Piety (2020)

The Clearing

In this short film written and directed by Alexis Bisticas, the audience sees through the eyes of a man in the woods, following the distant sound of a saxophone. In a single take, the fluid steadicam shot takes the viewer on a surreal and poetic journey, as the walker comes across everything from family picnics to men in bondage suits.

Nayantara's Necklace

Set in Mumbai, Nayantara's Necklace explores the friendship between Alka and her new Dubai-returned neighbour Nayantara. As their friendship grows, Alka finds herself wanting to be more like Nayantara. But what Alka doesn't know is the price that she might have to pay for this obsession of hers.

The Last Dream

In a future where people have lost the ability to dream, a company has made a business out of recycling precious fantasies of the few that can still produce them. A model employee, Khalil, is one of the top performers until one day, his dreams are no longer to the liking of the company.

Numero 69

Two friends enter an Emergency Room, seeking help after an incident. They will find themselves living a series of surreal experiences through the eccentric characters that populate the waiting room. But will they get the help they need?

Spacca La Testa

Antonia and Zeno struggle with their marriage during a surreal dinner - while a mysterious Aztec whistle seems to be influencing their actions.

The Widow

Through her stream-of-conscious testimony, 40-something widow, Tomoko Tanai, recounts her experience of dating a man 15 years her junior, Satoshi, a handsome prince-charming who may not be what he seems.

Meet Melusi

Meet Melusi is a moving story of fatherhood and finding the real meaning of life.

Angels Of Our Past

A father and sons solitary life in hiding is threatened by a visitor from their past.

Erebos

Two nieces, Tilda and Harriët, meet again after a long time. But now, a rat named Erebos has come between them.

Weapons and Their Names

Struggling to connect with her grieving family after the sudden death of her stepfather, a teenager sneaks off to shoot guns in rural Florida with her best friend.

Little Queen

Stéphanie is a jovial and strong single mother. She shares everything with her 13-year-old daughter Léna: their passion for Angèle, their clothes, even the teenager's diary, in which Stéphanie corrects omissions... As they go to an Angèle concert with Kali, Lena's best friend, Stéphanie will realize that her baby has grown up.

Penumbra

Luna decides not to commit suicide. Too drunk, meets Angel; they decide to flee together to a house in the forest that they saw on a postcard. What do they don't know is what will it cost them to get there.

Summer Bus

In the everyday life of the bus, the world still hopes to find warmth.

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.

Gulis

A story about a dysfunctional father and son who are still coping with a loss, the other with a highly-stigmatized illness who are compelled to talk to one another to make ends meet and heal the wounds of their relationship.

Playing

Boris and Hugo, 16-year-old friends, arrive at Hugo’s parents’ apartment. They have bought a gun. They set up a livestream video on the internet and announce that in one hour they will commit suicide. While Boris is sure about the decision, Hugo still has his doubts. In the final moments of their lives, sadism, homoeroticism, and destructive desire are released.

The Summer of 12

Just as the young members of the swimming team spend another day training in the pool, the cusp of early puberty threatens to turn innocent friendship and camaraderie into something much more. Sixth-grader Yu-Hsuan has a closely guarded secret, but this tide of feelings inside is brewing into a storm…

I Love you Hassan

The story of Hassan, a wealthy young man whose father seeks to marry him to his cousin, whom he doesn't love.

Saedat El Rigal

A singer who works in a nightclub, and seeks to retire from this world, meets a poor young man who falls in love with her and asks for her hand in marriage, so she accepts, and leaves the world of cabarets and the two live a happy life. The woman appears to be very loyal, as she serves her disabled father-in-law, but her husband feels that he does not provide her with happiness, so he is forced to embezzle an amount of money from the company he works for, and he goes to prison, and in light of the life circumstances she lives in, she decides to return to work in the bar again.

Martha

A professional pianist by heart, Martha is preparing for an international competition, which can become her crowning achievement. But one thing is getting out of Martha’s control...

