Since its inception in 2002, Minikino has placed critical thinking at the heart of its mission. More than two decades later, this commitment continues through ongoing research into how short film discussions and filmmaking activities can support the development of children and youth aged 4–17.
In 2024, Minikino launched a year-round public program inviting schools, teachers, parents, and individuals to recognize the value of short films as a meaningful educational supplement. The 2026 Education Team has selected films from the official selection, each accompanied by a Watch and Learn Guide to support reflection and discussion after the screening.
Activities such as school field trips, filmmaker Q&A sessions, and hands-on learning stations at the festival hub further extend this initiative—fostering curiosity, empathy, and critical thinking through the shared experience of short films.
Shortcut Index:
ABOUT US
“Grief is love everlasting.”
Duration: 92:44 / age rating: 13+
| DATE | SHOW TIME | VENUE |
|---|---|---|
THE FIRST BITE (Pehla Niwala)
[d][w] Rajdip Ray
India / 2025 / Fiction / 18:30
A young Kolkata couple struggle to keep up to drastic dietary changes after the wife is diagnosed with a terminal illness.
–
Awards/Screenings: Tasveer SAFF, Seattle, 2025 | NYIFF, New York, 2026
[ig] @bauddhayan @rayofdope @monalisa0827 @tanmaydhanania @ @nainasareen @arindamdebnath_
BAADARANE
[d] Samah El Kadi
Lebanon / 2025 / Fiction / 15:00
A young boy from Mount Lebanon grapples with his mother’s sudden death, questioning the foundation of his faith.
–
[ig] @madshorts_
OUR BIRTHDAYS (Nos Anniversaires)
[d] Angeline Teh
Malaysia, Belgium / 2026 / Documentary / 22:00
A Belgian family navigates silence and loss as memories blur with reality in a tender reflection on love and grief.
–
Awards/Screenings: Docudays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival 2026
[ig] @angeline.tyh
PAPER HOUSES AND HORSES (水火山)
[d][w] An Chu
Taiwan / 2025 / Docufiction / 18:14
A Taiwanese mortuary keeps the bodies of abandoned children in freezers for years.
–
Awards/Screenings: IDFA Competition for Short Documentary, Hot Docs Shorts Program
[ig] @chu_chien_an
GRANDMA NAI WHO PLAYED FAVORITES (Chao Somnop Chet)
[d][w] Chheangkea
Cambodia, France, USA / 2025 / Fiction / 19:00
Dead Grandma Nai sneaks away from her afterlife after overhearing that her queer grandson is about to get engaged to a woman.
–
[ig] @chheangkea
BITTERSWEET
“Growing up even if it hurts.”
Duration: 71:56 / Age rating: 13+
| DATE | SHOW TIME | VENUE |
|---|---|---|
THE GIFT (El regalo)
[d][w] Lara Izagirre Garizurieta
Spain / 2025 / Fiction / 14:02
Desirée, Samara and Aurora commute to the center to buy a gift. Things go south when the store clerks accuse them of stealing.
–
Awards/Screenings: 67º ZINEBI. Festival Internacional de Cine Documental y Cortometraje de Bilbao. Spain | 23º Bogoshorts – Bogotá Short Film Festival. Colombia
[ig] @lara.izagirre @garizafilms @agenciafreak
ΑLPΑ
[d][w] Dhiwangkara Seta
Indonesia / 2025 / Fiction / 15:55
An abandoned punk reunites with the ghost of his past at a moral rehabilitation center where he is forced to confront his destiny.
–
Awards/Screenings: Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Market 2026 (France) | Official Selection Jogja–NETPAC Asian Film Festival, 2025 (Indonesia)
[ig] @dhiwankokoro @elizacheisa @giovannirahmadeva @qunfilms @lunefeatures @dogme23_
SO HE GRABBED THE KNIFE (そしてナイフを手にした)
[d] Sam KUWA
Japan, China / 2026 / Animation / 12:16
The boy takes the knife his father once gave him. Did what followed make him a “man”?
