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Short Film Competition After months spent watching films, we have selected the 48 short films taking part in this year's Milano Film Festival international competition, Among the 2,206 shorts submitted...

GROUP A Sat 13 - h. 11.30, Teatro Strehler
Mon 15 - h. 20.30, Teatro Strehler
Sat 20 - h. 22.30, Teatro Strehler

	Haze Anthony Chen, Singapore, 2008, 14', Super16mm Two Singapore teenagers skip school and experiment sex. In the end, it is as if they were already adults.
	Taxi Wala Lola Frederich, France, 2007, 16', 16mm In Paris, a taxi-driver drives around a mysterious lady, who speaks an unidentified language...
	Socket Patricio García, Argentina, 2007, 10', miniDV The word "mockumentary" is brought into question again: could these Argentinians have possibly invented the "sockumentary"?
	La maison en petits cubes /The House of Small Cubes Kunio Kato, Japan, 2008, 12', DVD A poetic 2D immersion in an underwater world. An old man will save the wold - or himself?
	Pour de Vrai / For Real Blandine Lenoir, France, 2007, 12', 35mm The magic of long takes, between fiction and reality. The story of an actress in a house full of musicians. And a girl with a dress that has become too small.

GROUP BSab 13 - h. 20.30, Teatro Strehler
Thu 18 - h. 22.30, Teatro Strehler
Sat 20 - h. 11.30, Teatro Strehler

	Debajo / Under Dominga Sotomayor, Chile, 2007, 17', HD The debut film of a young Chilean filmmaker. An eclipse seen from above. And a family reunion.
	Solos / Alone David Cobo Díaz, Spain, 2007, 9', DVD The hilarious challenge between two wheelchaired old men. An animation from Spain.
	Gralloch Henry Coombes, UK, 2007, 6', HD A vally, a moose, a macabre animal skull. Vegetarians shouldn't watch it - people always looking for interpretations should.
	Farkasember /Werewolf Márton Vécsei, Hungary, 2007, 13', 35mm Anything can happen on the beach, even that you get to see forbidden scenes.
	Netherland Dwarf David Michôd, Australia, 2008, 15', 35mm The story of an extraordinary boy and of his father, who finds it difficult to pay attention to him. And so, he buys him a rabbit.
	Operator Matthew Walker, UK, 2007, 2', Beta How many questions can you ask God? A two-minute animation tries to give an ironic answer to this question.

GROUP C Sat 13 - h. 22.30, Teatro Strehler
Mon 15 - h. 17.00, Teatro Strehler
Fri 19 - h. 22.30, Teatro Strehler

	Was weiss der Tropfen davon / What Would the Drop Know About That? Jan Zabeil, Germany, 2007, 12', 16mm In Berlin, the people cleaning the Reichstag come from Turkey, Tunisia, and Senegal. What are their thoughts when the politicians have gone home, and dawn is approaching?
	Styri / Four Ivana Sebestova, Slovak Republic, 2007, 16', NEFF sequence A colourful interpretation of Tamara Lempicka’s art. Four women, eros, and love.
	The Girls Sebastian Godwin, UK, 2007, 10', HD Bad girls in the English countryside, and a father who likes to play, but not too much.
	Le jour de gloire /The Day of Glory Bruno Collet, France, 2007, 7', HD You can make thousands of things with Plasticine. Even soldiers.
	VERTIGO RUSH Johann Lurf, Austria, 2007, 19', HD The festival's most radical work. 19 minutes in a wood. In steady motion. After leaving the cinema you won’t recognize the world around you. Try before you trust.

GROUP D Sun 14 - h. 11.30, Teatro Strehler
Tue 16 - h. 20.30, Teatro Strehler
Fri 19 - h. 21.00, Parco - Piazza Grande

	Za horyzont / Beyond the Horizon Kuba Czekay, Poland, 2007, 32', 16mm Two maladjusted young people decide to kidnap a boy. The "longest" short at the festival, a new and very young filmmaking talent from Poland.
	Motion Studies #97: Inertia Jake Mahaffy, USA, 2007, 1', 35mm The festival's shortest film. 60 seconds to explain the principle of inertia.
	8/9 Marco Gernone, Italy, 2007, 13', miniDV The raving, sore split-screen film of a 21-year-old Bari-born filmmaker. The only Italian fiction
	A hangya és a tücsök /The Ant and the Cicada László Csáki, Hungary, 2007, 10', 35mm La Fontaine's fable is still valid?
	La théorie des ensembles Juliette Hamon Damourettes, Jao Eka M'Changama, Marc Hericher, Francia, 2007, 4', DVD The international version of Italian illustrator Cavandoli's line. A blackboard, a piece of chalk, and a twenty-year-old filmmaker.

GRUPPO E Sun 14 - h. 18.00, Teatro Dal Verme
Wed 17 - h. 20.30, Teatro Strehler
Sat 20 - h. 20.30, Teatro Strehler

	Bræðrabylta / Wrestling GrÍmur Hákonarson, Iceland, 2007, 20', 16mm Iceland's strangest sport looks more like a dance than like a fight. Two champions with a very special bond...
	Was übrig bleibt / Left Behind Fabian Daub, Andreas Gräfenstein, Poland/Germany, 2008, 16', DvCam There are still people (illegally) working in mines that should have been abandoned 30 years ago. It happens in Poland, but it could be anywhere...
	Qualcosa di mai visto / Something never seen before Antonio Cattaneo, Italy, 2008, 6', DV The aliens invade the planet, looking for something unique. They will be disappointed.
	Nous /Us Olivier Hems, France, 2008, 11', 35mm A policeman enters a house, finds some tapes, and tells how he found them. Unidentified family pictures. A found-footage detective story.
	Un hombre tranquilo /A Quiet Man Arantzazu Gomez Bayon, Spain, 2007, 12', 35mm Halfway between Scorsese and the commedia all’italiana movies, the story of a family with a very quick-tempered father...

