Slow Dating 

Comedy/drama | PG | 7 minutes and 51 seconds 
Director: Adam Szudrich (Australia) 

Description:

When an elderly lady tries speed dating, it leads to a night with a charming stranger and a heartbreaking revelation.  

Director’s Note: 

Caught between the realms of past and present, Ester grapples with the weight of unresolved emotions and regrets. Through this journey of reflection, she begins to unravel the complexities of her own identity, finding strength and resilience in the face of uncertainty. 

Boxes 

Comedy | PG-13 | 10 minutes 
Director: Lucas Gingles (Argentina)

Description

Alicia is summoned to act in an institutional video for an important box company. Upon reading the script, she discovers that these boxes are not typical cardboard boxes. They are made of something special. 

Bears Ears 

Animated | PG | 2 minutes and 23 seconds 
Director: Mark Franz (United States)

Description:

Bears Ears is an experimental animated short film that weaves together imagery from Bears Ears National Monument. Through a fictional documentary structure, it blends interpretive visual poetry with messages of public awareness. 

Director’s Note: 

Bears Ears encourages audiences to think about the relationship between themselves and their surroundings. Particularly, it draws attention to protecting public lands.

Suitcase 

Drama | G | 14 minutes  
Director: Saman Hosseinpuor and Ako Zandkarimi (Iran) 

Description:

Far from his own homeland, a Kurdish refugee lives in his suitcase. In it he carries memories of his family. When someone steals the suitcase in the tumult of the foreign city center, he loses his home a second time. 

Watch, for Ye Know Not the Hour 

Documentary | PG | 5 minutes and 18 seconds 
Director: Gerard Walsh (Ireland) 

Description:

An Irish sea rescue volunteer reflects on his life as he peers out into the ocean. 

Rabies 

Experimental | PG-13 |16 minutes  
Director: Alberto Díaz (Spain)

Description:

Filomena’s life is struck by poverty and the sad obscurity of hardship and torment. Terrible occurrences will mark her character during her childhood, growing up in a Galician hamlet toward the end of the 19th century. Might she have the opportunity to change her fate? 

In This Together 

Animated sci-fi | PG | 48 seconds  
Director: Jiamu Tao (United States) 

Description:

A scientist looks into her microscope and finds a mini dimension on the other side that looks just like our own. After all, we’re all in this great universe together. 

Blue 

Experimental | PG-13 | 3 minutes and 30 seconds   
Director: Bongani Ndaba and Ndivhu Mushanganyisi (South Africa) 

Description:

Blue explores a young man’s dissociative outlook on the world and himself. Stepping away from his traditions, he finds it hard to come to terms with himself. The symbolism of color is important as it represents his dream state and his longing for freedom. Themes of water are also important as they speak to a baptism and rebirth of new ideas. 

The Lovely Sky 

Animated drama | PG-13 |11 minutes   
Director: Amir Mehran (Iran) 

Description:

An impatient fighter pilot bombs cities every day. He returns to his little girl every night after completing his mission. The girl loves to fly, but the father doesn’t fulfill his daughter’s dream because of the bitter memory of his wife’s death. War is getting closer every day. One day, an incident changes their life forever. 

Entropy

Comedy | PG |14 minutes and 18 seconds   
Director: Bamdad Aghajani and Arian Navabi (Iran) 

Description:

A physics professor tries to teach the concept of Entropy in his class, but unusual things start to happen. However, these unusual events gradually become more and more familiar to us. 

Estela, Is It You?

Drama | PG | 21 minutes and 41 seconds  
Director: Victor and Fabian Martin (United States)

Description:

A grieving woman communicates with her dead husband through her car radio. 

Director’s Note: 

Reflecting on the loss of a loved one can evoke strong emotions, deepened by the depth of that love. Estela, Is It You? is a story that examines that theme beautifully, forcing us to reflect on our relationships, past and present.

New Neighbour 

Comedy | G | 4 minutes and 47 seconds   
Director: Vincent Hazard (France) 

Description:

Ben is moving into a new flat and is trying to make a good impression on his new neighbors, which is important when you’re visually impaired. However, Ben doesn’t seem to be able to connect with his next-door neighbor. 

MADULU, The Sea Man 

Documentary | PG | 22 minutes and 4 seconds
Director: Akley Olton (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)

Description:

MADULU, The Sea Man is a lyrical documentary that attempts to preserve the rich history of a dying tradition in the wake of the economic struggle at the hands of the tourism industry. Interweaving documentary footage with animated sequences of young Amari’s drawings, the film uses a touch of magical realism to explore the divide between past and present and new interpretations of old traditions. 

