2023 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

Program’s note: A celebration of the beautiful bond called love and honoring the legacy of the departed.

LOVE BUBBLES | [d][w] Marcel Hobi / Switzerland / 2023 / Animation / 07:34 // Floating on a pink cloud as a couple is easy. It is more difficult to cope with everyday life and the future together. // [ig] @looping_animations // Awards/Screenings: 14th The International Animation Film Festival (IAFF) Golden Kuker – Sofia, Bulgaria, Official Selection | 4th Rabat-Comedy International Film Festival, Morocco, Official Selection

LITTLE LOVE | [d][w] Aizhan Kassymbek / Kazakhstan / 2022 / Fiction / 17:57 // Kamila escaped to a quiet place with her friend Raushan. There she hopes to find a little love that she desperately needs. // [ig] @banuwadreamer // Awards/Screenings: World Premiere – 63rd Zlín International Film Festival | International Premiere – Short Shorts Film Festival

AKHIRNYA (By and By) | [d][w] Adi Dwianto / Indonesia / 2023 / Fiction / 15:30 // In a remote village, a couple’s tragic loss drives them apart, but a chance reunion forces them to confront their grief.

WHERE TIME STOOD STILL | [d][w] Mary Grace Liew / MALAYSIA / 2022 / Fiction / 15:15 // A girl reminiscences the conversations and past memories by listening to a vinyl left behind by her dead lover. // [ig] @marygraceliew | @foregroundpictures // Awards/Screenings: 5th Malaysia International Film Festival, Born of the Galaxy Start Short Film Competition – Best Short Film | Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia – Smartphone Film Competition supported by Sony’s Xperia

THE BEYOND (L’Au-delà) | [d][w] Daniel Maurer / Switzerland / 2021 / Documentary / 09:42 // 2nd wave of Covid significantly increased mortality. What does this mean for Mathieu, working in the morgue of a hospital? // Awards/Screenings: 2021 SCAD Savannah Film Festival USA Award « Best Global Short: Tales from the Pandemic »

Program’s note: Young people find their true self and find solace in the midst of life challenges.

LA RUSE (The Ruse) | [d] Johanne Prégent / [w] Katherine Dupont / Canada / 2023 / Fiction / 10:45 // When two bullied teenagers find themselves stuck together in a bathroom, they have to think quickly to elaborate a plan.

PIECE BY PIECE (Stück für Stück) | [d][w] Reza Rasouli / Austria / 2023 / Fiction / 08:58 // Two teenage friends want to pass the time together, but piece by piece new perspectives are revealed.

TULA | [d][w] Bea De Silva / Spain / 2022 / Fiction / 12:28 // Tula is the cleaning lady at a private school for girls. The headteacher’s daughter is going to tell Tula her secret. // [ig] @tulashortfilm, @agenciafreak // Awards/Screenings: 35º Semana de Medina del Campo. Spain | 26º Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival, USA.

MEMOIR OF A VEERING STORM // [d][w] Sofia Georgovassili / Greece / 2022 / Fiction / 14:00 // Anna, a fifteen-year-old girl sneaks out of school. She has to face an event that will jolt her into adulthood. // [ig] @sofiageorgovassili // Awards/Screenings: Berlinale Generation – Berlin International Film Festival 2022, Germany.

THE BOY WHO COULDN’T FEEL PAIN | [d][w] Eugen Merher / USA, Germany / 2022 / Fiction / 20:46 // The small-town legend of a boy who can’t feel pain. // [ig] @eugendirector // Awards/Screenings: Finalist at the 2022 Student Academy Awards.

Program’s note: A tribute to the myriad expressions of documentary, pushing the boundaries of innovation.

SENANDUNG SENYAP (A SONOROUS MELODY) | [d] Riani Singgih / Indonesia / 2022 / Documentary / 24:26 // Growing up as a Deaf, Mufi carves her music career to inspire others to express themselves through sign language. // [ig] @inteamates.id @storiesofus Team @jejakria @annisaadjam @trezola // Awards/Screenings: Selected Project Yamagata Doc Dojo 2021 | Selected Project IF/Then Southeast Asia Doc Lab 2020.

THE GHOST FROM MARIUPOL (Le Fantôme de Marioupol) | [d][w] Marie Chemin / Switzerland / 2022 / Documentary / 10:40 // As we walk through the streets of a past Mariupol through a computer screen, the recurring presence of a bicycle intrigues. // Awards/Screenings: Premiers Plans Film Festival, Vienna Shorts.

WAKING UP IN SILENCE | [d] Mila Zhluktenko & Daniel Asadi Faezi / Germany, Ukraine / 2023 / Documentary / 17:40 // Ukrainian children are confronted with their past as they explore their new home in Germany: a former Wehrmacht military barracks. // Awards/Screenings: Berlinale 2023 – Generation KPlus

STRANGE BEASTS | [d][w] Darcy Prendergast Australia / 2022 / Documentary / 10:23 // Strange Beasts chronicle the meteoric rise and fall of the Bacchus Marsh Lion Safari. // [ig] @StrangeBeasts_Film @dancy_predatorghast // Awards/Screenings: Clermont Ferrand 2023 | Slamdance.

45TH PARALLEL | [d] Lawrence Abu Hamdan / United Kingdom / 2022 / Documentary / 15:10 // A monologue in a building that inhabits the thickness of a borderline, reflecting on how free movement is under threat. // Awards/Screenings: New York Film Festival 2022.

THE SKETCH (L’Esquisse) | [d][w] Tomas Cali / France / 2023 / Documentary / 09:20 // In an artist’s studio, I meet Linda Demorrir, a live model. Like me, she is transgender and an immigrant. // [ig] @calizis, @agenciafreak // Awards/Screenings: 28º Hot Docs! Canadian International Documentary Festival. Canada | 12º Champs Elysées Film Festival. France.

Program’s note: Happy and cheerful with adventures in the football field, through the forest and the mountain, wherever you are!

11 | [d][w] Vuk Jevremovic / Croatia, Germany / 2022 / Animation / 05:28 // What happens in the heads of masterful football players when they are about to take penalty kicks // Awards/Screenings: Ann Arbor Film Festival 2023 | Annecy International Animation Festival 2023.

SPIRIT OF THE FOREST (Kaadina Jeevantike) | [d] Nandini Rao, Nirupa Rao / [w] Nandini Rao / India / 2022 / Animation / 06:52 // A village girl stumbles upon a sacred grove4its ancient spirit takes her on an adventure. // [ig] @spiritoftheforestfilm, @niruparao, @nrowww, @lighter_collective, @kalp_sanghvi // Awards/Screenings: 2023 Annecy International Animated Film Festival – Short Films Perspectives in Competition (Annecy, France) | 41st Uppsala Short Film Festival (Uppsala, Sweden)

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN (Al Otro Lado De La Montaña) | [d][w] Yosman Serrano Lindarte / Colombia / 2022 / Fiction / 07:58 // Traveling to the sea becomes a utopian adventure for two underprivileged children. // [ig] @yosmanslindarte

LETTERS FROM THE EDGE OF THE FOREST (Pisma na kraju sume) | [d] Jelena Oroz / [w] Jasna Jasna Zmak / Croatia / 2022 / Animation / 12:17 // A group of forest animals set out on the adventure of learning to write. // [ig] @orozjelena // Awards/Screenings: Special Mention, Animafest Zagreb | Ottawa International Animation Festival.

LUCE AND THE ROCK | [d][w] Britt RAES / Belgium, France, The Netherlands / 2022 / Animation / 13:00 // One day, out of nowhere, a giant Rock lays in the middle of the peaceful little village where Luce lives.

SVETLA (Lights) | [d][w] Jitka Nemikinsová / Czech Republic / 2023 / Animation / 08:30 // A flame likes to play with fire and rebels against the system. // [ig] @analogvsn // Awards/Screenings: Zlín Film Festival 2023, Czechia – International Short Film Competition for Children, Oakville Film Festival 2023, Canada – Short Film Competition.

