Uncertain Futures II
Ajyal Competition - Ajyal Film Festival 2021
/ United States of America, Palestine, Egypt, France, Turkey, Lebanon, Belgium, Switzerland, Brazil, Qatar / 2021 / 110 min / Colour / DCP / In Multiple / Arabic, English subtitles
Themes:
Rated: 
Mature subject matter. Not suitable for minors. Individuals under the age of 18 are not admitted into cinemas.
Description
It’s certainly been an unpredictable couple of years for the world. But as the old adage goes, when nothing is sure—everything is possible. This thought-provoking programme of shorts illustrates that at the beginning of some of life’s most meaningful journeys, lies uncertainty...
BJ's Mobile Gift Shop
BJ, a young Korean-American hustler, tirelessly runs throughout the city of Chicago making hard-earned sales out of his infinitely convenient “mobile gift shop”.
Director: Jason Park
USA / English, Korean / 2020 / 16 mins
When Light is Displaced
A soon to be removed orange grove in Los Angeles inspires contemplation on the politics of storytelling in the multi-generational experience of Palestine in exile.
Director: Zaina Bseiso
Palestine, USA / Arabic / 2021 / 6 mins
Khadiga
A teenage mother is left to raise her child alone when her husband moves away to find work in another city.
Director: Morad Mostafa
Egypt, France / Arabic / 2021 / 20 mins
I Gotta Look Good for the Apocalypse
A mixed media animation about the Covid-19 lockdown, and its effect on relationships and increasingly digitised lives.
Director: Ayce Kartal
France, Turkey / English, Spanish / 2021 / 6 mins
Trumpets in the Sky
Boushra, one of the Syrian potato-picking girls in Lebanon, returns from a long day in the field only to learn that today—her childhood will come to an end.
Director: Rakan Mayasi
Palestine, Lebanon, France, Belgium / No dialogue / 2021 / 15 mins
Peel
The daily routine of a retirement home unfolds as time seems to stand still—the pencilled residents come to life on paper.
Directors: Samuel Patthey, Silvain Monney
Switzerland / No dialogue / 2020 / 15 mins
Neon Phantom
Joao works in the gig economy as a delivery driver. He dreams about buying a motorcycle and transforming his life into a musical, but his reality is far harsher.
Director: Leonardo Martinelli
Brazil / Portuguese / 2021 / 20 mins
When Beirut was Beirut
If these buildings could talk, what would they say? In this animated documentary, three of Beirut’s monumental buildings come to life and share their stories of Beirut’s unsettling history.
Director: Alessandra El Chanti
Qatar, Lebanon, USA / Arabic / 2021 / 12 mins