“Blueberries” by Marta Kowalska | Poland | 15’ | fic | 2025 | National Premiere
Synopsis:
Sara has a bright future ahead with her wonderful boyfriend. On this beautiful day, they are set to celebrate their engagement at his family home. However, the accidental death of a stranger turns this special day into a nightmare. Caught in the whirlwind of tragedy, Sara faces a moral dilemma. She reluctantly becomes entangled in the family's manipulations and lies to protect them, but the bitter taste of deceit starts to weigh heavily on her. As secrets unravel, Sara discovers that the truth is far more dangerous than she imagined, forcing her to confront the dark side of the people she thought she knew. Who can she trust when the line between loyalty and betrayal blurs?
Marta Kowalska:
Marta Kowalska (born 1994) is a director and screenwriter. She graduated in film directing from the Gdynia Film School. Before that, she studied architecture in Glasgow, Scotland, but ultimately chose film over architecture. She currently lives in Warsaw, where she is working on a theater production at the Grotowski Institute in Wrocław while also writing the screenplay for a feature-length psychological drama with elements of a thriller.
“Nesting” by Iyanah Bativala | Czechia | 20’ | fic | 2025 | National Premiere
Synopsis:
In a quiet suburban town, elderly Bara collects lifelike dolls to fill the void left by her absentee son. When a new doll joins her collection, she becomes obsessed, haunted by dreams of pregnancy and motherhood. One morning, the doll vanishes, pushing Bara into a surreal search that blurs reality and fantasy. As she spirals, she lashes out at a doll collecting friend who she is suspicious of, destroying the friend's prized "baby". Alienated from her only social circle, and at an all-time low, Bara donates her remaining dolls. With the support of her husband, she returns to her mundane life.
Iyanah Bativala:
Iyanah Bativala is a filmmaker and screenwriter whose storytelling explores themes of cultural and societal isolation. Born in New York and raised in Mumbai, Iyanah completed a BA in Performance and Media Arts at Cornell University and an MFA in Directing Cinema and Digital Media from FAMU, Prague. Her work spans narrative, documentary, and branded content. With three years of professional screenwriting experience, she has contributed to several projects, including working in the writers' room for the Amazon series “Waack Girls”, now available to stream in over 200 countries worldwide. She is currently developing her first feature film, set in a dance bar in early 2000’s Mumbai.
“Reaping Cherries” by Clara Frazão Parente | Portugal | 22’ | fic | 2025 | Regional Premiere
Synopsis:
What I saw when the ultrasound was shown to me, I couldn't believe. Inside my uterus there were hundreds of tiny creatures, shaped like spiders, but of flexible and tender body.
Clara Parente:
Clara Parente was born in 2002 in Lisbon. In 2022 she began her studies at Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema. She directed several films in a school context, such as Impasse, Elefante and Ângela, and personal projects, such as Outras Vidas, shown at the Ciclope exhibition at Cinema São Jorge. In the year of 2025 she directed O Tempo das Cerejas. In Erasmus, she studies Cinematography in the Łódź Film School. In September she started her job as a 3rd assistant director in the series “Jones” for RTP.
“Chowmein Holiday” by Iris Lanhua Ma | USA | 21’ | fic | 2025 | European Premiere
Synopsis:
Two Asian-American grandmas blaze through California on a wild crime spree — one discovers a new purpose, while the other hides a secret that could shatter everything.
Iris Lanhua Ma:
Iris Lanhua Ma is a writer-director and an MFA candidate in Narrative Directing at UCLA. Her work blends cultural influences and pushes genre boundaries, creating films that are both artistically daring and commercially resonant.
Her mid-length experimental filmThe Honor Among Thieves(2019)—inspired by Beijing Opera and Georges Méliès — screened at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and Malaysia Seashorts Festival, winning Best Experimental Film at Xining FIRST (2019) and the Award for Excellence at Tokyo Image Forum (2020). It has also been showcased at universities and festivals worldwide, including the University of Central Lancashire, the University of Sydney, and Emerson College.