I’M NOT AFRAID! (Ich habe keine Angst!) | [d][w] Marita Mayer / Germany, Norway / 2022 / Animation / 07:02 // Vanja discovers that being brave means to face your own fears, and that everyone is scared now and then – even the big ones. // [ig] @fabianfred // Awards/Screenings: 2022 Critique Prize Germany FBW: Highly valuable | 2022 Big Cartoon Festival: Best Foreign Animated Film for Children.

Program’s note: Uncovering love and strength amidst challenging family environments.

RESTE | [d][w] Ginger Le Pêcheur / Canada / 2022 / Fiction / 07:26 // On a summer morning, Chichou, a six-year-old girl, invites us to discover what her daily life is made of. // [ig] @gingerlepecheur // Awards/Screenings: REGARD 3 Saguenay International Short Film Festival, Canada 2022 Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF), Canada, October 2022.

MON PAPI À MOI (My Grumpy Grandpa) | [d] Komi Messan ANTHONY / [w] Komi Messan ANTHONY / France / 2022 / Animation / 06:22 // Hugo, an 8 years old kid, is trying to escape his alcoholic Grandpa, who turned into a big and scary monster // [ig] @akm.thesketchylab

THE OTHER END OF THE STREET (Das andere Ende der Straße) | [d][w] Kálmán Nagy / Austria / 2022 / Fiction / 22:00 // When Ábel is attacked by his classmate Bence at school, his father decides to put an end to the constant harassment.

WILL YOU LOOK AT ME (Dang wo wang xiang ni de shi hou) | [d][w] Shuli Huang / China / 2022 / Documentary / 20:00 // A young Chinese filmmaker returns to his hometown in search of himself. // [ig] @willyoulookatmefilm // Awards/Screenings: Semaine de la Critique – Cannes 2022 | Queer Palm Award, Sundance Film Festival 2023, Short Film Jury Award: Nonfiction.

SUMMER WITHOUT YOU | [d] Milou Gevers / the Netherlands / 2023 / Documentary / 14:40 // At the one-parent campground in France, Julie’s new vacation friends help her look at her parents divorce through new glasses. // Awards/Screenings: Children’s jury award @ JEF (Belgium)

Program’s note: Children’s perspective in complex mother-child relationships face unique challenges with social and family dynamics.

SWEET SUMMER (Süßer Sommer) | [d] Sabrina Mertens / [w] Milena Aboyan / Germany / 2021 / Fiction / 08:15 // A single mother struggles through life with her daughters using tricks, until one day the girls overdo it. // [ig] @_sabrina.mertens_ // Awards/Screenings: Landshuter Kurzfilmfestival (2022), Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis (2021).

FILE (Parvandeh) | [d][w] Sonia K. Hadad / Iran / 2022 / Fiction / 20:00 // A 6-year-old mute boy attends a preschool health screening with his mother. He makes a decision that changes everything. // [ig] @sonia_k_hadad // Awards/Screenings: Tirana Film Festival 2022, Albania | BFI London Film Festival 2022, UK.

A DAY, THAT YEAR | [d][w] Stanley Xu / Singapore/Taiwan / 2022 / Fiction / 08:34 // 5-year-old Yang spends the day with his Mom, but a small event becomes a pivotal experience that will forever change him. // [ig] @stanleyxu94 // Awards/Screenings: 33rd Singapore International Film Festival | 13th FesGwal Kamera Akcja (Camera Action Film Critics Festival) / Best Live-Action Short Film Award.

AIMÉ | [d] Gillie Cinneri, Anouk Ferreira da Silva / [w] Gillie Cinneri, Anouk Ferreira da Silvz / Belgium / 2022 / Fiction / 15:56 // Aimé, a drug dealer, comes to demand his due to one of his customers. She leaves him alone with her nine years old daughter. // Awards/Screenings: Prix Elles tournent Graines de Cinéastes | Best Fiction, Best Actor, Best Production Design Watersprite film Festival | Best Acting Ensemble Piterkit Film Festival

YOUR WAY MY WAY (Así Mismo) | [d][w] Sharon Kleinberg / Mexico / 2022 / Fiction / 16:01 // Rosalba holds the mother of her husband’s kidnapper captive in her house with the intention of getting her husband back. // [ig] @sharon.kleinberg // Awards/Screenings: New York City International Films Infest Festival – Best Short Film | Festival Curta Cinema – Rio de Janeiro International Short Film Festival.

Program’s note: Let’s stand in their shoes.

AGIOK TEMAN BAIKKU (AGIOK MY BEST FRIEND) | [d][w] Vandy Woo / Indonesia / 2023 / Fiction / 18:23 // While waiting for Agiok, her friends talk about her mishap intensely behind her back. Is it a sign of affection? // [ig] @vandywo

AUNT LOTUS & HER DREAM BICYCLE | [d][w] Kew Lin / Singapore / 2022 / Fiction / 15:39 // After a film crew claims she has no imagination, a blind grandma constructs an unusual cycling simulation with household items. // [ig] @whoisbonbons @_spacebarman @helloitsjiamin // Awards/Screenings: 25th Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia – In Competition and Finalist with Honourable Mention Award — Los Angeles Chinese Film Festival Screenwriting Competition.

FINNS HIEL (Finn’s Heel) | [d][w] Cato Kusters / Belgium / 2022 / Fiction / 18:06 // Arthur is 15 when he decides it is time for him to become a man. He joins a boxing class and there he meets Finn, the son of the coach. // [ig] @finnshiel.short @agencebelgeducourtmetrage @catokusters // Awards/Screenings: Best Belgian Student Short Award (Film Fest Gent, 2022) I Public Award for a foreign short film (Festival International de Films de Femme de Créteil 2023).

ARENA (Sand) | [d][w] Rossana Montoya / Colombia / 2022 / Fiction / 13:30 // After the death of her father, Ilana, a 7-year-old girl, is faced with dealing with her late father’s grief. [ig] @bogoshorts @rossanamontoyam @hansfresen66

YAMA | [d][w] Andreas Vakalios / Greece / 2022 / Fiction / 15:00 // A girl lights a small fire and tells a small lie. Small lies easily get out of control. So do small racist fires. // [ig] @agenciafreak // Awards/Screenings: 45º International Short Film Festival in Drama. Greece | 20º Tirana International Film Festival. Albania

Program’s note: Hidden within the darkness lie undiscovered truths that are shunned by societal norms, patiently yearning for acceptance and comprehension.

ACCIDENTALLY INTENTIONAL | [d][w] Kevin Rahardjo / Indonesia / 2023 / Fiction / 14:07 // A religious teenager is watching porn for the first time when accidentally the audio is connected to his mother’s car Bluetooth. // [ig] @kevin_rahardjo // Awards/Screenings: World Premiere, Palm Springs International ShortFest 2023

GOLDEN HEADACHER (Kultainen päänsärkijä) | [d][w] Niina Suominen / Finland / 2022 / Animation / 17:00 // Experimental animation about women’s aggression and the culturally sanctioned ways to express or suppress these uneasy feelings. // [ig] @avarkki.fi @niina.forcemajeurefilms // Awards/Screenings: Espoo Ciné Film Festival | Animafest Zagreb.

SEX RELISH (A SOLO ORGASM) (Jouir (en solitaire)) | [d] Añanda Safo / France / 2022 / Documentary / 11:50 // In this endless pandemic era, where our sexuality has sometimes had to evolve, has been tested, women offer their testimonies.

THE FENCE | [d] Tomasz Wolski / [w] Anna Gawlita, Tomasz Wolski / Poland / 2022 / Fiction / 19:00 // Arrival of an unusual couple disrupts the life of a village. Can these two men protect their relationship from onlookers’ glances? // Awards/Screenings: Krakow Film Festival 2022, Poland

PITBULL | [d][w] Fabián León López / Mexico / 2022 / Fiction / 17:49 // Manuel lives his way and trains his pitbull dog. However, women twice his age will finally make him question his masculinity. // [ig] @laficciondel92 // Awards/Screenings: Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. Guanajuato International Film Festival.

