T-Port Blog

Preserving Fofo’s Voice: A Claims Conference Finalist on Memory, Trust, and Block 10

By: T-Port Team
11-05-2025
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
In this interview, Alison reflects on her experience pitching the project for the Claims Conference Emerging Filmmaker Contest, the rare access she was granted to film inside Auschwitz’s infamous Block 10, and the emotional challenges of bringing Fofo’s story to life. She also shares candid advice for fellow filmmakers and her thoughts on the future […]
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Lighthouse Selections 2025: ‘How much can love really save anyone?’ Talking to Jason Adam Maselle, director of PUNTER

By: T-Port Team
02-05-2025
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
Jason Adam Maselle (he/him) directed his Lighthouse Selected short film PUNTER, a film that began as an exploration of his dad’s gambling addiction, but ended up as an exploration of his country, South Africa.   We chatted to the filmmaker, whose work appears on T-Port courtesy of our partners at Salaud Morisset, about the filmmaking landscape […]
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Lighthouse Selections 2025: Exploring the ‘suspense-comedy’ genre with William Sehested Høeg director of THE COMPLAINT

By: T-Port Team
17-04-2025
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
In William Sehested Høeg’s workplace tragi-comedy THE COMPLAINT, his protagonist Mona learns of a complaint made about her to HR while attending a management training course.  We chatted with the Danish filmmaker about his process as well as finding the balance between comedy and pain. THE COMPLAINT was picked as part of the 2025 T-Port […]
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Producer Pim van Gorp: Empowering Emerging Talent through Short Films

By: T-Port Team
07-04-2025
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
Pim van Gorp is a producer for Fabel Films, whose recent works SHELTER and CRESCENDO appear on T-Port courtesy of our partners at Screen Talent Netherlands.  In this insightful interview, we sit down with Pim, a seasoned producer with over 15 years of experience in the industry. From his beginnings in commercial production to his […]
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Lighthouse Selections 2025: Doron Neeman on taking guidance from past masters

By: T-Port Team
04-04-2025
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
Doron Neeman is still in the early part of his career and is still studying at film school – this hasn’t stopped the student film that he directed being picked up by Guest curator Kasia Karwan as part of the T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2025.  We chatted to the actor-turned-filmmaker about creating harmony in life as […]
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Lighthouse Selections 2025: Fabrizio Fusco on his first major short film, ‘angels’ in the casting room, and the many roadblocks to distribution

By: T-Port Team
27-03-2025
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
Fabrizio Fusco’s short film THE SKY IS LOST /  Il cielo è perso caught the eye of our guest curator Jukka-Pekka Laakso, and made it into his contribution to the 2025 T-Port Lighthouse Selections.  In this interview, we find out the inspiration behind his film including the joys of a writing partnership, “angels” in the […]
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Screen Talent NL’s Guido Franken on finding ‘talents and stories that matter’ in underrepresented places

By: T-Port Team
21-03-2025
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
Founder and Chair of Screen Talent Netherlands, Guido Franken has been busy setting up a network of film industry training and linking organisations across the country in order to bring a new generation of Dutch filmmakers to the forefront. We chatted to him to find out more about how his organisation is helping upcoming filmmakers […]
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Reza Rasouli on getting it right the second time around

By: T-Port Team
12-03-2025
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
Reza Rasouli’s film NIGHT OF PASSAGE tells the story of three Iranian refugees escaping into Austria, and it won the Audience Award at this year’s Max Öphuls Prize as well as Best Short Film at the Trieste Film Festival. We chatted to the filmmaker, who is currently studying at Filmakademie Wien about how he recovered […]
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Camera as a witness: an interview with Jordie Koko, director of WHERE DO I BELONG

By: T-Port Team
21-02-2025
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
We caught up with the Brussels-based filmmaker Jordie Koko, whose latest film: WHERE DO I BELONG? is on T-Port courtesy of our partners at Wallonie Bruxelles Images.  We talked about the highly personal nature of the film, her studies at the Haute Ecole Libre de Bruxelles – HELB, and her experiences of working in film […]
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Getting connected in Clermont – Filmmakers on their experience of the Talent Connexion

