Shorts in Shorts ()

The intersection of human lives and digital advancements. How technology disrupts or deepens relationships.

Picture a busy shopping mall from your childhood. You likely picture it during the day, sunlight pouring through the windows, families weaving through stores, and teenagers chatting about the latest movie in the cinema lounge. Now, picture sneaking into that same mall late at night, when it’s completely empty. The familiar space takes on an unsettling quality. Stripped of its usual purpose, it becomes something else entirely: an empty shell, an uncanny structure. Suddenly its usual purpose has been robbed and it's just a building with rooms, but not quite. Because now it also feels strangely alien and enigmatic to you, a purposeless, otherworldly architecture.
By morning, the mall returns to its default state, bustling with life and fulfilling its function.But that middle phase it was in when you saw it in the night, it's a liminal phase, a state of transition. The short films selected in this category will showcase spaces like that, unsettling, ambiguous, and hauntingly out of place—capturing the eerie atmosphere of the in-between.

Within the theme of the festival “microcosmos of humanity” this subprogram will delve into how smaller communities reflect larger societal dynamics. Moments of cultural clash, celebration, or fusion will highlight human experience across diverse backgrounds. The filmmakers will take us on metaphorical journeys over their lived experiences that constitute the formation of their cultural heritage and folk tails - the things that hold us together as a community constituting which types of relationships are normal or “natural” in their own way. Through the trajectory of emotions we present ephemerality of queer love, homesickness and parental love - sparked by sparse moments of yearning for connection and needing for more. We confront the possibility of forgetting as we change familial backgrounds while also moving forward creating the room for self discovery and liberation as an individual.

We conclude the evening of short film rediscovery with our selection of experimental short films swinging in between mediums and themes of self-confindment.

The films that reflect the passage of time, surrealism. This category blends poetic environmental visuals with personal narratives encapsulating deeply personal stories reflected, analysed and anticipated within our communities. Films presented in this category will delve into the subconscious, dreams, or altered states of mind playing with reality versus perception through visual experimentation. Prepare for the cinematic experience that will leave it up to you to interpret the intricate narratives and unravel the mysteries within as we explore the human psyche limits, searching for that elusive fine line between clarity and chaos.