More than half of the films at the San Jose International Short Film Festival come from outside the United States, and our World Cinema programs are some of the most rewarding screenings of the weekend. Here are four international shorts from recent SJSFF lineups, from Turkey, Israel, North Macedonia and Iceland. Each one has an official trailer you can watch right now, and they’re all worth tracking down in full.
The Criminals
Directed by Serhat Karaaslan · Best of Show, 2021
Late at night in a small Turkish town, a young couple tries to find a hotel room to spend the night together, and every hotel turns them away because they don’t have a marriage certificate. When they think they’ve found a way around the rules, things quickly get out of hand. This tense, beautifully shot drama premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and took home our Best of Show award in 2021.
Stills from The Criminals.
White Eye
Written and directed by Tomer Shushan · Best of Show, 2020
A man finds his stolen bicycle, but it now belongs to a stranger, and in trying to get it back he struggles to hold on to his humanity. Tomer Shushan’s gripping Israeli short won the Best Narrative Short Jury Award at SXSW and was our Best of Show winner at the 2020 Home Edition.
Stills from White Eye.
Sticker
Written and directed by Georgi M. Unkovski · Best World Cinema, 2020
Dejan, a young father, just wants to make it to his daughter’s school play on time. Unfortunately, the entire Macedonian bureaucracy seems to have other plans. Georgi M. Unkovski’s darkly funny short from North Macedonia premiered at Sundance and won our Best World Cinema award in 2020.
Stills from Sticker.
Fár
Directed by Gunnur Martinsdóttir Schlüter · SJSFF 2023
A bird hits the window of a café and disrupts the customers inside, and one woman has to decide whether to ignore it or react. This striking five-minute Icelandic short premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and screened in our World Cinema One program this October.
Stills from Fár.
See the World on the Big Screen
Our World Cinema programs return every October at CineArts at Santana Row. Until then, browse every year’s winners and lineups on our Awards page, or watch five documentary shorts from past festivals.