By: T-Port Team
14-02-2025
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
Earlier this month we sent a delegation of filmmakers to the prestigious short film festival in Clermont-Ferrand. The mission –  to take part in the annual Clermont Talents Connexion, a programme designed to help up and coming filmmakers find information, inspiration, and industry connections.  We’ve been part of the programme for several years now and […]
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Crows and snow in felted wool – In conversation with Rebecca Blöcher of ‘Mama Micra’

By: T-Port Team
07-02-2025
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
  Rebecca Blöcher and Frédéric Schuld collaborated on the short animation MAMA MICRA, an emotional tale based on true events from Rebecca’s mother’s life. The moving stop-motion animation, told through figures crafted in wool and other materials, has already gained awards and a special mention at film festivals. In this in-depth interview, T-Port’s Jess Sweetman […]
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Betina Kuntzsch on the nuances missed from history books and a 30-year career of video drawing

By: T-Port Team
30-01-2025
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
Betina Kuntzsch, an artist and filmmaker, has spent over three decades pushing the boundaries of animated documentary film, blending personal history, archival footage, and striking visuals. Her latest work, SKY LIKE SILK, FULL OF ORANGES, which appears on T-Port Courtesy of our partners at AG Kurzfilm, delves into the reality of a place that had […]
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Exploring the Complexities of Childhood Fantasy and Self-Identity in ‘Ever After’: A Conversation with Helen Hideko and Clara Maria Bacher

By: T-Port Team
24-01-2025
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
In this insightful conversation, director Helen Hideko and producer Clara Maria Bacher discuss their creative journey behind EVER AFTER, a film that blends personal experience with universal themes of otherness, identity, and fantasy.  “Ever After” appears on T-Port courtesy of our partners at Filmakademie Wien, is inspired by a twist on “The Little Mermaid,” and […]
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Max Öphuls Preis’ Louise Lindlar, on international collaboration and providing visibility for ‘inspiring talents’

By: T-Port Team
20-01-2025
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
We caught up with the Head of Industry from the German-speaking film prize about how they support and champion upcoming filmmakers, as well as what to expect from the 2025 edition of the festival, which starts today (Jan 20th.) Hi Louise! Why – in your opinion – are short films important? We need short films […]
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Behind the ‘long and exhausting’ process to making Jennifer Drake’s GOD IS GREY

By: T-Port Team
17-01-2025
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
Ghanaian filmmaker Jennifer Drake moved to Munich for film school where she worked as a producer before directing her first short GOD IS GREY. The short, which explores the taboos around sexuality in her home and adopted countries, had its world premiere at LA Shorts Fest, European premiere at the British Urban Film Festival, and […]
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Szymon Ruczynski on his ‘deliberately imperfect’ and deeply powerful animation

By: T-Port Team
14-01-2025
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
Szymon Ruczyński’s animated film THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THE FOREST has seen its share of festival success around the world, and made the T-Port Lighthouse Selections in 2023. But as the film has travelled, the humanitarian crisis it depicts continues on the border between Belarus and Poland.  We chatted to the animator about what compelled […]
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It started with a CAPTCHA – Victoria Warmerdam on the highs and lows of making her OSCAR® shortlisted short

By: T-Port Team
06-01-2025
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
Victoria Warmerdam’s short comedy-drama I’M NOT A ROBOT has gained accolades and awards across the festival circuit from Sitges to Cannes. But perhaps the pinnacle is yet to come, as the Dutch film has been shortlisted for the ACADEMY AWARD® for Best Live Action Short Film.  We caught up with the filmmaker for an inspirational […]
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The simple, complicated ideas of Michal Toczek

By: T-Port Team
17-12-2024
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
Filmmaker Michal Toczek has been busy – four of his films currently appear on T-Port, each with intersecting themes and ideas, and two featuring the same well known Polish comic actor – Sebastian Stankiewicz – in dramatic roles.  In this interview, we chat to Toczek, whose work appears on T-Port courtesy of our partners at […]
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Ieva Šakalytė on the joys of pitching and letting go

By: T-Port Team
05-12-2024
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
Baltic Pitching Forum alumna Ieva Šakalytė (she/her) was gracious enough to share two of her short films BECOMING ANIMAL (2018) and SPA (2024) with us, so we caught up with the Lithuanian filmmaker to chat about  the production process, the benefits of pitching, and going with the flow.  Hi Ieva, could you introduce yourself in […]
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From a Lighthouse Selection to an awards run, catch up with Gleb Osatinski

By: T-Port Team
18-11-2024
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The Interviews – Hoda Taheri on confidence, communication, and the future

By: T-Port Team
15-08-2024
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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 on identity, exploration through film, and a delicate approach to working with his subjects

By: T-Port Team
09-08-2024
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Awards, Documentary, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
  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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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The Interviews – Boris Hadzija on making sense from the ‘cacophony of voices’

By: T-Port Team
06-08-2024
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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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Giving voice (and rebellion) to the caregivers: EFP’s Future Frames’ Anna Maria Joakimsdottir-Hutri, director of WHO STANDS UP FOR ALVAR?

