The NUFF 2022 Program is here!

Scroll down to learn more about each program!

All films are screened at the Verdensteatret cinema in Tromsø.

To jump to one of the programs, click on the following links:

Thursday, october 27

Program 1: DREAMCATCHERS FESTIVAL OPENING Program 2: OF SPIRITS & DEMONS

friday, october 28

Program 3: NEED FOR SPEEDProgram 4: FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS Program 5: BREAKING POINT

saturday, october 29

Program 6: COME CLOSERProgram 7: FOOD FOR THOUGHTProgram 8: TALK TO ME CLOSING NIGHT & PRIZE WINNERS

Program 1: DREAMCATCHERS

thursday 27th, 16h00

Verführt

Experimental | Germany | 2021 | 02:47

Director: Anna Maria Ebert

Script: Anna Maria Ebert, Jannis Tiedemann, Charlotte Fellner

Producer: Charlotte Fellner, Jannis Tiedemann, Anna Maria Ebert

DoP: Jannis Tiedemann

Cast: Emma Lotta Wegner

An encounter between garment and consumer that begins at a shop window and ends in a distorted perception.

to you(th)

Documentary | Lebanon | 2022 | 18:12

Director: Mira Merheb

Producer: Mira Merheb, Alain El Feghaly

Cast: Mira Merheb, Alain El Feghaly

Alain and Mira, a couple that has been together for five years, decide to have a heart-to-heart about life. They plunge into a thought-provoking conversation in which they question their own relationship and its destiny, while simultaneously reflecting on their collapsed homeland, Lebanon. They seek freedom and happiness, but would they truly reach that by escaping their country? Among all this instability and destruction surrounding them, will love alone be enough to keep them afloat?

Sealed Boys

Experimental | Sweden | 2020 | 04:54

Director: Melissa Zabihi

Poem by: Ture Butler

Producer: Melissa Zabihi

DoP: Melissa Zabihi

Music: Josef Slunge

Cast: Ture Butler, Josef Slunge, Eliseo Avila, Philip Skär, Shanti Blanco

Sealed Boys is a video created based on a poem written by Ture Butler. In his poem, Ture describes how men have learned to be sealed when it comes to their feelings. The poem is accompanied by the director’s own interpretation of the text where, among other things, one can see men who are put in positions in everyday life where they either try to fit in with male norms or where they break free from them.

This film was selected as part of NUFF’s collaboration with Novemberfestivalen.

The Essence of Air

Poetic thriller | Sweden | 2022 | 10:37

Director: Hanna Rosén

Script: Hanna Rosén

Producer: Hanna Rosén

Cast: Julia Gebreselassie

The Essence of Air is a poetic thriller that takes us along during a day in a young woman´s mentally entangled life.

The Moment the Sleeper Knows He Is Dreaming

Experimental | China | 2022 | 04:14

Director: Wu Jiawen

This is a video poem written for shift workers with sleep disorders. Through a performance device, the film recreates the tragic state of insomnia, the sleepy or excited body of technical governance and continuous self-optimization of the pursuit of correlation. When the body is constructed as a place of power relations such as science and Technology, medical treatment, production and labor, and the subjectivity is lost in the technical control of life politics, how do we reconcile body ethics with biological capital? The poem is based on Borges's Break of Day.

Hans Hamid: Stitches of My Story

Documentary | Denmark | 2022 | 18:20

Director: Nicolai af Rosenborg

Producer: Charlotte af Rosenborg

Cast: Hans Hamid Rasmussen

This short documentary throws us into the unusually aesthetic process of artist Hans Hamid Rasmussen. We follow Hans Hamid´s courageous trips from Norway back to Algeria, unraveling a troubled past and a deep sense of belonging for two divergent, yet fascinating cultures.


FESTIVAL OPENING

thursday 27th, 18h00

Things That Won’t Die

Documentary | Spain | 2021 | 15:00

Director: Manuela Gutiérrez Arrieta

After finding some videos she uploaded to YouTube when she was a child, Manuela attempts to follow the trail she herself has left on the Internet. Along the way, she ends up coming across things that even she did not remember about herself and that make her understand certain aspect of her current identity. ‘Things that won’t die’ is a film about childhood, consent, and the way we look at ourselves.

