T-Port Blog

Filmmaker Gleb Osatinski has been busy since his film OUTSIDERS made the cut for the 2021 T-Port Lighthouse Selections. In this catch up interview, we chat to the Ukrainian-born filmmaker about his current awards run after a lengthy pre production phase, which was held up for 5 years.  There are details below about upcoming screenings […]
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Hoda Taheri, born in Tehran, Iran in 1992, is an Iranian Refugee Artist and Filmmaker based in Berlin, Germany. In 2016, she received her bachelor’s degree in visual communication from Limkokwing University in Malaysia. Her short film MOTHER PRAYS ALL DAY LONG was nominated for the German Short Film Award.  The follow up short AS […]
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  Chadi Bennani is a filmmaker from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In this interview the documentarian talks about his cinematic origins, the close and trusting relationship he builds with his subjects and crew, as well as how he uses film to explore personal questions around identity. His film HERE AND THERE appears on T-Port courtesy of […]
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Boris Hadzija’s Lighthouse-selected short YUGOTRANSPORT: WE ARE ALL ON THE SAME BUS draws on the experiences of those around him, having been born in the former Yugoslavia. We talked to the director about what it took to work with non-actors, and how it’s the limitations that make the magic happen.  Yugotransport appears on T-Port courtesy […]
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  Every year, European Film Promotion (EFP) select ten outstanding young directors and screen their films at the Karlovy-Vary Film Festival, following which we are lucky enough to host the films here on T-Port for our Professional Subscribers.  Anna Maria Joakimsdottir-Hutri’s WHO STANDS UP FOR ALVAR is a piece that explores the life of a […]
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Every year, European Film Promotion (EFP) select ten outstanding young directors and screen their films at the Karlovy-Vary Film Festival, following which we are lucky enough to host the films here on T-Port for our Professional Subscribers.  We were lucky to interview two of the directors. First up, Marthe Peters, whose film BALDILOCKS is available […]
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Filmmaker Ido Weisman honed his craft in the world of reality TV, which he credits with helping him discover his role as a documentarian. His documentary short REQUIEM FOR A WHALE is a perfect example of when a filmmaker should trust their instincts.  The film, appearing on T-Port through our partners at Tel Aviv University, […]
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  Dara Bratt is a Canadian filmmaker based in New York City, who was recently announced as the winner of the 2023 Claims Conference Filmmaker Contest. We caught up with her to find out about her upcoming project on Holocaust survivors and tattoos. We are proud to be partnering with the Claims Conference to help […]
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The film festival circuit hasn’t always been a welcoming place for diverse voices. And, while we mustn’t forget that the fight for rights and recognition of LGBTQIA+ people is an ongoing battle, nowadays there is a thriving festival circuit which specialises in stories by and about LGBTQIA folks all over the world.  If anyone knows […]
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Robert Moniot was in the process of relocating with his family to a new country when he grasped the opportunity to pitch his film, THE ICE CREAM MAN, to the Claims Conference. We caught up with the filmmaker to find out more.  We are proud to be partnering with the Claims Conference to help spread […]
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Sabina Vajrača’s winning pitch for the 2021 Claims Conference Grant became her highly acclaimed short film SEVAP/MITZVAH. We caught up with the filmmaker to find out more about what the process of making such a personal film was like.  We are proud to be partnering with the Claims Conference to help spread the word about […]
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Eugenia Bakurin is a filmmaker and media artist, who was born in the Soviet Union and has lived in Germany for over 20-years.  T-Port’s Jess Sweetman caught up with the filmmaker to talk about her Lighthouse Selected found footage film “Long Time No Techno”, and to talk about why Odessa Film Studios are important, how […]
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Yi Xiong’s A TORTOISE’S YEAR OF FATE is a 20-minute portrait of a young man trying to find belonging, set among the machinery of a Chinese factory. It’s universal theme and gorgeous cinematography caught the eye of guest curator Laurence Boyce, making the cut for the 2023 T-Port Lighthouse Selections. We caught up with Yi, […]
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Alex Lawther has been making his name as an actor for quite some time, but his directorial debut, the short film FOR PEOPLE IN TROUBLE, which he also wrote, has already been making a splash on the festival circuit in 2023 and 2024.  T-Port’s Jess Sweetman caught up with the Paris-based Brit, whose work appears […]
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Filmmaker Janina Lutter is the director of the Lighthouse Selected film THE SCHOOL IS ON FIRE AND WE KNOW WHY, which appears on T-Port courtesy of our partners at Hessische Film und Medienakademie (hFMA). In this interview, the sparky Lutter shares the kindness and fighting spirit she brings to her filmmaking, while enlightening us on some […]
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By Jess Sweetman – T-Port Marketing  March 8th is International Women’s Day (IWD), a global holiday celebrated annually to commemorate women’s cultural, political, and social achievements. It is also a focal point in the women’s rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women. The film […]
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French director and producer Camille Tricaud is hard at work as a founder of the independent production company Benedetta Films. In this inspiring interview we caught up with her to delve into how she used sound in her Lighthouse Selected-film SLOW DOWN THE FALL (which she co-directed with Franziska Unger), as well as discovering her […]
