6th KIIFF - Official Selection - Short Categories

Short Film

Synopsis:

A day in the life of a teenage girl confronting the hardships of living in an isolated homestead that shelters her family amid the realities of contemporary war in Europe.

Synopsis:

When 17-year-old high school student "Lele" jumped into the river and committed suicide, his father "He Shancun/ LaoHe ," who ran a grocery store, joined a suicide prevention team and saved many people by the river. However, he always firmly believed that his eldest son "Lele" was murdered. But when the police handed him his son's diary, the truth was finally revealed.

Synopsis:

Last Call is an atmospheric psychological horror film about isolation, instinct, and the terrifying realization that sometimes the greatest danger is the one you can’t see.

Synopsis:

Manuel Corona, after several casting calls, travels from the Canary Islands to Madrid to pursue his great professional goal: to be one of the leading roles in an opera at the Teatro Real. But when he arrives in the capital, the coronavirus crisis erupts, and everyone is confined to their homes due to a deadly pandemic, slowly turning his dream into a nightmare.

Synopsis:

A young man lives in a dark, strange chamber, unsuitable for a decent life, trying to cope with constant disturbances from outside. One day, strange people bring him something that will change his life and lead him on a journey of contradictions, troubles and uncertainties.

Synopsis:

A short film rendition of Marina Abramovic's performance art of the same title. Rhythm (zero) took place in a art gallery in Naples,Italy. Marina Abramovic stood in place for six hours through the night while the audience could engage with her at their discretion.

Synopsis:

In a small rural French town, Zirkon, an eccentric young man cursed for 300 years, seeks to become real in the eyes of everyone. To break the spell, he must help William, an introvert incapable of love and the only one who can see him, experience genuine feelings. Zirkon then tries to bring William closer to Jade, his lifelong friend… but William’s heart already seems to belong elsewhere.

Synopsis:

A quiet man, navigating his fear of all things, is trying to get out of the house for a first date.

Synopsis:

Broken Wings portrays the inner world of a homeless man who transforms the city's discarded waste into an act of creation and quiet resistance. Through striking black-and-white imagery and a poetic voice-over, the film explores exclusion, identity, and the search for freedom in a world shaped by consumerism and indifference. A haunting visual meditation on those society chooses not to see, yet whose humanity remains unbroken.

Synopsis:

Nan, a fiercely independent widow in her seventies, must confront the emotional weight of leaving the home she has lived in for 47 years. When her daughter and granddaughter take her to tour a senior living community, hand-drawn animated flashbacks reveal the memories tied to her cherished belongings. Three generations come together as Nan ultimately admits her deepest fear: that letting go of her house means losing her past.

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After the end of the Third World War, women have taken control and now steer the course of the world. In this era of matriarchy, two men are put on trial for violating the new system of values. They must answer before three female judges who embody the principles of their time: feminism, equality, and female leadership.

Synopsis:

Somewhere Achromatic is a contemplative short film shot in Ankara, exploring distance, inner weight, and the feeling of moving through life as a passenger rather than a driver. Through black-and-white imagery, city movement, and a poetic Kurdish voice-over, the film reflects on a state between clarity and disconnection – before color returns.

Synopsis:

Marcos, a sick young immigrant, shares a decaying apartment with three roommates lost in drugs. While they surrender to an empty and self-destructive existence, he remains silent, holding back his own death. When one of them collapses, Marcos faces a brutal revelation: even with his days numbered, he doesn’t want to waste them. He decides to leave, walking away from those who have already given up on life.

Synopsis:

To save the care center he works for from collapse, Akram,  a driver for people with disabilities, finds himself drawn, against his will, into the world of drugs.

Synopsis:

In the middle of spring 1915 in Longeverne, Camus, at the age of 13, was preparing to become a man. He must finally fulfill the first mission of trust entrusted to him by his mother: take their goat Blanchette to old Gosey and reimburse him for his eight cents. But what appeared to be a simple task turns into a nightmare when Camus loses four of the eight pennies entrusted to him by his mother and, on top of that, has to deal with Blanchette's execrable mood.

Synopsis:

No One Wins A Nuclear War. The Price is Paid in Lives.

A cautionary tale. As nuclear war becomes imminent, two estranged lovers reunite and find a final moment of peace at the end of the world

Synopsis:

THE WATCHERS is a symbolic short film about a group of seven people standing at a position common to most of us: on one side to be a passive recipient of media information and on the other side to be truly alive, to feel connected to oneself and to the people around in this very moment

Synopsis:

In a quiet candlelit studio, a painter prepares to begin a new work. But as notifications interrupt his concentration, invisible distractions begin manifesting into physical restraints, pulling him further away from creation. As time disappears and the chaos intensifies, the artist is forced to confront the cost of constant connection.

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Synopsis:

Narges, an Kurdish refugee and activist living in Germany, is forced to go to the Iranian embassy to register her marriage to her boyfriend, where she is confronted with a fear that could expose her past at any moment—while Sara, her friend, records everything with a camera…

Synopsis:

The phone rings in a deserted room. Nobuhito (23), the protagonist, a stutterer, picks up the receiver and what he hears is the voice of his past self that he could not say.

