YOUKI 2024 – Wettbewerbsprogramm 1

BON APPETIT
France 2023, 01:45 min.
Filmmaker: Sasha Kobrina
Sound & Music: Kevin McLeod
Producer / School: Sergey Merinov, Merinov Animation School
Age Category: 13–17 years
Language: No Dialogue

Everything is as usual in the huge, lively restaurant which BON APPETIT invites us to. Until a little spider spots its next meal and turns the whole restaurant upside down... Will it also have a feast today?
A lovely and hand-drawn animated film with lots of slapstick and humor. Bon Appetit.
Text: Lena Steinhuber

Sasha Kobrina (2006) is a student living in Paris. As she grew up, she started experimenting with stop motion and 2D hand drawn animation, which Sasha is very passionate about and led her to a course at Merinov Animation School.

still (vs.) life
Austria 2024, 03:45 min.
Filmmaker: Elena Mirja Jäger
Cast: Sharon Mary Nesyt, Cathrine Leonie Niebuhr, Anastasia Litwinow
Age Category: 23–27 years
Language: German

What can we know about a situation based on a few images? And isn't all of that just assumption? Still (vs.) life explores the relationship of the single photograph to its original context. You start out by seeing film stills, which are only later placed in relation to each other. In a relaxed manner, the experimental short documentary shows behavioral patterns in media consumption.
Text: Olli Parsch

Elena Mirja Jäger (2000) is a media artist from Munich. She currently lives and studies in Linz, where she created several photography and short film projects.

Horror Vacui
Croatia 2023, 03:49 min.
Filmmaker, Writer & Animator: Lara Jakovina
Music: Peter Jakovina
Producer: Photo Cinema Video Club Zaprešić
Age Category: 13–17 years
Language: No Dialogue

Our everyday lives are packed with stimuli and impressions. Be it at school, at university, on the way home or even within our own four walls, our senses are tested everywhere. In Lara Jakovina's technically outstanding stop-motion film, a mirror is held up to us. Are we still able to enjoy the occasional peace and quiet?
Text: Daniel Morawitz

Lara Jakovina (2006) has been painting and sculpting since she was a child. Horror Vacui is her first independent short film. She currently attends an art school in Zagreb and wants to study directing.

Between Tiled Floors and Strawberry Fields
Du im Erdbeerfeld, Ich am Fliesenboden
Austria 2024, 11:49 min.
Filmmakers: Marlene Frostel, Robin Mai, Oliver Parsch, Lun Raaberg
Producer: Robin Mai, Oliver Parsch, Medien Kultur Haus Wels
Cast: Betül Karataş, Barbara Kreuzmayr, Lea Mayr, Maleen Ploechl, Sarah Schobes
Music: Samu, SODL
Age Category: 18–22 years
Language: German

Between Tiled Floors and Strawberry Fields follows high school graduates who want to enjoy the end of summer but inevitably drift apart and take different directions. In emotional fiction, the feature film tells the story of the challenges of friendship at a time when everything seems to change abruptly.
Text: Lara Pichler

wird wird ensemble (2001–2004) is a young queer film collective from Linz, Austria. The film Between Tiled Floors and Strawberry Fields is their first collaborative project.

Open Mic Night
USA 2024, 4:57 min.
Filmmaker: Elliot Riseman
Directors of Photography: Elliot Riseman, Rem Wise
Cast: SCOFF (Michael, Jason, Kai), Jess Wendt, The Thursdays (Juniper, Katie, Ava, Eleanor, Mira, and Sloane), Franny Belle, Zach Navarrete, Michael Guaman, Eliot Adler, Lilly on the Roof (Melanie Miadelets, Isla Baird, and Lily Williams-Ameen), Melanie Miadelets, Elianna Carvalho, Jack Wasserman, Fran Guido, Zev Bendersky, Sasha Maxine, Elliot Riseman, Ava Wu, Katie Hung
Age Category: 18–22 years
Language: English

At Open Mic Night, young artists present their new or first performances. A night full of meaningful moments evolves around guitar strings and violin bows; in singing and laughter.
The excitement and euphoria of the concerts are transferred into the fragmented narrative of the DIY documentary. But snippets are enough to celebrate the loving relationship between art and community.
Text: Lisa Heuschober

Elliot Riseman has developed his creativity through experimentation in film, art, and performance. Through his work, Elliot hopes to bring meaningful stories from his home to a larger audience.