Eureka!, 15min., Canada Directed by David Creighton In this animated micro-short, a conspiracy nut finally grasps the truth.
CANADA UNPLUGGED:( Part 1) The Perfect Storm, 56min., Canada Directed by Sangita Iyer A bold, eye-opening documentary from Mettle Films, directed by award winning filmmaker Sangita Iyer, explores diverse Canadian voices discussing the impact of mass immigration in Canada. In this two-part series, we hear real concerns, lived experiences, and urgent questions about Canada’s immigration system, cultural cohesion, housing crisis, and economic pressures.
Eureka!, 15min., Canada Directed by David Creighton In this animated micro-short, a conspiracy nut finally grasps the truth.
CANADA UNPLUGGED:( Part 1) The Perfect Storm, 56min., Canada Directed by Sangita Iyer A bold, eye-opening documentary from Mettle Films, directed by award winning filmmaker Sangita Iyer, explores diverse Canadian voices discussing the impact of mass immigration in Canada. In this two-part series, we hear real concerns, lived experiences, and urgent questions about Canada’s immigration system, cultural cohesion, housing crisis, and economic pressures.
FOR THE LOVE OF DOGS, 27min. India Directed by Mohanjeet Baldev Singh Kalsi In the biting cold of North India’s winters, thousands of stray dogs struggle to survive, unseen and unheard. But in the bustling city of Gurugram, one man refuses to look away.
ALEPH, 29min,. Brazil Directed by Joao Butoh To live or not to live in the shadow of a society. Can politics, religion and ethnicity force you to live up to established standards? What is the price of your happiness? Live your life or live the life that others attribute to you?
FOR THE LOVE OF DOGS, 27min. India Directed by Mohanjeet Baldev Singh Kalsi In the biting cold of North India’s winters, thousands of stray dogs struggle to survive, unseen and unheard. But in the bustling city of Gurugram, one man refuses to look away.
ALEPH, 29min,. Brazil Directed by Joao Butoh To live or not to live in the shadow of a society. Can politics, religion and ethnicity force you to live up to established standards? What is the price of your happiness? Live your life or live the life that others attribute to you?
Kazbegi, 5min., Slovakia Directed by Yakiv Antypenko Set to a traditional folk song recorded live at a Georgian wedding, this short documentary immerses viewers in the natural and cultural rhythm of the Kazbegi region. With no narration, the film focuses on the detailed sound design and visual atmosphere — where every insect and breeze plays like an instrument in a living orchestra.
TOY, 11min., Greece Directed by Natasha Smyrnaiou New Years Eve. Nikos is looking for a New Year’s gift for his godchild in a toy store with a strange salesman. During his stay there, he evoked memories of his own childhood. He finally gets a toy, but not what he thinks..
THE PRISONER, 1min., India Directed by Allabhya Ghosh Life is confined to a ten-foot-by-ten-foot room. That’s the norm in the suburbs now.
Don’t pretend you didn’t see me, 1min., Argentina Directed by Jimmy Alejandro Castro Zambrano The narration of the experiences of a blind person who moves through the city.
MELODRAMA, 34min., Italy Directed by Giuseppe De Vuono Rebecca Reveal, a promising designer, lives with her husband in an old farmhouse lost in the middle of the countryside. She is a beautiful woman, visionary and devoted to the art world, he a paranoid and egocentric man. They seem the picture of the perfect family, but both are hiding a secret that will push them beyond their limits.
Advertisement
Sizwe, 28min., South Africa Directed by Ayanda Makayi The story of a young, deaf Xhosa girl, overcoming adversity in the height of lockdown to save her gogo (grandmother).
Quantum Causality Conundrum, 2min., USA Directed by Aki Aitos While walking back to a college campus, Emma and Lila delve into the nuances of quantum mechanics and causality, balancing profound curiosity with the practical need to get to class on time.
Marc Marashi was born in Paris, France, but grew up in Grand Rapids, MI. He attended film school at Columbia College and has lived in Chicago ever since. After over a decade working alongside the brewing and distilling industries as an equipment provider, he has started making short films again for the first time since college.
THE PRISONER, 1min., India Directed by Allabhya Ghosh Life is confined to a ten-foot-by-ten-foot room. That’s the norm in the suburbs now.
Don’t pretend you didn’t see me, 1min., Argentina Directed by Jimmy Alejandro Castro Zambrano The narration of the experiences of a blind person who moves through the city.
MELODRAMA, 34min., Italy Directed by Giuseppe De Vuono Rebecca Reveal, a promising designer, lives with her husband in an old farmhouse lost in the middle of the countryside. She is a beautiful woman, visionary and devoted to the art world, he a paranoid and egocentric man. They seem the picture of the perfect family, but both are hiding a secret that will push them beyond their limits.
Sizwe, 28min., South Africa Directed by Ayanda Makayi The story of a young, deaf Xhosa girl, overcoming adversity in the height of lockdown to save her gogo (grandmother).
Quantum Causality Conundrum, 2min., USA Directed by Aki Aitos While walking back to a college campus, Emma and Lila delve into the nuances of quantum mechanics and causality, balancing profound curiosity with the practical need to get to class on time.
Yellow Dress, 4min., UK Directed by Raph Isadora Seymour What is she doing? Trying to make a garden? Trying to make something…and who or what is trying to stop her? Crude stop-motion makes startling and poetic images and tells a story of resilience and the desire for happiness for both the hero and the villain of the piece.
Gravity Bound, 3min., USA Directed by Frankie Lasley The Man on the Moon is bound to the moon by his job; controlling the tides on Earth with a magical box of gravity. His quiet days are spent longing after a Shooting Star, who is bound to forever orbit him from a distance.
STIGMA, 30min., Tunisia Directed by Dali Mansour During the Covid-19 lockdown, “Stigma” explores the emotional impact on Bochra, a young woman living alone in France. Through webcam exchanges with her parents in Tunisia, Bochra struggles with painful memories and a dark past. Confronted with solitude in her Parisian apartment, she faces shadows of her past, gradually revealing a deeply buried trauma. The film delves into themes of resilience, the importance of family bonds, and the quest for self in an isolated world, leading to a poignant revelation.
BREAKROOM, 15min., USA Directed by Ian Wang A offbeat genre-bending comedy where mundane office tensions often unravel into something far more unsettling.
BLANCA, 7min., USA Directed by Carlos Grana During a coup in 1948, Peru’s First Lady must drive her maid and wounded chauffeur to the hospital down a treacherous road in the Andes.
Three S3conds, 16min., USA Directed by Diana Shield Arlo, a 17 year old boy struggles to open up and express himself to his counselor. He is haunted by his past actions due to his inability to control his rage and anger issues.
Juan, an oriental cook in a fast food restaurant in Puerto Rico, tries to make a gourmet dish, to convince his nebulous boss to release him and thus set up a fine restaurant, while Hiu Yan, his co-worker and arts expert supposedly tries to avoid it.
Directed by Javier Santiago
Cast: Shuming Lu Cen, Jimmy K Fung Yeev, Kathy Garcia
Festival Reviews 