Program’s note: How much is your love for cinema?

PONTO FINAL | [d] Miguel López Beraza / [w] Miguel Lopez Beraza, Mireia Graell Vivancos / Spain, Portugal / 2022 / Documentary / 22:40 // Through an acting game, the director’s parents become movie stars to talk about cancer they both overcame and the fear of loss. // Awards/Screenings: VIFF – Vancouver International Film Festival (Canada) | Warsaw Film Festival (Poland) / Short Grand Prix.

ACTION! | [d] Arne Körner / [w] Arne Körner, Akin Sipal / Germany / 2022 / Documentary / 01:10 // Center of this story is a clapper and his clapper board. A symphony of clapping. [ig] @against_reality_pictures // Awards/Screenings: International Short Film Festival of Cyprus | 23rd Kerry International Film Festival.

TOOMUCH?! | [d][w] Kai Bosse // Germany / 2022 / Fiction / 13:55 / During an attempted robbery, desperate yet fearless Essob Lak has to define his moral limits on a chaotic mission. // [ig] @too_much_the_movie // Awards/Screenings: World Premiere Landshut Short Film Festival.

EXTERIOR DAY (Esterno giorno) | [d][w] Giulia Magno / Italy / 2022 / Experimental / 08:00 // An experimental love letter to Italian cinema. // [ig] @giuliamagno_ // Awards/Screenings: Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Market Picks 2023 | Cork International Film Festival, Ireland

INTRO | [d] Anne Isensee / Germany / 2022 / Animation / 07:09 // An animated audio film about an audio descriptor who can’t make sense of this very film until the film starts making sense of her. // [ig] @intro_animationsfilm // Awards/Screenings: DOK Internationales Leipziger Festival für Dokumentar- und AnimaGonsûlm 2022 VIS Vienna Shorts 2023

LONG TIME NO TECHNO | [d] Eugenia Bakurin / Germany / 2022 / Experimental / 03:44 // Nostalgic dance moments from the 70s/80s children’s films shown in a music video, using footage from the Odesa Film Studio archives. // [ig] @eugeniabakurin // Awards/Screenings: Short Tiger Award 2023 by the German Federal Film Board | Marché du Film – Festival de Cannes 2023

THIS STORY TO EXIST (CETTE HISTOIRE EXISTE) | [d][w] Pauline Moussours / France / 2023 / Experimental / 18:07 // Halfway through a summer, I’m alone on an island and I hear a voice echoing in the far distance. What is this song that’s overwhelming me? // [ig] @pauline.mssrs

WOMAN AS IMAGE, MAN AS BEARER OF THE LOOK (La mujer como imagen, el hombre como portador de la mirada) | [d] Carlos Velandia / Colombia / 2022 / Experimental / 07:20 // Fragmented pieces of the woman come together and form the volume of what has been her image in the history of cinema. // [ig] @carlosvelandiav // Awards/Screenings: Annecy International Animation Film Festival // Vancouver International Film Festival

Program’s note: Step into a world of awkwardness, where laughter, disgust, and nerves collide, creating tensions that are both uncomfortable and strangely captivating.

NICE TO SEE YOUR FACE | [d][w] NAMKOONG Sun / South Korea / 2022 / Fiction / 13:01 // The hot summer heats up the road and Eden’s wish to say a proper goodbye does not seem to be coming true. // [ig] @centralpark0.0 // Awards/Screenings: 4th Pyeongchang International Peace Film Festival (2022, south korea) | 26th Brussels Short Film Festival (2023, Belgium) | 32nd Florida Film Festival (2023, USA) | 8th Ennesimo Film Festival (2023, Italy)

IYA IYA IYA IYA | [d] Winner Wijaya / [w] Winner Wijaya, Rayner Wijaya, Adit MKM / Indonesia / 2023 / Fiction / 17:32 // Mariana and Callista are talking about their love lives // [ig] @horebesoklibur

SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES | [d][w] Alvin Lee / Singapore / 2022 / Fiction / 19:11 // When the wrong body has been sent for cremation, a funeral director has to make amends to the deceased’s three estranged children. // [ig] @alvinleecr // Awards/Screenings: Busan International Film Festival (2022) | Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (2023)

JUICE (Saft) | [d][w] Mona Keil / Germany / 2022 / Animation / 04:55 // Meaty creatures must learn to share their juicy world with the pesky little bugs before they run dry. // [ig] @fabianfred

FATIH LE CONQUÉRANT (Fatih the Conqueror) | [d][w] Onur Yagiz / FRANCE / 2023 / Fiction / 15:50 // Huddled in a car in the parking lot, Fatih, 21, wants to get married. He has set his sights on Ipek, but nobody knows it yet. // [ig] @fatih.le.conquerant // Awards/Screenings: Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival 2023 (World Premiere) | Prix Jeunes Talents France Télévisions & CNC 2023, Best Director, Best Script

AIRHOSTESS-737 | [d] Thanasis Neofotistos / [w] Thanasis Neofotistos, Grigoris Skarakis / Greece / 2022 / Fiction / 16:14 // An air hostess collapses on a flight, convinced that her problem is her new braces, whilst she transfers her dead mother’s body. // [ig] @airhostess737film // Awards/Screenings: 75th Locarno IFF | World Premiere, 47th TIFF Toronto | Honourable Mention for Best Short Film

Program’s note: Clearly, our action matters for the environment.

AUTOSAURUS REX // [d] Marcel Barelli / Switzerland / 2022 / Animation / 06:00 // An animated documentary about car. // [ig] #autosaurusrex

FLOWER RAIN // [d][w] Gao Wei / Korea, China / 2023 / Experimental / 08:10 // With a pure photographic lineage, “Flower Rain” is an “organic” film that grew out of the soil. // [ig] @sanshipan // Awards/Screenings: The Rotterdam International Film Festival 2023

SEAGULLS SCREAM ON THE WEEKEND (Meeuwen Schreeuwen in het Weekend) | [d] Maria Stuut, Frederik Stuut / [w] Maria Stuut / The Netherlands / 2022 / Documentary / 11:30 // In the tidal area of the Wadden Sea the rhythms of the water, boat, human and seagull are entangled; with unexpected consequences. // [ig] @frederikstuut // Awards/Screenings: Noordelijk Film Festival 2022 / Tampere Film Festival 2023

SOMEWHERE | [d][w] Fabrizio Ellul / MALTA / 2023 / Animation / 07:00 // SOMEWHERE follows Vincent who makes a detour to Planet Earth to retrieve an item. // [ig] @filfla.studio

GARRANO | [d] David Doutel & Vasco Sá / Portugal, Lithuania / 2022 / Animation / 14:08 // A Garrano horse is forced to pull a heavy load under a hot sun; young boy Joel sees a man about to set a forest on fire.

BLUE POETRY | [d][w] Muhammad Heri Fadli / Indonesia / 2023 / Fiction / 18:28 // Fisherman who works hard by catching fish in the sea. He often eats fish containing plastic waste, and makes a change in his physique.

OH SO CONVENIENT | [d] Red Huei Jen Hung / Taiwan, Estonia / 2022 / Animation / 04:40 // A man who has a unique way of using toilet paper. Isn’t that great? The convenience of life at your fingertips.

Program’s note: A transformative power of resilience as life offers unpredictable twists and turns.

THE WEDDING RING | [d][w] Robin Narciso / Cambodia / 2022 / Fiction / 12:56 // Leakhena, a pregnant woman, is fired in the midst of the pandemic. She will need to find a way to sustain her growing family.