–
Awards/Screenings: Annecy International Animation Film Festival | Animafest Zagreb
[ig] @sam.kuwa
THE TASTE OF YOUR SCALES (Le goût de tes écailles)
[d][w] Rafaël Beauchamp
Canada / 2026 / Fiction / 16:43
A teenager is horrified to discover the true face of his father’s fish factory.
–
Awards/Screenings: Tampere Film Festival | REGARD, Saguenay International Short Film Festival
[ig] @wlcmaboard @rafabeauchamp @colonellefilms
I’M GLAD YOU’RE DEAD NOW
[d][w] Tawfeek Barhom
France, Greece, Palestine / 2025 / Fiction / 13:00
Two brothers return to the island of their childhood, where buried secrets force them to confront a dark past that connects them.
–
Awards/Screenings: Cannes Film Festival 2025 – Palme d’or | Sundance Film Festival 2026
[ig] @kidam_production @tbarhom
BOTTLED UP
“Agency, under pressure.”
Duration: 70:49 / Age rating: 13+
| DATE | SHOW TIME | VENUE |
|---|---|---|
BREWER
[d] Erika Valenciana
United States / 2025 / Documentary / 10:24
Brewer juxtaposes poetic visuals of the craft beer brewing process with reflections of bias experienced.
–
Awards/Screenings: St. Louis International Film Festival | Filmfort at Treefort Music Festival
[ig] @erikavalenciana
ĀYÍ (阿姨)
[d][w] Jiayi Li
United States/China / 2025 / Fiction / 13:29
In a crowded NYC dormitory, a housekeeper finds peace through Baduanjin as exploitation pushes her toward resistance.
–
Awards/Screenings: Tribeca Festival – Specia Jury Mention in Student Visionary | Mar del Plata International Film Festival – Special Mention for Best International Short Film
[ig] @jiayili @ayi.shortfilm
THE EVALUATION (Vertinimas)
[d][w] Laura Kazbaraite
Lithuania / 2024 / Fiction / 19:54
In an academic committee, a newcomer lecturer must decide: confront the power she once respected or stay silent to belong.
–
Awards/Screenings: Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, Short Film Market Pick, 2026 | FOLCS International Short Film Competition, 2nd Place Winner, 2026
[ig] @laurakazbaraite @alvydas_ka @raminta.verseckaite @jarmokiuru @_feelreel_
DAUGHTERS OF THE LATE COLONEL
[d][w] Elizabeth Hobbs
United Kingdom, Germany / 2026 / Animation / 08:57
After the death of their controlling father, two middle aged sisters try to find the courage to begin their lives anew.
–
Awards/Screenings: Quinzaine des Cinéastes, France (2026) | Krakow Film Festival, Poland (2026)
[ig] @hobbslizzy
SOULS OF FOUTA (Les Âmes du Fouta)
[d][w] Alpha Diallo
France, Senegal / 2026 / Fiction / 18:05
In a Senegalese village, their son dies of overdose. Moustapha refuses burial; Penda fights alone so he may rest in peace.
–
Awards/Screenings: Berlinale | Festival REGARD
[ig] @Alphacin0 @tactproduction @horsdubocal
INTRICATE LOVE
“Who gets to belong, and who gets to decide?”
Duration: 64:29 / Age Rating: 13+
| DATE | SHOW TIME | VENUE |
|---|---|---|
VILLA 187
[d] Eiman Mirghani
Qatar, Sudan / 2025 / Documentary / 10:07
When Eiman’s father loses his job, forcing them from their longtime Doha home, she begins a journey into memory and identity.
–
Awards/Screenings: Doha Film Festival 2025 (Best Director)| San Francisco International Film Festival 2026
[e] andy@rainafilms.com
[ig] @omgitseiman @rainafilmfestivaldistribution
THE APPLICANT (El aspirante)
[d] Sam Orti / [w] Flora Cuevas
Spain / 2025 / Animation / 14:58
A civil servant, who lives and works in a tiny, gray, and depressing room, whose mission in life is to reject applications
–
[ig] @conflictivos_productions
SUMPAH PEMUDA (YOUTH PLEDGE)
[d] Aisha Servia
Indonesia, USA / 2025 / Experimental / 05:45
An exploration of self and state-crafted national identity through a recitation of Sumpah Pemuda by young Indonesians in the US.
