short films

This animated documentary, created using puppets made from newspaper clippings, is about a Kurdish-Iranian family of four who died in the sinking of a migrant boat in the English Channel in 2020. At the time of the tragedy, there were ten more people on board than the vessel could hold. One of the victims was nine-year-old Anita, from whose perspective we follow the story. But did strict laws restricting safe border crossings change her fate? And how many more victims will they claim? “A person who longs to leave the place where he lives is an unhappy person.” — Milan Kundera

A young woman in love embarks on a dangerous journey to find a man she met on the internet and doesn't know much about. Her stubbornness goes so far that the director is forced to stop her. The film thus opens up questions about the author's responsibility for the subjects she is following in documentary filmmaking. “Bingru met Cai Jinlong, a guy from Guangdong, on QQ blog.”

With the same intensity with which the flashing blue light illuminates its surroundings, fatal experiences are burned into the memory of an ambulance paramedic. The traumatic dimension of carrying out a profession that is essential for society is brought closer by the documentary confession of a man who sometimes unfortunately cannot save the lives of others.“In recent years, I have often been surprised at how we move the suffering in our society to the edges. Preferably out of sight.” Source: Jaap van Heusden's blog

The last earthquake that struck Popayán in 1983 not only destroyed the Colombian city itself, but left lasting scars on the lives of its men and women that have been inherited by younger generations. Friends María José and Alejandra deal with the traumas of the past and the pain in their own way – through sunsets, art, poetry and cinema itself. “The most important thing for a house not to fall down is to have a good foundation, and I think it’s also like that with humans, isn’t it?” — Alejandra

High in the mountains of the Pamirs lies Lake Bulunkul and the village of the same name, one of the coldest inhabited places in the former Soviet Union. Mountains, a plain, a herd of yaks. Time has seemingly stood still here. Survival in this inhospitable landscape indeed depends on sensitivity to weather fluctuations and changes in nature.

The static view of the sea bay and the urban skyline is the same every day during the coronavirus pandemic. Radio broadcasts, film clips and the sounds of washing dishes can be heard in the background. Meanwhile, the author's voice shares his intimate feelings and philosophical reflections on the changes that emerge in this apparent constancy. “This isn’t a weather diary. It is a climate diary. The changes are very subtle. You can barely feel them.”

The three female protagonists present their personal relationship with intravenous drug use, and their intimate confessions are filled with fear and insecurity but also love for the state of intoxication. Ambient music in the background and colourful textures multiplying over shots of the everyday reality of drug users create an almost dreamlike world. “I won’t feel the full effects the whole night, but it will help take my mind off things.”

Who were the unknown heroines who helped to promote women's rights in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century? The documentary by producer and director Silvia Venegas highlights the importance of past and present activism that continues to fill the streets of Spain today with people demonstrating and paying tribute to those whose rebellion advanced the status of women in society and opened up opportunities they could only dream of before. But their journey is far from over… “Who were those mothers who occupied the streets of Europe to fight for our rights (the most important one being the right to vote, which finally recognized us as true citizens)?” — Silvia Venegas

When the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Svetlana went to the Czech Republic with her two daughters. Now she intends to return to the war-torn country. Christmas is approaching and the family wants to spend it with their husband and father, who stayed in the Kyiv region. The camera impartially records the preparation for this risky journey. “I'm telling you that there's a war going on in Ukraine! And you are going there!”

Big events in our lives and on the planet often start with something small. The author therefore puts different species of mosquitoes and glimpses of a childhood under the microscope. Scientific facts about the tiny bloodsucking creatures are mixed with fragmented memories in a ghostly narrative. To understand the past and prepare for the future, both require equal attention. “Every time that you think we're now living in some final, confusing battle arena, and that it will all end badly, you then realize that nothing truly ends.”

The unique testimony of a physician who, thanks to a series of coincidences, survived the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, brings to life the horror of such an act of mass destruction, even after more than 70 years. The mechanics of the forces that could no longer be stopped once they were set in motion are revealed in a cinematic essay that deconstructs petrified historical interpretation. “The poignant and thought-provoking evidence of the secret war tactics reveals the human value during times of war in conflicts.” Source: Chi Jang Yin's website

Can someone become a mother without giving birth to a child? Twenty-nine-year-old filmmaker Santwana, who is not yet ready to become a mother, and forty-five-year-old doula Kata, who, though childless herself, helps many couples bring their children into the world, are searching for the answer to this question together. This highly intimate documentary empathetically introduces us to the most beautiful and vulnerable moments of life surrounding childbirth.“You know Khalil Gibran? Do you remember what he says about children? Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, and though they are with you yet they belong not to you.” — Kata

A stormy summer night. Lightning strikes the water. A chain reaction begins. Director Emilien Dubuc uses vivid imagery, evocative sound effects and microscopic shots of biochemical experiments to explain in detail how life on Earth is created. But his narrative gradually becomes less scientific and more personal.

Inspired by the stories of three protagonists involved in the misogynistic incel subculture, this short hybrid film presents the manifestations and sources of patriarchal extremism, which is increasingly escaping from virtual space into the real world. “The term [incel] has become so detached from the original meaning that it´s become useless.”

How has the coronavirus epidemic transformed everyday life in Shanghai? The world seems to have gone black and white. New routines are replaced by often harrowing and bleak intertwining stories, public announcements or cries for help. The director observes these from the shelter of her home, but even this, as a result of isolation, no longer evokes a sense of safe haven. “Over the past two months, my camera witnessed my everyday routines locked in this place. This place seems exactly like my home, but something feels strange here.” — Clarissa Zhang

A reporter for a fictional television station, originally from Ukraine, travels around Slovakia and asks people at memorable places questions about the nature of fascism and the soul of the Slovak nation. The documentary essay seeks to capture the shape of a society on the fringes of the political spectrum through the words spoken and the images of crowd scenes. “According to the Centre for Research of Ethnicity and Culture, people in Slovakia generally have an aversion to extremist movements. But at the same time, 75 percent of them identify with several of their ideas."Source: Aktuality.sk

In Mongolia, the word dzud refers to extremely cold winters that make it impossible for cattle to dig food out from under the snow. The fundamental transformation of pastoralists' lives caused by climate change is captured in this documentary portrait of a multi-generational family threatened with the loss of their traditional livelihood due to more frequent dzuds.“I discovered film as this really wonderful visual language that helps transport us to different places and introduce us to different characters and emotions that we might not have felt otherwise.” – Justin Kim WooSŏk

The epidemic has divided many families in Romania. Despite various restrictions, one such family tries to stay in touch with both traditions and relatives abroad, even during a burial. In addition to modern technology, black humour helps its members to do this.