Competition New Talents III
Anastázie RainischováCzech Republic, 2025 | 07:29 min | 2D, Stop-MotionA short, animated film about the desire to flee from a place where we are always within reach. Constantly surrounded by information, sounds, and images. Switching and combining the reality of overwhelm against a tranquil, magical carefree oasis. But can one truly escape?
Tanja NuijtenGermany, 2025 | 04:12 min | 2D, AquarellSoftly, slugs trace their way across wet lips. Snakes glide gently through fingers, while a bear embraces a woman's body with a loving hug. “Sensual” offers an unusual, subjective, and deeply intimate perspective on the feeling of physical closeness and tenderness. Using animal metaphors, the film takes us on a journey through the intimate emotions of the foreplay, unfolding into the gentle and loving touches of our partner.
Ekaterina ZhuzhlevaBelgium, Finland, Portugal, 2025 | 06:29 min | 2Di am gathering things for my detained friends, who were protesting against the war — books, plush toys, food. once, twice. now the list never ends, and i am gathering my own things.
Evridiki PapaiakovouEstonia, 2024 | 04:24 min | 2DRemembering is a fluid affair. A daughter tries to reconcile with her mother through memories of their shared rituals, exposing the intricate aspects of their relationship. As the daughter matures, she begins to contemplate conventional notions of divinity. The blank frames of the 35mm strip regain their function as memorabilia in the process of engraving her past onto its surface.
Noran Fikri Alezabi, Nicholas Arujah, Xinyue Ma, Yulin Yue, Xiaonan ZhouFrance, 2025 | 07:47 min | 2D14-year-old Zain, a Palestinian swimming champion, faces war and man-made famine. He becomes the sole caregiver to his little brother. When aid drops into the sea, desperate for food, Zain is forced to swim – not for passion, but for survival.
Giulia FalcianiGermany, Italy, 2024 | 06:05 min | 2D, Stop-Motion, KneteAn important sensory organ, the eye, is damaged. The exhausting healing process takes us on an inner journey full of pain, fragility and mental unrest, in which even superstition and witchcraft seem to have an influence on recovery.
Amber IlesUnited Kingdom, 2026 | 07:03 min | 2D, Mixed MediaAMOEBA is a vibrant comedy short about social anxiety, the pressure to connect and the power of small acts of friendship.
Ivașcă Emy-MirelRomania, 2025 | 11:00 min | 2DAfter seeing a man lying in the snow, a boy recalls a Saint Nicholas night spent with his father years before. Playing with his father takes an unexpected turn, while his dream toy leaves a bitter aftertaste.
Chen MaUnited Kingdom, 2024 | 05:57 min | 2D"The Self and The Other" is an experimental film inspired by Jean-Paul Sartre’s play No Exit. Through abstract visuals, the film delves into Sartre’s theory of the Self and the Other, manipulating audience perception to construct a fluid narrative. It creates a perceptual game where the power of interpretation lies with the audience.
Clara TrevisanPortugal, 2025 | 08:09 min | Stop-MotionIn the void of night, a hungry creature looks for food and perpetuates an everyday cycle.
Daniel Sterlin-AltmanGermany, 2024 | 13:08 min | Stop-MotionA mother and son navigate their lust and loneliness in the queerest of ways.
André CorreiaGermany, 2025 | 05:00 min | 2DWhile taking a bath, Noah is visited by different versions of himself, each one taking him further and further away from reality until he nearly drowns inside the soup of his mind.
Chih-Chen HsuJapan, 2025 | 04:12 min | 2DCandles are flickering. In the dark, endless dreamscape, where do I find myself?
Khéma Cousin, Lien Franckel, Laora le Boursicot, Alissende Masson, Joséphine Mounier, Clément SadenFrance, 2025 | 07:49 min | 2DAn old postman goes through his last tour of deliveries in the archipelago that he worked in his whole life, gliding on water with his old bike. He finds himself confronted to the reality of his coming retirement.
Bingqing Shu, Maud Le Bras, Jiaxin Huang, Simin He, Lina Han, Loïck Du Plessis d’Argentré, Sofiia ChuikovskaFrance, 2024 | 08:56 min | 2DHélène, 40 years old, comes to visit her aging mother in the French countryside. But her mother isn't being her usual self. She seems to have formed a strange bond with the plants, insects, and the old oak tree at the end of her garden...
Emilia ZieserGermany, 2025 | 04:58 min | Stop-MotionWhen a fruit fly flies into her eye, she asks her roommate for help removing it. But the search for the tiny intruder quickly spirals into a nightmarish journey through her own brain.
Ferdinand EhrhardtGermany, 2024 | 12:50 min | Stop-MotionA constantly freezing man in his forties drives to a lonely petrol station every evening and orders a microwaved Toast Hawaii. Detlev indulges in this in a bizarre ritual, because it's the only thing that warms him in his daily life. But when he is observed by a stranger one night, his world begins to crumble into shameful pieces.