By: T-Port Team
18-07-2024
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Awards, Documentary, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
  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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Familial love amid medical trauma, an interview with EFP’s Future Frames’ Marthe Peters

By: T-Port Team
18-07-2024
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Awards, Documentary, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The Interviews – Ido Weisman on seizing the moment and going against the grain

By: T-Port Team
12-07-2024
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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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2023 Claims Conference Contest winner Dara Bratt on fast filming and commemorative tattoos

By: T-Port Team
19-06-2024
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Awards, Drama, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
  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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Pride Month: Katie Bignell’s top LGBTQIA Film Festivals

By: T-Port Team
12-06-2024
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Awards, Drama, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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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2022 Claims Conference Grant Winner Robert Moniot on the magic of last-minute inspiration

By: T-Port Team
11-06-2024
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Awards, Drama, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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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2021 Claims Conference Grant winner Sabina Vajrača on trusting the universe and stirring deep conversations

By: T-Port Team
04-06-2024
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Awards, Drama, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The Interviews – Found footage from a distant place in Eugenia Bakurin’s ‘Long Time No Techno’

By: T-Port Team
31-05-2024
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The (VIDEO) Interviews – Yi Xiong and the fortune telling turtles

By: T-Port Team
01-05-2024
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The Interviews – The ‘Strange and Exciting’ Life of Alex Lawther

By: T-Port Team
10-04-2024
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The Interviews – Janina Lutter on standing up through (and beyond) film

By: T-Port Team
26-03-2024
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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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This International Women’s Day – Emerging Female Filmmakers Share Their Views on the Current State of the Film Industry

By: T-Port Team
07-03-2024
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The Interviews – Camille Tricaud – Portrait of a film lover creating for a better future

By: T-Port Team
21-02-2024
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The Interviews – Poetry of the pragmatic with Maximilian Bungarten

By: T-Port Team
19-01-2024
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The Interviews – Follow and the miracles will come – a chat with Anat Eisenberg

By: T-Port Team
12-01-2024
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The Interviews – Dascha Petuchow on immigrant identities, ‘family ties, and their underlying humanity’

By: T-Port Team
04-01-2024
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The Interviews – A breath of fresh air with Gunnur Martinsdóttir Schlüter

By: T-Port Team
22-12-2023
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The Interviews – Filmmaker Stanley Xu on a childhood memory laid to rest

By: T-Port Team
14-12-2023
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The Interviews – Documentarian Zohar Orian Cohen on her ‘need of justice and aspiration for truth’

By: T-Port Team
07-12-2023
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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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On networking, screenwriting, and becoming: In Conversation with Screen Talent Europe’s President, Marion Bouvier

By: T-Port Team
05-05-2023
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Film Industry Insight, Professional, Screen Talent Europe
Marion Bouvier is the President of Screen Talent Europe, a network of film workshops and media centres around Europe whose goal is to help filmmakers exchange knowledge, experiences and methods through talent camps, network meetings and co-productions. We caught up with her to find out more about how STE work with upcoming filmmakers to help […]
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A film made with friends, for friends: Lili Zahavi’s ME MYSELF ANDI

By: T-Port Team
12-04-2023
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Awards, Documentary, Drama, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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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The girl can pack a punch: director Lina Drevs on scrappy sisters and filming during COVID

By: T-Port Team
07-04-2023
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Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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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Puppetry that brings happiness : Jonatan Schwenk on the origins of his “delicious looking” creatures – Lighthouse Selections 2022

By: T-Port Team
30-03-2023
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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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Exploring ‘Addiction, mental health, and the creative process’ with award-winning animator Joseph Pierce – Lighthouse Selections 2022

By: T-Port Team
24-03-2023
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animation, Awards, Fiction, Filmmakers, Independent
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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