AGAINST ALL ODDS (Allen Zweifeln zum Trotz) | [d][w] Laurenz Otto / Germany / 2022 / Fiction / 15:00 // In the constant interplay & power game of closeness and distance, a boy tries to establish contact with an elusive father figure. // [ig] @filmschule_koeln // Awards/Screenings: San Sebastian Film Festival | International Short Film Festival Oberhausen: WDR Westart- Audience Jury Award

LITTLE SMASHER (Petit cogneur) | [d] Gilles Cuvelier / France / 2022 / Animation / 13:56 // Poetic testimony of a family crossing time and space to the rhythm of the uncontrollable crises of the youngest. // Awards/Screenings: Best Animation Award at the Interfilm Festival 2022 in Berlin | Best Animation Award at the Thai International Film Festival 2022 in Bangkok

REMEMBERING THE SERENADE | [d] Muhammad Exsell Rabbani / [w] Muhammad Exsell Rabbani, Agnes Monica Hernadi, Ernest Lesmana // Indonesia / 2022 / Fiction / 18:23 // A lonely middle aged woman has to decide whether to go on a date with her ex-lover or take care of her mother with alzheimer. // [ig] @serojafilm

LOST IN A WALTZ | [d][w] Li Ji-Tian / Taiwan / 2022 / Animation / 08:56 // Returning to a house that holds nothing, a mother misses her mother. // [ig] @g1o_1997 // Awards/Screenings: 2022 Euroshorts Young Filmmakers (best animation) | 2022 Buenos Aires International Film Festival (selected)

Program’s note: Couples strive against external obstacles to be together, defying the odds for love.

TAKE ME AWAY | [d][w] Kata Oláh / Hungary / 2023 / Fiction / 18:10 / Anna always dreamed of becoming an actress in America. In 1988, Bob arrives in Hungary to marry her, so her dream can come true. // Awards/Screenings: The film is nominated by the Hungarian Film Academy as the best short film of the year.

EVENING CLOUDS (See-zar Tain) | [d][w] Aung Phyoe / Myanmar / 2022 / Fiction / 18:00 // During the politically unstable time, a young girl tries to escape Yangon by relying on her friend. // Awards/Screenings: Singapore International Film Festival 2022

HONG TOWN BACKRUSH (Xi) | [d] Ruiqi Li / [w] Shixian Tan / China / 2022 / Fiction / 20:00 // Ayou got back home to get married but his father died during a banquet. The weeding cannot be held because of the 3‐year mourning. // [ig] @parallax_china

KOMⱾU SESLER (Neighbouring Sounds) | [d][w] Ali Kıvanç Güldürür / Turkey, United Kingdom / 2022 / Fiction / 18:00 // Eavesdropping a domestic battery late at night, a man works up a curiosity which paves the way for unwanted exposure. // [ig] @komsusesler // Awards/Screenings: 20th IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival | 23rd International Izmir Short Film Festival.

Program’s note: Exploring toxic masculinity perpetuated by patriarchal systems that challenges a dream of inclusive society.

ON MY FATHER’S GRAVE (Sur la tombe de mon père) | [d] Jawahine Zentar / France, Morocco / 2022 / Fiction / 23:58 // A car drives to a Moroccan village. On board, Maïne and her family surround the father’s coffin.

MY GIRL FRIEND (Sahbety) | [d] Kawthar Younis / [w] Ahmed Essam El Sayed, Kawthar Younis / Egypt / 2022 / Fiction / 17:00 / Desperate for intimacy, Ali follows his girlfriend’s suggestion that puts their relationship to the test. // [ig] @kawthar_younis // Awards/Screenings: Venezia 79 – Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica | Orizzonti Short Films Competition 2022, Italy – World Premiere | Cairo International Film Festival 2022, Egypt – Special Jury Award

MEMORI DIA | [d][w] Asarela Orchidia Dewi / Indonesia / 2022 / Fiction / 19:00 // While revisiting these long-forgotten memories, Azka discovers unresolved pains they never knew existed. // [ig] @qunfilms @asarela.dewi @chloeclau // Awards/Screenings: Won Jury Award, Divine Queer Film Festival 2023 – Italy | Screened at Asian Perspective – Short Compilation Jogja Netpac Asian Film Festival, 2022 – Indonesia

OUR MALES AND FEMALES | [d] Ahmad Alyaseer / [w] Rana Alyaseer & Ahmad Alyaseer / Jordan / 2023 / Fiction / 11:04 // A father and mother are faced with the painful task of washing and shrouding their deceased transgender daughter. // [ig] @ourmalesandfemales @aialyaseer // Awards/Screenings: Clermont-Ferrand International Film Festival | Cleveland Film Festival

I AM A HORSE | [d][w] Chaerin Im / South Korea, Denmark / 2022 / Animation / 07:58 // What happens when the magnificent she-horse arrives to the Korean patriarchal society? // [ig] @charryrain // Awards/Screenings: Special Distinction Prize, Bucheon International Animation Festival 2022 | International Film Festival Rotterdam 2023

BISING (Chorus of The Wounded Birds) | [d] Amar Haikal / [w] Amar Haikal, Bintang Panglima / Indonesia / 2023 / Fiction / 12:24 // Late night, a desperate young man search for a loud release in a motorbike repair shop. // [ig] @podium.pictures

Program’s note: Light on the roller coaster of emotions as the peaceful mirage crumbles, revealing invisible hands that seek to dominate the weak.

2132 PEOPLE ARE WATCHING | [d][w] Komeil Soheili / iran / 2022 / Experimental / 04:27 // Sun rises as always, but no one can watch it in the same way! // [ig] @komeilsoheili

AKEDAH (THE BINDING) | [d][w] Alessandro Manuel Rustanto / Indonesia, Czech Republic / 2022 / Fiction / 13:33 // During the 1965 Indonesian anti-communist purge, a pastor promises to secretly baptize a pregnant woman seeking for protection.

THE COMMON ORDER (DIE ALLGEMEINE ORDNUNG) | [d] Ben Voit / [w] Ben Voit, Luca D. Calluso / Germany / 2021 / Fiction / 15:00 // Protests get out of control. A boy disappears. Caught between resistance and resignation, an immersion into a head in disorder. // [ig] @benvoit // Awards/Screenings: PÖFF Shorts – Tallinn Black Nights FF 3 New Talents Competition 2021 | Clermont-Ferrand 3 Short Film Market Pick 2022

TRIA (Tria – del sentimento del tradire) | [d][w] Giulia Grandinetti / Italy / 2022 / Fiction / 17:00 // In a dystopian Rome, a law is enforced which doesn’t allow immigrant families to have more than three children. // [ig] @tria_shortfilm // Awards/Screenings: Venezia 79, Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica | Orizzonti Short Films Competition 2022, Italy

THE WOMAN BY THE WINDOW | [d][w] Gonchukov Arseniy / Russia / 2022 / Fiction / 05:34 // Mother and son are in an empty flat. There is a mess. It seems she is lost, not knowing what to do.

FROM OUR SIDE (In quanto a noi) | [d] Simone Massi / Italy / 2022 / Animation / 05:00 // History flows, the darkness wets our clothes. // [ig] @varicolouredhfa // Awards/Screenings: Mostra del Cinema di Venezia | Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia

DEMON BOX | [d] Sean Wainsteim / [w] Aurora de Peña, Sean Wainsteim / Canada / 2023 / Documentary / 14:00 // A director transforms his personal film about trauma, suicide, and the Holocaust into a raw/ painful/funny dissection of his life. Ten years in the making. // Awards/Screenings: Toronto Jewish Film Festival: NextGen Award | Salem Horror Fest: Wicked Shorts Jury Award

Program’s note: Subtle but loud, they are all yearning to break free.

BEHIND THE SUN | [d] Bentley Brown / United States, Saudi Arabia / 2023 / Documentary / 17:18 // A filmmaker explores astrophysical metaphors to make sense of a failed relationship to person and place. // [ig] @waldbrown @aboudigin // Awards/Screenings: Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival 2023

A NAP IN FLUOROSCOPY BUSES | [d] Lei Lei / China / 2022 / Animation / 06:46 // A fluoroscopy bus carries the crowd from the center to the edge of the city. In the fixed and crowded carriage.