–
Awards/Screenings: BINISAYA World 2025
[ig] @r4gusemesta
SIHAM’S DAUGHTER (La Fille de Siham)
[d] Marianne Barakat / [w] Marianne Barakat, Aodren Buart
France / 2025 / Fiction / 18:42
Rim, returns to her Lebanese village after years of absence. Disturbing visitors constantly enter the house.
–
Awards/Screenings: Batroun Mediterranean Film Festival (Lebanon, 2025) | PÖFF Shorts (Estonia, 2025)
[ig] @lafemis.paris
WE WERE THE SCENERY
[d] Christopher Radcliff / [w] Cathy Linh Che
USA, Canada / 2025 / Documentary / 14:57
The story of Hoa Thi Le and Hue Nguyen Che, who, after fleeing the Vietnam War, were utilized as extras in APOCALYPSE NOW.
–
Awards/Screenings: Sundance | Visions du Réel
[ig] @christopherradcliff @wewerethescenery_film
JOLLY
“Unexpected encounters.”
Duration: 61:05 / Age rating: 7+
| DATE | SHOW TIME | VENUE |
|---|---|---|
MONSTER & ME
[d] Tom Field / [w] Tom Field and Elora Battah
New Zealand / 2025 / Fiction / 07:42
Motmot lives a monotonous and mundane life until one day he meets an unknown creature, a human boy.
–
[ig] @tomfieldd @elorabattah
LINIE 12 (Line 12)
[d][w] Sarah Schulz
Germany / 2025 / Animation / 08:33
Will a pedantic train conductor and a chaotic musician be able to save the train from disaster?
EMECHICHE, THE REBIRTH OF WHITE-HEADED (Emechiche, El renacer de los cabeciblancos)
[d][w] Juan Camilo González
Colombia, Argentina / 2025 / Animation / 11:29
In Montes de María, the Emechiche battles for its survival, highlighting its wild instincts, and the vulnerability of its species.
–
Awards/Screenings: Bogoshorts, 2025, Bogotá, Colombia | Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano, 2025, La Habana, Cuba.
[ig] @littlebearscine
SPEEDY!
[d][w] OH Jiin
South Korea, USA / 2024 / Fiction / 17:48
1989 Seoul. Jung-min dreams of becoming a speed-reading prodigy like Dong-hyun, the coolest guy who devours books in 60 seconds.
–
Awards/Screenings: Slamdance Film Festival 2026: The AGBO Fellowship award (2026) | Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (2026)
[ig] @centralpark0.0 @jiohh
KOSMOGONIA
[d] Karolina Chabier
France, Belgium, Poland, Portugal / 2026 / Animation / 15:33
A friendship is born between the buffalo goddess and the goat goddess, and with it a new world.
–
Awards/Screenings: Anima – 45ème Festival international du film d’animation de Bruxelles | European film festival of Lille – Best Animates short film
[ig] @karo_chabier @novanima @lelokalprod @ozuprod @cola_anima @animoonstudio
LOST & FOUND
“When we first learn to belong…”
Duration: 76:36 / Age Rating: 13+
| DATE | SHOW TIME | VENUE |
|---|---|---|
TUTTI (你吹Do，我吹Si)
[d][w] Zhuang Rong-Zuo
Taiwan / 2026 / Fiction / 18:36
A struggling recorder player meets a boy who wants to quit. Practicing together, they discover growth beyond music.
–
Awards/Screenings: 2026 Berlinale Generation Kplus | Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg – Mo&Friese – Children Jury’s Special Mention
[ig] @zhuangrongzuo @me_is_pork
ON A SUNDAY AT ELEVEN
[d][w] Alicia K. Harris
Canada / 2024 / Fiction / 09:00
A young Black girl navigates exclusion in her all-white ballet class, reclaiming her beauty and power in an ethereal and jubilant celebration of Blackness.
–
Awards/Screenings: Selection: Berlinale 2025 Award: Best Live Action Short Drama – Canadian Screen Award 2025
[ig] @aliciakharris_ @lesfilmsdu3mars
DOG EAR (Kutyafül)
[d][w] Péter Vácz
Hungary / 2025 / Animation / 20:44
After witnessing his parents’ fight, Berci struggles with his emotions, finding a way to release them with his dog.