GROUP F Sun 14 - h. 20.30, Teatro Dal Verme
Tue 17 - h. 22.30, Teatro Dal Verme
Sat 20 - h. 15.00, Teatro Strehler

	El reloj / The Watch Marco Berger, Argentina, 2008, 15', 16mm The title means "The watch", but the film is about bodies, ambiguity, identity. Among the members of a soccer team...
	Gravity Nicolas Provost, Belgium, 2007, 6', DVD James Stewart kisses Grace Kelly, who kisses Steve McQueen. A Belgian filmmaker edits - and destroys - some of the most romantic Hollywood kisses.
	Monsieur Cok Franck Dion, France, 2008, 10', HD Mr. Cok's bullet factory is threatened by protesting workers. A French animation mocking class conflict - but in quite a serious way.
	September Esther May Campbell, UK, 2008, 21', HD In the apparently still English countryside, an uncommon girl arrives and turns upside down the apathetic life of a teenager.
	The Blindness of the Woods Martin Jalfen, Javier Lourenço, Argentina, 2008, 11, 16mm Thanks to a strong woodcutter, a blind woman rediscovers the joys of love. They look like puppets, but are real live people.

GROUP G Sun 14 - h. 22.30, Teatro Strehler
Tue 16 - h. 23, Teatro Strehler
Fri 19 - h. 22.45, Parco - Piazza Grande

	Sid Nolwenn Lemesle, France, 2007, 18', Super16mm In a Paris that looks like a degraded Naples district, a policeman has to hide his profession. Until a family relationship is put at stake.
	Death by Scrabble Katie Steed, UK, 2007, 6', DVD The most popular crossword game in the world is the keystone to caustically describe a love relationship. Mind the letter.
	She Walked Calmly Disappearing Into The Darkness Malik Hassan Sayeed, USA, 2008, 10', 35mm A tense black-and-white black movie, to reconstruct what really happened on a crossroad.
	The Announcer Pilvi Takala, Finland, 2007, 5', miniDV A lady is looking for a relative who is lost in a supermarket. The announcer at the information desk calls. Even a day later. Or two days later...
	Smáfuglar / Two Birds Rúnar Rúnarsson, Iceland, 2008, 15', 35mm The slightly reckless night of a couple of teenagers turns into a shocking nightmare. From Iceland.
	Une leçon particulière /A private lesson Raphaël Chevènement, France, 2007, 10', 35mm Halfway between Truffaut and Rohmer, a private lesson loaded with hidden eroticism and tender double entendres...

GROUP H Sun 14 - h. 22.45, Parco - Piazza Grande
Wed 17, h. 20.30 - Teatro Dal Verme
Fri 19, h. 15.00 - Teatro Strehler

	Waterfront Villa Bonita Lou Yi-an, Taiwan, 2007, 24', 35mm A choral story from Taiwan - punctuated with quotes from the Genesis. The end is apocalyptic and dramatic.
	TRIP Harry Wootliff, UK, 2007, 15', 16mm A father "kidnaps" her two daughters he is not allowed to see, to spend with them an unforgettable day. In every sense.
	Terminus Trevor Cawood, Canada, 2007, 8', DV Halfway between animation and experimental film, featuring some little, disturbing rock men.
	The Unbearable Whiteness of Being Faisal Aziz, UK, 2007, 10', DV The business of skin-whitening creams among dark-skinned people. A disconcerting documentary.
	Lauberhornrennen im Sommer /Downhill Skiing In Summer Daniel Zimmermann, Switzerland, 2007, 5', HD Switzerland's longest ski slope, and a snowless skier. A funny, crazy film.

GROUP I Mon 15 - h. 22.30, Teatro Strehler
Thu 18 - h. 21, Parco - Piazza Grande
Sun 21 - h. 11.30, Teatro Strehler

	Entre chiens et loups / Between Dogs and Wolves Jean-Gabriel Périot, France, 2007, 29', 16mm The story of a temporary worker. By day, he goes to interviews, by night he delivers pizzas. With a shocking ending.
	Oh great, now look what happened Tijmen Hauer, Gerbrand Burger, Netherlands, 2007, 4', 35mm Exactly: look what happened...
	Ripple Paul Gowers, UK, 2008, 18', 16mm A road-movie by night, among a thousand misunderstandings, accidents, and mishaps. The British "After Hours".
	Tomorrow Johanna Lecklin, Finland, 2007, 4', miniDV A girl asks her father what tomorrow is. Four minutes of existentialist questions.
	Vld-n11 Dovilë Sarutytë, Lithuania, 2008, 8', DvCam From Lithuania, a story of parents, teachers, kids, and poo-poo. Baltic realism.
	What's next? Claudia Roethlin, Adrian Flueckiger, Switzerland, 2007, 4', digital spiegelreflex A kidnapping in stop motion, a videomessage, and a ransom. But what is hiding behind the wall?