Wander of Light 

Animated | G | 7 minutes and 15 seconds   
Director: Agata Zych (United States) 

Description:

Wander of Light pays tribute to authentic childhood vision, reminding us of the simplicity often lost in adulthood. It shows the beauty of our differences, highlighting how unique each of us is. 

Director’s Note: 

Wander of Light reflects the diverse ways individuals perceive and interpret the world. It emphasizes that everyone brings their own light to the world, offering new reflections, just like light refracted into a spectrum of different colors. 

The Mall Man 

Comedy | PG | 7 minutes and 48 seconds  
Director: Dustin Morrow (United States)

Description:

Death of a Salesman goes to the mall in this darkly comic satire of American consumerism and the fading status of shopping malls in contemporary society. In The Mall Man, a shopping mall manager undertakes a marathon session of wheeling and dealing in a last-ditch effort to bring life back to his failing mall. 

Director’s Note: 

This film is a reflection on what’s being lost—namely, communal spaces—as shopping malls close in the United States due to declining sales, competitive online retailers, and changing consumer habits. To address challenges, some malls are repositioning their usage. Despite efforts, the future of struggling shopping malls is uncertain.  

Bottles 

Drama | G | 18 minutes   
Director: Yassine el Idrissi (Morocco) 

Description:

Said is a 13-year-old boy who lives in the old Medina of Rabat. In the summer he has a side job, collecting empty beer bottles and selling them to a shop. With the money, he wants to buy food for a dog he is hiding. One time his closest friend tells him that it is “haram” to do that. 

The Nice Guy Who Went Bad but Who Used to Be Nice

Social comedy | PG-13 | 15 minutes and 22 seconds  
Director: Jauffrey Gallé (France) 

Description:

Frederic Everyman is what people call a nice guy. Unemployed and penniless, he relies on benefits from his providential benefactors: the employees of the Center for Financial Assistance. But unfortunately, one sad day, a terrible disaster befalls Frederic’s file: a computer bug! 

Director’s Note: 

This film delves into the theme of “Reflections” in regards to society’s gaze upon those whom the system leaves by the wayside—those who are forgotten, the kind souls left behind. Inspired by a tragic event that occurred in France in 2012, the film tells the story of a man who, cornered by a cold and dehumanized system, immolated himself as a form of protest. It’s a contemplation on our system and the role we play in it as citizens. 

Dancing Cloud 

Drama | PG | 16 minutes and 31 seconds  
Director: Platon Ogarev (Poland) 

Description:

Aniela visits her sister in Berlin. On her way back to Poland, she gets off the train at one of Berlin’s stations. A night journey through colorful, dangerous, and fascinating Berlin will prove to be a lesson in growing up for teenage Aniela. 

Dawn 

Animated fantasy | G | 1 minute and 47 seconds 
Director: Camila Messari (Canada) 

Description:

A celestial being falls from the clouds onto Earth for reasons unknown to them. As they wonder about the purpose of their descent, they must find the courage to embark on a journey of discovery. 

Fatih, The Conqueror 

Nature documentary | PG | 15 minutes  
Director: Onur Yagiz (France) 

Description:

This Saturday is a Turkish wedding day at Espace Venise (France). Huddled in a car in the parking lot, Fatih, 21, wants to get married. He has set his sights on Ipek, Recep’s sister. But neither Murat, his best friend, nor Recep, nor even Ipek are aware of this yet. 

understorey  

Nature documentary | G | 7 minutes and 6 seconds  
Director: Claire Riverland and Lily Newcombe (Australia)  

Description:

Capturing the passion of Sarawak’s driven conservation community, understorey explores the adversity and hope in this field. The short documentary encapsulates the constant uphill battle to preserve the magnificent rainforests of Malaysia and its array of creatures, big and small, which inhabit them. 

When We Meet Again 

Romance/fantasy | PG-13 | 30 minutes  
Director: Colin Huang (Taiwan)

Description:

While on vacation with his fiancée, Ben realizes that time has started to loop in the village they are in. Nobody seems to realize that they are stuck in the loop except for one other person: his ex-girlfriend June, who happens to be an artist-in-residence in the same village. 

Director’s Note: 

The ability to face your past and to accept what has already happened is important to one’s personal growth. The characters are forced to face each other and their past through a fantasy premise, only then can they let go of their burdens and move on. 

Peregrinus 

Animated fantasy | PG | 8 minutes and 42 seconds 
Director: Alice Moschini, Andrea Mulas, Myrta Dell’Oro, and Martina Gammino (Italy)

Description:

The son of the king has fallen ill, and no one can heal him. As a last resort, the king and his people go on a journey to ask for their god’s help. Their plea will have a tragic and unexpected response. 

Director’s Note: 

The film addresses the fall of an idol and losing faith in what or who someone once believed. 

