Film School: Top Four Short Films
The kykNET Silwerskerm Festival offers a platform for emerging talent and recognises the significant role that academic institutions play in training and inspiring young filmmakers. After many years, a category especially for student films returns to the festival. The top film schools from across the country were approached to submit their films for selection, and only the cream of the crop is screened at the festival. Fresh talent. Fearless stories. This is where it all starts.
Dogman
FILM SCHOOL: Open Window
GENRE: Comedy
DIRECTOR: Mikail Olivier
PRODUCER: Robin Bernard, Mikail Olivier
PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Aliyah Bennett
WRITER: Mikail Olivier
EDITOR: Mikail Olivier
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Shaniel Jasmath
SOUND DESIGN: Brynne van Zyl
CAST: Andreas Damm, Zoë Beetge, Jordan Human, Lizelle Lindeque
AGE RESTRICTION: 16VL
Cadence surprises his girlfriend, Ash, with Ziggy – a fully grown man in a suit who behaves exactly like a pet dog. At first, it's played for laughs. Cadence feeds him treats, teaches him tricks, and Ash bonds with him as if he were a real puppy. But underneath the absurdity, deeper tensions begin to surface. Ash starts to confide in Ziggy, exposing her insecurities and the imbalance in her relationship with Cadence. As Cadence's control over Ziggy grows more aggressive and performative, Ash begins treating Ziggy less like a dog and more like a confidant, or even a tool for revenge. Ziggy, stuck in this twisted domestic role, starts to crack. Eventually, Ziggy reclaims his humanity in the most primal way possible, forcing Cadence, once the puppet master, to sit and obey.
Laika Goes Home
FILM SCHOOL: The Animation School
GENRE: Drama
DIRECTOR: Can Richards
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Can Richards
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR: Jayme Wakeford
PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Sanaa Ally
ANIMATION: Wakeford, Can Richards
MOTION GRAPHICS COMPOSITOR: Can Richards, Sanaa Ally
VISUAL EFFECTS: Sanaa Ally
EDITOR: Can Richards
FILM TEAM: Can Richards, Jayme Wakeford, Sanaa Ally, Alexa Wium, Josh Borton, Chloé van Wyk, Sinalo Nyikana, Lexi Martin, Ryan Maggott, Reuben Semple
AGE RESTRICTION: PG
Captain Talia Valentine is an ambitious young space traveller who encounters setbacks on her journey back to Earth and makes an emergency landing on a desolate asteroid....
