OFFSCREENINGS 2023 | Offscreen
THE MOUNTAIN
On a business trip to the Alps, a Parisian salaryman becomes obsessed with a mountain, leaves his old life behind, and abandons himself to the mysteries of nature. Don't expect melodrama; do expect a beginner's guide to alpinism, spectacular Haute-Savoie scenery and a phantasmagorical trip into the unknown that will blow your mind.
THE MOUNTAIN - SECOND SCREENING
On a business trip to the Alps, a Parisian salaryman becomes obsessed with a mountain, leaves his old life behind, and abandons himself to the mysteries of nature. Don't expect melodrama; do expect a beginner's guide to alpinism, spectacular Haute-Savoie scenery and a phantasmagorical trip into the unknown that will blow your mind.
NEW RELIGION
A part-time sex worker, haunted by the death of her child, takes on a mysterious new client, an insect-obsessed recluse more interested in taking ritualistic photos of body parts than in sex. But what is the ritual for? David Lynch meets Kiyoshi Kurosawa in this unsettling vision of a society destabilised by grief.
ORDINARY FAILURES
A cataclysmic event on the far side of town goes unnoticed by a widow, a lonely teenager and a harassed single mother: three women preoccupied with mundane problems until all hell breaks loose and their lives intersect. A compelling, compassionate look at how we're distracted by details in the face of impending doom.
A LIFE ON THE FARM
What starts as a routine found footage documentary unfurls into a portrait of a unique outsider artist. Charles Carson, a Somerset farmer, documented his everyday life on videotape by filming cow placentas, hat-chewing horses - and his mother's corpse. Far from being creepy, the results are endearing and delightful.
+ online Q&A with director Oscar Harding
STRANGER
A synchronised swimming team vanishes mid-routine. A detective checks into an eerie hydrotherapy clinic to probe the link between Thomas Mann, fish people and the psychic significance of sneezing. Deadpan humour, time loops and dream logic weave a beguiling spell in this surreal thriller awash with images of water.
SOMETHING IN THE DIRT
Benson and Moorhead return to their no-budget roots with a lockdown film like no other. Two nutty but endearing Los Angeles neighbours try to spin a levitating ashtray into a moneymaking documentary about alien conspiracies, with results that veer from hilarious to alarming as the mens' dark secrets come to light.
DE HUMANI CORPORIS FABRICA
Filmed in hospitals around Paris, this gruesome yet stunningly beautiful documentary explores human bodies in extreme close-up as they're sliced up by medics. Micro-cameras take us inside urethras, brains and other organs for an awe-inspiring immersive experience that also pays homage to hardworking hospital staff.
FAIRYTALE
Multiple deep-fake incarnations of Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini and Churchill wander around Purgatory, swapping inconsequential banter, knocking on heaven's gate or bumping into Jesus and Napoleon. One of cinema's great visionary auteurs animates the ghosts of the past to reflect on a legacy of 20th century atrocity.
THE ARTIFICE GIRL
Government agents interrogate a computer geek about the pubescent girl he's been using to trap sexual predators online. She turns out to be virtual (an uncanny performance by young Tatum Matthews) in a cerebral three-act chamber piece that dives deep into the ethics, pitfalls and potential of Artificial Intelligence.
THE SACRED SPIRIT
A girl goes missing in south-east Spain; her uncle and his fellow UFO-buffs suspect she has been abducted by aliens. Impeccable visuals topped off by a stunning final shot amplify this colourful tragicomedy of honest eccentrics who embrace paranormal conspiracies while failing to spot the real evil in their midst.
SKINAMARINK
In Ball's semi-experimental feature debut, two small children find themselves alone in the dark. But wait - is there something in the house with them? Lo-fi digital static, ominous angles, nerve-jangling noises and TV cartoons add up to a state of primal terror that will have your own inner child gibbering with fear.
PIAFFE
After providing sound effects for an equestrian-themed commercial, a timid young woman grows a horse's tail and embarks on an odd relationship with a man from the Botanical Institute. If you ever wondered about the erotic possibilities of ferns, red lipstick, rose stems and human dressage, this is the film for you!
Offscreen photostream
