Giovanni Fantoni Modena
Short films by two students at New York University Tisch School of the Arts Asia have been selected to compete at next year’s Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival. Giovanni Fantoni Modena ’12 (MFA, Kanbar, Film) and Anuj Gulati ’12 (MFA, Kanbar, Film) will compete in the 34th annual festival January 27 – February 4 2012.
Modena’s Artificial Melodrama and Manila Running by Gulati have been selected to compete against 75 films in the International Competition category.
A second film by Modena, Portrait from Haiti, was also selected for the Lab Competition category.
Anuj Gulati
Artificial Melodrama is a short film about a young European girl who arrived in Singapore, but intends to leave soon. The promise of a new world of opportunities had faded away, leaving only the ‘fakeness’ of modern Asian cities. A taxi driver who is taking her away shows her how beautiful Singapore can be.
Manila Running is a short film about a guy named Jacques who has decided to travel to the Philippines for a reason he prefers to keep personal. He finds himself in uneasy situations as he goes around the city looking for a place to stay. The day seems to get worse with every moment as the search for a place keeps eluding.
Portrait from Haiti is a short film about Jens Christensen, a UN official who was working at his desk during the 2010 Haitian earthquake. He was found after five days and nights via the sound of his stapler. After the third day, he no longer knew if he was awake or asleep.
The Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival has become the world’s premier cinema event dedicated to short films. It is the second largest film festival in France after Cannes in terms of audience and professional attendance.