THE NIGHT IS DRUNK WHEN WE SUFFER | [d][w] Rian Simon Magtaan / Philippines / 2022 / Documentary / 06:09 // Awards/Screenings: AwardsG rand Bakunawa for Best Short Film, Bakunawa Fest 9 Screenings Official Selection, Hundred Islands Film Festival (Open Category) – Alaminos, Pangasinan, Philippines (June 2023) | Official Selection, TRANÅS AT THE FRINGE – International Screening

ALMIGHTY (Mahakuasa) | [d] Kenneth Lisungan, Itqon Askary / [w] Itqon Askary, Kenneth Lisungan / Indonesia / 2023 / Fiction / 08:05 // A police officer involved in the Kanjuruhan tragedy is questioned by his neighbor as to why he didn’t attend her son’s funeral. // [ig] @kennethlisungan // Awards/Screenings: Official Selection Lift-Off Filmmaker Sessions by Lift-Off Global Network

FAIRPLAY | [d] Zoel Aeschbacher / [w] Zoel Aeschbacher, Gania Latroche / Switzeland, France / 2022 / Fiction / 17:00 // A teenager in search of recognition, a worker ready to do anything to hit the jackpot, a senior executive at the end of his career who wants to prove to himself that he is still alive. // Awards/Screenings: Locarno Film Festival 2022

BRIDE STONE (Kelin Tash) | [d][w] Guzel Duyshenkulova / Kyrgyzstan / 2023 / Fiction / 15:36 // Young daughter-in-law receives a divorce from her husband and on the same day receives an offer from her father-in-law. // [ig] @guzelsbe@gmail.com INSTAGRAM

HOW DOES IT SOUND? | [d][w] Medy Mahasena / Indonesia / 2023 / Fiction / 13:45 // Arya is a composer who wants to score music for Edy’s film but is hindered by his traumatic experience of the Bali bombings. // [ig] @satufrekuensi.films

Program’s note: Please take it lightly and get ready to enjoy an unconventional sense of humor.

SCHETTINIMOUS | [d] Tomas Terzano / [w] Tomas Terzano & Macarena Rubio / Argentina / 2023 / Fiction / 13:54 // An old artist-magician is invited to a TV show where he must demonstrate his predictions about the future of humanity. // [ig] @mamahungara

ABSENT PRESENCE | [d][w] Giorgia Ponticello / Italy / 2023 / Experimental / 01:09 // To perceive, from the Greek “touch at a distance”. A surreal journey of a disconnected body in the spaces of an empty house. // [ig] @little.bridge_ // Awards/Screenings: Screenings (Official Selection): 24th February 2023 at LensDans Festival in Bruxelles | 28th April 2023 at Dansmuseet for ScreenDance Festival in Stockholm

PERFECT MATCH | [d] Kristie Ko / [w] Andy Chau / Hong Kong / 2023 / Fiction / 08:00 // Unsure of what she wants in love or life, Brianna enlists the services of an eccentric matchmaker. // Awards/Screenings: Nowness Asia

CHRISTIAN (Cristiano) | [d][w] Adán Pichardo / Spain / 2021 / Fiction / 11:04 // Cristiano wants to become a Catholic priest, but the responsible for vocations is an unconventional priest. // [ig] @cristianocortometraje // Awards/Screenings: 36th LEEDS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL | 46th CLEVELAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

HIDARI | [d] Masashi Kawamura, Iku Ogawa / [w] Masashi Kawamura / Japan / 2023 / Animation / 05:32 // With a mechanical prosthetic arm, legendary craftsman Jingoro Hidari faces one of his adversaries Inumaru in a fight to the death. // [ig] @hidari_movie // Awards/Screenings: Winter International Independent Film Awards 2023

ATTACK ON CHOLESTEROL | [d][w] Anjas Artha Putra / Indonesia / 2022 / Fiction / 09:24 // Tommy’s life is at stake when his good & bad cholesterol are in for an all-out anime battle of the century!

GOING WELL.. (잘 진행되고 있습니다..) | [d][w] LEE Hye-jeong / South Korea / 2021 / Animation / 03:50 // The deadline is approaching. Producer Park, who is in charge of closing, comes to the writer.

THINK SOMETHING NICE | [d] Claudius Gentinetta / Switzerland / 2022 / Animation / 06:00 // A metaphor for the double-entry bookkeeping we live by every day. // Awards/Screenings: International Premiere: ZINEBI, 63rd Bilbao Int. Documentary Festival | Aspen Film’s 32nd Annual Shortsfest, USA 2023.

LAS VISITANTES (WOMEN VISITING A CITY) | [d][w] ENRIQUE BULEO / Spain / 2023 / Fiction / 14:58 // 3 retired women recently lost their husbands and now it’s time to start living. // Awards/Screenings: BEST EUROPEAN MOVIE AND BEST COMEDY AT CLERMONT-FERRAND

Program’s note: Experience horror films from various perspectives – some delightfully light-hearted, while others demand your full attention.

KNIT ONE, STAB TWO | [d][w] Alison Peirse / UK / 2022 / Documentary / 09:52 // This essay film examines the representation of knitters and knitting, in over sixty horror films made by women. // [ig] @alisonpeirse // Awards/Screenings: Winner: Best Short Film Unver 10 Minutes, Wench Film Festival, India / Nominated, Best Writing Award, Renegade Film Festival, USA

MITHERA | [d] Adinegoro Natsir / [w] Diah Hayu R / Indonesia / 2022 / Fiction / 12:45 // To save her sick mother, Rara must make the ultimate sacrifice, but at what cost? // [ig] @mondiblanc @mitherafilm // Awards/Screenings: Info Screening & Metro Cinema Kemang: Selekta Pilihan 2022 | UI ArtX 2022: Movie Theater Screening

LA NUEVA (The Newcomer) | [d] Ivan Villamel / [w] Ivan Villamel & Raul Cerezo / Spain / 2022 / Fiction / 14:59 // Maria is the new teacher who arrives at a religious school with some problematic students. // [ig] @ivanvillamel // Awards/Screenings: Best Horror Short at Screamfest Horror Film Festival of Los Angeles | Best Short Film at Isla Calavera Film Festival of Spain

ANTES DE LAS 4 (A quarter to 4) | [d] Catalina Matamoros / Colombia / 2022 / Animation / 08:46 // On every corner of Bogotá, there is a cab driver with a story to tell. // [ig] catalinamatamorosp

MS. PONTIANAK | [d][w] Alina Wong / Malaysia / 2022 / Fiction / 21:15 // A horror actress questions the triviality of her Pontianak film career while being filmed by a group of documentary filmmakers. // [ig] @ms.pontianak // Awards/Screenings: 18th Mini Film Festival – Best Short Film (Open Category) | SeaShorts 2022 – Special Mention (NextNew Wave Award)

Program’s note: Individuals battling with mental health, a reminder that these struggles could be close to home.

CONTENT ADVISORY: VIOLENCE, SUICIDE, TRAUMA, ADDICTION.

ANU | [d][w] Pulkit Arora / New Zealand, India / 2023 / Fiction / 13:12 // When a widow moves to New Zealand from India, she must confront her grief by performing an ancient ritual in quarantine. // [ig] @pulzkit // Awards/Screenings: New Zealand’s Best – NZIFF | Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF)

SHUT (Zwijg) | [d] Niels Bourgonje / [w] Bastiaan Tichler / The Netherlands / 2022 / Fiction / 15:22 // When Jonas’ father behaves in a disturbing manner, Jonas wonders whether his father’s mental state is deteriorating. // [ig] @nielsbourgonje // Awards/Screenings: Winner of the Méliès d’argent at the Haapsalu Horror and Fantasy Film Festival

MIRRORS | [d][w] Paul Jerndal / Sweden / 2023 / Fiction / 03:05 // Mirrors is showing Anis don Demina, Cecilia von Der Esch, and Danny Saucedo as they meet their worst self-critical thoughts. // [ig] @pauljerndal

À LA FONTAINE (The Flower Darkens) | [d][w] Philippe Berthelet / Canada / 2023 / Fiction / 13:30 // Alice, through Julien’s music, experiences absent grief. // [ig] @bbbberthelet // Awards/Screenings: Festival Regard, Saguenay, Canada, March 2023 Courts d’un soir, Montréal, Canada, April 2023

DANNY | [d] Nicholas Manting Brewer / United States / 2023 / Documentary / 09:59 // Danny had a normal life, but one day everything changed. // [ig] @nickmantingbrewer @anewstandard

LA CANICULE (Sweat) | [d][w] Tyliann Tondeur-Grozdanovitch / France / 2022 / Fiction / 13:00 // Since the death of his mother, Ferdinand has been stuck in total silence. On a midsummer day, he decides to end it all up.

