EuroAsia Shorts 2015

A selection of short films from Europe, Asia, and the United States will be screened at embassies and cultural centers throughout Washington, D.C.

Now in its tenth year, EAS began as the Asian European Short Film Showcase and remains an original collaboration between a small group of Washington, D.C. embassies and cultural center staff. The festival has presented more than 200 short films since it began in 2006, including many award-winning shorts making their U.S. debut. Each year presents a broad variety of films and styles connected by a single theme, with post-film discussions each night, offering an international cinematic dialogue that is uniquely Washingtonian.

The theme for EuroAsia Shorts 2015 is Food for Thought, comparing and contrasting cross-cultural views of food, food culture, sustainability, ecology, and even the human hunger for knowledge, companionship, or spirituality. This year’s EAS strives to ask the world a simple, powerful question: How do you feed your body and soul?

Spanish films at EAS 2015:

Thursday, June 4 at 6:30 pm: Spain & Korea

Nerua, a Journey to the Essence (Nerua, un viaje a la esencia)

• Spain, 2013, 18 minutes. Directed by Iván Miñambres. Produced by IXO producciones and Uniko Estudio Creativo.
• In Spanish with English subtitles.
• View trailer.

A documentary explaining the roots and details of the project of the chef of the Nerua restaurant at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Josean Alija, a proposal that stretches beyond gastronomy. A tour showing his take on gastronomy, the produce, the setting, his creative processes, etc. In a nutshell, how the passionate mission to ensure that people enjoy what they eat is lived and worked at the Nerua.

I am Sheperd (Som pastor)

• Spain, 2013, 8 minutes. Directed by Borja Zausen.
• In Catalan with English subtitles.

Miguel is 11 years old and lives in Ses Olleries, just outside the little village of Santa Eugenia, in the middle of the Mediterranean island of Mallorca. One day, when he was just four, Miguel asked his parents if they let him have a hen. And they did. Then came rabbits, parakeets, sheeps… Now, he gets up every morning and before going to school, takes care of them all. He is the President of the Association of Peasant Children “… with my friends, we work the land a little. The objective is to hang out. We are children.” And that’s what he does. Consciously enjoying his childhood, knowing it is a very important step to become the committed adult he dreams to be. A contemporary winner. A local, simple hero. This is the story of a boy who thinks like a wise and experienced man.

Discussants:

• Xavier Ruiz, Cultural Manager, Spain-USA Foundation.
• Kyoung-Ah Nam, Intercultural Communication Specialist & Assistant Professor, School of International Service, ameircan university.
• RSVP. Korean reception provided after the discussion.

Friday, June 5 at 6:30 pm: All Countries & USA

Taba, the Game on the Table (Taba, el juego en la mesa)

• Spain, 2013, 9 minutes. Directed by Pep Gatell and Eloi Colom. Produced by IXO producciones – Mugaritz. Distributed by Banatu Filmak.
• In Spanish with English subtitles.
• View trailer. RSVP.

Four centuries ago, Yi Sam Pyeong discovered the kaolin deposits (china clay) that lead to the first artisan workshops in the Japanese town of Arita. 350 years later, within the restaurant experience Mugaritz developed a culinary performance where the game became one of the main fact of its creations, and “taba” represents its material form. Andoni Luis Aduriz, who has always been characterized by his sense of excellence, finds in the handmade tradition the biggest qualification to develop this unique piece.

Could ingenuity define the rules of the table? Could this game be an excuse for recovering the mother of European porcelain? La Fura dels Baus lays out its visual language with an eternal debate: “Do not play with/without your food.”

Brief discussions following each evening’s screenings will compare and contrast the films and the topics with several panelists.