International Competition: Selection #2

CRITICAL CONDITION // 24 min., Mila Zhluktenko, Germany, 2025

Inspired by the events around the life of Lev Rebet, Ukrainian author and editor-in-chief of the Munich-based exile newspaper „Ukrainian Independist“, “Critical Condition” portrays the fates of the Ukrainian diaspora in the past and present.

PERCEBES // 12 min., Alexandra Ramires, Laura Gonçalves, Portugal, 2024

With the sea and the urban Algarve as a background, we follow a complete cycle of the life of a special shellfish called PERCEBES, goose barnacle. From their formation, to the dish, in this journey, we cross different contexts that allow us to better understand this region and those who live there.

THE MAN WHO COULD NOT REMAIN SILENT // 13 min., Nebojša Slijepčević, Croatia, 2024

February 27, 1993, Štrpci, Bosnia and Herzegovina. A passenger train from Belgrade to Bar is stopped by paramilitary forces in an ethnic cleansing operation. As they haul off innocent civilians, only one man out of 500 passengers dares to stand up to them. This is the true story of a man who could not remain silent.

WORMS // 19 min., Domenico Distilo, Italy, 2025

In the rural landscape of Friuli, northern Italy, twelve-year-old Rosi shoulders the weight of her fractured family after her father’s abandonment. Living with her two younger sisters, Emy and Mary, and their mother, who has spiraled into a deep depression, Rosi juggles household responsibilities, cares for her sisters, and faces bullying from local children who cruelly mimic the harshness of the adult world around them.

THEIR EYES // 20 min., Nicolas Gourault, France, 2025

How does a machine learn to read the world? Testimonies and screen recordings introduce the experience of online micro-workers from the Global South: their job is to teach the AI of self-driving cars to navigate the streets of the Global North.