TOWN HALL SQUARE | [d][w] Christian Kaufmann / Germany / 2023 / Animation / 08:35 // Bernard’s uneventful life is turned upside down by the unexpected visit of a cheeky little tiger. [ig] @fabianfred

Program’s note: All that shapes the journey through life.

BLOODY ROSE | [d][w] Elsy Grazia / Indonesia / 2022 / Fiction / 13:47 // Two boys help their deaf friend find sanitary napkins for her first period at school, battling shame and dilemmas along the way. // [ig] @bloodyrosefilm @komunitasfilmkupang @minyakurut_ @kenpatar // Awards/Screenings: Official Selection on Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival 2022

ZIDANE ROULETTE | [d] Emy-Mirel Ivasca / Romania / 2023 / Animation / 08:50 // A boy sees from the window of his apartment a child playing alone with a ball every day. // [ig] @zidaneroulettefilm

COLOR-IDO (Color-less) | [d][w] Estefanía Piñeres / Colombia / 2022 / Animation / 12:41 // In a world divided into Us and Others, Violet inadvertently summons a mysterious being who takes her on a thrilling journey. // [ig] @estefaniapidu @letrarioco

PRINCES (Les Princes) | [d] Camille Hamet / France / 2023 / Fiction / 21:45 // Sasha, passionate about rowing, joins a prestigious team as coxswain a few weeks before an important competition. // [ig] @lapetiteprod_ @camille_hamet

MAN (Homem) | [d] Patrick Hanser / [w] Brian Hanser, Kevin Hanser & Patrick Hanser / Brazil / 2023 / Fiction / 08:52 // Bored in isolation, a boy decides to become a man. // [ig] @patrickhanser // Awards/Screenings: 45º Moscow International Film Festival

SANDSTORM (Mulaqat) | [d][w] Seemab Gul / Pakistan, UK / 2021 / Fiction / 20:00 // Zara, a schoolgirl in Karachi, shares a sensual dance video with her virtual boyfriend, who then blackmails her.

THE END OF ORIGINALITY | [d][w] Laura Zayan / Denmark / 2021 / Experimental / 09:51 // Frances has 48 hours to find her own identity in a world where people are literally becoming copies of each other.

Program’s note: Get ready to follow the personal journey of each character that leads them to self-discovery and understanding of oneself.

FROM THE WATER (Aus dem Wasser) | [d] Diana Menestrey S. / Germany / 2021 / Experimental / 10:14 // A search for the truth of origin, that arises from animal instincts and the ambivalence between dream and memory. // [ig] @vamos_animation // Awards/Screenings: Experimental film award – Festival Internacional de Cine de Guayaquil 2022 | Official Selection Bogoshorts 2022

THE OLD YOUNG CROW | [d][w] Liam LoPinto / Japan/USA / 2023 / Fiction / 12:00 // An Iranian boy befriends an old Japanese woman at a graveyard in Tokyo. // Awards/Screenings: Short Shorts Film Festival, Cannes Short Film Corner

LEFT HANDED (CHAP DAST) | [d][w] NASRIN MOHAMMADPOUR / Iran / 2022 / Fiction / 14:56 // Maryam decides to cut off her right hand while working in a poultry slaughterhouse.

SCIENCE AROUND US | [d] Arif Abdillah / [w] Arif Abdillah & Tomasso Genovesi / Indonesia / 2021 / Fiction / 19:51 // Budi has to convince his ailing father in Indonesia while cleaning up his wild party in The Netherlands. All in 20 minutes. // [ig] @ariv.is // Awards/Screenings: IFFR 2022 | Honourable Mention Sundance Film Festival: Asia 2022

SPACE IS QUITE A LOT OF THINGS | [d][w] August Joensalo / Finland, Sweden / 2021 / Documentary / 11:25 // Curiosity about a world without gender creates a space for four trans people to imagine their own queer utopia. // [ig] @avarkki.fi @pessithewild // Awards/Screenings: Cine de Huesca | BFI Flare Film Festival

Program’s note: Navigating the unique journey of understanding complexities of identity, migration, discrimination, and loss poses significant challenges for individuals.

NORTHERN COMFORT: A DRIVE AROUND TOWN | [d] Melanie Lameboy / Canada / 2021 / Documentary / 07:47 // Short documentary on life in Northern Quebec and the differences in living conditions between local Crees and non-Natives.

LOST AT SEA | [d][w] Lucija Stojevic & Andrés Bartos Amoy / Spain/UK / 2023 / Animation / 05:02 // A Rohingya man is stranded at sea, on a fishing boat loaded people fleeing for their lives, haunted by memories. // [ig] @noonfilms_sl

BERRY PICKERS (Blåbärsplockarna) | [d][w] Agnes Skonare Karlsson / Sweden, USA / 2022 / Fiction / 14:29 // In a scorching Sweden, two Thai brothers have to navigate the forest in order to find the berries needed to afford passage home. // [ig] @Skonare // Awards/Screenings: Telluride Film Festival, Winner of The Adrienne Shelly Award for Best Female Director

SPRING ROLL DREAM | [d] Mai Vu / [w] Chloe White / UK / 2022 / Animation / 09:19 // Linh, a Vietnamese single mother, is confronted with the past and culture she left behind.

MAMA WANTS TO GO HOME | [d][w] Fatma Mizan / England – Turkey / 2022 / Fiction / 17:41 // Aisha is Palestinian with Alzheimer’s with a desperate wanting to go home, but her English-raised daughters have other ideas. // [ig] @ftmzn

FURTHER AND FURTHER AWAY (Chhngai Dach Alai) | [d][w] Polen Ly / Cambodia / 2022 / Fiction / 24:00 // A young indigenous Bunong woman and her older brother spend one last day in their rural village in northeastern Cambodia // Awards/Screenings: Berlinale – Berlin International Film Festival 2022, Germany

Program’s note: Nestled in the embrace of familiar soil, the heart finds solace in belonging.

QUE NOS CORPS TRAVERSENT (Pushing Through) | [d][w] Geneviève Bélanger Genest / Canada / 2022 / Experimental / 08:57 // A synaesthetic voyage by canoe over pack ice explores the trials our bodies push through to inhabit our surroundings.

LITTLE WOMEN (Borbike) | [d][w] Nika Jurman / Slovenia / 2022 / Animation / 15:00 // An ambitious but somewhat lazy village photographer tries to survive in the big city. // [ig] @borbike #borbike // Awards/Screenings: Animateka International Animated Film Festival 2022 | 2023 Kino Otok 3 Isola Cinema International Film Festival

BETWEEN TWO ISLANDS (Entre dos islas) | [d] Hideki Nakazaki / [w] Hideki Nakazaki & José Carlos J. Revuelta / Cuba / Spain / 2022 / Fiction / 12:02 // Sayu seeks refuge in corners and people of the city to avoid facing a decision that her parents have made for her. // [ig] @hideki_nakazaki @javierdelalamo @sammy_dee18 // Awards/Screenings: AMERICANA AWARD – Regard Canadá | International Competition – Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival

I SAW A GHOST, AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL | [d][w] Bobby Fernando / Indonesia / 2022 / Animation / 09:06 // A property agent’s spiritless job descends into a surreal confrontation that shrouds the truth behind the vanishing of her client. // [ig] @odnanrefybbob

HOLES OF MANGLI | [d][w] Ali Satri Efendi / Indonesia / 2022 / Experimental / 05:39 // Holes of Mangli is an experimental animated short film that tells the story of landscapes filled with sowers and harvesters. // [ig] @ali_satri_efendi

LA GALERIE (The Galerie) | [d] Loup-William Théberge / [w] Olivier Lépine / Canada / 2021 / Experimental / 11:05 // During a nighttime visit to a museum, an unforeseen connection between a woman and a painting triggers an unexpected journey.

