The Egotist (Portugal) by Alice M. Horta

The Egotist is a shortfilm based on This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Poor and tired, Amaro finds himself in the need of moving. Along the way he takes part in conversations that make him reflect on his changing position in society and on the anxieties of a young adult.

Running time: 00:17:59

Ice Breath (Romania) by Leonard Alecu

Between 2015 and 2024, Leonard Alecu filmed the melting icebergs off Greenland's East coast. Sailing dangerously close to icebergs, Alecu handled his camera to record the ice masses yielding to the ruthless ocean. Filmed in black and white, Ice Breath is a cinematic poem whose only elusive actor is the filmmaker's gaze. In 43 minutes, a sequence of flat pictures turn into dynamic tableaux, an existential journey from genesis to extinction. The hypnotic feature of the film is enhanced by the soundtrack Become Ocean, a haunting composition by John Luther Adams suggestive of a relentless tidal surge, of melting polar ice and rising sea levels. Become Ocean received critical acclaim, earning the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Music and the 2015 Grammy for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. More than an environmental documentary, Ice Breath and Become Ocean is an experimental fusion exploring the vast, inscrutable meanings of climate change.

Running time: 00:42:50

Seoul Angel’s Poem (South Korea, United Kingdom) by Hiju Yoon

Suri works at a state run institution called the Simulation Center, a temporary “simulation agent” tasked with recording deaths that occur within a virtual version of Seoul. After a fatal workplace accident involving a fellow agent, Tien Linh, the Center is shut down. Some time later, Suri receives a cryptic email from Lo, a digital persona that appears to have separated from Tien Linh. Lo claims that Tien Linh was captured and detained during an attempted migration into the simulated world, urging Suri to find and rescue them. Guided by Lo’s instructions, Suri begins to experience Tien Linh’s records as though they were his own, entering their memories, their life, and their Seoul.

Running time: 00:34:44

The Undergrowth (United States) by Griffin Roessler

In the City of Light, cloaked angels were blamed for a wave of disappearances and banished to the woods.

Generations later, their hidden portal is known only as the Undergrowth. Enter the World Walker: a half-angel

student living a double life, navigating the human world by day while secretly shepherding lost souls by night. But

as a strange affliction turns the townspeople into ghosts, the Walker's precarious balance shatters when an ancestral

spirit breaches the realm with an ominous warning—forcing him to confront a past he's been running from.

Running time: 00:11:00

Anchor Points (Canada) by Victor Quijada, Samuel Greffe

Anchor Points is a 25-minute documentary-style art film by RUBBERBAND that retraces the trajectory of Victor Quijada from street dancer to contemporary choreographer. Through archival footage and visual effects, it examines his personal and artistic evolution and introduces the foundational RUBBERBAND Method as described by company members. The film blends documentary elements with experimental visuals to offer insight into Quijada’s creative journey and the development of his influential choreographic practice.

Running time: 00:25:13

A Horse in the Bed (Belgium) by Kris De Meester (Out of Competition)

The Horse in the Bed is a darkly comic animated fable about Arthur, a quiet, conflict-averse man who wakes one morning to discover a full-sized horse sleeping beside him.

Something Has to Give (United States) by Allison Fan, Fred Midgley

Redemption, rebirth, and the desire for salvation in times of profound loss. Set in the haunting, atmospheric confines of a stark, empty warehouse, the space becomes a canvas where bodies move between tension and release, seeking the answer to whether this earth is a sanctuary or a sterile, white room—a place devoid of life or full of it.
Running time: 00:06:26

Portals (United States) by Kathi Hendrick, Benjamin Henretig, Cornelia Hodges

PORTALS explores the body, nature, and heart as doorways into deeper dimensions of self and our inherent interrelatedness. Through movement, imagery, and original music, the film enters the liminal space between inner and outer worlds, where the body becomes a threshold into feeling, knowing, interbeing, and transformation. PORTALS traces two journeys from disconnection toward reconnection, inviting viewers to question the boundaries of self and explore the possibility that we are not separate from one another, from nature, or from the larger web of life.