Hundreds of short films are released on the festival circuit yearly. We review those that spoke most to us here.
All the markers of artfulness seem to be in place, and yet this self-proclaimed study of empathy quickly wears thin.
Zhang Dalei’s throwback to the 1990 Asian Games is inherently enigmatic yet rooted in ambiguity, leaving the viewer to fill in the emotional gaps.
Ary Zara’s intimate, beguiling portrait of a trans sex worker takes trans* storytelling in new directions.
Though devoid of any sound, Asteriòn is an exceptionally visceral and vivid cinematic experience.
No hollow performances of masculinity to mask the realities of grief in Guillermo García López’s Roma family tale. By exploring insecurities, his coming-of-age story becomes a metaphysical quest for reassurance.
Not a skateboard story, but a skateboard-inspired film: Cul-de-Sac urges characters and viewers to contemplate life, whatever that entails.
Shot in vivid 16mm, Barcelona native Christian Avilés turns a piercing gaze on young British holidaymakers, creating a reverie of surreal seduction out of the real-life phenomenon of balconing.
In the north of Colombia, a group of queer activists use extravagant performative actions to denounce the disastrous exploitation by the country’s largest coal mine.
A constant bombardment of stimuli, Stephen Lopez’s dystopian talking fish bromance is all the more interesting for its political undercurrents.
Olga Kosanović sheds light on an immigrant’s reality in present-day Austria, a land where an Eastern European individual is forced to, figuratively speaking, move mountains to endure.
In this Finnish sci-fi love story, Ingmar Bergman’s Scenes from a Marriage meets Philip K. Dick’s philosophies on the existence of android souls.
Kevin Biele’s short is full of subtlety: a quiet “no” has never sound so powerful.
Two nun-like identical twins go silently through life in an almost unconscious state, portrayed by two elegant actors that patiently wait for their portraits to be drawn.
Director-actor Kayije Kagame takes control of her own narrative, shifting our perspectives on Black agency in this blend of magic and social realism.
In an attempt to adapt two myths at once, Isabella Margara’s short fails to live up to its premise and instead drowns it under a convoluted mix of different narrative planes.
In his satirical take on reality TV, Sonny Calvento blends campy imagery with melodramatic plot twists.
Portuguese filmmaker Jorge Jácome crafts something fresh and innovative in the beautifully restrained Shrooms.
Aziz Zoromba’s Simo offers insights into the dynamics of a culturally diverse family, but leaves out the most meaningful conversations.
Francesco Sossai builds a queasy claustrophobia in the neo-giallo The Birthday Party.
Yana Eresina’s family drama on toxic masculinity and femicide forces us to solve puzzle after puzzle.