Gift (2018)

Francis

Francis is a short story written by american novelist Dave Eggers. This is the story of a young boy growing up in the suburbs of chicago. He spent his vacations in Quetico Provincial Park, up on the border of Minnesota and Canada. But he won't be going back any day soon, not after what happened to a girl called Francis Brandywine.

Hiwa

Jay wakes up in Manila, yet he dreamed of Athens. He has a nightmare, during which he has a special quest: to save his two daughters from a dangerous surgery. In his attempt to rescue them, he roams around Athens’ cityscape, seeing things under a very different light.

Infinito

Silence is absolute and time dilates as we lose ourselves in an unpredictable space among non-existent places.

Goodbye Blue Sky

Long after the end of the world, five strangers sharing an abandoned desert motel are forced to decide between love and survival.

Hell

In the course of one afternoon, Raphael's paradise turns into a spiral of guilt and paranoia.

Lukas & the Aspies

'Lukas & the Aspies' is a story about 12-year old Lukas. In many ways, Lukas is a normal kid: He plays in a band, hangs out with his friends and fights with his little brother. But Lukas' has also Asperger syndrome - and hence his own set of unique problems.

The Atomic Adventure

Algeria desert, 1961. France just detonated an atomic bomb. A patrol of seven soldiers is sent to ground zero to take samples and measure the current radioactivity. The more they advance, the more they perceive that they are entering a dangerous uncharted territory: the future…

Carne

After a dreadful incident coupled with an ungovernable paroxysm of violence, a butcher will fall into a downward spiral that will burn to the ground whatever dignity still remained in him.

Rubber Duckie

Rubber Duckie is the story of Jesse and Daniel, who on a blazing summer afternoon, are consumed with boredom and push their own limits and boundaries. This leaves us begging the question; is it simple boredom or insatiable innate appetite for more?

Trio

When a polyamorous trio seems to be living its peaceful everyday life, the arrival of a girl is ready to upset their balance and change their destinies forever.

La mort petita

Adela is a single mother, hardworking and humble. While she works, her mother takes care of her son. Immersed in her obligations that don't allow her to think about her, she will be forced to open her eyes and face a new reality when, on an early morning, her mother runs away from home and begins to show the first signs of dementia.

Fifteen Love

Alexandra has been playing tennis for as long as she can remember. After years of training under the instructions of her father, Julio (a retired tennis player who intends to relive his victories through his daughter), she has become one of the most promising junior tennis players in the Spanish circuit. During one of the most important tournaments of the 1978 season, the increasing pressure from her father will exert on and off the court will begin to affect her mental health. With the arrival of adolescence and the questions it brings, Alex will realize that, perhaps, this is not her destiny.

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.

Lalibela

On the eve of Easter, an icon depicting the Ethiopian Mother of God enters a Ukrainian village. After the icon is noticed by regular parishioners, a conflict begins between the young priest and his flock. Peasants do not agree to have a dark-skinned Mother of God in the church. One night someone makes his way to the church and cuts the icon. After the night events, the icon begins to pour myrrh.

Hidden

Lonely and closeted, Xiao-Wei turns to the internet—until real-life feelings bring more questions than answers.

Undercurrent

On a winter evening in 1979, the arrest of anti-government protesters is underway. The city is under curfew, but a teenage student, out of curiosity, follows a mysterious young man from a riverside path into an abandoned hut. Living in Taiwan under martial law, are men constantly escaping from government, society, or the affection buried in their hearts?

Confession

Gayoung, a director, expects to hear a farewell confession from her boyfriend, who's an actor. (Part of "100인 X 100초영화 프로젝트", a project dedicated to celebrate 100 years of South Korean cinema.)

DC Showcase: Death

Vincent, an artist with unresolved inner demons, meets a mysterious girl who helps him come to terms with his creative legacy… and eventual death.

The Middle of a Lake

After the cremation of his father, Vincent and his family gather relatives in the back shop of the family butchery for a final tribute. Vincent announce to his family that he leaves for some time with his boyfriend Olivier.

The First Emperor of China

This historical drama tells the story of Qin Shihuang, who unified China's vast territory and declared himself emperor in 221 B.C. During his reign, he introduced sweeping reforms, built a vast network of roads and connected the Great Wall of China. From the grandiose inner sanctum of Emperor Qin's royal palace, to fierce battles with feudal kings, this film re-creates the glory and the terror of the Qin Dynasty, including footage of Qin's life-sized terra cotta army, constructed 2,200 years ago for his tomb.

Arconada

Jon wants to be Arconada, the mythical goalkeeper of Real Sociedad, but is the substitute goalkeeper of the school soccer team.

True

While he's receiving an enigmatic phone call from his girlfriend Francine, Thomas remembers the milestones of their relationship, from the very moment they met in a really strange way. A segment of “Paris, je t'aime” (2006).

A Family Affair

A woman makes a powerful connection with a surprising stranger on her 30th birthday.