The Anderson Family Breakfast

While a seemingly picture-perfect suburban family enjoys breakfast together, an omniscient narrator reveals their repressed inner thoughts and secrets…all just moments before a nuclear bomb is dropped on the family.

In the Arms of the Tree

The life crisis of Kimia and Farid, who have been married for twelve years, destroys the world of their children. Children who know nothing but kindness in life.

Nobody Leaves Alive

“Nobody Leaves Alive” by André Ristum is shot in beautiful but also distancing black and white. Looking at the Venice line-up, this seems to be a trend this year among the maestros of cinema. The film is inspired by true events that took place in the last century in the “Colonia” hospital in Brazil. Whoever didn’t fit the standards of society, or their family’s perception of it, was locked away, tortured, and killed. There were altogether more than 60,000 victims. Hope dies last, and some of the inmates don’t give up the fight. We’re reminded of film classics such as “One Flew Over the Cookoo’s Nest” or “Alcatraz”.

The Lake in the Sky

An isolated teenager explores the past, his late father, and unstable memory through the use of celluloid on his 16th birthday.

The Boy Who Dreamed of Lightning

Daru is an orphan who keeps having the same dream where he becomes a tree being struck by lightning. Between trying to fix the troubles he made at school and maintaining his relationship with his hard-pressed aunt, Daru discovers the meaning behind his dreams.

Gu

On a gloomy day, Gu takes a train back to his hometown for the first time in years to reunite with his wife and son, in court.

Graduation Afternoon

Events take an unexpected turn when a young woman attends her boyfriend's graduation party at his parents' home. Adapted from the Stephen King short story.

Los cuerpos que se apagan

In a dreamlike wandering, the city becomes a constant rendezvous. In the hustle and bustle of strange streets, the protagonists face disillusionment and life’s obstacles that make them believe that their desire for freedom is only possible in dreams.

In Orbit

The future, the space. Sonia is about to be transferred from her station to a newer one. Although everything seems to be going well, Sonia's mind is actually elsewhere, haunted by tragic events from the not too distant past.

C'mon C'mon

Johnny and his young nephew forge a tenuous but transformational relationship when they embark on a cross-country trip to see life away from Los Angeles.

Akashi

Kana, a young woman from Japan is pursuing her career in North America and has adapted to her new environment. However, her new lifestyle has made her emotionally distant and can't seem to sustain a long term relationship. Her mother calls informing Kana that grandma passed away. As Kana returns home to pay her respects, she begins to recall her most intimate conversation with grandma. In their talk, Grandma is proud of Kana for leaving Japan. Kana argues it's even harder to raise a family and sustain a marriage for a lifetime. Grandma tells Kana that their marriage was far from ideal, and to Kana's surprise, Grandma reveals a secret which changes Kana's attitudes on relationships. Memories and the funeral force Kana to look inside herself and examine her own life.

The Dead Girls

Two teenage girls forced to serve a violent drug cartel await the first snowfall at the desert surrounding a mountain called La Siberia.

The Last Romantics

Two young men share different points of view of the same sexual encounter in a public space.

Tiny Death

Christian (12) and his best friend have been invited over to an older boy from school. There, he enters a mysterious world. It becomes an overwhelming experience - an essential step towards puberty.

Louder Than Words

A young musician named Ansel has an unexpected encounter with Niall, an endearing, deaf dancer.

Just Me

Scott gets a visit from Connor which brings his past back to haunt him, but will it change his future?

Beyond Plain Sight

Ryan is a popular member of his community. He’s charming, helping and a social butterfly but Ryan has a secret.

Like Father

A Jewish New Yorker is bedridden patriarch dying of lung cancer, confesses for the first time to son that he was always attracted to men. Despite his long-lasting marriage and faithfulness to wife.

Killer Friends

Four friends go on a camping trip that one won't be coming back from alive...

Beast

Inspired by real events, "Bestia" enters the life of a secret police agent in the military dictatorship in Chile. The relationship with her dog, her body, her fears and frustrations, reveal a macabre fracture in her mind and a country.

Bathroom Rules

A 10-year-old, gender non-conforming student navigates his way through the school, in search of a safe washroom.