Mom’s Hair

Animation | Russia | 2021 | 08:00

Director: Alexey Evstigneev

Script: Asya Trush

Producers: Angelina Skitovich, Nickolay Romanyuk

DoP: Alexey Evstigneev

Sound Editor: Eugene Pereyaslavtsev

Music: Mark Buloshnikov

Animators: Alexey Evstigneev, Daria Dorofeeva

At the age of four, Lisa lost all her hair to alopecia. In an effort to protect Lisa, Mom cuts her hair and makes wigs out of it. Growing up, Lisa tries to escape from the world of her mother's hair, which has become too tight.

Head in the Sand

Documentary | Sweden | 2020 | 11:08

Directors & Producers: Heaven Feday, Hani Al Abras, Daniel Jonasson

DoP: Heaven Feday

Editing: Hani Al Abras, Daniel Jonasson, Heaven Feday

Composer: Elias Reyes

Cast: Ali Mustafa

In this documentary, we follow the thoughts of a person as he looks back on his time in Sweden. In a country where opportunities exist 15-year-old Ali Mustafa hopes for a better life. But the reality is not as pleasant as the stories are and the opportunities are not granted. The film addresses the complexity and multiple layers that emerge in the world we live in, the mental journey through the eye of an unaccompanied refugee.

Dance my Doll

Animation | Sweden | 2022 | 15:00

Director & Animator: Jasmijn Kooijman

Script: Jasmijn Kooijman, Theodor Österberg

Producers: Hawa Sanneh, Jimm Garbis

Cast: Anna Bjelkerud, Mushtaq Khorsand, Elias Åkerman, Moa Myrén, Thomasine Boris-Möller

Original Soundtrack: Filip Bagewitz

Worried asylum seekers, angry activists, and obedient case workers in an equally wonderful as sharp stop-motion film about people who are all caught in the bureaucratic claws of the migration agency.


Program 2: OF SPIRITS & DEMONS

thursday 27th, 20h00

The Fire of Rebirth

吉祥火

Drama | China | 2022 | 15:15

Director, Writer & Producer: Yafei Xu

Cast: Jinze Wang, Na Wang

Yu's spirit follows his mother back to his peaceful hometown seven days after his death. When night falls, Yu takes a ride on his father's motorcycle, and they bid farewell to the world. However, Zhaoxia had rather it be a dream from which she would never awaken.

The Sun on the River

Documentary | Nigeria | 2022 | 03:31

Director, Writer, Producer: Adedolapo Boluwatife Abimbola

Cast: Olokun Gbadegesin

From spiritual trance display, to mystical dance activities, thundering sounds of drums, beautiful hairstyles, white clothing, men, women, children, more women, incantations and prayers, the oshun goddess is honored at the beautiful town of osogbo, in western Nigeria. The whole world is here. To celebrate the water goddess of fertility, to renew the contract between humans and the divine: Osun offers grace to the community; in return, the community honors her in her Sacred Grove in Osogbo. This short film reveals details about the deities of Yorubaland and the sacredness of the Oshun goddess.

Vehement

Experimental | Norway | 2021 | 03:22

Directors,Writers: Julia Odette Tyrkiel, Hedda Drøsdal

Producer: Ola Røyseland

Cast: Julia Odette Tyrkiel, Hedda Drøsdal

/ˈviːɪm(ə)nt/

adjective

showing strong feeling; forceful, passionate, or intense.

Moss

Docufiction | Portugal | 2021 | 15:52

Directors: Alexandra Guimarães, Gonçalo L. Almeida

Script: Alexandra Guimarães, Gonçalo L. Almeida

DoP: Gonçalo L. Almeida

Producers: Alexandra Guimarães, Gonçalo L. Almeida

Cast: Mónica Moura, António Fontes

Sound: Manuel Antunes

Music: Ricardo Coelho, Tomás Bernardes, Diogo Rodrigues

While exploring the inside of a tree, a little girl embarks on a mystical journey to the heart of the Trás-os-Montes region. Between fantasy and ethnography, emerges an affective portrait of a people and its land. "Moss" is a docufiction that explores cultural and affective expressions of pagan heritage in the north of Portugal.

