Votum (2024)

La Jetée

A man confronts his past during an experiment that attempts to find a solution to the problems of a post-apocalyptic world caused by a world war.

Aban

Under constant pressure from her ex-husband, Nazanin should turn their child - Aban, nine years old - away from a very driven feminine taste. One day, Aban goes to the hospital thinking of undergoing life-changing surgery.

Obhyesh

Somewhere in North Kolkata, OBHYESH is an unfurling of a 28 years old boy's life, through his struggle to fall asleep during a whole night. The boy seems to be terribly tired and tries hard to get some sleep but various thoughts perpetually come and go keeping him awake where rest is dreamlike and comes to him eventually at dawn.

Debut

Ivan has just scored a goal and rushes to kiss Marko.

Five Minutes a Day

Working in a small security kiosk, two men take advantage of the shift change to get to know each other and forge a touching bond.

Polaroid

Giuseppe, 33, is still struggling to build his life in a small Italian town where he has to hide his homosexuality. With a Polaroid in hand, he decides to leave for Berlin to find Peter, a summer love he has never forgotten. The shock of a cosmopolitan city is nothing compared to the moment he realizes that the German artist has a "normal" family. For him this represents the possibility of 'losing' himself and meeting Marco, who takes him around all night to arrive at dawn to the conviction that love is the only strength to find one's identity. "Polaroid" is one of five short film segments in an omnibus feature titled "A Quintet".

Thylacine

A young couple nearing their nine months anniversary hit a road block when one decides to have lunch with an admirer. The relationship is tested as they face their insecurities along the way.

Jemima + Johnny

A white boy and a black Jamaican girl have a day out in a city where racial hostility prevails.

Boydem

This particular summer, at an age that falls between childhood and young adulthood, while their grandparents are taking their afternoon nap, Keren and Noam play games in the attic ("Boydem" in Yiddish) that introduces them to a new level of intimacy.

Walls

A teenage boy named David is afraid of being transparent. When David's best friend, Johnathan, notices his abuse at home, David must overcome his fear of rejection in order to embrace his friend's support.

The Room

Mariana must sacrifice her dog Frida after violently beating it for having destroyed her recently deceased son's toys. The pet's death helps Mariana accept and overcome the loss of her son.

The Kiln

At her young age, Juana has two great responsibilities: preventing her older sister from fleeing the house and passing on the secret of making bricks to her younger sister.

Chato

When a fatherless 12-year-old boy attempts to put an end to his abuse from his brotherly neighbor, he's later confronted by his own mother about her suspicion next door, and he must quickly decide who he's willing to protect at the end.

Borderless

Following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Denys is forced to leave his country. He has nothing left but the hope of seeing Dmitrii, a young recruit of the Russian army.

The Moirologist

An egocentric professional mourner reaps the consequences of his ambition.

Chicken

Mick and Kev, teen Irish lads, are at the shore, throwing rocks at empty cans, drinking cider. Mick's the pushy one, engaging Kev in a game of mumbly peg, his hand on top of Kev's, fingers splayed. As Mick moves the knife between their fingers, a train is heard approaching. What's Mick's purpose?

He

A story told in four parts, "He" explores the swell of poetic love and the breathless aftermath of its heartache.

Aska

Two young sisters take on the dangerous task of feeding their mother's sacred ashes to the Fire Serpent before it brings death to their desolate land.

That Which Once Was

In 2032 an eight-year old boy, displaced by global warming, fends for himself as an environmental refugee in a hostile northern metropolis. Haunted by memories of flooding that left him homeless and orphaned, the boy forms an unexpected friendship with an Inuk ice carver who helps him confront his past.

Sugar

After a defeating first year of college, a young woman enlists the help of a friend to participate in a baking competition, only to find fulfillment in unexpected ways.

Deep Down

Deep Down redraws a descent into hell of a stripper called America, lost in the very depths of the U.S, taken away by a devastating love-story.

Passenger

In this anime-inspired film, a vengeful spirit tries to possess Cora's body, but over time they form a dysfunctional relationship.

Connected

"Connected" is a about two lonesome people who find each other via a chance encounter on a subway train. They experience happiness in one another for a brief moment in their lives until circumstances out of their control rip them apart. However their paths may once again intersect down the line.

The Sun Is God

1918 - A woman imagines her lover has returned from the horrors of war in France, remembering moments shared together. A tale of love and loss told through classical ballet.

Andy

After being accused of sexually assaulting a girl at a party, Andy uses a public twitter confessional to rewrite his story.

Senko

A Japanese family is confronted with the mother's disease. The profoundly symbolistic images of this short film show us how Yù and his father perceive the possibility of the death and how it affectsa young boy and his vision of life.

The Kite

A short coming-of-Age film about two boys, first love, and a kite that reunites them 20-years later.

The Commitment

An interracial gay couple adopting a newborn baby meets the pregnant Asian birthmother and receives a surprise that threatens their relationship.

In the Name of the Father

The short film depicts the life of a boy who is constantly sexually abused by his father. Leonardo Miggiorin brilliantly plays the role of this boy, who belongs to a poor and unstructured family.

Summer Friends

Tom and Ellis have been friends forever, spending their summer holidays fishing by the sea. One day, they meet Lucie, a new arrival at their village. As days go by, feelings amongst the trio grow more intimate.

Other Black Boys

A queer, black college student is forced to confront the masks he wears in his relationships.

Atoms

Hugo, 34, an educator at the boarding school, finds is daily life disrupted by Jules, a provocative teenager.

Pendeln

A woman talks about meeting an old classmate on the train.

Peaches

June 2010. 11 years old Julia and Raphaëlle are the best at killing time together. Between walking their blind neighbor’s dogs and finishing their music video before Raph returns to Romania, they unconsciously grow apart. This nostalgic semi-autobiographical story recounts the last moments of the inevitable and awkward summer between childhood and adolescence.