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Curated by Rael Montecucco

For the fifth year in a row the Concorto Film Festival is including in its programme the Deep Night section, which is dedicated to a most bizarre genre of cinema. It started in 2016 as a showcase for horror and thriller short films, but through the years Deep Night has increasingly opened its doors to the fantasy genre, presenting surreal and grotesque comedies and crazy animations, always with the same purpose: to impress the spectator.
Deep Night could be defined as the midnight séance par excellence, as its aim is to recreate a mixture of fun, shock and wonder which is typical of the 1970s New York midnight movies screenings. The three sessions of the Deep Night section will take place at the Serra di Parco Raggio and, as is customary, meetings and interviews with Italian and international authors will be held (last year’s edition of Deep Night hosted short films from 11 different countries). It is an event that all lovers of horror and unconventional movies simply cannot miss, as it is set to become, once again, one of the most exciting moments of the Concorto Film Festival 2020.

The selected shorts

by Rael Montecucco – Gli Sbandati

 

“THE DEVIL’S HARMONY” by Dylan Holmes Williams, UK, 2019
“FARCE” by Robin Jensen, Norway, 2019
“VALERIO’S DAY OUT” by Michael Arcos, USA, 2019
“THE HISTORY OF NIPPLES” by Bailey Tom Bailey, UK, 2019
“HEAT” by Thessa Meijer, Netherlands, 2019
“NORTEÑOS” by grandmas, UK, 2019
“THE DREAMER” by Kenneth Karlstad, Norway, 2019
“WOOD CHILD AND HIDDEN FOREST MOTHER” by Stephen Irwin, UK, 2020
“THE DEEPEST HOLE” by Matt McCormick, USA, 2020
“THE STRZYGON AND HOW TO DEAL WITH HIM” by Kajetan Obarski, Poland, 2019
“SHHHH” by Jonathan Mordechay, Israel, 2019
“HAND IN HAND” by Ennio Ruschetti, Switzerland, 2019
“VASPY” by Hweiling Ow, New Zealand, 2019
“MARY, MARY, SO CONTRARY” by Nelson Yeo, Singapore, 2019
“CHANGELING” by Faye Jackson, UK, 2019
“OUT OF TUNE” by Aaron With, Mexico, 2019
“TOMORROW I WILL BE DIRT” by Robert Morgan, UK, 2019

THE DEVIL’S HARMONY by Dylan Holmes Williams: The lead vocalist of a high school vocal group seeks vengeance against the bullies of the school. Not exactly a High School Musical kind of story. Winner of the Short Film Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival 2020.

FARCE by Robin Jensen: In order to win the love of the woman living next door, a shepherd will have to face a perverse butcher. The animation is grotesque and explosive, which goes against privilege, double standards, egoism and vanity.

VALERIO’S DAY OUT by Michael Arcos: Valerio is a jaguar, and lives in a zoo and decides to tell his story. When he flees his cage, he leaves behind a trail of blood before he gets caught, sedated and locked up again. An experimental, hypnotic and poetic docufiction.

THE HISTORY OF NIPPLES by Bailey Tom Bailey: This is the story of a man obsessed by his own nipples and by what they represent.

HEAT by Thessa Meijer: When heat becomes unbearable, there is nothing better than a refreshing ice-cream. But, unfortunately, the protagonist of this short film chooses the wrong ice-cream parlour.

NORTEÑOS by Grandmas: Barry, a hilly billy countryman living in the north of England, asks his ex-girlfriend Linda for help after killing and chopping his grandmother into pieces. A hilarious dark comedy directed by the British duo Grandmas.

WOOD CHILD AND HIDDEN FOREST MOTHER by Stephen Irwin: In the heart of the forest a hunter makes an encounter with a strange creature he cannot seem to kill. A technicolor nightmare, a bizarre animation made of metamorphosis, creation and destruction and of colourful parallel worlds.

THE DEEPEST HOLE by Matt McCormick: During the Cold War the United States of America and the Soviet Union were competing to see which nation could dig the deepest hole. One of them reached Hell. A disturbing experimental documentary mixing reality and urban legend.

THE DREAMER by Kenneth Karlstad: A little girl struggles every night with panic attacks and fear. Her mother will try to help her, finding herself into her daughter’s nightmares. A claustrophobic horror and atmospheric movie.

THE STRZYGON AND HOW TO DEAL WITH HIM by Kajetan Obarski: The Strzygon is a polish mythological creature. He can be a dead man, rising from his grave to strangle people, as well as a caring husband and loving father (though always a dead one). This animation film shows us who the Strzygon is and how to free ourselves from his presence.

SHHHH by Jonathan Mordechay: A couple is trying to have dinner without making any noise. They cannot wake the baby up, no matter the cost. This wicked dark comedy from Israel warns us about the risks of being a new parent.

HAND IN HAND by Ennio Ruschetti: Two politicians shake hands after signing a historic deal. They will not be able to separate themselves and everything will end in chaos. A gem from the fantasy-weird world.

VASPY by Hweiling Ow: A pregnant mother gets “stung” by her son’s wasp-shaped toy and a slow transformation begins, one that will lead the woman to the most extreme needs and desires. A film for those viewers who love discomfort and disgust.

MARY, MARY, SO CONTRARY by Nelson Yeo: A Chinese woman dreams she is a Western woman named Mary. An experimental and fantastic collage with a very distinguished authorial mark, a journey in the subconscious and dream-world with alienating monologues and parallel realities.

CHANGELING by Faye Jackson: Something’s wrong with Jan’s newborn child. The young woman will try to ignore the alarming and incomprehensible mixed signals coming from her baby, but she will have to face a difficult and absurd reality. A thriller horror movie full of tension and plot twists.

TOMORROW I WILL BE DIRT by Robert Morgan: Authorized animated sequel of the cult German movie Schramm by Jörg Buttgereit. The renowned British artist Robert Morgan pictures life after Lothar Schramm’s death, with a disturbing and sometimes poetic stop-motion animation.

OUT OF TUNE by Aaron With: On a distant planet where a musical string is worshipped like a divinity, a worker responsible for the tuning has to deal with the teenagers, as they try to distort the sound. Out of Tune is a “synesthetic meditation” about iconoclasm, technological advancement and work in a slow-decaying society. A beautiful acid trip filled with metaphors.

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