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Maximilian Bungarten is the director of 2023 Lighthouse Selection THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, a short he shot on film in his home-city of Cologne, Germany. The film, which he independently uploaded to T-Port along with another Lighthouse Selection from his production company, Benedetta films, was picked by guest curator Laurence Boyce.  Hi Maximilian, would you […]
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Anat Eisenberg, director of the Lighthouse-Selected short NOVY GOD, made her film shortly after becoming a mother, especially poignant as the film’s narrative was inspired by the complicated relationship between Eisenberg’s grandmother and the younger woman who cared for her.  We caught up with the director, whose film appears on T-Port courtesy of our partners […]
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Filmmaker Dascha Petuchow was in lockdown when she wrote the script for her 29-minute drama CHEWING GUM. The short, which was inspired by revisiting her own experiences of growing up as the daughter of an immigrant in Germany, was included in the 2023 T-Port Lighthouse Selections, picked by curator Laurence Boyce. In this interview, the […]
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This week, we’re focussing on Gunnnur Martinsdóttir Schlüter’s 5-minute short FÁR, which tells the story of a woman’s dilemma when a bird hits the window of the cafe she is in. The film’s icy aesthetic was inspired by the German-Icelandic director’s hometown Reykjavik. FÁR, which appears on T-Port courtesy of our partners at Salaud Morisset, […]
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Singaporean filmmaker Stanley Xu was inspired to make his short A DAY, THAT YEAR, while working through the impact of a chilling childhood memory. The film made it into the 2023 T-Port Lighthouse Selections, picked by curator Laurence Boyce. We caught up with the director to find out about his extensive casting process to find […]
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Israeli documentarian Zohar Orian Cohen describes herself as someone who seeks truth and justice, and it was in this spirit she turned the camera upon herself for her student film, created through the School of Audio and Visual Arts, Sapir College (Sderot, IL): SHEMEI KLAMI /  / LISTEN TO WHAT I SAY (LISTEN TO MY VOICE), […]
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The 2023 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival finished recently, where the SCRIPT POOL AWARD of €5000 was awarded to the T-Port talent/filmmaker, Léon Yersin, who pitched the feature film “What Remains” at the PÖFF Script Pool. Yersin was selected to the Script Pool pitching as part of the collaboration between T-Port and PÖFF. We caught […]
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FAIRY TALE by director Shira Yermiyahu, is a short film about 3 teenage girls on summer vacation, who are searching for adventure to relieve the boredom of a typical night in Yavne: A desperate quest for vodka ends in a dark warehouse where the town hunk ruins one of their lives. We caught up with […]
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“Simon and Siván are the perfect artsy couple. Everything in their lives is curated, from the way they have sex to their choice of therapist. One night, during another soulless art exhibition, the shiny surface of their relationship starts to crack.” Swedish-Iranian director Arvin Kananian’s short VERNISSAGE is a “playful and elegant” commentary on “a […]
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Eric K. Boulianne switched from screenwriting to writing and directing for his short film FAIRE UN ENFANT (MAKING BABIES), and earned the Pardi di domani Best Direction Award BONALUMI Engineering. We chatted to the director about what it felt like to receive such an honour, as well as getting the lowdown on how he made […]
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Filmmaker Lea Bloch’s film LAST NIGHT is a tense drama based around a group of friends unravelling the non-consensual sex that occurred between two of them the previous night. The film won the Pardino d’oro Swiss Life award for the Best Swiss Short Film at Locarno Film Festival in 2023. We caught up with the […]
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This year’s Locarno Film Festival may be over but here at T-Port we have their catalogue of selected shorts and winners here for professional subscribers to enjoy. Among them is THE GUARD, a film by Iranian filmmaker Amirhossein Shojaei, winner of the Medien Patent Verwaltung AG Award. We caught up with the filmmaker about what […]
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Filmmaker Can Baran has just graduated from Turkey’s Bilkent University school of Communications and Design and his graduation film TENEMENT has made it to the National Student Films final at the Adana Golden Boll International Film Festival. In this interview we caught up with Can to find out more about his late-night inspiration sessions, what […]
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“On August 1, 2009, a perpetrator forcefully entered the meeting place for LGBTQ+ youth known as ‘Barnoar’ in the heart of Tel Aviv, unleashing a hail of gunfire indiscriminately. In an instant, that fateful bullet pierced my body, forever altering the course of my life.” With these words, filmmaker Ehud (Udi) Mordehay introduces the heartbreaking […]
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Filmmaker Dawid Bodzak has recently graduated from the Polish National Film School in Lodz and he has more reasons to celebrate as his film KROKODYL was selected for the 2023 Cannes Court Metrage. We caught up with the filmmaker to talk about his process, lighting a neo-Gialo that was shot on film stock, his unique […]
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Serbian-born, London-based director Mimi Vlaovic – whose film is on T-Port courtesy of our partners at Festival Formula, has seen festival success with her graduation short film YOUR GUARDIAN, including landing a nomination for the Young Director’s Award at Cannes. In this interview we catch up about karaoke as stress management, her bugbears about Serbian […]
