Student Competition 8

1. The Old Klavirista / Le Vieux Klavirista 07:42 France 2024
   

   Directed:	Sarah Coppin, Simon Delhaye, Théo Massa, Léopold Delcambre
   Screenplay:	Sarah Coppin
   Production:	Rudy Turkovics

   
   

   Ondrej, an old and melancholic Slavic pianist, mourns his wife through music. Guided by his instrument, he embarks on a journey through his past, in his youth when he was happy.

2. Fear is a Rose 04:54 2024
   

   Directed:	Isabel Stub
   Dialogue Language:	English

   
   

   A shadow knight explores an interdimensional palace while being chased by the roots of an ever-growing rose.

3. Nino and the missing cat's crown / Nino und die verschwundene Katzenkrone 03:25 2025
   

   Directed:	Saskia Kowollik
   Dialogue Language:	German

   
   

   Nino has a big dream: finally becoming a detective! When Finja's cat crown goes missing, he doesn’t hesitate and dives eagerly into the case. With the help of the checklist from the famous Master Detective Jargo, nothing can go wrong – right?

4. The Door in Between / Pintu di Antara 07:36 Indonesia 2025
   

   Directed:	Rachmaji Asmiraj Zwirello
   Screenplay:	Rachmaji Asmiraj Zwirello
   Production:	Rachmaji Asmiraj Zwirello
   Dialogue Language:	Indonesian

   
   

   THE DOOR BETWEEN is a psychological action fantasy short film that tells the story of Maharani, a dancer trapped in an abusive relationship with her partner, Raga. Haunted by fear and silence, Maharani encounters Durga—a manifestation of her inner strength. Between reality and imagination, she rises to reclaim her voice and power. A symbolic narrative of resistance, female empowerment, and liberation.

5. OUTGROWING 06:10 China 2025
   

   Production:	坤滔 周
   Dialogue Language:	Chinese

   
   

   The short film introduces a fantasy story full of bizarreness, where a lonely "bone hunter" accepts a test of human nature from the "snail man" during his journey of searching for bones.

6. Makosh 09:14 2025
   

   Directed:	Maria Reznichenko
   Screenplay:	Maria Reznichenko, Yana Nekhaeva
   Production:	Polina Polina Ratova
   Dialogue Language:	Russian

   
   

   The goddess of fate, Makosh, teaches her daughters, Dolуа and Nedolуа, to maintain the balance of black and white in the world. However, Nedolуа don’t enjoy her new role of bringing misfortune to people.

7. Dad Said 06:47 2025
   

   Directed:

   Livia May

   
   

   Young Freya loves her dad, even though he doesn't always give the same amount of love back. She learns that it’s not always easy to get recognition from your parents. We follow her journey and while growing up she develops a passion for climbing. However, her father doesn’t approve of it. His strong opinion weighs heavy on her and she carries his words with her, until it has taken over her life. She learns to overcome his negativity by realizing those words are just something her dad said and does not say anything about her worth. By accepting herself for who she is, she learns how to break free from her father’s opinion. In this animated short full of metaphors, the gravity of the theme is combined with stylized design, bright colors and analog textures. So it will ease us into the vulnerability of what a parent-child relationship can entail.

8. EATING TWO DOUGHNUTS AT MIDNIGHT 09:45 2024
   

   Directed:	DOPFLAM
   Dialogue Language:	English

   
   

   On a sweaty summer night.. Lou Rums proceeds to eat two doughnuts at midnight that propels him into a surreal, abstract and existential journey through the concept of infinity.

9. JOURNEY OF THE STARS 08:13 2025
   

   Directed:	Klaudia Grancová
   Screenplay:	Klaudia Grancová

   
   

   Sometimes you just need to change the angle of view to see the glittering magic of your fantasy.

10. With You Forever / Na Zawsze z Tobą 07:20 2025
    

    Directed:	Jakub Bożydar Dolny
    Screenplay:	Jakub Bożydar Dolny
    Dialogue Language:	English

    
    

    A lonely sailor finds a mysterious envelope on the deck of the ship. A letter full of sorrow and reproach brings back memories of a overprotective mother, who, at all costs, doesn't want to let go of her beloved son. The man must confront his own desires with a deeply hidden sense of guilt.

11. Outside 03:45 2025
    

    Directed:	Francesca Verde
    Production:	Natasha R Davis
    Dialogue Language:	No Dialogue

    
    

    Outside is a 2D short film that follows a kid and his dog on a brief adventure. The kid, absorbed in his phone, barely notices the world around him until the dog suddenly snatches it and runs away. As a chase unfolds through the town, the kid slowly starts noticing his surroundings and appreciating the outside world.

12. Hi, I'm Juanito / Hola soy Juanito 04:19 Chile 2025
    

    Directed:	Kai Sorolla
    Screenplay:	Kai Sorolla, Daniela Cortez, Jose Martinez, Isidora Espinoza, Matías Saavedra, Danitza Osorio
    Production:	Matías S. Coliñir, Danitza Osorio
    Dialogue Language:	Spanish

    
    

    After finding himself in the limbo, Juanito embarks on a journey to understand his situation and find peace with the idea that he is about to die.

13. The Mirror / Зеркальце 06:26 2025
    

    Directed:	Iuliia Usoltseva
    Screenplay:	Iuliia Usoltseva
    Dialogue Language:	Russian

    
    

    The story of how two close people experience their grief and try to cope with their grief alone. A father and daughter, having lost the closest person - their mother and wife, try to cope with their grief in their own way. The mother gave the girl a mirror, which supports her in a difficult situation. Looking into it, she remembers the wonderful time spent in a friendly family

14. Duck Broth / Rosół z kaczki 04:41 Poland 2024
    

    Directed:	Maria Dakszewicz
    Screenplay:	Maria Dakszewicz
    Dialogue Language:	Polish

    
    

    Exhausted from the night's adventures, a man takes a bath and enters into dialogue with a rubber duck. Together, they roam through the events of the previous evening, in a hunger infused exploration of the urban eateries.

15. Good Girl / Jó kislány 04:22 2025
    

    Directed:	Dóra Napsugár Kovács
    Production:	Melinda Kiss
    Dialogue Language:	Hungarian

    
    

    The short film "Good Girl" follows a little girl's visit to the psychologist. Although our main character is quite fearful and withdrawn, the psychologist does everything to get the little girl to open up. To facilitate this, during the session, several therapeutic methods used for children will be presented.

16. dis/comfort 04:51 2024
    

    Directed:	Noémi Noémi
    Production:	Melinda Kiss
    Dialogue Language:	Hungarian

    
    

    It’s not a shame to need help in difficult times.

17. DA'Lit KIDS 05:40 2025
    

    Directed:	Appu Soman
    Screenplay:	Appu Soman
    Production:	SRFTI
    Dialogue Language:	Malayalam

    
    

    Aravind, a student from marginalized community, gathers strength from the spirits of his ancestors and raises his finger in quite protest after his teacher throws his notebook in front of the class for a harmless mistake

18. Lale 02:29 2023
    

    Directed:	Aybuke Yilmazer
    Screenplay:	Aybuke Yilmazer
    Dialogue Language:	English

    
    

    Lale is an abstract animation emphasizing that some things need to be done on time because we may not have a chance later on. In this case, it is the things that she wants to share. Lale means "Tulip" in Turkish and yellow tulips represent separation in my culture. Yellow tulips are also funeral flowers in other cultures.