The Smotherer (2023)

Roman The Boxer

Haunted by the ghosts of his past and his angst of his future Roman is determined to prove himself as a boxer. For this dream he is willing to give up on everything: his friends, his health, even his own self.

Islands

Everybody has their own dreams and fears. Are we all connected or are we really all alone in this world?

Fathers & Son

Two new dads are putting their newly adopted newborn son to sleep when something unexpected happens...

Cherry Blossoms in March

In this mother-daughter story, a young woman explores her own mortality through art and poetry as her terminal illness holds her back from a normal life.

Nimic

A professional cellist has an encounter with a stranger on the subway which has unexpected and far-reaching ramifications on his life.

Billy Boy

In an era marked by the reign of fluid relationships, through apps and blind dates, Alejo seeks to fill his sentimental void by constantly changing sex partners.

The Last Day of School

Edgaras and Migle are in a relationship that has Migle have the upper hand financially. Because of this, when Edgaras old friend offers the opportunity to make some money by smuggling cigarettes, Edgaras is tempted. But with a wonderful girlfriend, college around the corner, and so much that can be ruined if he and Viktoras get caught, will Edgaras go through with it?

Brown With Blue

A handyman and his webcam vixen girlfriend struggle with an addiction to cope with their past mistakes.

White Man

A white-collar South Korean man discovers a severed human finger and keeps it.

The Doldrums or How to Cure Sadness

The tiricia is an illness of the soul when the heart is saddened. A story of three generations afflicted with being tiricientas: Ita, Justa and Alicia – grandmother, mother and daughter – who have at different times suffered, tolerated and allowed abuse, dragging on the disease. Alicia decides to break the cycle, eradicating it for future generations.

Stay

When Ash invites his ex-boyfriend on a road trip to the Florida Keys, he doesn't mention that their weekend getaway is actually a dangerous drug deal.

Home Is Where The Heart Is

A young lawyer, Jane Liu, is assigned by her mentor to help Madam Wong, a 75 years old repeated shoplifter, as a pro bono defense counsel. What seems to be an easy open and shut case suddenly takes a weird turn when Jane discovers that Madam Wong's repeated petty crimes are intentional and deliberate.

Hardcore

A German tourist solicits two Israeli men for kinky sex. The Israelis feel pressure to fulfill the German's violent sexual fantasies.

The Yellow Island

11-year-old Ena meets a young fisherman in a port. He gives her an eel and they arrange to meet the following Sunday on the other side of the lake. She has to be there.

Tour to McWay

After 15 years of separation, two brothers confront their absent relationship as well as the recent passing of their mother.

Strange Loop

Mysterious murders on the border. Always the same crime scene. The perpetrator lurks on a hill, protected by tall grass. He hunts families. But on this day things are different. A child survives. Traumatized. Months later, an attempt is made to return the child to the crime scene as part of confrontation therapy and the story takes its course.

Hysterical Sisters

"Hysterical Sisters" is an artistic and abstract poem about the chronic menstrual illnesses Adenomyosis and Endometriosis, that visualises the daily struggles of affected people. Adenomyosis is often described as the "evil sister" of Endometriosis - and vice versa. Two personified illnesses, that cause immense suffering and debilitating pain. Since loneliness, shame and a lack of understanding shape the lives of many affected people, the short film aims to raise awareness, break taboos and ultimately show sufferers they're not alone.

Seat Belt

Julio and Damián are a couple that have just adopted smart and shy five year old Andrés. Damián dotes on the boy, his adoption being a life-changing moment for him, while Julio feels somewhat put upon as the bread winner in the family. Soon after, a family tragedy occurs that puts Julio at a cross road, and questioning his parenthood.

Daddy

After the death of his wife, an 80-year-old man checks into the Plaza Hotel to celebrate their first anniversary apart, hiring a male escort to take her place.

Auroras

Constantly orbiting at 400 km (250 mi) above the earth, the ISS is perfectly situated to witness the beautiful streamers of green and red light emanating from the collision of highly charged solar wind particles with oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the earth's atmosphere. Centered about the northern (Aurora Borealis) and southern (Aurora Australis) poles the Auroras move in an almost hypnotic dance below the space station.

