International Student Competition 2023

46th Drama International Short Film Festival

For the 4^th year in a row, the Student International Competition programme of the 46^th Drama International Short Film Festival, consists of thrilling, important films! This year, we focus on animals: lizards, cows, fish, urchins and their relationship with us, humans. Lots of love, but also violence. In addition, we will enjoy films about the much-discussed diversity and about human sexuality in all its aspects. Some of the films deal with themes that are classical in a way, talking about political issues or others about human relations and their difficulty. Regardless of their thematic, my great joy comes from the fact that we found films that approach their subject in an authentic, modern and artistically bold way. We met young filmmakers, who are worthy representatives of their time and generation and who, I hope, will continue to tell cinematic stories with the same sensitivity and interest.

Thanasis Neofotistos
Head Programmer of Student International Competition Section

Klette by Michael Abay, Belgium
Bad kids with saint names by Vicky Anastasiadou, Greece
Phalène by Sarah-Anaïs Desbenoit, France
Kokuryo: the untold story of bb. Undas 2019 by Diokko Manuel Dionisio, Philippines
δ by Julia Diệp My Feige, Germany
Carp xmass by Anna Heribanová, Czech Republic
Suitcase by Saman Hosseinpuor – Ako Zandkarimi, Iran
Xiaohui and his cows by Xinying Lao, China
Ánima by Manuel Mateo, Cuba
The things to come by Santiago Ráfales, Spain
I asked him to take me dancing by Hillel Rate, Israel
Sea urchin by Alex Scholz, Greece
Dancing on the grave by Ana Šiškov, Croatia
Opening night by Sara Szymanski, Poland

The posters of the films of the International Student Competition 2023

Klette

Bad kids with saint names

Phalène

Kokuryo – the untold story of bb – Undas 2019

Carp xmass

Suitcase

Xiaohui and his cows

Ánima

The things to come

I asked him to take me dancing

Sea urchin

Dancing on the grave

Opening night

Τhe Jury of the International Student Competition

Thanos Tokakis

Thanos Tokakis

Anne Gaschütz

Anne Gaschütz

Florian Fernandez

Florian Fernandez

Thanos Tokakis

Thanos Tokakis was born in 1980 in Athens, Greece. He graduated from the National Theatre of Greece in 2005. He is an actor, director and drama teacher. For the stage he has directed Hannele by Gerhart Hauptmann in 2011, The Motherfucker with the hat by Steven Adly Guirgis in 2015 and The Tin Man and other stories by Noel Graig in 2023. He is the screenwriter, acting coach and co-producer of the awarded short film Cowboy (2017). He made his directorial debut with the short film tokakis or What’s My Name (2022) in which he is also the screenwriter and leading actor. The film garnered awards at Drama International Short Film Festival (Screenwriting, Costume Design), and at Athens International Film Festival (Screenwriting), and was nominated for Best Short Film at the Hellenic Film Academy Awards (2023). He has worked as an acting coach in films and TV series. In 2011 he received the Best Performance by a Young Actor in the Theatre Award and in 2020 the Best Supporting Actor Award by the Hellenic Film Academy. He loves soft ice cream.

Anne Gaschütz

Anne Gaschütz is the co-director of FILMFEST DRESDEN – International Short Film Festival and a member of the Pardi di domani selection committee at Locarno Film Festival since 2021. She grew up in Dresden, Germany, and studied Film in the UK. Upon returning to Dresden, she worked in film production at the Dresden-based production company filoufilm and, later, as production manager in numerous short films. She joined the selection committee for the International Competition of FILMFEST DRESDEN in 2013 and became the festival’s co-director in 2020. She is one of the initiators of the online platform Talking Shorts.

Florian Fernandez

Florian Fernandez holds a Master’s degree in Film Studies. He coordinates various film industry initiatives (curation of first features & short film projects, workshops, meetings, dedicated sessions, panels etc.), elaborated as part of the SFC | Rendez-vous Industry. This four-day forum organised by the Festival de Cannes aims to highlight short film forms and emerging talents and to facilitate the interaction between filmmakers and the industry. Florian also serves as pre-selector in programming committees for Encounters Film Festival, Montreal Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, as well as SXSW Doc Shorts. He yearly collaborates as part of the Short Film Lab training programme and the European Short Pitch reading committee. Since 2023, he has partnered with Protest Studios to take on the festival distribution and sales of a handful of short films that stand out for their unique voices.

Thanasis Neofotistos

Thanasis Neofotistos
Head programmer in the International Student Competition of the 46th Drama International Short Film Festival. Film director. student@dramafilmfestival.gr