Official Selection of Short Films
Day 1: 126′
(May 23 / 18:00) DAWN EVERY DAY
(May 23 / 18:00) NEW
(May 23 / 18:00) THE MAN WHO COULD NOT REMAIN SILENT
(May 23 / 18:00) CASTAWAYS
(May 23 / 18:00) BAD FOR A MOMENT
(May 23 / 18:00) WITHERED BLOSSOMS
(May 23 / 18:00) FAVOURS
(May 23 / 18:00) OUR OWN SHADOW
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(May 23 / 18:00) DAWN EVERY DAY
May 23 (Friday) 18:00
Cinematheque
DAWN EVERY DAY (فجر كل يوم , 2024)
dir. Amir Youssef, EG, 20’
Following the nationalization of the Suez Canal in 1956, while adults are swept up in national euphoria, eight-year-old Nabil is heartbroken. The cosmopolitan spirit of Cairo is unraveling, and many families of foreign origin are leaving—including that of his best friend Mireille. A warm and humane story about friendship and memory, told from the innocent perspective of a child confronted with the harsh historical realities of a world not made for children. -
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(May 23 / 18:00) NEW
May 23 (Friday) 18:00
Cinematheque
New (2024)
dir. Zhenia Kazankina, RU, IT, 20’
In the outskirts of Moscow, early one morning, Darya arrives at a suburban apartment to dog-sit a large white dog for three days. Soon, she begins to suspect that the apartment’s owner is not simply away, but possibly missing—if they ever existed at all. This mysterious absence begins to alter her perception; the figurines and photographs in the space seem to conceal a deeper enigma about the world she is slowly losing herself in, while grappling with her own fears and a growing sense of unreality. -
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(May 23 / 18:00) THE MAN WHO COULD NOT REMAIN SILENT
May 23 (Friday) 18:00
Cinematheque
THE MAN WHO COULD NOT REMAIN SILENT
(Čovjek koji nije mogao šutjeti, 2024)
dir. Nebojša Slijepčević, HR, BG, 14’
February 1993. Bosnia. On a train near Štrpci, paramilitary forces carry out an act of ethnic cleansing. Out of 500 passengers, only one—Tomo Buzov—dares to stand up to them. Based on a true story, the film explores the limits of morality under extreme, claustrophobic conditions, where silence becomes louder than conscience.
Winner of the Palme d’Or – Short Film, Cannes 2024, and Oscar-nominated. -
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(May 23 / 18:00) CASTAWAYS
May 23 (Friday) 18:00
Cinematheque
CASTAWAYS (Náufragos, 2024) dir. Andrea Saavedra de la Teja, MX, 13’
Thirteen-year-old Miriam takes care of her four-month-old brother Noé and their mother, who suffers from postpartum depression. When her best friend invites her to a party hosted by the boy she likes, Miriam does everything she can to get the baby to sleep. But the next morning, Noé doesn’t wake up.
A poignant social drama that sheds light on the darker corners of dysfunctional families, where young adolescents—faced with neglect, resentment, and despair—are forced to grow up too soon, and far too fast.
Winner of the Golden Egg at Küstendorf. -
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(May 23 / 18:00) BAD FOR A MOMENT
May 23 (Friday) 18:00
Cinematheque
BAD FOR A MOMENT (Mau por um momento, 2024)
dir. Daniel Soares, PT, 15’
Adrião’s architecture firm designs luxury apartments in Lisbon’s poorest neighborhoods. One day, while unwinding with colleagues at “Car Smash”—a team-building event with therapeutic flair—his brand-new Tesla is destroyed by a group of angry teenagers. This collision of two worlds forces Adrião to confront the consequences of his work and plunges him into a deeply personal and inescapable moral crisis.
A dark, satirical farce on social injustice and the brutal absurdities of gentrification.
Special Mention at Cannes. -
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(May 23 / 18:00) WITHERED BLOSSOMS
May 23 (Friday) 18:00
Cinematheque
WITHERED BLOSSOMS (2024)
dir. Lionel Seah, AU, 14’
After two days of trying to hide the breakup with her long-time partner, a young woman finally visits her grandmother—wearied by the last challenges of old age. In their shared moments of tenderness, quiet walks in the park, and patient care sessions in the modest family home, the girl begins to confront the inevitable distance between them. All the while, her grandmother’s warm voice echoes like a subconscious murmur of half-forgotten, universal human truths—unfolding into a quiet, timeless meditation on the fleeting beauty of life. -
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(May 23 / 18:00) FAVOURS
May 23 (Friday) 18:00
Cinematheque
FAVOURS (2024)
dir. Agnes Skonare, SE, 11’
At a crowded train station in Sweden, a distressed woman named Sonja holds a baby in her arms, asking for help. She claims she was asked to watch the child for a moment, but the mother has vanished—and her train is about to arrive. The more desperately she tries to pass off the baby she insists isn’t hers, the more suspicious the people around her become, heightening the tension and uncertainty around the truth.
An intense sociopsychological drama that challenges stereotypes about motherhood and gendered expectations.
Special Mention at Palm Springs. -
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(May 23 / 18:00) OUR OWN SHADOW
May 23 (Friday) 18:00
Cinematheque
OUR OWN SHADOW (Nuestra sombra, 2024)
dir. Agustina Sánchez Gavier, AR, DE, 19’
A solar eclipse casts ominous signs over rural Argentina. As darkness falls over the jungle and the air thickens with unease, María reflects on hidden forces, Lucas searches for his missing sister, and Camila withers in fever. Their shared world unravels against the unforgiving backdrop of the forest.