Kolam

കോലം

Action | India | 2022 | 19:29

Director, Writer: Nandu Lal Ms

Producer: Ashik Ansal

Cast: Rinaz Yahiya

Following the sudden and mysterious deaths of villagers who step foot in an abandoned paddy field, Sambath, a local sorcerer is summoned, who then discovers a curse on the land due to the unholy presence of a “Kolam”. Sambath’s apprentice along with 3 young volunteers from the village embark on a journey to break the curse by burning the “Kolam” in a shrine located on the top mountains of the village


Program 3: NEED FOR SPEED

FRIDAY 28th, 16h

Orogenesis

Animation | France | 2021 | 06:26

Directors: Axel Vendrely, Damien Barthas, Lise Delacroix, Emma Gaillien, Pierre Legargeant, Roland Van Hollebeke

Script: Axel Vendrely

Producer: Philippe Meis

Music: David Escudero

Sound Design: Sinan Varis

Before dawn, an odd character born from the sky crashes down in a desert. Awoken and weak, he's going to struggle to get back to the highest point in the sky, while facing a rising earth. However in his frantic ascension, something is happening under his steps...

Continental

Thriller | Norway | 2021 | 09:31

Directors: Henrik Trøan Schefte, Snorre Johnsen Ulvåg

Script: Henrik Trøan Schefte, Snorre Johnsen Ulvåg, Marcus Balcon

Producer: Marcus Balcon, Magnus Pettersen

Cast: Johannes Bouchama, Tormod Skavern, Varmuyan Fofana

DoP: Joar Hougen

A car thief has to risk it all when his next mission comes with an unpleasant surprise.

/askOD.

Drama | Sweden | 2022 | 13:03

Director: Jack Elliot

Script: Jack Elliot

Producer: André Larsson

Cinematography: Rikard Nilsson

Cast: Nikola Borggård Gavanozov, Frida Af Schultén

/askOD” is a short fiction film exploring why young people turn to the internet for help rather than trust the Swedish welfare system in the case of an overdose. Ida returns home over summer break. She immediately gets thrown back into the drug-filled lifestyle she once had with her childhood friend Otto. She is forced to endanger her new life by calling 911 when Otto suffers from an overdose.

Ronja!

Drama | Finland | 2022 | 11:12

Director: Saara Sundelin

Script: Saara Sundelin, Sanni Mansikka-aho

Producers: Janita Sarpola, Roosa Alhasto, Emmi Tenkula

DoP: Petro Salminen

Composers: Manu Liira, Kimmo Komu

Cast: Sini-Tuulia Norrbacka, Roosa Kari, Kerttu Myllykangas

It's graduation night. Ronja's best friend is having a party at her parents house where all the cool kids are coming - and then there's Ronja. Ronja doesn't know how she should behave so these people would like her. It seems as if over night Lola had decided that this one night determines her whole future in high school. Ronja! is a story about the agony and magic of being a teenager.

Mare

Horror | Norway | 2022 | 10:40

Director: Joakim Trulsrud Årethun

Script: Joakim Trulsrud Årethun

Producers: Gry Hege Østerhagen, Julie Aaen

Cast: Fredrik Paalssønn Aakerhus, Aksel Langum Øien

As Kasper awakes from a nightmare he is haunted by an unkown, yet familiar figure. To rid himself of the creature he has to face his greatest fears and confront his inner demons.

Boredom

Action | Denmark | 2021 | 08:39

Director: Viktor Gelbek

Script: Viktor Gelbek

Cast: Mathias Kehler, Viktor Gelbek

The daily routine has been repeated far too many times. Get up, eat, watch movies, eat, go to bed, repeat. Boredom takes over and imagination runs wild. This calls for action.


Program 4: FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS

FRIDAY 28th, 18h

The Fountain

Documentary | Turkey | 2021 | 18:59

Director: Ilayda Işeri

Composer:  Ilayda Işeri

Editor:  Ilayda Işeri

Writer:  Ilayda Işeri

Producer:  Ilayda Işeri

Cast: Mutaf Family, Daradur Family, Petiş Family

The Fountain is about the disappearing culture and language of the Gagauz people. It portrays the effects of the rise and fall of the Soviet Union on different generations while displaying the consequences of the vast social assimilation by following the daily lives of local families. The tradition of the Gagauz community is unique and preserved almost intact for centuries. However, it is rapidly fading now, as the elderly pass away. Unfortunately, the fountain flows weaker and weaker through the new generations.

