Directed by: Clemens Pichler
Germany, 2015, 28 min

Just like when viewing a diorama, this picture blurs the line between reality and its mere imitation. Kolja and Rocio broke up and an attempt to reconstruct their relationship quickly changes into a surreal journey through memories that provoke visions of what might have been.… Fulfilling the desire for true love, however, is harder than it seems.

Directed by: Rebecca Figenschau
Norway, 2015, 25 min

After a tough breakup, Johanna takes her young son to the home where she grew up, hoping for a chance to start over. Just the two of them and the rituals they share. But then her father unexpectedly turns up, and he has completely different ideas about life and raising children. Johanna is thus forced to wage yet another battle – for the right to be considered an adult.

Directed by: Davit Pirtskhalava
Georgia, 2015, 25 min

The father of 19-year-old Lado and his younger brother has been gone a very long time. A brief meeting brings no catharsis, merely opening old wounds and setting in motion a chain of events that pushes Lado back into the ways of crime. Father is a movie about the ability to grow up during a single, seemingly short night.

Directed by: Karen Vázquez Guadarrama
Belgium, 2015, 23 min

Bolivia, 4,897 meters above sea level. A mother of six heads for the mines every day in order to keep the family afloat. Although the region in which she lives has come under the sway of demon alcohol and ever-present hopelessness, Emiliana doesn’t complain about her lot. Flower of a Thousand Colours is a subtle portrait of a resilient woman who refuses to submit to the harsh conditions of reality, determined to fight it with patient resolve.

Directed by: Luz Olivares Capelle
Austria, 2016, 30 min

Christina loses her friends while playing a game in the woods. When she goes to look for them she finds the bodies of three drowned girls. Sometime later (or perhaps earlier?) the three girls are playing by the water and they find the body of Christina, drowned. Trying to describe Forest of Echoes is futile; it must be experienced. The admixture of childlike imagination, death, and the timelessness of summer tempt us into the woods, where the dead and the living are one.

Directed by: Ahmed Abdullahi
Sweden, 2015, 30 min

For nine wage laborers, the Swedish forest becomes a trap. Working conditions are less than ideal and the money they earn can’t even pay for a ticket home to Africa. Francis has had enough of this lousy treatment, and he tries to solve the situation in any way he can – even at the cost of losing his personal honor and the friendship of his fellow Africans.

Directed by: Julia Furer
Switzerland, 2015, 20 min

The prospect of the approaching end often leads us to look back on our lives. In director Julia Furer’s emotion-packed documentary, harpsichord maker Julian has exactly two months left, during which time he must make his last instrument. But he must also come to terms with the past and admit to himself that you can’t seal yourself off behind the walls of a workshop to keep the world at bay.

Directed by: Roxana Stroe
Romania, 2016, 18 min

Geanina is celebrating her birthday and there is no indication that anything is about to fundamentally disrupt this evening with her boyfriend, family, and friends. Disco hits function as the soundtrack, while also providing commentary on the little love tragedy playing out at the Disco Tokoriki celebration.

Directed by: Klara Kochańska
Poland, 2015, 30 min

Thirtysomething Justine buys an apartment at auction but she is thwarted from moving in by the previous tenant, who has no interest in giving up her abode so easily. Tenants presents a sometimes frosty contemplation of the line between the right to exist and common compassion, which can be just as fragile as the glass doors separating the entryway from the rest of the apartment.

Directed by: Tonći Gaćina
Croatia, 2016, 51 min

Early summer on the Adriatic coast is humming with preparations for the tourist season, their precision reminiscent of the tuning of engines before the start of a Formula 1 race. Tonći Gaćina’s carefully composed documentary turns a merciless eye on an assembly line whose end product is a happy tourist.