In her films, Iris subverts and reimagines genre frameworks to tell emotionally charged stories centered on underrepresented voices, striving to balance artistic vision with audience connection.
“Bowl Cut” by Tamara Vittoz | France | 8’ | fic | 2025 | National Premiere
Synopsis:
On a hot summer day, Suzie, 7 years old, gets a haircut she doesn’t like. As tension rises between her separated parents, she decides to take matters into her own hands.
Tamara Vittoz:
Originally from the Landes region, Tamara graduated from La Fémis Résidence in 2022. In her filmmaking, she enjoys playing with genre conventions and infusing the heart of drama with a touch of humor. She is now working on her first feature film.
“L'avant-poste 21” by Camille Surdez | Switzerland | 21’ | fic | 2025 | International Premiere
Synopsis:
One spring evening, three roommates go through a night marked by the abortion of one of them. Oscillating between moments of awkwardness, tenderness, and doubt, they try to support their friend during this unprecedented time.
Camille Surdez:
Camille Surdez grew up in the Valais region of Switzerland. In June 2025, she graduated from the ECAL / École cantonale d’art de Lausanne with a Bachelor's degree in cinema, majoring in directing, with her film L’Avant-Poste 21. She is now working in film production.
“My Years of Fear and Trembling” by Acacia Wong | Aotearoa, New Zealand | 14’ | fic | 2025 | European Premiere
Synopsis:
After writing a novel inspired by her relationship with her mother, Taiwanese New Zealander Alina Wang must learn how to separate from a complicated and destructive relationship.
Acacia Wong:
Acacia Wong (she/her) is a New Zealand filmmaker who is passionate about centring female voices and experiences. She has recently completed a Master of Fine Arts (Creative Practice) in Film at Victoria University of Wellington.
Acacia believes in the importance of representation and telling specific, distinct, and diverse stories. The longing for communication and connection, the stickiness of love and generation, of girlhood and growing up, are things she is inexplicably drawn to.
In 2024, Acacia won the Best Directing award for her short film Dear Dad, at the New Zealand Youth Film Festival.
“Song of Silence” by Vasilisa Kuzmina | USA | 15’ | fic | 2025 | Regional Premiere
Synopsis:
Set in 2071 amidst post Third World War America, Song of Silence follows Greta, the matriarch of a mute, female-led community rebuilt after the fall of an extremist patriarchal system. When her son returns from the frontlines, Greta is forced to confront an impossible choice—one that challenges both the love she has for him and the principles she’s vowed to protect.
The film, shot on 35mm, features an all-deaf female cast and was created by an entirely female team of filmmakers, offering a unique and authentic exploration of a post-war society led by women.
Vasilisa Kuzmina:
Vasilisa Kuzmina is a young filmmaker and scriptwriter of Russian-Iranian descent. Vasilisa debuted as a film director with the web series Alisa, which premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in 2020 in the Pilot Competition Program. Nika, her first feature film, premiered at SXSW 2022 in the Narrative Feature Competition and won the Special Jury Recognition Award for Breakthrough Performance. Vasilisa is studying for MFA's degree at the American Film Institute (Directing class of 2025).
"I Don’t Know What To Do With My Hands" by Marta Delgado | Portugal | 16’ | fic | 2024 | Regional Premiere
Synopsis:
Matilde travels to her family’s village because of her great‑grandmother’s death. After the funeral, the young woman reconnects with the place where she spent her childhood and learns about the history she and her mother share in the same house.
Marta Delgado:
Marta Delgado recently graduated in Film from the University of Beira Interior. Her academic path began in the field of Science and Technology, but it was while studying the seventh art that she discovered her vocation. I Don’t Know What To Do With My Hands, her first work, is based on the stories of her family members.
"A Feather's Weight" by Gabriela Morais | Portugal | 15’ | fic | 2025 | World Premiere
Synopsis:
In a state of apathy in old age, the character withdraws into their own solitude. An unexpected visit alters their course, bringing some light into the darkness and re‑signifying life, even in the face of its finitude.