The Cases

Documentary | Serbia | 2021 | 16:51

Director, Writer: Milica Rauski

Producer: Slobodna Zona Junior (Fond B92)

Miloš Rauški, the director from Zrenjanin, was arrested without any explanation in his office in 1988 and taken to a single cell, not knowing that he'll spend the following year and a half there, which will make him the longest detainee in Yugoslavia. Almost all his friends and colleagues stood against him, but years later everyone acts as if nothing happened, even though similar cases are still present.

The Climate Warrior

Drama | Denmark | 2022 | 16:25

Director: Anna van Deurs

Writers: Theresa Daewaell Grønning, Anna van Deurs

Producer: Lue Lykke Henner

Cast: Julie Lindhardt, Andreas Bruun, Judith Rothenborg, Claus Flygare, Meike Bahnsen

Seven meters rise in sea levels. Six million people. Five faces in disbelief. Four times let down. Three attempts. Two who stand together. One who fights. A powerful and thought-provoking snapshot in the life of a young climate activist who puts her high school graduation and criminal record on the line in the fight for a future.

Bulky Waste

Tuđa posla

Drama | Croatia | 2021 | 12:28

Director, Writer: Andrija Tomić

Producer: Ante Pijaca

DoP: Roko Birimiša

Editor: Luka Tokić

Cast: Franko Jakovčević, Stojan Matavulj, Snježana Sinovčić, Rea Bušić

Bulky waste consists of objects or things that, due to their dimensions or composition, are unsuitable for collection as part of mixed municipal waste. If bulky waste is irresponsibly dumped in nature or in illegal dumps, we all pay the costs of its removal.'

Illusion

Malikmata

Drama | Philippines | 2022 | 13:11

Director, Writer: Jean A. Evangelista

Producers: Jean A. Evangelista, Aliyah Jaldon, Jun Abao, Lorenza A. Evangelista

Cast: Czarina Sinio, Cloud Ugayan, Joel Garcia, Dianne F. Sulit

A story about the Agueran family, farmers from the Rizal Province, who are struggling to identify a Philippine Mythological Creature, Aswang. When the mother, Aling Nene, is pregnant and has a family to protect with.

Thunder

Documentary | Ukraine | 2022 | 01:00

Director: Orest Smylanetz

This film was shot during the air raid on the 77th day of Russia's aggression against Ukraine

This film is presented out of competition, as the director is over 26 years old.


Program 5: BREAKING POINT

FRIDAY 28th, 20h

Tiger Is Strolling Around

Animation | Ukraine | 2021 | 12:11

Director, Writer: Anastasiia Falileieva

Producers: Michael Margulis, Marcin J. Sobczak

Cast: Keita Jo, Kiki Sugino

Katsumi is feeling blue. While walking through a ghost Japanese town, she can see signs that her life has reached the point of no return. When she decides to end this misery, Magic Tiger appears. Can he save her?

Reality Check

Drama | Sweden | 2022 | 13:00

Director, Writer: Simone Norberg

Producer: Golaleh Azad

Cast: Martina Hemmingsson, Sepideh Khodarahmi

The friends Amanda and Savannah will participate in a reality series. Just before leaving for the filming location, Amanda receives an offer she has a hard time accepting. Celebrity dreams are set against remorse in Simone Norberg’s portrayal of a drama-seeking TV world.

Pool Rule

Drama | Sweden | 2022 | 08:52

Director: Alva Winbladh

Writers: Alva Winbladh, Linda Barnett

Producer: Simona Soukalová

Editor: Anagha Anand

DoP: Nadia Farghaly

Pandemonium breaks out among the swimmers of a local indoor swimming pool as a woman decides to swim topless.

Approach

Animation | Russia | 2021 | 05:43

Director: Valentin Tyuterev

Producer: Daria Holden

Sound Design: Anton Levkin

Composer: Anna Mikhailova

It’s going to crash into earth! People gather in the field as they get to witness the greatest event of their lives.