Synopsis:

It's Halloween night and three friends are being terrorized for a crime they didn't commit. A revenge tale with a modern twist, Rathill tells the story of a man seeking retribution for being wronged some 40 years ago. As he tries to raise an unholy atrocity from the depths of hell, the young group of friends is forced to battle for their very lives. A final showdown at local landmark, Rathill, leads to a night no one will ever forget.

Synopsis:

52 people presents: "The Invention of Dreams"

The behavior of people in front of the camera in an unusual environment, with a chosen song

Synopsis:

Based on Raúl Zurita’s poem The Night Is the Asylum of Plants.

In the middle of an enchanted forest, a strange nocturnal dinner reveals that nature always keeps a secret hidden beneath the tablecloth.

A living forest breathes amid the laments of Mother Earth during an intimate dinner…

Synopsis:

Two strangers meet and fall in love. Their faces are never seen, and their voices are never heard, and it is through the movement of their legs that the love story is told.

Synopsis:

In the midst of World War II, a parachute rigger and a fighter pilot’s forbidden connection deepens amongst the rigid structure of military life and the turmoil of war. Unfolding through sweeping choreography and the ever-present tension between duty and desire, they must find quiet moments of intimacy bounded by the chaos.

Short Documentary

Synopsis:

Kosar Eftekhari, a young Iranian theater actress, lost the vision in one eye after being shot by security forces ( IRGC ) during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests, a moment that irreversibly transformed both her life and identity. Forced into exile, she relocates to Germany, where she begins a new life in Berlin. Yet exile proves to be more than displacement; it is a suspended state between a past that refuses to fade and a future that has yet to take shape. Doctors inform her that she has a limited window to undergo ocular prosthesis surgery, after which the possibility may disappear permanently. This is not merely a medical decision, but a complex intersection of body, memory, politics, and identity..

Synopsis:

A dance class for seniors in Catalonia decides to create an extraordinary show for the 93-year-old mother of their Paris-born dance teacher. Their journey to France to perform for her turns into a life-affirming, inspirational voyage of discovery.

Synopsis:

A director's filmed letter to her murdered aunt addresses the impact of domestic violence, family trauma, and finding strength to speak up about femicide as a path toward healing.

Synopsis:

What commenced as curiosity quickly transformed into something profoundly personal: an immersion into the quiet adversities that children with ASD and their families navigate daily, their resilience, but more importantly the unexpected pockets of joy that emerge when children are met with patience rather than prescription, like in the water.

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This documentary explores the concept of motherhood through the terms "bacı (sister), bibi (aunt – father's side), and eze (aunt – mother's side)." Motherhood is treated as a form of social organization, and its traces are followed throughout Anatolia. Through research into the women's institutions of bacı, bibi, and eze, understood as derivatives of the Ulu Ana (Great Mother) myth, the documentary also aims to restore women's historical standing and, in doing so, to propose a solution to women's issues.

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After years of enduring relentless verbal abuse hidden behind phone calls and voicemails, a woman finds herself emotionally shattered, questioning her worth and identity. Every message becomes another crack in the person she once was.

Synopsis:

Set in Kerala, Close Enough is less about blindness than about the person behind it. Through ordinary moments and conversations, the film explores family, ageing, resilience, and the small choices that make a life meaningful. Without seeking sympathy, it offers an honest portrait of a man whose outlook quietly challenges the way we think about disability.

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Against the decaying, salt‑scarred backdrop of the Georgia coast, an invisible parasite sweeps through the waters, forcing independent shrimpers into a tragic confrontation with climate change and a marsh indifferent to human livelihood and survival.

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Inspired by the predicament of displaced youth, Barika Rising documents the creation of a skatepark inside a refugee camp and its impact on community.

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Donal Moloney has risked life and limb exploring Ireland’s abandoned buildings alone, chasing the thrill of decay and the perfect photograph. As he grows older, his solitary pursuit of forgotten spaces becomes a passion and a race against time.

Synopsis:

ABOUT CITIES, TANGOS, FERRIES, AND THE STRANGE DIFFICULTY OF REMAINING CLOSE TO ANYTHING

Synopsis:

In a small town in northeastern Syria, twin sisters Hilma and Ghayda challenge deep-rooted gender stereotypes by pursuing their passion for volleyball. Through personal reflections and heartfelt conversations with their mother, the film explores the social pressures, discouragement, and stigma that girls face when choosing to play sports in a conservative community.

Synopsis:

Love Will Set You Free is the new short musical documentary from Momefra Productions (award winning producers of Grandpa's Got A Brand New Pill). Love Will Set You Free documents the first steps of a new musical based on producer, creator Terrence Franklins true family history which involves a Will Contest from 1842 that determines the freedom, of Franklins fourth great grandmother Lucy, her eight children and six grandchildren.

Short Animation

Synopsis:

Through a child's imagination it tells the journey of a man who after falling prey to his fears, he must cross a strange world, a universe full of magic, where he will be confronted with his own fears and conflicts from the past and where he must find solutions for the future to discover his self-identity.

Synopsis:

The animated film “Rusty Fish” is a symbolic and thought-provoking narrative of the conflict between man and nature. The story revolves around a hunter who relentlessly and without regard for the consequences of his behavior, destroys the environment around him. He not only hunts animals, but also, with a domineering spirit, disrupts the delicate balance of nature. In his view, nature is merely a resource for exploitation; lifeless, defenseless, and doomed to surrender.