Gabriela Morais:
The passion for the arts began when she realized stories could be told through images. Born in Porto in 2001 with roots in the interior of Portugal, the narratives that fascinate her the most,and those that she focuses on, are those that depict the everyday lives of our people.
Early in her training she worked as an assistant director and later, in the production department, where she quickly discovered a taste and vocation for organizing teams, managing budgets and logistics, and solving problems. Recently she directed and produced the short film A Feather's Weight, in which she put both her organizational and creative sides into practice.
“Mirrors Don't Keep Everything” by Ana de Assis | Portugal | 19’ | fic | 2025 | National Premiere
Synopsis:
In the stillness of time, the fragmented memories of Lola and Aurora reveal the complicity and unspoken feelings that bound them in youth. Between recollections that return like echoes and then fade, and emotions that waver, a story emerges about the delicacy of memory.
Ana de Assis:
Ana de Assis was born in 1998 in Braga, Portugal. She graduated in engineering, but it was in the freedom of art and the creative process that she found her true passion. After years devoted to numbers, she decided to make room for the artistic restlessness that had always accompanied her.
“Rehabilitating” by Inez Playford | Australia | 16’ | fic | 2024 | International Premiere
Synopsis:
A woman with chronic pain is stuck in a rehab hospital, unable to leave until she can find a way out of her fears and pain with the help of a new friend.
Inez Playford:
Inez Playford is an emerging Writer & Director with a Masters in Directing from AFTRS. Inez’s most recent short film, Rehabilitating, was screened at both Sydney Film Festival and St Kilda Film Festival in 2024. The film also continued its festival circuit in 2025 with Official Selection for Flickerfest 2025. Rehabilitating explores the intricacies of chronic pain for young women. Inez prioritised disabled cast and crew members and further ensured an accessible set environment for the first time in AFTRS history. Inez also has a slate of other short films including Collect Call, The Mark (St Kilda Film Festival 2025) and This House Is Mine Now.
To continue her dedication to every level of the film industry, Inez has worked as a casting associate for acclaimed casting director Amanda Mitchell. Inez was selected as one of three Screen NSW delegates for the +SCREENSTORIES Mentorship program run in conjunction with Screen Canberra and the ADG. Inez was also selected as one of the Create NSW mentees for the Createability internship program for 2025.
As well as her work in film Inez works as a consultant for disability across the arts world and is passionate about diversity of representation and accessibility in the film and television industry.
“Elisa” by Ana Gennerich | Portugal | 14’ | fic | 2025 | National Premiere
Synopsis:
In a world where dreams intertwine with television fame, a young actress faces profound alienation and the loss of her identity when her iconic character begins to blur the boundaries of her own existence. As the borders fade and mirrors reflect a stranger’s face, she experiences a growing disconnection from herself and the fruits of her work. As fans and colleagues mistake her for her fictional alter ego, stripping her of her individuality, she enters an inner struggle to reclaim her essence, challenging the limits between fiction and the reality of her own existence and fighting to seize control of her destiny before disappearing completely under the shadow of her character.
Ana Gennerich:
With a strong inclination for visual arts, design, and a constant passion for cinema, Ana Gennerich works between Spain and Portugal. She moved to Madrid in 2020 to study Audiovisual Communication and later completed a degree in Cinema and Audiovisual at the Escola Superior Artística do Porto (ESAP), where she developed several projects as a director and director of photography.
While still in an academic setting, she worked on productions that received national recognition, such as the documentary Praia da Aguda (directed by Salvador Gil, 2023), which won the award for Best Short Documentary at the Sophia Student Awards and was nominated for the Sophia Awards in the Student category.
Her career includes experience in short and feature-length fiction and documentary films, as well as in advertising and music videos. Among her most recent projects are the short film O Outro (directed by Miguel Ângelo Ferraz, 2024), Escatologia (directed by Daniel Mendes, 2024), the documentaries Expanding: Fazer o Festival (2023) and Museu Nadir Afonso (2023), and the award-winning Praia da Aguda (2023).