A deeply poetic and visually striking response to the unsettling transformations in people caught within the ruthless exploitation of nature. -
Day 2: 127′
(May 26 / 18:00) A BLACK HOLE NEAR KENT
(May 26 / 18:00) UNDER THE MOUNTAINS' SHADOW
(May 26 / 18:00) LOOKING SHE SAID I FORGET
(May 26 / 18:00) JAMES
(May 26 / 18:00) ALMOST CERTAINLY FALSE
(May 26 / 18:00) PASTA NEGRA
(May 26 / 18:00) HYMN OF THE PLAGUE
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(May 26 / 18:00) A BLACK HOLE NEAR KENT
May 26 (Monday) 18:00
Cinematheque
A BLACK HOLE NEAR KENT (2024)
dir. Hannah Schierbeek, US, 15’
Julie, a delivery driver in the American Midwest, decides to expose a devastating truth that has haunted her for years. She leads a journalist to a secret dumping site—the “black hole” where her factory has been disposing of toxic waste for decades, contaminating the region’s water supply.
A deeply intimate socio-environmental drama focusing on the consequences of industrial destruction and the fragility of human health, uncovering "the scars even the water cannot wash away". -
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(May 26 / 18:00) UNDER THE MOUNTAINS' SHADOW
May 26 (Monday) 18:00
Cinematheque
UNDER THE MOUNTAINS' SHADOW (Vultosos cumes, 2025)
dir. Diogo Salgado, PT, FR, BE, 20’
A mother is apprehensive about her son’s future away from home. Pedro travels with a group of four older and more experienced men in a van, driving through a storm. On the journey, they discuss the future and the work awaiting them at the end of the trip. Doing this trip for the first time, Pedro is somewhat indifferent to the work assigned to him. Instead, he dreams of the mountains. -
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(May 26 / 18:00) LOOKING SHE SAID I FORGET
May 26 (Monday) 18:00
Cinematheque
LOOKING SHE SAID I FORGET (2024)
dir. Naomi Pacifique, CH, NL, 25’
Newly relocated to Amsterdam and navigating the complexities of her long-distance polyamorous relationship with Zoël, Lou drifts quietly through the colorful topography of her new city. As her emotional world expands—and greys—she finds herself increasingly unable to center within it.
A melancholic, contemplative film that questions social norms around intimacy, and probes the edges of isolation, pain, vulnerability, and empathy in contemporary human connection. -
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(May 26 / 18:00) JAMES
May 26 (Monday) 18:00
Cinematheque
JAMES (2024)
dir. Andrés Rodríguez, GT, MX, 20’
James, a young Indigenous Guatemalan, sells phone cases on the streets of Guatemala City. Alongside other children in his neighborhood, he lives in a closed-off world, unprotected by adults. Struggling daily to find his place in the “hierarchy of manhood,” he is confronted with helplessness, anger, and a constant fear of abandonment in the vastness of the city. Eventually, the pressure becomes unbearable.
A poignant social drama about the harsh realities faced by children forced to grow up on the streets—about their vulnerability and fragility, but also about their vitality, courage, and resilience. -
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(May 26 / 18:00) ALMOST CERTAINLY FALSE
May 26 (Monday) 18:00
Cinematheque
ALMOST CERTAINLY FALSE (Neredeyse kesinlikle yanlış, 2024)
dir. Cansu Baydar, TR, 20’
Twenty-one-year-old Hana and her brother Nader, refugees from Syria, live in a poor suburb of Istanbul. Hana closes her eyes, digs in her nails, dreams of Europe, and longs for “a place without fear beneath the clouds.”
A touching portrait of resilience, quiet strength, and the fragile beginnings of life beyond conflict—marked by invisible traumas, but also new hopes and dreams. -
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(May 26 / 18:00) PASTA NEGRA
May 26 (Monday) 18:00
Cinematheque
PASTA NEGRA (2025)
dir. Jorge Thielen Armand, VE, CA, 15’
Before dawn, Germinia, Coralia, and Milagros embark on a perilous journey along narrow mountain paths to a makeshift border crossing with Colombia. There, along with other Venezuelan women, they patiently wait in line to sell their hair in exchange for a few packets of pasta.
Adapted from the short story Tijeras (“Scissors”) by Venezuelan writer Karina Sainz Borgo, Pasta Negra is a haunting and poetic narrative that captures the emotional weight of dehumanization and the devastating consequences of Venezuela’s ongoing socioeconomic and humanitarian crisis. -
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(May 26 / 18:00) HYMN OF THE PLAGUE
May 26 (Monday) 18:00
Cinematheque
HYMN OF THE PLAGUE (Гимн чуме, 2024) dir. Ataka51, RU, DE, 12’
In an old Soviet-era studio, an orchestra sets Pushkin’s Feast in Time of Plague to music. During the performance, a terrifying phenomenon begins to distort reality: the walls tremble, the lights go out, and the instruments warp and twist. The chaos builds toward an apocalyptic symphony and a morbid mise-en-scène of collapse. Inspired by Julio Cortázar’s short story Casa Tomada (1946), Hymn of the Plague is a powerful political allegory about the invisible forces of control and repression that govern human life. -
