Professional Competition 7

1. A Dive in the Garden 04:38 2025
   

   Directed:	Ingrid Pucci
   Dialogue Language:	No Dialogue

   
   

   In a lush garden, a dog digs deep, unearthing laughter, whispers, and ghostly children. Amid shifting visions, a child emerges—caught in a hypnotic journey through earth, memory, and imagination.

2. Sparky&Caramela - Without limits 06:30 2025
   

   Directed:	Raffaele Bortone
   Screenplay:	Raffaele Bortone, Nicola Pecora
   Production:	Raffaele Bortone, Andrea Martini
   Dialogue Language:	American Sign Language, English

   
   

   First cartoon in the world accessible to all children. Thanks to the collaboration with specific clinic structures, they were introduced: narrator, subtitles, sign language interpreters (ASL – American Sign Language), graphics and animation style noninvasive. All these elements allow even the deaf, the blind and those suffering from autism to follow the adventures of the little protagonists along with their animal friends. Sparky and Caramela are two siblings who, informed by the little bird Zilia, thanks to a magic formula, ranging in MagiKingdom where they meet their friend Shortpaw, a doggie son of King Wisepaw. A race involves Sparky, Willy and little Tobias. Caramela, with her friend Federica in a wheelchair, is at the finish line and gives the go-ahead. Willy is the fastest and everyone congratulates him. However, Tobias is sad because he always arrives last. Federica, then, to cheer him up, suggests a new race in which they will run together. Sparky and Willy accept the challenge but, unfortunately for them, Federica and Tobias are unbeatable. Immediately after, the two little siblings go to the MagiKingdom where they meet Shortpaw in the company of Peter the turtle who wants to accompany them to pick blackberries. Too bad that two squirrels have eaten them all and the rest are on the other side of the river. How can they reach the other bank? Peter will do it even if, apparently, a land turtle wouldn't know how to stay in water.

3. CARMELA 15:00 2025
   

   Directed:	Vicente Mallols
   Screenplay:	Helena Sánchez Bel
   Production:	Leticia Montalvá, Vicente Mallols, Iván Madolell, Pablo Muñoz, David Castro González, Ilan Urroz, Charli Bujosa Cortés
   Dialogue Language:	Spanish

   
   

   After the Spanish Civil War starts, Carmela joins the militias and goes to the front as many other women. Their fight was twofold, fighting against facism and avoiding the loss of the rights they had achieved. During combat, a homemade grenade blows out Carmela’s right hand.

4. The Diversity of Waves Under the Scrutiny of Ma Yuan 08:58 2025
   

   Directed:	Dmitry Geller
   Screenplay:	Dmitry Geller
   Production:	Luo Jiang lin
   Dialogue Language:	English

   
   

   Parallel lines sometimes intersect.

5. Nightmare 09:06 Iran, Islamic Republic of 2024
   

   Directed:	Negin Javaherifar
   Production:	Negin Javaherifar

   
   

   Have you ever been in darkness? A woman enters a women's prison and gets to know other incarcerated women. Each of these women is in prison for various reasons. They empathize with each other and together they envision the dream of freedom and release from the constraints of prison.

6. YOU are not alone 03:10 2025
   

   Directed:	James Robert Whitelaw
   Screenplay:	James Robert Whitelaw
   Production:	James Robert Whitelaw

   
   

   A young girl standing in a busy harbour, feels alone. Even though she is standing with her father and brother, she feels alone. She is holding a red balloon and lets the balloon go. As it rises into the sky and through the clouds, it is joined by many other balloons. She is not alone.

7. BUDU 10:00 2024
   

   Directed:	Burcu Ejderoğlu
   Screenplay:	Burcu Ejderoğlu

   
   

   In a deserted city shrouded in mist, a mysterious ritual performed by sorcerers begins. A man trying to escape the dark spell called “Budu” and a woman held captive at the heart of the ritual are drawn toward a shared fate. The dark magic carries them both to an unknown end.

8. The Dream of Helena 15:00 Hong Kong 2025
   

   Directed:	Yat Shing, Sunny Tang
   Screenplay:	Yat Shing, Sunny Tang
   Production:	Kelvin Chan

   
   

   This is a story about Helena chasing her dream. A chance discovery in the library sparks her interest in astronomy. Despite her efforts, she faces social challenges and unfair treatment. How will she overcome obstacles and find the strength to move forward?

9. INVESTIGATION 04:27 2024
   

   Directed:

   MARWAN CHIGUER

   
   

   When a stray cat and a grumpy dog stumble upon a chicken leg in the alley, they assume the worst — a murder. Teaming up with two conspiracy-loving pigeons, they launch a clumsy but determined investigation. As they follow the breadcrumbs (literally), interrogate the neighborhood pets, and piece together clues, their wild imagination leads them into a spiraling noir adventure.

10. Sankofa 04:08 2024
    

    Directed:

    Ryan Mesidor

    
    

    A cashier at store reconsiders his perspective on the importance of clothing after meeting special customers. Are clothes really that simple as we make it—or is it deeper?

11. Dejkak 10:16 2023
    

    Directed:	Azad Maroufi
    Screenplay:	Azad Maroufi
    Production:	Zahra Ebrahimi

    
    

    In a timeless land, a creature that gains its human strength by consum­ing the souls of children dwells atop a tall tree.

12. TURBULENCE 03:52 2025
    

    Directed:	Christopher Rutledge, Magnus Igland Møller
    Production:	Peter Smith
    Dialogue Language:	English

    
    

    First flight. No parents. Total panic. A terrified boy just wants to survive takeoff, but the plane—and its deranged passengers—have other plans. One guy treats turbulence like a free massage, another is way too at peace with crashing, and sanity is nowhere to be found. As the plane bucks and twists, so does reality—faces stretch, limbs flail, and gravity calls it quits. Trapped at 30,000 feet in an airborne freak show, the boy must hold on for dear life… or completely lose it.

13. Why Don't You Touch Me? / Proč se mě nedotýkáš? 06:17 Czechia 2025
    

    Directed:	Eliška Oz
    Screenplay:	Eliška Oz, Lee Oz
    Production:	Libor Nemeskal
    Dialogue Language:	Czech

    
    

    Inventively crafted and emotionally compelling, the short film Why Don’t You Touch Me? by Eliška Oz explores the dilemma of a young woman trying to reconcile her identity as both a creator and a mother. As the protagonist struggles to find a balance between maternal instincts and her passion for creation, her world slowly crumbles, much like a clay sculpture gradually falling apart in her hands. Using the technique of polorelief clay animation, the filmmaker addresses this complex theme with lightness and irony, yet without losing the film’s emotional impact.

14. Azkena 09:07 2024
    

    Directed:	Ane Inés Landeta, Lorea Lyons
    Screenplay:	Lorea Lyons, Ane Inés Landeta
    Production:	Izaskun Arandia
    Dialogue Language:	Basque

    
    

    Lorea's reference points are her mother and her grandmother. Through these two generations she observes the bond that women have experienced around motherhood. Now it is up to her to decide whether or not to become a mother herself and to look for answers to pending questions.

15. Chronicity 03:17 2024
    

    Directed:	Aleta Rajic
    Screenplay:	Aleta Rajic
    Production:	Sanja Rajic-Banjac

    
    

    A seemingly naive turn of events leads to a disastrous one. Flight of wings leading all the way to World War I.