Crimes of Diogo Alves

Diogo Alves is a Spanish fugitive that comes to the Portuguese capital terrorizing the inhabitants by his cut-throat methods against rich and poor people alike. He attacks the women launderers on the Lisbon Aqueduct and throws the bodies over the high wall, and assaults homes with his large band of criminals. Eventually arrested, he, his female companion and his henchmen are condemned to death by the court.

In a Heartbeat

A closeted boy runs the risk of being outed by his own heart after it pops out of his chest to chase down the boy of his dreams.

Chrysalises

The streets of Barcelona, ​​thousands of people coinciding at the same time, eyes crossed lost in thought. Not realizing that even though it may seem unique, everyone has a story worth telling. People who live the moment that will change them forever, that will define and vindicate them. Moments in our lives where we have been, or will be, aware of a change of stage; of a before and an after. Moments when we feel like we’re dragging our backs every minute we’ve lived. Because we are all inside our chrysalis until someone breaks them and forces us to face the real world.

Summer Solstice

Trans man Leo's idyllic summer housesitting gig veers off course when his straight, cisgender friend Eleanor shows up for a weekend. These two friends come to realize that their once natural and easy sense of connection is now more tenuous than they'd like to believe.

Pram Snatcher

A heavily pregnant criminal and her partner-in-crime head to a remote service station off the A90 for one last job.

The Simple Things

Penelope is a civil servant who lives with her mother, who has Alzheimer's. One day she meets Ulises, a poor old man who has lost his memory and his identity papers. She convinces him that he is her father and he must come home to take care of his wife.

Their Story

A governess is hired to accompany her Ladyship's modern woman daughter.

Sonja's Grill

At Sonjas Grill, Bella is sitting around waiting for her boyfriend Gabbe. An old text-message conversation between Gabbe and his ex sheds new light on their relationship.

Jamila

She is on the way out of the house when she sees an envelope. Jamila’s family has received a rejection of their asylum application. She acts as if she doesn’t see it, takes her younger sister to school, and meets up with her friends. But everywhere she turns she sees them – the police.

Play / Ground

Dad fights to get grandma out of bed. But grandma can’t, she just sleeps. Love just wants to play – to be part of things and be close.

Open

Jess comes into "Gay's The Word" (the first Gay and Lesbian bookshop that opened in London) where she meets Leah for the first time. They coincidentally meet by the same bookcase over three days. What sparks is a romantic awkward chemistry between the two, transpired by Jess' curiosity in Leah and the chance for an artistic and sexual liberation possibly waiting for her at the end.

My Pretty Pony

The story follows an elderly man on his deathbed who gives his young grandson a pocket watch and warns the boy against the dangers of letting time slip away.

Female Filmmakers Too: BBC Introducing Arts

Cultural historian Janina Ramirez presents a collection of intriguing and exciting short films by emerging female directors and artists. Each film gives a female perspective on modern-day topics from friendship and identity to freedom and belonging. Silent Pride; 0.5%; After the Break; Black. British. Muslim. Other.; Exhale; Hung Out to Dry; I Asked for Wonder; Midday; Sapphire of the Valley; The Skin I Move In; We know a better word than happy; Being Black in Northern Ireland

Screengrabbed Too: BBC Introducing Arts

Huw Stephens presents an exciting selection of short films from emerging artists and film-makers from across the UK. Topics are fresh, varied and thought-provoking, including a behind-the-scenes look at a zoo closing for the night, an honest account of farming the land, and a powerful love letter from a son to a mother who has cancer. Expect to be moved and challenged by these short dramas, observations and dance, made by a new generation of storytellers. Yew; Echdo; King of the Pit; Two B or Not Two B; Lucky House; Everything Is Fine; The Jacket; Cages; It's Always Been; Mary Lost Her Battle; Between the Dog and the Wolf; From His Perspective

Abhauen

Plagued by feelings of guilt, the meeting of two brothers confronts them with feelings that should not be experienced.

Decompensation

Maja and Alen live in a dilapidated apartment on the outskirts of the city. Even if they wanted more from life, they don't have much hope because the company Maja works for is in debt and doesn't pay their salaries, while Alen, who works from home, has less and less work. That is why they start their own business whose survival is put in question when Maja discovers that security cameras will soon be installed in her company.

Jesse James

This short film traces the moments between a neighbor’s phone call and the arrival of the police, when Jesse and his lover test the boundaries of their relationship and come face to face not just with what they are losing but with what they have already lost — when Jesse can no longer save his relationship but only himself.

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.

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.

Reckless

An uncompromising and controversial short set in the Scandinavian suburbia on the hottest day of the summer. A sister reluctantly babysits her little brother. Two young boys catch her attention, and she makes a crucial decision.

Adiós Lola

Juan has been trying for months to forget his ex-girlfriend Lola, who is now dating someone else.

Sanguijuelas

In Tijuana, Mexico, Gabriel is a man who once had a normal and happy life alongside his family. He now seeks revenge for the murder of his son at the hands of a group of vampires that roam the city at night, stalking its inhabitants. Gabriel's days blur into one another as he tries to track down the murderers he calls "leeches", without knowing that his revenge will bring serious consequences for his wife and himself.