The NCCR LIVES sponsors the "Haut & Court" short film competition
The UNIL-EPFL film clubs are organizing a competition of short subjects, with several prizes to be won. Two 600-franc awards will go to works produced on the theme "Bifurcations". They will be given out by the management of LIVES, a research center specialized in interdisciplinary study of life course, during the "Fécule" Festival on May 7, 2014.
The spring 2014 semester will have a cinematic focus at the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES – Overcoming vulnerability: Life course perspectives (NCCR LIVES). Largely based at the University of Lausanne, this research center has joined forces with the UNIL-EPFL film clubs to offer a season of screenings devoted to life course, an inexhaustible theme in cinema. As a bonus, the partnership will extend with the annual short film competition "Haut & Court", organized by the same film clubs, as part of the "Fécule" festival of university cultures.
"Bifurcations"
The theme of the official competition is "Bifurcations", a very prevalent concept in the study of life course. It indicates those moments when a person's life changes direction due to a foreseen or unforeseen event. These forks in the road of life may appear in a family or professional setting. They can also be associated with migration or health, all of which are aspects of life of particular interest in the NCCR LIVES.
The deadline for submitting projects (short films of no more than 6 minutes) is April 18, 2014. A jury made up of film professionals and LIVES representatives will select two prizewinners, who will receive a check for 600 Swiss francs on the evening the submissions are screened, May 7 at Grange de Dorigny as part of the Fécule Festival. Another prize of 300 francs will be awarded for a third work in the "Free Subjects" category. Several in-kind prizes are also planned.
A season about life course
The series on life course will start on Wednesday, February 26, 2014, at the Le Capitole cinema in Lausanne, with a screening of Mr. Nobody by Jaco Van Dormael (2010), a science fiction movie tracing the life of a 118-year-old man who finds himself to be the last human on Earth. This kick-off – at a legendary theater in the city center – is organized by the UNIL-EPFL film clubs in collaboration with the Swiss National Film Archives. The theme of this series on life course will be introduced by Prof. Laura Bernardi, deputy director of the NCCR LIVES.
Subsequent screenings will be held every Wednesday from March 5 to May 28, alternating between EPFL and UNIL. The full program is in production and will be distributed soon. Researchers from the NCCR LIVES will be present at several of these evenings to show the link between the films and the research, and to discuss with the audience. Admission to all the events is free.