Lilia at the Bar

Lilia au bar

Drama | France | 2022 | 18:25

Director: Pablo Bodin

Writer: Thelonica Fodor-Levreaud

Producers: Valentine Massault, Maxandre Robin, Pablo Bodin

Cast: Gabrielle Chabot, Gaspard Meier, Baya Massamba-Wa

Lilia, a young woman in her twenties, joins her friend Kirill on the terrace of a bar where he is having a drink in cheerful company. The evening unfolds in a good atmosphere: the mugs are emptied, ashtrays are filled. Until the mood of Lilia darkens.

So We Live

Drama | Belgium | 2020 | 15:00

Director: Rand Abou Fakher

Producer: Hans Brunch Jr

A family living in a war torn country spends what seems to be a normal evening together. Their conversations shift between casual matters of daily life and survival. This ambiguous situation highlights the aches of how we take time for granted and live life.


Program 6: COME CLOSER

saturday 29th, 14h30

(Family Friendly 9+)

Glimpse

佐敦掠影

Animation | Hong Kong | 2022 | 01:00

Directors: Leung Cyrus, Ty Lok Yi Scarlett, Kwan Sin Ching Angel

Animators, Editing: Leung Cyrus, Ty Lok Yi Scarlet, Kwan Sin Ching Angel

DoPs: Leung Cyrus, Ty Lok Yi Scarlett, Kwan Sin Ching Angel

Music: Leung Cyrus

With the abundance of antiques and culture in the neighborhood of Jordan (Hong Kong), you can only see so much of the essence of traditional craftsmanship in a blink of an eye. This film showcases the beauty of old Hong Kong, all in a glimpse of textiles, flasks, paintings and statuettes.

Wall to Wall

Vägg i Vägg

Drama | Sweden | 2021 | 14:56

Director, Writer: Linda Lövgren

Producers: Olle Åkesson, Navamin Ray Kridiphong

Cast: Frida Argento, Stefan Isaksson, Felix Engström

The movie is about a mute girl named Lo. Lo, do anything to avoid social contact. One day she gets a package delivered home, which contains a microphone that leads her to notice her crazy neighbor Lars. They start to communicate with each other through the wall and become friends. One day something happens to Lars and Lo has to find a way to save him on the other side of the wall.

The Harbourmaster

Havnesjefen

Animation | Norway | 2022 | 07:17

Directors: Mia Ludvigsen Henriksen, Konrad Hjemli

Cast: Håvard Nyhagen Henriksen, Frida Gabrielli, Ann Helen Hjemli

Original Score: Ann Helen Hjemli, Atle Rakvåg

Sound Design: Vera Arnardottir

"The Harbourmaster" tells the story of its titular swan, and of how he went from a beloved small town icon to a wanted criminal.

The Rain Comes in the Morning

La pluie vient le matin

Drama | France | 2021 | 09:53

Director, Writer: Ondine Novarese

Producers: Pierre Nativel, Lola Manaï

Cast: Maëliss LeBricon, Thaïs Fabre

On a rainy morning like the others, Zoe, a 11 years old girl, is going to school in her mom's car. Only for her, this is not that easy.

Edla

Documentary | Norway | 2022 | 06:03

Director, Producer: Johannes Vang

On an island in the cold Arctic part of Norway, lives 99-year-old Edla, a woman that has lived 82 years without vision. This is her story.

In bed we are clean and dry and warm towards each other

I sengen er vi rene og tørre og varme mod hinanden

Documentary | Norway | 2022 | 12:40

Director, Writer: Cecilie Schnell Petersen

Producers: Cecilie Schnell Petersen, Mila Kreft-Sietnicka

Cast: Franca Harris, Oliver Bech, Karl Hvidberg, Cecilie Schnell Petersen, Liv-Andrea Banner

We are LGBTQ+ and we are five former students from the Danish primary school. By going through our memories, we discover the huge amount of homophobia and lack of education on LGBTQ-people there is in the Danish primary schools. A betrayal that led to us having a hard time finding our identities and accepting ourselves. What went wrong with the Danish school system and how can we fix it?