Liberated Don Quixote

Russian stop motion animation depicting the court of the Duke and Duchess as they mock and abuse the titular hero.

A Tale of the Laundry Game

A night ride, a few beers with an old friend, memories of better times. One seemingly ordinary drive reveals the dark truths of men’s past and a sinister web of strange events.

Myth

Collaborating with Australian circus company Gravity & Other Myths, 2020 BAFTA Newcomer and Berlinale Talent Campus alumna Alies Sluiter crafts a disquieting, quasi-surrealist tale of bravery and grief.

Pornographer: Continued Spring Life

After overcoming differences, Rio Kijima and Haruhiko Kusumi grow closer. But tensions rise when family secrets and outside questions threaten their deepening bond.

Altered Innocence Vol. 1

A vibrant anthology of LGBTQ+ short films and music videos that delve into the complexities of youth, identity, and desire. This diverse collection showcases a range of cinematic voices—both emerging and established—exploring the exhilaration, vulnerability, and confusion of coming-of-age through stories that celebrate queer love, self-discovery, and the breaking of societal boundaries. Blending narrative shorts, experimental visuals, and music-driven pieces, the anthology offers an evocative, multifaceted portrait of innocence transformed.

Antoine and Colette

Now aged 17, Antoine Doinel works in a factory which makes records. At a music concert, he meets a girl his own age, Colette, and falls in love with her. Later, Antoine goes to extraordinary lengths to please his new girlfriend and her parents, but Colette still only regards him as a casual friend. First segment of “Love at Twenty” (1962).

Safe

A woman working as a cashier at an illegal gambling parlor pushes her luck by stealing money from gamblers as a way to pay off her own debts. When one gambler realizes he’s been cheated, he returns with murderous intent and the already dismal situation spirals out of control.

Sun in My Mouth

A young man confesses his sexual past to an unseen phone sex operator. He reflects on his sexual identity as we follow him on a solitary excursion to a beach.

Bad Boy Buck

After a one-night stand with another man, a married farmer attempts to hide the affair from his family as the truth drives him to breaking point.

Uninhibited

A young man comes home after work to find a pleasant surprise in his bedroom.

Rebel

Alex, a six-year-old boy from Quebec, is oblivious to the thousands of refugees entering Canada illegally to avoid deportation. Yet when his father takes him along to a vigilante patrol in the woods to hunt out trespassing migrants, something inside him tells him to rebel.

The Physics of Sorrow

Tracks an unknown man’s life as he sifts through memories of his youth in Bulgaria through to his increasingly rootless and melancholic adulthood in Canada.

I'll End Up in Jail

A bored stay-at-home mom gets into trouble after speeding away from her small-town life.

Sacrifice

'Sacrifice' follows the love story between James Hunter and Blake Robinson as they begin a new phase in their life together. Forces out of their control tear them apart but to what extent and consequence? How much will they sacrifice? A traditional military love story from a perspective which has not yet been seen before.

Abjective

"On the edge of non-existence and hallucination, of a reality that, if I acknowledge it, annihilates me. There, abject and abjection are my safeguards." Julia Kristeva.

The Astronaut

A man suffering from dementia asks his son to help him fly to the moon so he can say goodbye to his late wife. Manuel Trotta and Luigi Sciamanna star in this award-winning short film.

Mori

A man on the brink of death, has a conversation with a stranger. The pair philosophize about the meaning of a life well lived.

Pillow Chocolate

For trans man Jamie, a one-night stand is more than just sex, it's a question of self-worth.

Ape

To take control of his life, Travis Wilker must conquer the hallucinations that plagued his childhood.

I Love Hooligans

A football hooligan feels unconditional love for his club. However, being gay, he has to hide his identity in order to survive in this world that is so precious to him.

Hello, Stranger

Arthur is a single dad, struggling with the care for his seven-year-old son Max and the combination of his secret life as a drag queen.

Naked

A message from Javier's boyfriend changes his family situation and causes them to reconsider their relationships.

Decision

The film is about a college student Ashutosh life for science & innovation. His mentor Akash always guides and motivates him. Will he take the right DECISION?

Subconcious

A disturbed man enters a room and, unbeknownst to others, is having psychotic episodes.