Program’s note: The flip side of civilization.

CONTENT ADVISORY: SUICIDE

RIWAYAT CETI (What Ceti Does) | [d][w] Azalia Muchransyah / Indonesia / 2022 / Fiction / 20:46 // Ceti and her debt-collector husband struggle financially during the pandemic. The death of a debtor complicates their problems. // [ig] @CATastrophe.productions // Awards/Screenings: 3rd Winner, Europe on Screen Short Film Pitching Program, 2021, Indonesia | Official Selection, Jakarta Film Week, 2022, Indonesia

YELLOW | [d][w] ELHAM EHSAS / Afghanistan & UK / 2023 / Fiction / 12:49 / Laili walks into a Chadari store in Kabul to buy her first full-body veil from a Talib shopkeeper and face a new future. // [ig] @ zoradzo // Awards/Screenings: Best Film – San Sebastian Human Rights Film Festival | Official Selection – Palm Springs Shortfest

PISTACHIO CHOCOLATE (Pistache et Chocolat) | [d][w] Zaïda Ghorab / 2021 / 2021 / Fiction / 14:52 // Growing up cloistered, under the influence of a tyrannical North African mother. A slice of life from the eyes of Dalila, the youngest of the siblings. // Awards/Screenings: CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI International Film Festival’s / Best Short Film

ZARZAL | [d][w] Sebastián Valencia Muñoz / Colombia / 2022 / Fiction / 18:00 // William and his son Jacobo go out to the nearest pool. This will be their last day together. // Awards/Screenings: FICCI: Festival Internacional De Cine De Cartagena De Indias 2022, Colombia

BERGIE | [d][w] Dian Weys / South Africa / 2022 / Fiction / 07:00 // A law enforcement officer has to remove people that are homeless in order to make way for a 10km fun run. // [ig] @dianweys // Awards/Screenings: Clermont Ferrand Film Festival

SOUP IS GOOD FOOD (Soup Is Good Food) | [d][w] Alexandre Thériault / Canada / 2023 / Fiction / 07:23 // After getting evicted from his apartment, a man has 3 minutes to pack his belongings and leave. // Awards/Screenings: REGARD – Short Film Festival, Saguenay, Canada, March 2023 | Durban International Film Festival, Durban, South Africa, June 2023

Program’s note: Here’s an invitation to ignite a sense of wonder where reality intertwined with imagination.

THE SUNSET SPECIAL | [d] Nicolas Gebbe / Germany / 2021 / Animation / 17:30 // A secluded beach location, the perfect partner, the most exclusive Hotel: Find a place of unfulfilled desire and endless longing. // [ig] @nicolasgebbe @thesunsetspecial // Awards/Screenings: Locarno Film Festival | Hessian film award Germany 2022

ALKISAH SI DEWA (The Myth of Dewa) | [d][w] Brahmma Putra Wijaya / Indonesia / 2023 / Fiction / 10:56 // A curious tale of a timid boy who visits a daunting shaman to find a sense of home. // [ig] @utuh.studio @sinemalima Crew @brahmma99 @annisaadjam @lottalemetti

THE ALTAR | [d][w] Moe Myat May Zarchi / Myanmar / 2023 / Experimental / 10:10 // A buddhist fable-like story about the guilt of a childhood incident of killing an ant painted in zen-like photographic sequences. // [ig] @moemyatmz // Awards/Screenings: 69th International Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen / 20th Vienna Shorts

THE GOOD FATHER (El padre bueno) | [d][w] Jorge Cañada Escorihuela / Spain / 2022 / Fiction / 14:59 // The good father is a dance of life and death, of ghosts and presences. // [ig] @agenciafreak // Awards/Screenings: 14º Kerala International Documentary and Short Film Festival. India | 51º ALCINE Festival de Cine de Alcalá de Henares (C. de Madrid) Spain

BEATHA FODHA (Life Below) | [d][w] Meray Diner / United Kingdom / 2023 / Documentary / 07:54 // Retired police diver who spent her life for underwater search now looks for living creatures and plants with her camera. // [ig] @meray_d

LA HORA DE LOS PAJAROS (The hour of the birds) | [d][w] Emiliano Umpierrez / Uruguay / 2022 / Fiction / 05:16 // After a long time without leaving her house, Valentina will meet her friends again… Even if it’s the last thing she does. // [ig] @inquietocine // Awards/Screenings: Tampere International Film Festival | Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival.

Program’s note: Short films with unconventional narratives, a captivating spectacle that showcases the true power of cinema.

RECORDINGS OF A WEATHER CAMERA (Aufnahmen einer Wetterkamera) | [d] Bernhard Wenger / [w] Alexandra Brodski, Bernhard Wenger / Austria / 2023 / Fiction / 18:30 // A weather camera installed to display majestic mountain panoramas, casually captures a panorama of human abominations.

PRELUDE OP. 28 NO. 2 | [d][w] Jenni Toikka / Finland / 2022 / Experimental / 08:25 // Two people take turns playing the piano and listening. When watching the other playing, can you feel your own fingers on the keys? // [ig] @avarkki.fi @jenni_toikka // Awards/Screenings: FID Marseille, Vancouver International Film Festival

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE! (Merci pour votre patience!) | [d][w] Simon van der Zande / Belgium, The Netherlands / 2022 / Fiction / 17:10 // A tense bus ride in Brussels, when Samuel 3 a Congolese immigrant 3 gets on to voice his discontent with Europe. // Awards/Screenings: Film Fest Gent 2022 – audience award & special mention | Go Short International Short Film Festival Nijmegen 2023 – audience award & youth jury award

ALL MY SCARS VANISH IN THE WIND (Todas mis cicatrices se desvanecen en el viento) | [d][w] Angélica Restrepo, Carlos Velandia / Colombia / 2022 / Animation / 14:18 // Among intrusive and sought-after memories, a woman hears a disconcerting call from the depths of her being. // [ig] @carlosvelandiav @marian_rsg // Awards/Screenings: ZINEBI Grand Award (Oscar-Qualifying) – ZINEBI Bilbao International Documentary & Short Film Festival | Annecy International Animation Festival

ASTERIÓN | [d][w] Francesco Montagner / Czechia, Slovakia / 2022 / Experimental / 15:00 // The man is inwardly transformed and finds in the animal’s skin a way to cope with his own mortality and the transience of life. // [ig] @asterion_film // Awards/Screenings: > Riga International Film Festival – winner Best Film of International Short Film Competition 2022 and European Short Film Candidate 2023 > Filmfest Dresden – winner Best Film of International Short Film Competition 2023, Youth Jury Special Mention 2023

PLEASE MAKE IT WORK | [d][w] DANIEL SOARES / SWITZERLAND/PORTUGAL / 2022 / Fiction / 14:29 // A Portuguese immigrant cleans sophisticated AirBnB’s in the Swiss Alps. The mountain wind is strong. // [ig] @soaresfilm // Awards/Screenings: Locarno Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand

Program’s note: Conflicts strengthen one another, it’s a symphony of love and surviving.

