of artists from these countries”, concluded Bruno Carnide.

The Leiria International Short Film Festival takes place for five days at Teatro Miguel Franco and at the end – Museu da Imagem em Movimento, with eight competitive sessions, sessions for school audiences, films for children, animation workshop for families and special Cinemax and Students sessions at the Polytechnic of Leiria.

Source: Lusa Agency