International Short Film Selection｜New Homeland-inspired Narratives of Immigrant Directors

Five short films by immigrant directors have been selected for this year's FILM PANORAMA at SIFF. The shared trait of these works is a cross-cultural contextual perspective, deconstructing the cultural relationship with the country of origin in a new country. Among these shorts, Serbian-Swiss director Luka Popadić's REAL NEWS, set against the backdrop of the Kosovo conflict in 1999, is a profound exploration of how war affects journalism; NANITIC, SAME OLD and AT LITTLE WHEELIE THREE DAYS AGO are all by Asian directors who have immigrated to North America; and OVER MIJ is an Iranian story set in the Netherlands. In contrast, there will be four Chinese short films, all of which convey the directors' deep attachment to their hometown. A BRIGHT SUNNY DAY and TALKING TO THE RIVER were selected for the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in the "LA CINEF" section and the Directors' Fortnight section respectively, while XIAOHUI AND HIS COWS is the only Chinese film to win an award at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival.