15’ | Spain
Cinematographers: Andrea Irurzun Garrido, Claudia Arquero | Director: Alicia Hernanpérez Hidalgo
Samantha and David are in the car looking out to sea. They are going to scatter their mother’s ashes on the beach of their childhood, but nothing goes as planned. Sister and brother will face their respective truths about that mother figure. This is a story about a miscarried ritual. It tells the difference between what we imagine and what actually happens.
13’ | Austria
Cinematographer: Albert Car, Stella-Joya Puelacher | Director: Luzia Johow
A woman is sitting in a forest clearing. Did something horrible happen? Children are dead or gone. Anonymous authorities, allies and a professor scurry around the accused, who is treated like a witness, victim and suspect all at the same time. Slowly she realizes that she might be to blame. Even after her acquittal she remains alone with a feeling of guilt.
19’ | Catalonia, Spain
Cinematographer: Xavi Souto | Director: Santiago Rafales
An unexpected event will make Biel, a ten-year-old boy, rethink the bond he has with his best friend Sara.
21’ | Germany, Jordan
Cinematographer : Mahmoud Belakhel | Director: Faris Alrjoob
A haunted Ida travels to the liminal site of her partner’s disappearance in an attempt to feel his presence one last time, and to say goodbye. Shot in a spectral town in the South of Jordan on 16mm, this languid character piece wanders through aesthetic conventions of the cinematic American West and the romantic spirit of the Mythical Cowboy.
13’ | United Kingdom
Cinematographer: Sahil Kotwani | Director: Nimay Goswami
Waiting for Kalki is a story about a day in the life of Vishnu, a daily wage leather tannery worker who is stuck in the monotonous loop of poverty. He is waiting to welcome a mysterious guest to his home, who is believed to have the ability to transform human lives. The film explores the feeling of Stillness and anticipation that comes with the waiting through the use of static shots and wide frames. It also challenges the idea of “God” and the existence of supernatural in the contemporary world.
16’ | United Kingdom
Cinematographer: Tamas A. Meder | Director: Markela Kontaratou
It is summer in Greece and Stela escapes to her summer house hoping to finish her thesis. There, her loud Neighbour and his Girlfriend keep distracting her. One night Stela witnesses a horrible crime.
21’ | Poland
Cinematographer: Ignacy Ciszewski | Director: Damian Kosowski
30 year old Kazik remembers his childhood when every morning his beloved aunt Dagna would Walk him to school. When the women goes missing, the boy decides to unravel the mystery of her disappearance.
17’ | Israel
Cinematographer: Mielle Lavie | Director: Lia Dekel
Gabi is undermined when her only friend, Noya, gets attention from the boy who assaulted her in the past. Facing anger and the need to be included, Gabi tries to cling to Noya, who’s drifting away. As night falls on Tel Aviv, the friendship is tested.
20’ | China
Cinematographer: Pan Wenhua | Director: He Yupeng
In the summer of 2021, a young man peacefully awaits the transformation of his hometown into a resort. Life in the countryside is characterized by its simplicity, with his daily routine revolving around herding cattle and caring for his elderly grandfather. However, on a bright sunny day, everything changes when a girl enters his life, bringing about a quiet yet profound transformation.
21’ | Poland
Cinematographer: David Bajerski | Director: Luiza Budejko
10-year-old Magda loses younger brother. Her father gets immersed in deep despair, while mother is cold and distant. Magda decides to revive Marcel and already knows how to accomplish this goal.
16’ | Slovenia
Cinematographer: Vintar Tadej | Director: Jembrih Filip
Jean, a young French hooligan, is sent on a forced vacation to his grandfather Evald, who lives in the Slovenian countryside. Despite Evald’s warm welcome, Jean remains quite withdrawn, speaks only French with his grandfather, and coldly rejects his lifestyle, which is mainly devoted to tending the orchard and selling apples on the local road. While they struggle to get used to life together, frost is slowly approaching Evald’s orchard.
20’ | Chezh Republic
Cinematographer: Helena Fikerova | Director: Petr Pylypčuk
A religious sect congregates by a lake in a forest. They are preparing to perform a baptism the next day, but teenage Anna has her own plans. She is fed up with life in the strict community and longs to experience freedom for the first time.
18’ | Italy
Cinematographer: Maria Chiara Morolli | Director: Giulia Regini
Sergio has remained at home to help his father run the family’s butcher shop. His brother Flavio never accepted his share of the responsibility, had a falling out with their father, and decided to leave home. When he comes back after a long time away, Sergio briefly believes that the rift in the family can still be healed.
11’ | N. Macedonia
Cinematographer: Agon Ismajli | Director: Merita Cegrani
Ella’s biggest and only secret is her son Jon. Jon was born eight years ago as an act of rape, and after eight years he feels like nobody’s son for the first time. The one that Jon knew as a father turns into a stranger, and he feels guilty towards his mother because of all the difficulties that he unknowingly caused.
16’ | Italy
Cinematographer: Simone Rossi | Director: Lorenzo Tardella
In a dark, velvety theatre there is a first kiss between Pietro and Tommaso. When the lights come back on, however, the two students have different expectations of what might follow.
21’ | Lebanon
Cinematographer: Tony Keyrouz | Director: Ribal Chedid
Farid, who works abroad, locks himself on the last day of his stay in Beirut in his son Rawad’s room, to find what he is hiding there. Separated by a locked door, the dysfunctional dynamic between them intensifies, and the past resurfaces.
8’ | Romania
Cinematographer: Alexandru Buliga | Director: Alexandru Buliga
“Amber & Green” is a film about Matei, a 9-year-old boy who has hearing problems and who is in a period of transition and formation in his life, the landmark event being when a new member joins his family – a younger sister named Amelie. He also has an older sister, Maria, who teases him from time to time even though she loves him. The film seeks to transpose visually and sonically, through an expressionist approach, Matei’s inner state at this crucial moment in his life, in which the parents’ attention must be redistributed in three parts, with the emphasis on the newborn Amelie, who needs very much much care.
20’ | Columbia
Cinematographer: David Correa Franco | Director: Ismael García Ramírez
Tired of her life with her husband, a woman decides to leave her home to spend a night of euphoria with her son and a group of friends.