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For her documentary THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ALAIN, director Yarden Malka Bonet took on the deeply personal subject of her grandfather, a man who returned to the family after a long absence spent in religious service in Germany. In this interview we find out what it felt for the filmmaker, whose work appears on T-Port […]
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29-year-old Tehilla Ruddell just graduated from Minshar School of Art in Tel Aviv. In her short film “A PLACE THAT DOESN’T EXIST” she explores her own story, having left the orthodox Jewish world at the age of 16. We caught up with the filmmaker to talk about her journey and how the filmmaking process helped […]
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Joris Tobé’s graduation film FRANTIC ATTEMPTS appears at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival this week courtesy of our partners at EFP Future Frames, and it was awarded the Circle of Film Critics Award for best graduation film at the Dutch Film Festival. In this heartwarming interview we take a deep dive with the director into […]
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This week, several upcoming European filmmakers will be sharing their work at the prestigious Karlovy Vary Film Festival as part of the European Film Promotion’s (EFP) Future Frames Programme. One of whom is the Spanish director Christian Avilés, whose graduation film DAYDREAMING SO VIVIDLY ABOUT OUR SPANISH HOLIDAYS has already screened at Berlinale, Kurzfilm Hamburg, […]
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Stop-motion animator Fernanda Caicedo learned about her Grandmother’s death when she was far away from her Ecuadorian family, while studying in Germany. The grief and distance spurred her to explore her own fear of death through her art. The result is WIND WHISPERER, a film appearing on T-Port through our partner Bauhaus Universität. In this […]
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Filmmaker Lili Zahavi made her documentary ME MYSELF ANDI about her best friend Andi, whose struggles in academia, hindered by her own lack of self-confidence, may strike a familiar chord. The film made it into the 2022 Festival Max Ophüls Preis, among other festivals. We caught up with the filmmaker, who is currently making her […]
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Filmmaker Lina Drevs based the theme of her Lighthouse Selected film SIS – BEST SISTER on her relationship with her own sisters. In our Spotlight Interview this week she opens up about filming during COVID and how she wants to open up the industry to other women. SIS – BEST SISTER appears on T-Port via […]
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Filmmaker Jonatan Schwenk switched from stop-motion animation to puppetry for his short film ZOON, which made the cut of or 2022 Lighthouse Selections, as well as the 2022 Next Generation Short Tiger and the official selection of the Sundance Film Festival. We caught up with the director to talk about his process, bringing happiness through […]
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Animator Joseph Pierce’s film SCALE has already made waves on the festival circuit after premiering at La Semaine de la Critique of Festival de Cannes when it was chosen by our guest curator Olha Raiter as part of our Lighthouse Selections 2022. The film appears on T-Port through our partners at Salaud Morissete. We caught […]
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PhD student at the Polish National Film School in Łódź, Jan Bujnowski set himself the challenge of shooting his last film THE DEVIL on film while recreating the past. We caught up with the 29-year-old to find out more. Tell us about yourself I’m 29 years old and I’m currently a PhD student. In the […]
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“NOT THE 80s” is Berlin-based director Marleen Valien’s second short to appear on T-Port. Her previous film “HOT DOG” was a hit on the festival circuit in 2019, including a showing at Sundance. Her newest offering, which premiered at Tribeca, focuses on a first date between two twenty-somethings, when one of them opens up about […]
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30-year-old screenwriter and director Romi Menachem went through a lot with the cast and crew of her short film “Out of Play”. The film follows Bar (12), a longtime member of the boys’ clique and the class’s soccer team, who is forced to re-earn her place in the team’s lineup. The production faced serious challenges […]
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Henryk Dyb Zwart’s film “Everything at Once” premieres at the Venice Film Festival on September 9 (courtesy of our partners at Festival Formula.) We caught up with the 34-year-old director to find out about his sources of inspiration from poetry to punk rock, and what it took to ´develop his multi-frame short film. Tell us […]
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Audrey Karras shot her short film “One Last Breath” in just 4 and a half days. We spoke to the French director about the challenges she encountered through the creative process, and how it was for her to work with actors. Audrey created her film as part of her studies with our partners ESEC Paris. […]
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  Sometimes we meet a T-Port Talent which we can just bet on being a successful filmmaker in the near future. Jannis Lenz is one of these filmmakers, showcasing an impressive filmography and a list of accolades.  Following his short film, “Battlefield”, we got a chance to learn some more about his emerging career, his […]
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Kijâtai-Alexandra Veillette-Cheezo has an impressive name, and the talent to match it. In her experimental short, “Kijatai”,  featured at the Montreal Festival du nouveau cinéma (FNC) 2021, she explores her forgotten language. As Kijâtai is working on a future film project and pursuing a career in journalism – we got a chance to talk to her […]
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Yoram Ever-Hadani in no stranger to the professional international industry. The 50 years old Israeli filmmaker already has a proven career in directing commercials for international brands such as SodaStream, Mazda, Ford, Mitsubishi. He is also a writer, with 5 children’s books and an adult novel he penned so far. His mesmerizing short film, “Moon […]
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