Program 7: FOOD FOR THOUGHT

saturday 29th, 16h

Mushrooms for the Soul

Sieniä sielulle

Drama | Finland | 2021 | 08:54

Director, Writer, Producer: Jimi Rosling

DoP: Mika Pätilä

Editing: Jimi Rosling, Mika Pätilä

Cast: Joonas Talvila, Oskari Lindfors

Music: Sampo Wiik

A lonely mushroom hunter tries to gain a connection to his dead friend by baking a bread using his ashes. When the mushroom hunter thinks that his friend is not going to come back to him, he falls asleep and has dreams of their time together. Meanwhile, the dough keeps on rising and a certain friend comes to visit.

Raw

Crudo

Drama | Spain | 2022 | 19:00

Director, Writer: Rafael Martinez Calle

Producer: Nacho Pérez de Guzmán Amores, Eduardo B. Muñoz

Cast: Fran Expósito, Nicolas Montoya, Fabien Charreyre-Calvez

Jose, a teenager who has never left his village in Andalusia, spends the summer at his father's butcher shop. During an assignment he will meet a mysterious man who will awake feelings in Jose that are unknown to him.

Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

Beati i Puri di Cuore

Drama | Italy | 2022 | 14:40

Director: Matteo Giampetruzzi

Writers: Matteo Giampetruzzi, Lorenzo Romanelli

Producer: Camilla Ricci

Cast: Georgia Lorusso, Andrea Palma, Francesca Antonelli, Davide Iachini

Cinematography: Filippo Loccioni

It's Serena's wedding day. The girl is worried about the absence of Nicola, her brother. She doesn't know that this day, which is so important to her, is not so joyful for Nicola.

Parasocial

Drama | Norway | 2022 | 09:59

Director, Writer, Producer: Marcus Hundsnes

Assistant Producer: Zain Haris

DoP: Kane Wilson

Cast: Laurie Duncan

A young man moves countries to pursue a job, away from the comfort of his family. Due to the stress of a new location, lack of friends and high workload he escapes into the world of online entertainment. He starts a parasocial relationship with a livestreamer, losing himself in the process.

Neon Phantom

Fantasma Neon

Musical | Brazil | 2021 | 20:00

Director, Writer: Leonardo Martinelli

Producers: Ayssa Yamaguti Norek, Leonardo Martinelli, Rafael Teixeira

Cast: Dennis Pinheiro, Silvero Pereira

Editor: Lobo Mauro

DoP: Felipe Quintelas

A delivery man dreams of having a motorcycle. He was told that everything would be like a musical film.


Program 8: TALK TO ME

saturday 29th, 18h

Cold Wall

Drama | USA | 2021 | 19:00

Director, Writer: Lilly Hu

Producer: Wenjie Kong

Cast: Jiaxin An

After a video of a miscarriage suffered by a student goes viral at her high school, a shocked 15-year-old Chinese girl, Katie, attempts to solve a personal crisis in unfamiliar territory.

Tell you about: the birds and the bees, sagittarius rising

Documentary | Sweden | 2022 | 14:58

Director, Writer, Producer: Pollyanna Popermajer

To the images of awakening spring, a woman talks to a man. She reflects on his actions towards her. Who she was and who she's become. By saying goodbye to what once was, she accepts her altered new self. But with anger of what was taken from her, she's determined to seek justice.

Half a Year

Halvår

Drama | Denmark | 2020 | 15:35

Directors: Julius Lagoutte Larsen, Kirstine Siegumfeldt

Writers: Julius Lagoutte Larsen, Kirstine Siegumfeldt

Producers: Julius Lagoutte Larsen, Kirstine Siegumfeldt

Cast: Alvilda Lyneborg, Barbro Skolmen

When Ida meets the older Katrine her world is turned upside down. They fall in love and start a polyamorous relationship. Ida has a hard time finding her place and frustration starts eating her up from the inside.

Wild Pansies

Pensées Sauvages

Documentary | France | 2021 | 15:00

Director, Producer: Eléna Focsa

Elena, a tormented 23-year-old woman, goes to Brittany to visit her 80-year-old friend Michèle. For a few days, those two women spend some time living and discussing together love, freedom, sexuality and passing time. Little by little, Michèle offers to Elena another vision of reality.


CLOSING NIGHT & PRIZE WINNERS

saturday 29th, 20h

This is when the awards to prize winners are revealed, and the winning films are screened one more time!