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Concorto Thursday is truly one to remember, and here’s why.

At 4:30 PM, it’s the third day of Concorto Kids: today we’ll be “printing” with vegetables (surplus produce provided by Eataly Piacenza) to see the wonderful “stamps” that can be created with their fibers. Afterward, there will be a snack provided by Fonte Plose and Eataly Piacenza, followed by screenings of the best international short films for children. Simultaneously, there will be a training session for parents, teachers, and educators led by Federica Buglioni, titled “Uovo Sapiens: Food as a Teacher.”

At 6 PM in the Sala Amici dell’Arte, the Lessici Famigliari focus will be screened; remember that every day from 4 PM, you can view the VR shorts from The Frame Beyond focus at the ARCI Rathaus club.

Join us at 8 PM for dinner at Parco Raggio, followed by the competition shorts at 9 PM. At 11:30 PM in the greenhouse, there will be Ubik and The World Dance.

At the Boschetto, starting at 11:30 PM, Angelica will be performing live!

And every evening, starting at 11:15 PM, don’t miss the opportunity to board the Emergency LIFE SUPPORT ship with VR headsets.

See you later!

Trenc D’alba – Anna Llargués
As seen by Eva Olcese

An old family farmhouse is declared unfit for habitation. While their mother and their grandmother are trying their best to save it, Elián and Irene find themselves resuming their grandfather’s hobby, by filming these sentimental landscapes with the super8 . The home movies become the tool in the two siblings’ hands to imagine what’s behind the mountains and to recreate, in a sort of reenactment, their mother’s videos. The microcosm of childhood is put under a deforming magnifying glass, that makes the inevitable detachment from those walls an immense wound.

Tabac Froid  – Arthur Jamain
As seen by Francesca Marchesini

Athur Jamain’s animation is a brutally honest portrayal of familial discomfort. This discomfort stems from the unspoken, from secrets, and from the fear of not being accepted. In *Tabac Froid*, even the viewer is left in the dark about the reason behind the protagonist’s deep suffering; yet, at the same time, they can’t help but empathize with the characters, projecting their own inner turmoil onto the figures on screen.

Cross My Heart And Hope To Die – Sam Manacsa
As seen by Vanessa Mangiavacca

Love, desire, suicide and death. Returning to life and the end of life itself. The masterful plot of Cross My Heart and Hope To Die conceals in its subtle dramaturgical gaps meanings and references that relate to the condition of women in the controversial labour system of Philippine society. Long and claustrophobic shots introduce us to Mila, a young woman on the brink of a precipice who is not paid by her employer and at some point finds herself forced to clean up a crime scene. Physical horror is intertwined with psychological and manipulative one, which develops in the second half of the film from a mysterious phone call. The irruption of the two tragic events, however, represents a break in the tormented monotony that affects the existence of the protagonist, who finally finds her sense of being almost the master of events. 

Avec L’Humanité qui Convient – Kacper Checinski
As seen by Chiara Ghidelli

Hélène is a woman who works at an employment agency. Every day, dozens and hundreds of workers turn to her center seeking answers that could change the quality of their time and, consequently, their lives. The answers: forms to fill out, faulty software, unprotected employees. One day, Hélène receives a destabilizing email: a woman is threatening to take her own life inside their offices. Through a suspenseful narrative, *Avec L’Humanité qui Convient* tells the story of the inevitable inhumanity that governs the world of work, particularly those responsible for its oversight. It’s the tale of a world where even the most extreme despair finds no place, and where the boundaries of legality lose their substance and humanity.

Hymn Of The Plague – Philipp Ivanov, Alexander Epikhov, Dimitri Gorbaty
As seen by Anna Vullo

An old Soviet recording room. In the background, an orchestra prepares to play Pushkin’s “A Feast in Time of Plague”. But the hall apparently wants to interfere with the recording, even the objects seem to come to life: chairs shake, lights go out. Nothing is as it seems. Taking their cue from Julio Cortázar’s short story “House Taken Over”, directors Philipp Ivanov, Alexander Epikhov and Dimitri Gorbaty find an effective and powerful way to describe decades of oppressive censorship and fear in one single space. 

Shrooms – Jorge Jácome
As seen by Francesca Marchesini

In his short film, Jorge Jácome uses lighting effects to convey the psychedelic experience without making it explicit. The most interesting aspect of *Shrooms* is how the director manages to depict drug use in a completely non-didactic way, focusing on the person rather than the action.

Radikals – Arvin Belarmino
As seen by Anna Vullo

On a farm in Cavite, Philippines, a group of poultry farmers senses an important moment approaching: they will dance the Bakte, a peasant dance from that region that represents their expression of freedom after a long day of hard work. During the performance, one of the group members is attacked by a heckler who accuses him of being a poor performer. As the dancers break the rules of conventional dance, director Arvin Belarmino also lets loose, flirting with the absurd to capture the magic of the Bakte.