Pan y vino

Comedy | PG | 1 minute and 10 seconds 
Director: Ignacio Rodó (Spain) 

Description:

Loneliness is better when shared, like bread and wine. 

Varanus 

Drama | PG-13 | 14 minutes and 59 seconds  
Director: Kiaresh Bekaian (Iran) 

Description:

Varanus is a drama about a hearing-impaired teenage boy, who is forced by a man to participate in secret and illegal competitions. He is unwilling to do this and tries to get rid of the man. 

The Streetlight 

Best On-Theme Short
Drama | PG-13 | 6 minutes and 48 seconds  
Director: Sophia Parella (United States) 

Description:

A man gains a deeper understanding of purpose after helping a talking streetlight through its existential crisis. 

Director’s Note: 

A man discovers what it means to serve one’s purpose while talking to a streetlight. The streetlight helps him find the inner light within himself. 

Bird Drone 

Animated romance | G | 8 minutes and 55 seconds 
Director: Radheya Jegatheva (Australia)

Description:

Bird Drone is a heartfelt story of unrequited love explored through a lonely seagull struggling to accept that his newfound object of affection is a human-operated drone with limited battery life. 

Lamia 

Drama | PG | 17 minutes and 37 seconds 
Director: Martina Claudia Selva (Italy)

Description:

Lisa, 30 years old, has a husband, a job, and many friends. Yet, it’s not enough; she doesn’t have a child. The pressures of delayed motherhood torment her, causing insomnia and a mysterious itching until a doctor reveals that she has snake venom in her body, and she’s preparing to undergo a metamorphosis. 

Beautiful Eyes 

Drama | PG-13| 6 minutes and 25 seconds  
Director: Abraham Jacintos Duarte (Mexico) 

Description:

David does not know how to help his girlfriend anymore, so he goes to his mom for advice, learning the meaning of love. 

The Little Stranger

Comedy | PG | 9 minutes 
Director: Shakila Moezi (Iran)

Description:

A little girl goes to her grandmother’s house with a small black fish, and there she meets a strange boy who also has a fish in the pond. They disagree over dividing the pond for the fish. 

The Right Vintage

Sci-fi | G | 4 minutes and 13 seconds 
Director: Trace Winter (United States)

Description:

A conman reaches his 100th birthday and is released from prison to enjoy the time he has left, starting with a dram of his favorite whisky. 

Shopping Day 

Drama | PG | 13 minutes and 32 seconds 
Director: Fernando Charry (Columbia)

Description:

María and Ramiro are a young couple who live in a rural area of a city. A new day begins, but this will be different. They must collect money by selling and buying different products and then go back and forth across the Magdalena River, with silence amid the sounds of existence itself. They carry things and come back empty. 

Director’s Note: 

Shopping Day largely takes place next to the river and the sea. It is a short film, where there is little dialogue, and the sound makes up the emotional concept and social context of the moment experienced by the protagonists. In this way, the film reflects life, humanity, and society. 

Aevum

Experimental | PG-13 | 5 minutes 
Director: Tashi Emma Nicola Higgins (Australia)

Description:

Isaac journeys through his dream landscape, encountering different manifestations of himself: the Naked Man and The Seer. Whilst his consciousness aims to reveal to him that part of himself he has ignored and suppressed for too long, it also tries to provide him with an antidote. Does he accept what is offered? 

Director’s Note: 

This film explores Plato’s allegory of the cave, which references the “inconspicuous reflections” we authorize and embody: The Joker, The Shadow, and The Child Self. Much of the story is rooted in dreams as a form of communication between the unconscious and conscious self. Aevum is about understanding the internal reflections we cast upon ourselves and to the world. 

The Red Bike

Drama | PG | 14 minutes and 46 seconds 
Director: Torben Bech (Denmark)

Description:

When Jack receives a red bike as a birthday present, no one could have predicted what it would lead to. In Pharr, Texas, a father builds a racing bike for his son Jack’s birthday. But when the bike disappears only a few days later, stolen by classmate Brian, the duo confronts Brian, only to be met with denial. Determined to get the bike back, they stake out Brian’s house to reclaim what’s theirs. 

Director’s Note: 

The circumstances that lead the main character to discover that all good intentions might not be perceived the way he thought encourages him to reflect on fatherhood. 

The ultimate attempt at self reflection 

Experimental | PG-13| 2 minutes and 34 seconds 
Director: Paul Bezuijen (Netherlands)

Description:

The ultimate attempt at self reflection is short film about self-reflection.  

Conversations with a Monster 

Fictional Documentary | PG-13 | 7 minutes and 53 seconds 
Director: Jonah Bergman (United States)

Description:

This short is a fictionalized documentary on the life and troubles of a Hollywood Boulevard busker who has a strong affinity for classic horror.