–
Awards/Screenings: ANNECY International Animation Film Festival | PÖFF Shorts, Manchester Animation Festival (Jury’s Special Mention)
[ig] @vaczpeter
ROUNDABOUT (Im Kreis)
[d][w] Zoe Schmidt
Austria / 2025 / Fiction / 12:28
Mia and Karo are ten and inseparable. But when a prank goes too far, something between them starts to shift.
PALE SUN (SOLEIL PÂLE)
[d] Adrian Moyse Dullin, Jawahine Zentar / [w] Adrian Moyse Dullin, Emma Benestan
France / 2026 / Fiction / 15:48
On a beach in summer, 12-year-old Abel is ashamed of his father’s body, marked by cancer.
–
Awards/Screenings: Clermont-Ferrand ISFF 2026 (National Competition) | Aspen Shortfest 2026 – Best Drama, Youth Jury Special Mention
[ig] @adrian_moyse_dullin @jawahine.z @salaudmorisset
OUR PLANET
“The space between us and everything else.”
Duration: 89:29 / Age Rating: 13+
| DATE | SHOW TIME | VENUE |
|---|---|---|
BRUTE
[d][w] Jérémy Comte
Canada / 2026 / Fiction / 16:29
Overwhelmed by crippling anxiety, a young sculptor finds himself trapped in his studio.
–
Awards/Screenings: Regard sur le court métrage au Saguenay | In the Palace
[ig] @jaycomte
EX-TRACT
[d] Marcel Barelli
Switzerland / 2025 / Animation / 03:00
“When I was a child, I didn’t know I was living during a mass extinction.” Marcel Barelli
TOO BLUE A SKY
[d][w] Risto-Pekka Blom
Finland / 2026 / Experimental / 15:00
A story about money, power, exploitation and many possible ends to the world. Some people yearn for Mars, others for Heaven.
–
Awards/Screenings: Tampere Film Festival 2026
STILL BY MY SIDE (Met huid en haar)
[d] Jasper van Leeningen
The Netherlands / 2025 / Documentary / 07:05
As a taxidermist recreates their forms, pet owners turn loss into something tangible, clinging to a bond that defies death.
–
Awards/Screenings: Nederlands Film Festival | Noorderkroon Award best short documentary
[ig] @jaspervanleeningen
CAPTIVE AUDIENCE
[d] Kew Lin
Singapore / 2025 / Fiction / 14:25
Rejected by the music industry, a disenchanted musician decides to perform his music to a different audience —
animals at the zoo.
–
Awards/Screenings: Palm Springs International ShortFest | Singapore International Film Festival
[e] sara@eastwood.agency
AIR HORSE ONE
[d][w] Lasse Linder
Switzerland, Belgium / 2025 / Documentary / 21:00
Training, Take-Off, Grand Prix. Legacy is one of the most valuable and celebrated horses in show jumping.
–
Awards/Screenings: IDFA | Locarno Film Festival
[ig] @dynamic.frame @lassenonen
ACID CITY
[d] Jack Wedge, Will Freudenheim
USA / 2026 / Animation / 12:30
Acid City is a documentary set in a fictional city adrift in a vast acidic ocean.
–
Awards/Screenings: Premiere at IFFR – International Film Festival Rotterdam
PUZZLED
“The awkward art of connection.”
Duration: 92:19 / Age rating: 13+
| DATE | SHOW TIME | VENUE |
|---|---|---|
SARA & FATIMA
[d] Romy Boutin St-Pierre, Nada Cheddadi, Karima Zouhair / [w] Romy Boutin St-Pierre, Nada Cheddani
Canada / 2026 / Fiction / 13:07
In an isolated bus shelter in the Moroccan desert, two radically different women wait for a bus that never comes.
–
Awards/Screenings: IFFR, 2026 | REGARD, 2026
[ig] @spiraquebec @lesemotives.inc
TOGETHERNESS (Совместное)
[d] Evgeny Baranovsky
Russia / 2025 / Fiction / 23:53
Stas, an MMA fighter, escapes a troubled past and returns to his estranged mother, seeking one last chance to reconcile.
