Friday 7 November, 6.30pm
Screening of the short film
Majonezë written and directed by Giulia Grandinetti
Elyria is 16 years old and lives in the small Albanian village of Ersekë with her family. A traditional family of farmers that has never crossed the city borders and where the father’s word is the law. Elyria is responsible for the family’s flock of sheep and every day she takes them to the village lake for grazing. But no one knows that every time she leaves, she actually hides in an abandoned caravan to spend time with her true love: Goran, a Serbian boy with whom she wouldn’t even be allowed to speak. The day her father suspects a romantic relationship between her and the Serbian boy, he immediately decides to marry her off to an Albanian man and that she will have to leave the family house the next day. Faced with this horrible news, Elyria begins to feel that her internal repression, silenced for far too long, in turning into a will to rebel.
An Italian production by Lupin Film in collaboration with London Production Studios, Close Film and the City of Erseke. Distributed by Lightson.
Thanks to the win at the Oscar qualifying Brussels Film Festival, MAJONEZË is now screening in London – For your consideration – Best Live Action Short Film – directed by Giulia Grandinetti, produced by LUPIN FILM
In Albanian – Serbian with English subtitles
The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the director Giulia Grandinetti
Book your place HERE
Giulia Grandinetti is an Italian multidisciplinary artist. She discovered her first love, dance, at the age of three, yet even as a child she dreamed of becoming a director. In 2020, she made her directorial debut with the independent feature film Alice and the Land That Wonders. She then devoted herself to creating a trilogy of dystopian short films: Guinea Pig; Tria – On the Feeling of Betrayal (which had its world premiere in 2022 at the 79th Venice International Film Festival, Official Competition – Orizzonti Section); and Majonezë, currently on the international festival circuit and the recipient of numerous awards, including recognition at the Oscar-qualifying Brussels Film Festival. As a result, Majonezë is eligible for consideration at the 2026 Academy Awards. She is currently developing her first feature film, Jaune et Bleu, set in France. Grandinetti’s creative research is driven by a profound fascination with the human condition, the language of dystopia, and the exploration of taboos and dreamlike dimensions. The starting point for each of her works is a deep engagement with the body as a primary means of expression.