2. Food Fights

As in many cultures, mealtimes bring us together in Aotearoa. They are a time for sharing with our loved ones, but they can also be a source of tension, as these short films demonstrate. A fiery argument can start from something as simple as deciding where to eat out, or whose turn it is to buy cake decorations for the party.

Total length: 92 minutes
Rating: M Offensive language

Fun Factory

Drama, 12 mins, Norway

Dir/Writ: Lisa Brooke Hansen, Even Hafnor
Prod: Verona Meier

During a Saturday afternoon at a Norwegian play-land, a couple witnesses an argument between two mothers and the manager. The couple wonder if they should intervene, but the situation soon triggers underlying issues of their own.

Camera Obscura

Drama, 19 mins, France

Dir/Writ: Mary Noelle Dana, Sonia Sieff
Prod: Christophe Starkman
Special message from the filmmaker(s)

A feminist college student working in catering on a high-end fashion shoot is pressured into replacing the unsuitable model. The film captures a slice of this world of false glamour, and her distaste for it.

Canelones

Drama, 13 mins, Argentina

Dir/Writ/Prod: Nicolas Mayer
Writ/Prod: Diego Robaldo
Writ: Rocio Bilota
Prod: Manuel Tobar

Hernan and Chiri are teenagers making prank calls, and competing to see who can remain on the phone the longest. One call will lead them on an inner journey that will construct a bridge between childhood innocence and adulthood.

Foods For Coping

World Premiere

Drama, 12 mins, New Zealand

Dir/Writ/Prod: Zoey Zhao
Writ: Malinna Liang
Special message from the filmmaker(s)

Single mother Hui grapples with the fallout of discovering her 16-year-old daughter Yilin is pregnant. When Yilin refuses to terminate her pregnancy, Hui calls on help from the mother of Yilin’s boyfriend.

As You Like

World Premiere

Comedy, 11 mins, Israel

Dir/Writ/Prod: Maya Yadlin
Special message from the filmmaker(s)

A father, mother and their two daughters are at home doing their own thing when Dad makes a fun, spontaneous suggestion: to go to a restaurant together. Rather than bringing the family together, each step toward implementing the plan creates more and more complications and conflicts.

Hāngī Pants

World Premiere

Comedy, 13 mins, New Zealand

Dir/Writ: Jake Mokomoko
Writ/Prod: Claire Varley

A flamboyant display of karanga (Māori welcome) takes place during the tangi (funeral) of a man beloved by many, when a succession of ex-wives show up and seek to out-do each other.

A Piece of Cake

Drama, 12 mins, United States

Dir/Writ: The Bragg Brothers
Prod: Lana Link, RD Delgado, Rob Pfaltzgraff
Special message from the filmmaker(s)

When a desperate father discovers his daughter’s favorite cake decoration is illegal, he descends into a confectionery black market. Now he must make the ultimate parenting choice: break a birthday promise or break the law?