BURNING BLUE | [d] Ezra Cecio / [w] Ezra Cecio, Garry Christian / Indonesia / 2023 / Fiction / 13:58 // Gita, a distraught teenager forced to be a badminton player by her authoritarian father, finds a way out through a strange request she proposed to her boyfriend. // [ig] @agterplaasproduction

THE TRIP (Išvyka) | [d][w] Jorūnė Greičiūtė / Lithuania / 2022 / Fiction / 19:59 // A couple travels south to visit a relationship guru, when, after a night in a distant field, they find their car has disappeared. // [ig] @isvyka // Awards/Screenings: Vilnius International Film Festival “Kino pavasaris” 2022 | Lithuanian Film Awards, Best short film, nominee, 2022

A LULLABY FOR YELLOW ROSES | [d][w] Rahul Roye / India / 2023 / Fiction / 17:55 // A migrant working-class couple, after losing their daughter to an ill-fated destiny, seeks friends in each other.

TRACE (Sleda) | [d][w] Asparuh Petrov / Bulgaria / 2022 / Animation / 06:42 // A stream of personal memories about the fear of becoming a father. // [ig] @asi_petrov // Awards/Screenings: Anima Brussels 2023 | Go Short International Short Film Festival 2023

ANJING-ANJING MENYERBU KUBURAN (The Intrusion) | [d][w] Eden Junjung / Indonesia / 2022 / Fiction / 15:00 // A couple tries to dig freshly buried corpse for its ear. They believe it would bring wealth. // [ig] @edenjunx // Awards/Screenings: Jogja Netpac Asian Film Festival Yogyakarta Indonesia Blencong Award for Best short film and Student Award | Red Sea International Film Festival Official Selection

Program’s note: Introspective reflections on life, grief, and remarkable self-awareness.

EVERY FLOOR LOOKS THE SAME | [d] Gladys Ng / Singapore / 2022 / Experimental / 20:00 / A young girl’s feelings of inertia leads her to wander the urban city in search of a lost bird. // [ig] @gldysng // Awards/Screenings: International Short Film Festival Oberhausen | Busan International Short Film Festival

SMALL HOURS | [d][w] Christian Spurling & Marta Sniezek / Ireland / 2022 / Experimental / 05:00 // While waiting for the kettle to boil, two people have a shared trip down memory lane. // [ig] @ARTOFASPURLING @MARTASSKETCHBOOK //Awards/Screenings: Best Director – Animation Dingle

LULLABY FOR STANISLAV | [d][w] Hanna Hertman / Belarus / 2023 / Fiction / 19:59 // After the loss of a child, the heroine tries to find support in the world as well as in herself in order to become happy again. // [ig] #lullaby_for_stanislav / @lullabyshortfilm

REMEMBER HOW I USED TO RIDE A WHITE HORSE (Sjeti se kako sam jahala bijelog konja) | [d][w] Ivana Bosnjak Volda, Thomas Johnson Volda / Croatia / 2022 / Animation / 09:57 // Time continuously elapses, apathy can trap consciousness into a loop. Escaping it, one can discover the true beauty of existence. // [ig] @ivanavolda // Awards/Screenings: Ottawa International Animation Festival | Annecy International Animation Festival

ALL END? | [d] Mattia Bioli / [w] Riccardo Simoncini / Italy / 2022 / Fiction / 10:40 // A girl is looking for her missing dog in a forest. But something mysterious makes its own way through the surrounding sky. // [ig] @mattiabioli // Awards/Screenings: Ribalta Experimental Film Festival 2023 | Zsigmond Vilmos Film Festival 2023

I SEEK YOUR HELP TO BURY A MAN (Procuro Teu Auxílio Para Enterrar Um Homem) // [d][w] Anderson Bardot / Brazil / 2023 / Fiction / 20:59 // Don’t fool yourself Soldier. This country is a mirage. // [ig] @andersonbardot @valeencantadofilmes // Awards/Screenings: World Premiere – 52nd International Film Festival Rotterdam | Best Cinematography at the 11th Nyack International Film Festival (USA, 2023)

Program’s note: Feel the rhythmic pulse of the locale echoes in the people’s soul.

THE OLD, THE NEW AND THE OTHER (3D film) | [d] Sébastien Simon / South Korea / 2022 / Documentary / 15:05 // Welcome to Mipo, an old fishing village on the edge of Haeundae beach, in Busan, well on its way to being fully gentrified. // [ig] @simsebou // Awards/Screenings: 10th Festival Courant3D Angoulême (Special Mention from the Jury) | 40th Busan International Short Film Festival

ONE DAY IN LIM CHU KANG | [d] Michael Kam / Singapore / 2022 / Documentary / 04:28 // A filmmaker recalls an outing with his parents. A contemplation on life, death, and the ever-changing landscape in Singapore. // Awards/Screenings: 50th Athen International Film & Video Festival (USA), 1st Prize Documentary | 64th ZINEBI 3 International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao (Spain)

LAND | [d][w] Claire Griois / France / 2022 / Fiction / 14:34 // On the Opal Coast, the inhabitants on the edge of an eroding cliff are rushing to move. Maryse is the last inhabitant. // [ig] @sensitofilms

GOING DIASPORA | [d][w] Damir Mehi / Bosnia & Herzegovina / 2022 / Fiction / 17:20 // A young man is about to leave Bosnia for Luxembourg in search of a better life there, and says goodbye to the city he grew up in. // [ig] @damir.mhc // Awards/Screenings: Sarajevo Film Festival 2022 | Montenegro Film Festival Herceg Novi 2022

UNDER THE ENDLESS SKY | [d] Alexandra Dzhiganskaya / Ukraine/Austria / 2022 / Animation / 04:00 // A personal story about my childhood memories in Ukraine and exploration of how memories are preserved. // [ig] @alexandradzh

REST IN PIECE // [d] Antoine Antabi / Germany, France / 2022 / Animation / 09:35 // Midyan decides to run away from his war-torn home. He packs his bag with objects that remind him of his loved ones. // [ig]@manifest.france_

Program’s note: Underneath the reality, lies the reflection of human nature’s imperfections, where biases and judgments shape our collective existence.

MA GUEULE (F*cking Head) | [d] Gregory Carnoli, Thibaut Wohlfahrt / [w] Grégory Carnoli / Belgium / 2022 / Fiction / 21:41 // After watching a soccer match, Stéphane goes to a nightclub with his friends. But things do not go as planned and it is the beginning of a crazy night for him. // [ig] @thibautwohlfahrt @big_trouble_in_little_belgium @agencebelgeducourtmetrage // Awards/Screenings: Brussels Short Film Festival 2022 – Audience Award, Best Actor Award and Arte Award I Fenêtre sur courts 2022 – Audience Award and Student Award

KAKAK JENGGOT (THE BROTHER) | [d][w] MUH. NUR FALAH MUZAKKIR / INDONESIA / 2022 / Fiction / 11:03 // Brother grows his beard. Uje must have been involved in a terrorist network! Iccang wants to save Uje.

GAREK | [d][w] Cech Adrea / Malaysia / 2022 / Fiction / 04:47 // Rose, who is pregnant out-of-wedlock, is stuck in a house where a child marriage arrangement takes place. // [ig] @kapsulstudio @cechadrea @haziqahazemi_ // Awards/Screenings: Winner, Horizon Short Film Festival 2023 (Malaysia) | Best Film Direction and Best Asian Short, Asia South East-Short Film Festival 2022 (Cambodia)

AT LITTLE WHEELIE THREE DAYS AGO | [d] Andrew Stephen Lee / [w] Andrew Stephen Lee, Chuko Esiri / United States / 2022 / Fiction / 18:20 // A viral video rattles an out-of-work father. // Awards/Screenings: Locarno Film Festival 2022

SAFE AS HOUSES | [d] Mia Mullarkey / [w] Sarah Ahern / Ireland / 2022 / Fiction / 16:12 // On a hot summer’s day, a woman with Down syndrome, offers shelter to a young girl when her home life is not so welcoming. // [ig] @safeashousesshortfilm // Awards/Screenings: North American Premiere – Slamdance Film Festival World Premiere – Galway Film Fleadh, Ireland.

IT’S YOU (맞죠) | [d][w] Yu WON / South Korea / 2021 / Fiction / 10:18 // A stranger approaches and pretends to know and insists on it, and a passerby intervenes in this situation.