2022 CIFF Official
Short - Documentary Selections
Awakening
Maxim Eruzhenets, Marina Kirakosyan
Russian Federation
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"Upsala-Circus" is the one and only circus in the world for young rebels, children with social risks and children with special needs. It's social and cultural project, which was founded in 2000.
We look at backstage and get into the incredibly poetic performance “I am Basho”. In which the kids with Down's syndrome and not take part. We can observe the sincere existence of artists on stage. Where you can hide in a shelter of tenderness and poetry. We are inside the direct, opened and honest dialogue.
“Without playing anything, they rock a strong emotional field inside the human's heart,” — the creators of “I Basho” Yana Tumin and Alexander Balsanov.
This film is observation, that opens the door to life itself, the process of the performance. It fixes adults and children in the moment when they both equally believe and see a miracle.
Canone a 3 voci
Andrea Baccomo
Germany
A film about the concept of repetition, both in life and in the arts.
In a canon the first voice sets the theme, the second voice shifts it and the third voice harmonises it.
The theme is the same, but the combinations of the three voices transform it into a complex, polyphonic structure. In the solo performance of artist Andrea Baccomo, these voices are juggling, music and video.
The Making of Stars Above
Aidan Gibney
USA
Go behind the scenes of the creation for Stars Above, a new open air all American circus. Created by Josh & Lyndsay Aviner, Stars Above is a new outdoor family friendly circus that had its premier tour around the North East of the United States in August and September of 2021. Set to original music and reimagined cover songs, Stars Above is a modern take on the nostalgic small touring circuses from two hundred years ago. The documentary was filmed and directed by Aidan Gibney, a regular collaborator with Hideaway Circus.
The Medicine Circus
Alisa Bargeski
USA
In the mountains of Northern Thailand, a community of fire-spinning travelers come together to heal, love, and play, as they form a circus.
Revisiting the Zoo -
Just A Juggling Session
Eloi Prieur, Bogdan Illouz
France
Two jugglers film themselves in an empty training room. They go back and forth between the set and a mysterious juggling archive video. They try, fail, laugh, get angry, exhaust themselves dissecting and playing this demanding and obsessive discipline.
Self-portrait on juggling training, its evolution and its transmission.
Upswing presents Circus Flavours
Vicki Dela Amedume
United Kingdom
Upswing is committed to investing in, supporting, and championing global majority artists.
Circus Flavours is a platform for Upswing’s associate artists to present themselves to a live audience, their way. Earlier this year we commissioned our associates to develop news acts for Circus Flavours – offering an opportunity to experiment, progress their skills and ease back into live performance, after the break of the pandemic.
Our Circus Flavours film is a celebration of these artists and gives a glimpse into the drive and dedication that leads them to create their incredible work.
The Making of #ClimateOfChange
Daniele Poli
Italy
An anonymous narrator personified by an elusive typist, accompanies us to discover the creation of a contemporary circus show: the artistic expression of the EU funded project #ClimateOfChange, which uncovers all types of migration caused by the consequences of climate change in these last decades. WeWorld Staff, leading the project, explain the reasons behind the action and then dive behind the scenes of the MagdaClan Circus into the secret mechanisms of great shows, a bit like being able to carry out a European tour with two "transformer" trucks that turn into the dystopian stage of the show during a pandemic.
Phreneticus
Angola Murdoch
Canada
A film about the impact of social circus on mental health.