HARD:LINE Film Festival Announces Shorts Program [Exclusive]

If you love beautiful architecture, medieval vibes, and horror films, then boy, do we have a genre film festival for you! The HARD:LINE Film Festival, located in Regensburg, Germany, is back for its 11th edition with 13 features, 16 shorts, and a director’s spotlight. We’re excited to exclusively announce their shorts program, including the ten short films part of the esteemed Méliès D’Argent shorts competition.

The HARD:LINE Film Festival selects 16 short films from all over the world. Ten of the selected titles are competing for the Méliès D’Argent, the award for the best European fantastic short. Six films from outside Europe are chosen to represent the finest blend of the international genre circuit. These films will be presented in two blocks, both screening at 10:15 pm at the famous Ostentor Cinema.

Learn more about all of the shorts below!

HARD:LINE Film Festival Short Film Lineup

BANNKORB, dir. Vincent Ercolani, Julius Schulze

Méliès Competition

A man alone in a hut in the forest. He keeps bees, carves faces in baskets, and reads stories to a rabbit that serves as his food. A simple hermit who has found peace, you might think. But something strange seems to be going on in the woods. Who is the man? Is something after him? And will the trail of ropes lead us closer to solving the mystery?

BONES, dir. Ed Castañeda

International Highlight

A killer makes preparations: Crushed teeth become the perfect primer for the costume and the blood from the human organs makes for an extra vibrant red on the lips. Put on the wig and Mr. Bones is perfectly equipped for the next show… and the customers are already waiting outside the caravan door! What’s this guy up to, you ask? Well, we won’t tell you at this point. Let’s just say: John Wayne Gacy would be mighty proud of him!

BYE BEAR, dir. Jan Bitzer

Méliès Competition

A group of robots with animal heads meet in a hotel on a rainy night. It seems to be some kind of circle. They party hard, they tear the hotel room to pieces. And then the time has come: the big moment for the robot with the bear’s head has arrived… WTF? Guys, what director Jan Bitzer delivers here is hard to put into words and simply leaves you in awe. A mysterious, psychedelic cinematic monster of intangible beauty and ludicrous technical brilliance.

EL GRITO, dir. Álvaro de la Hoz

Méliès Competition

Something is very wrong with the smartly dressed woman in the cornfield. No sooner has she made her way out of the thicket than a fateful encounter with a farmer and his son takes its course. Something ominous controls the young woman’s body and wants to get out. It wants to escape through her lips. And it wants to find new victims.

FISHMONGER, dir. Neil Ferron

International Highlight

Things are not going well for the naïve fishmonger Christie. Because he is unmarried, his terminally ill mother is in danger of going straight to hell—as is the case in the sailor’s milieu. So he needs a wife, but which lady on the island would take pity on him? Perhaps suicide would be the best way out? There is still one solution: it lies in a bay at sea in the form of a mysterious creature. However, its methods turn out to be extremely questionable…

FLOATER, dir. D.M. Harring

Yes, that sucks, you could say: the father was just about to take a real dump, then moments later he falls off the toilet, dead as a doornail. What remains is a grieving family and a final legacy in the toilet bowl. The latter has drastic consequences for Philip, the traumatized son of the family, who has always considered himself a piece of shit because of his manipulative dad. He locks himself in the bathroom and a trip into madness takes its course.

GIRLS, dir. Julien Hosmalin

Méliès Competition

Fate has brought them together and nothing and nobody seems to be able to stop them: Romane and Ally speed off into the night on their motorcycle. And straight to their doom when they stop at a run-down petrol station. A tough fight for survival begins. A crazy revenge movie somewhere between HIGH TENSION and BAISE-MOI! with a furious camera, crazy stunts, and an extra dose of style!

IL CASO È CHIUSO, ANDATE IN PACE, dir. Simone Marino

Méliès Competition

A tough detective is on the trail of a dangerous new drug that is flooding the area. With a lot of nonchalance and a perfect wig, he gets closer and closer to the culprits, but doesn’t miss out on regularly attending church services. The only problem is that the local priest turns out to be not so innocent in the drug case… Simone Marino’s Poliziottesco parody is a successful 70s homage, with skillful sideswipes at the Catholic Church and a good dose of goofiness.

LA HORA DE LOS PÁJAROS, dir. Emiliano Umpierrez

International Highlight

A group of young people meet up on the street to go out. Valentina finally joins them again. She hasn’t left the house for a long time because she hasn’t been feeling well. When she steps out of the door again for the first time, she feels visibly uncomfortable. Something seems to be extremely worrying her. Nevertheless, the group sets off. Maybe it will be a nice evening. Or maybe something completely frightening will happen…

PESUDO, dir. Miquel Díaz Pont

Méliès Competition

Life does not mean well for Pesudo. He has been teased since childhood because of a facial deformity and had to cope with the death of his mother at an early age. He is also subjected to constant humiliation in his job as a janitor at a research institute for artificial intelligence. What he has left is music. And one day this leads to a strange and momentous encounter with a robot in this beautiful yet deeply sad gem of a movie.

ROQUE, dir. Banni Leclerc

Méliès Competition

Roque has achieved a lot in his life. He has worked hard on himself and has become the best swimmer in the world. But there is something that torments him day after day, even fills him with shame. He needs to see him again, the man who is responsible for this feeling in Roque. What will happen when he meets him again? Will he be able to forgive him? Or will the urge for retribution be stronger?

SEED, dir. Jacob Weldon

International Highlight

It’s on! Just a moment ago, the gang of girls are having a good drink and discussing the world of men, when Michelle lands a hit. Cute barman Zack doesn’t hesitate and serves up a Sex on the Beach as well as an invitation to a date. But be careful with guys these days. You never know if there’s a serial killer behind every potential dream man. It soon becomes clear that something is wrong with Zack too. A perverted killer? Oh no, far from it…

THE CROSSING OVER EXPRESS, dir. Luke Barnett

International Highlight

Hank gets ready. He has the money with him, he just has to fill out the form with Eddie. Then everything is ready for his appointment with Dr. Gale Gustberg, a very peculiar woman who plies her “trade” in a white truck and solves crossword puzzles in her very own way. A few final instructions and off we go for the thoroughly skeptical Hank. He gets two minutes… Two minutes that will change his life forever.

THE LURE, dir. Tony Hipwell

Méliès Competition

A short movie about fishing. Or: Eat and be eaten. Sorry, that’s all we can say about these highly amusing and extremely concise 90 seconds. In what is probably the shortest short film in the history of the festival, director Tony Hipwell takes the audience on a little trip to the lake that turns out quite differently than you might expect. The whole thing is pretty fishy. But just see for yourself!

THE TUNNEL, dir. Brendan Cleaves

Méliès Competition

Film student Jay is currently planning his graduation film, which follows a simple premise: he films himself and his friends, who are hiding something from him, on a boat trip. He wants the truth to come out and the camera to capture it all. The trip leads the group into a tunnel shrouded in mystery, from which there is suddenly no escape and where things are clearly not right. And it soon becomes clear that anyone who speaks the untruth will feel the tunnel’s fury.

TO THE MARROW, dir. Van Poynto

Méliès Competition

An ominous full moon night turns into a nightmare for a mother and her young daughter. Someone has gained access to the house and is relentlessly hunting down its inhabitants. He knows they are here somewhere. He knows he will find them. Will mother and daughter be able to find a way out?

HARD:LINE Film Festival runs from April 11, 2024, to April 14, 2024. Learn more on their website.

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