–
[e] hanna@eastwood.agency
THANKS, YOU TOO
[d][w] Marion Täschler
Switzerland / 2025 / Animation / 09:48
Two strange birds get to know each other over dinner. Or not.
–
Awards/Screenings: New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival 2025 (Hokkaido Airport Terminal Award) | Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film 2026
[ig] @_mariontaeschler_ @virage_film @bonobostudio_zagreb
STUD (Saillie)
[d][w] Aude Thuries
France / 2026 / Fiction / 09:31
Frédérique, in her fifties, has dressed up to go for a walk with her dog Pauline. She hopes to meet someone on the forest trail…
–
Awards/Screenings: Clermont Ferrand Film festival
GOOD FAILURE (모범적 실패)
[d] Chaewon Yoon
Republic of Korea / 2025 / Fiction / 16:04
Jaehak, nearing thirty and stuck in part-time jobs, is unexpectedly invited back to his alma mater as a mentor.
–
Awards/Screenings: 5th 2030 Youth Film Festival (2025) Official Selection
[ig] @sending._.you
NINGÚ BORDA (Nobody Barks)
[d] Júlia Coldwell Serra / [w] Bertran Esteve Garcia, Júlia Coldwell Serra
Spain / 2025 / Fiction / 19:56
Candela accidentally kills her nephew’s dog but invents a legend, leading him on a pilgrimage. Slowly, lies begin to consume her.
–
Awards/Screenings: Clermont-Ferrand | Busan ISFF, Grand Prix winner
[ig] @solalfilms @julia_coldwell @leflochat
SURPRISE
“A pocket full of dreams.”
Duration: 51:54 / Age Rating: All
| DATE | SHOW TIME | VENUE |
|---|---|---|
EENY, MEENY, MINY, MOE! (En, ten, týky!)
[d] Andrea Szelesová
Czech, Slovak / 2026 / Animation / 12:56
Yios, a lonely mythical boy, struggles to make friends in the clouds. After he falls down to Earth, everything changes.
–
Awards/Screenings: Premiere at Berlinale – Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin
[ig] @pureshorefilms
KITO & MAJA – THE DREAM GLOBE TALES OF PUMPHUT THE WIZARD – AND THE LACK OF WIND (Kito, Maja und die Kugelkiste – VOM PUMPHUT und der Windstille)
[d] Eliza Plocieniak-Alvarez
Germany / 2025 / Animation / 04:11
Kito & Maja find a box with magic Dream Globes and dive into a Sorbian legend ‘Of Pumpuhut the Wizard’.
–
Awards/Screenings: ITFS Stuttgart, Germany |IAFF Animator, Poland
[ig] @blauepampelmuse
ONCE UPON A STARRY NIGHT (Как мышонок звездочки спасал)
[d][w] Masha Rumyantseva
Portugal, Russia / 2025 / Animation / 06:58
A brave mouse helps the fallen stars return to the sky.
–
Awards/Screenings: Ciné Junior (Paris, France, 2025) | ANIMAC (Spain, 2026)
[ig] @masharumy
SWEET TOMORROW (Doce Amanhã)
[d] António Alves
Portugal / 2024 / Animation / 05:27
A story of the rise, thrive and fall of an island, through the lens of an orangutan shaped by its elements.
–
[ig] @alves_agsma
IF ONLY
[d][w] Ada Güvenir
Belgium / 2026 / Animation / 05:30
A story about being in many realities at once. Sometimes one at a time, sometimes all at once.
–
[ig] @adaguvenir @shortsfitdistribution
CARCASSONNE-ACAPULCO
[d] Marjorie CAUP & Olivier HÉRAUD
France / 2025 / Animation / 13:49
As flight 7836 reaches cruising speed above the Atlantic Ocean, the crew are startled by an unexpected knock at the door.
–
Awards/Screenings: Premiere at Festival International du Film d’Animation d’Annecy
[ig] @carcassonne.acapulco
ACCELERATION
[d] Stepan Crani
Moldova / 2026 / Animation / 03:03
On a snowy winter day, a boy receives a new bicycle. As he pedals, his imagination takes him far beyond the courtyard.
–
[ig] @stepancrani