Some Kind of Intimacy - 2021

A filmmaker tries to communicate with sheep living where his parents are buried.

– edited and produced by Isidore Bethel / directed and produced by Toby Bull

– Visions du Réel, Sundance FF: London, Viennale, IndieLisboa, First Look (Museum of the Moving Image), RIDM, DokuFest, BFI London FF (Network), Angers European First FF, Atlanta FF, Ashland Independent FF, FIPADOC, Palm Springs International Shortsfest, Reykjavík IFF, Hamptons IFF, Tacoma FF, Indie Memphis, London Short FF, Dharamshala IFF, Leeds IFF, Rooftop Films Summer Series, Short Waves Festival, Flickers’ Rhode Island IFF, Pärnu FF, EXiS Experimental Film and Video Festival (South Korea), Tirana FF, Aesthetica Short FF, Festifreak La Plata International Independent FF, Kassel Dokfest, Curta Cinema Rio de Janeiro International Short FF, Swiss Air’s Flying FF, İzmir International Short FF, British Shorts FF, In the Palace International Short FF (Bulgaria), Vilnius IFF (Kino Pavasaris), Filmfest Dresden, Dokfilm Norwegian Documentary FF, Short Waves Short Film Club (Poznan and Krakow), FEST – New Directors | New Films Festival, Open Spaces Rudnik Festival of Innovative Cinema (Serbia), ForadCamp Cinema and Nature Exhibition (Spain), Montenegro FF, High Coast IFF (Sweden), This is England Short FF (France), Seoul Animal Film Festival (South Korea), Nectar from Another Planet (Poland), Mur Murs at 2220 Arts + Archives, IFF AgroFilm (Italy), MikroFAF (Serbia)

– Vimeo Staff Pick, Best Documentary Short at Zinebi Bilbao International Festival of Documentary and Short Films, Young Canvas Best International Short Film Award at Black Canvas Contemporary FF, Zapis Best Film Award at Open Spaces Rudnik Festival of Innovative Cinema, ForadCamp Distribution Award, Special Mention for Best International Short at the Palm Springs International Shortfest, Special Mention at Cork IFF, Special Mention at Berlin Revolution FF

– broadcast on POV, streaming on Tënk and True Story

– 6 minutes

PRESS:
– Screen Anarchy: “Toby Bull achieves some kind of intimacy or the fraternity of orphanhood in less than six minutes with his wonderful short film ‘Some Kind of Intimacy.’”
– Aeon: “An original and poignant meditation on loss.”
– ForReel Movies: “At less than 6 minutes long, director Toby Bull’s ‘Some Kind of Intimacy’ packs a potent dose of emotional value into a short runtime.”
– FilmExplorer: “This minimalist film is huge, for it seizes a just intuition, a sort of vision.”
– The Reel Therapist: “Along with offscreen dialogue, the images spark a fascinating cinematic experience that plays out in your head.”
– Magazine.HD: “The notion that these animals are treading on the dead in some kind of frightening cosmic imbalance creates a strange sensation for viewers.”
– FirstShowing: “The short film isn’t even 6 minutes, but it gets you to think about things (life, death, souls, baaa?).”
– a The Alternative recommendation
– Bilbao IFDSF Jury Statement: “A film with a wonderfully precise grasp of what to show and what not to show, what should be heard and what shouldn’t: brown leaves on wet grass, two horns colliding, the need for time away, the date of birth on a gravestone. Life and death are as inscrutable as animal and human.”
– Cork IFF Jury Special Mention: “We have decided to give a special mention to point out a lovely example of simple, subtle, and even humorous interpretation of something as big and serious as the matter of life and death.”
– Open Spaces Jury Statement: “For a touching miniature that morphs physical spaces into metaphorical ones, offering layers of meaning to otherwise quiet and overlooked places, as well as for its humorous yet raw contemplation about dealing with loss, the jury awards the main festival prize ‘Zapis’ to the film ‘Some Kind of Intimacy.’”
– ForadCamp Jury Statement: “An honest portrait in which the director, with subtle brushstrokes, depicts the relationship between human beings and nature, between life and death.”
– Berlin Revolution FF Jury Statement: “A Special Mention goes out to a film where every breath, every word, and everything else is as precise as it can be. Approaching the topic of loss through sheep in a cemetery opens up a wonderful, wondrous space in our heads, which leaves a smile on our faces while thinking about our loved ones.”
– Start’in Blog interview with Toby Bull: “I found myself face to face with a cow, standing next to the cemetery. The animal was staring at me, and that’s when I started to wonder if cows were aware of their surroundings, if they’d experienced the pain of losing a loved one, if they’d felt emotional attachment. I’d originally wanted to make a film about the life cycle of a cow, but when I came back, that cow was gone. Only the sheep were still around.”