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Some Kind of Intimacy

Some Kind of Intimacy

(UK, 2021)
5 minutes 43 seconds
2K, 1.85:1

Logline
I try to communicate communicate with the sheep living where my parents are buried.

Synopsis
In the British countryside, director Toby Bull observes the sheep that live on the land where his parents were buried several years ago. Talking to his brother on the phone, they start a conversation about the means of communication between the animal kingdom, that of the living and that of the dead. An original perspective on bereavement, tackled with humour and tenderness. [Visions du Réel Catalogue]

How to Watch
Broadcast on POV. Streaming on Tënk and True Story.

Awards
Vimeo Staff Pick
Best Documentary Short | 63rd ZINEBI Bilbao International Festival of Documentary and Short Films, Spain
Young Canvas Best International Short Film Award | 5th Black Canvas Contemporary FF, Mexico
Zapis Best Film Award | Open Spaces Rudnik Festival of Innovative Cinema, Serbia
Distribution Award | ForadCamp Cinema and Nature Festival, Spain
Special Mention |" Berlin Revolution Film Festival, Germany
Grand Prix Documentary Short Special Mention | 66th Cork International Film Festival, Ireland
Best International Short Special Mention | 28th Palm Springs Shortsfest, U.S.A.

Screenings

Visions du Réel, Sundance London, Viennale, IndieLisboa, MoMI First Look, RIDM, DokuFest, BFI London FF, Festival Premiers Plans d'Angers, 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, Cork IFF, Rooftop Films Summer Series, Short Waves Festival, Flickers’ Rhode Island IFF, Pärnu FF, Black Canvas FCC, EXiS Experimental Film and Video Festival (South Korea), Tirana FF, ZINEBI Bilbao International Festival of Documentary and Short Film, 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), Filmski Festival Herceg Novi Montenegro FF, High Coast IFF (Sweden), Braziers IFF, This is England (France), Seoul Animal Film Festival (South Korea), Nectar from Another Planet (Poland), Mur Murs at 2220 Arts + Archives LA (USA), Berlin Revolution FF (Germany), Kyiv ISFF (Ukraine), MikroFAF (Serbia).

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.’”
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.”
Cork IFF Special Mention for Grand Prix Documentary Short Jury Note: “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.”
ZINEBI Mikeldi Award for Best Documentary Short Jury Note: “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.”
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.”
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.’”
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.”
—Berlin Revolution Jury Note: “A Special Mention goes out to a film where every breath, every word and everything else is as precisely as it can be. Approaching the topic of loss through sheep on a cemetery opens up a wonderful wonderous space in our heads which leaves a smile on our faces while thinking about our loved ones.”

Credits
Director & Camera | Toby Bull
Producers | Isidore Bethel & Toby Bull
Editor | Isidore Bethel
Sound Designer | Guy Chase
Graphic Designers | Joel + Charlotte
Colourist | Matt Turner at Absolute Post