Carlos Pérez Romero / Spain / 52 minutes   Synopsis An island in Africa. As part of its varied ecosystem: 40.000 giant turtles come and lay their eggs every season. Thousands of babies will have to cross the beach after hatching, in order to reach the sea.   If you are looking for a proper traditional wildlife-documentary, this one’s for you. The title may seem a little misleading since the turtles arc will actually be an episode amongst others, just as enjoyable to watch. « 

Karina Sorelli / Australia / 7 minutes   Synopsis Sofia loves social media. Craving for the likes , she documents her whole life there. Will she be able one day to drop her smartphone?     If # FollowMe  is very short, it’s because it cuts to the chase. Limpid scenario, straightforward message. In complete harmony with its subject, the photography looks contemporary, prettily colour-graded but without trying to be excessively sophisticated. The very good editing contributes t

Christophe Schaeffer / France / 6 minutes   Synopsis Two girls sit down on a sunny beach for a picnic. But will birds allow it?     No poster, nor trailer, nor any other still to illustrate this (short) review… For this like-no-other object, let’s do an article like no other. After an almost Hitchcock-ish intro, pixels’ digital jumble moves on to pebbles’. The black & white picture is so contrasted and sharpened that everything seems unreal. The unusual frame surprises, then

Joel Canady / USA / 26 minutes   Synopsis "Komorebi is a contemplative documentary that weaves together faith, nature, and culture in modern-day Japan. Spirituality, science, and tradition: the divine may be glimpsed in both the stillness of the forest and the complexity of the mind." The word Komorebi  refers to sunbeams, the sundered light one can see through foliage. It will be depicted throughout the film, first concretely in the pictures, then more and more in the speech

Damien Morel / France / 21 minutes   Synopsis Harold is a thirty-something guitarist completely lacking inspiration. One morning, he discovers in his mailbox 10,000€ in bills. With the caretaker (an overexcited and endearing hypochondriac), he’ll uncover the secret hidden in the very heart of their building.   As we have no idea how to begin this review, let’s just structure it with a list of points… A factors list.   ✉  Title Factor Alright, this is unimportant and maybe a c

Mattia Paone / Italy / 11 minutes   Synopsis "[Martina] comes back to the village where she was born, leaving everything behind. She carries with her a secret that the place of her origins will reveal."     What first strikes in « Bagliori » is its softness, and its deep sincerity. Thrifty with words just like with situations, Mattia Paone’s film chooses to give prominence to an overall sensation, sometimes dreamy sometimes wistful, but always with a comforting warmth. The sc

Pierre Mathiote / France / 1h25   Synopsis The Loire and the poet: a love story.   On our previous editions, proposals like Refugee Poetry , Benjamim Zambraia  or Clownery came and quenched the Croco’s thirst for poetry. For this one, it’s « Le Chant du Fleuve » that turned up. Not a trifling specimen! Wrapped up in its concept, the feature-film’s narrators assemble local authors’ verses to personify the Loire and her human lover, giving them a voice, while a profuse backdro

Mélanie Foucault / France / 16 minutes   Synopsis “A man and a woman in a bar don't get along anymore. Through the man's voice-over, we see flashbacks of his life, in a daily life where humiliation and ordinary violence reign.”     Armed with a rather chilling topic, « Passion Mutilée » stands out by its arty old-fashioned short-film form. A welcome choice, but at the root of qualities as well as faults. The editing effects per se are nice, like the opening and ending of the

Dmitri Frolov / Russia / 18 minutes   Synopsis Adam and Eve: the very first people. Then the apple... then humanity.     After « Dreams of the Past » & « Clownery », sir Frolov comes back to us with another short-film; since he’s the only director who entered each of our three editions, we wanted to integrate him as a special guest— hence this article’s preview-publishing. We find again with « Last Love » this dear old dusty and poetic film-roll imagery. Every shot is a paint

Salaheddin Noori / Iran / 11 minutes   Synopsis During a pandemic, Navid and Forough live confined and happy in their flat… however something seems to go wrong. What could it be?   This one-location short-film mixes science-fiction and romance, and for both genres it gives satisfactory results. Yet no visual effect and no sentimental demonstration! We enjoy the concept. The approach is sober, as the film relies on its main asset: its good script (Navid Farrokhi), playful and