by Sotiris Dimitriou*

The films participating at the 3rd altcineAction! Online Short Film Festival for Balkan Filmmakers differ dramatically from those of the two first editions, both in form and in content. It is not easy to track a continuity as regards the last year’s films. They give the impression that they represent another time.

First, they show a tendency towards the re-evaluation of filmmaking. Experimental films, like Peoplemeter from Serbia and Ichographs from Greece, animations like Habitat from Bulgaria, silent films imitation like The Last Attempt from Bulgaria and, of course, documentaries, like Cervel-l Istanbul, about Istanbul, and Feeling Lucky?, about Hortiatis village massacre by the Germans.

This year, there are no traditional genres, such as comedies, film noir, musicals or infidelity films. Counter to that, there is a presence of eco-films with Alladin and the Magic Bin, from Serbia, and of visual arts films with Bunny(s) Cake from Greece.

The films though overshadowing every other are those which confront world crisis as an existential threat. Its intriguing this abrupt turn of short films, which, even though it came late, it’s being manifested in a vigorous and violent way, overturning the established artistic norms. Till today, and despite the ambiguities and the differences, the predominant idea was that art constitutes a transcendence of reality towards a more liberating possibility of the latter, to a more human world. The films of the 3rd edition on the contrary, don’t propose the vision of another society. They insist on locating the threat which makes us seek a transcendence of this world. They put all their effort not only upon composing the protest against this world’s decline, but shedding some light at the same time on its threatening existence. While, in traditional arts transcending into the ideal is a mean to get away from a descending social reality which, its reasoning we are unaware off and we tend to call them “dead ends”, in the films we’re looking at, life’s downfall is visible, direct and menacing.

Most of the films depict the crisis threat: through the people’s stories, like in the film Trip from Greece; the desperation from the water shortage, in the films Felony from Greece, Them from Slovenia, among others; the desperation of unemployment, like in the film Cog, and others, through social awakening, like in Eh, It’s Not Funny and The Monster, both from Greece; through insecurity, like in the films What? from Romania and Belgrade Sonata from Serbia, and others; social isolation, as in Ingredients from Kosovo*, My Special K from Greece, among others; through depression, as Sundness from Greece and Dim Light from Romania and others do; through loss, in the films Mama from Turkey, Last Variation from Serbia and others; hardness and violence, like in the films A Day With My Father from Greece, The Director from Albania, to name few; even through biopower and suicide, as the films Keadas from Greece and Adrenaline form Croatia do.

These features concerning basically the content, are also accompanied by other changes. Beside the remarkable fact that many of the submitted films have been directed by women, there is a clear difference in the expressive means. An intense tendency to realism, reduction of symbolism and allegories, tight editing. The means are serving the stress of the threat: low lighting, simple shots, a sense of chaos during crucial moments. Altogether, the films of the 3rd altcineAction! give us a small gallery of the world crisis.

This shift emphasizes moral aspects in such a way that gives to some films a moralistic layer, as it happens in 0619 from Greece, in Pills from Bosnia & Herzegovina, and others. This is a serious change, because traditional aesthetics ruled out morality. There is therefore a profound shift happening in the seventh art, which we have to mention.

Based on what we have mentioned so far, we could categorize the films of the 3rd altcineAction! Festival as following:

1st Group

Films which criticize and radically reexamine our culture’s morals and values, as well as the forms our social of life is structured: Botev Is An Idiot by Deyan Bararev from Bulgaria, Half-Board Heaven by Giorgos Ktistakis from Greece, and Night Guards by Marko Marinkovic, from Serbia.

2nd Group

Films which denounce and inspire resistance: Linda by Antonia Milcheva from Bulgaria, Keep The Change by Atan Vahit from Turkey, Finishες by Dimitra Bitsaki from Greece, and Intellectual Tramps by Steven Gekas, from Greece.

3rd Group

Films which retract human values and hope: The Gift Of The Magi by Ivan Abadjiev from Bulgaria, Awakening by Υana Lekarska, also from Bulgaria and Penguins by Dimitris Zahos, from Greece.

*Writer, anthropologist, film theorist, Sotiris Dimitriou is a member of the jury of “Alida Dimitriou” award.