Professional Competition 5

1. Microcosmos. A Cabinet of Curiosities / Microcosmos. Un gabinete de curiosidades 09:04 Spain 2025
   

   Directed:	Maria Lorenzo Hernandez
   Screenplay:	María Lorenzo
   Production:	Enrique Millán

   
   

   An animated suite in five movements that transforms urban decay and personal mourning into a visual refuge. Through the singularity of the small, and exploring the urban skin through the ephemeral traces of Valencia's street art, Microcosmos immerses us in the collection of existence.

2. The Rusty Fish 06:15 Iran 2026
   

   Directed:	Milad Fathiani
   Screenplay:	Milad Fathiani
   Production:	Milad Fathiani
   Dialogue Language:	English

   
   

   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.

3. Chiemneysweeper 08:00 2026
   

   Directed:	Nastimir Nikolov Tzatchev
   Screenplay:	Nastimir Nikolov Tzatchev
   Production:	Nastimir Nikolov Tzatchev
   Dialogue Language:	English

   
   

   Everyone runs after happiness and relies on their luck, but is the one who symbolizes people's luck happy? According to belief, the chimney sweep is a symbol of happiness. Everyone strives to touch it to get a piece of it. When we touch it, a confidence in the future and realization of our desires appears in us. Our lives go through the hectic everyday life in pursuit of our dreams. But people are selfish and often the one who helps us and gives us happiness is not happy and even misfortune hits him with all his might, and those who took advantage of him are the reason for this.

4. noir & lumi 12:00 2026
   

   Directed:	Cláudio Jordão
   Screenplay:	Cláudio Jordão
   Production:	António Costa Valente, Júlia Rocha, Nelson Martins
   Dialogue Language:	No Dialogue

   
   

   NOIR is a small-time gravedigger with a big secret. LUMI is the magnetic and mysterious performer of a strange cabaret, whose light enchants and inspires NOIR. NOIR é um pequeno coveiro com um grande segredo. LUMI é a magnética e misteriosa performer de um estranho cabaret, cuja luz encanta NOIR e o inspira.

5. The Book of Dreaming / Dnevnik snivanja 11:00 Croatia 2026
   

   Directed:	Irena Jukić Pranjić
   Screenplay:	Irena Jukić Pranjić
   Production:	Matija Pisačić
   Dialogue Language:	English

   
   

   The narrator begins keeping a dream journal. After presenting several vivid nightmares, she turns to dreams that take place in the cemetery beside which she grew up. Comparing her own dreaming with collective imaginings of the afterlife, the author delves into the depths of the human subconscious and, there—at the very source of human spirituality—discovers parallels between dreams and the medium of film, which is likewise woven from fantasies and illusions through which we experience things that do not exist in our reality.

6. Poplars 10:55 2025
   

   Directed:	Alexandros Vounatsos
   Screenplay:	Alexandsros Vounatsos
   Production:	Tasos koronakis, Marina Danezi
   Dialogue Language:	No Dialogue

   
   

   Lesvos, 1997, Gulf of Geras. A father waits at the port to pick up his two young children while smoking a cigarette. Across the shore, their mother helps them board the gazolina (boat). When the children arrive, they are older than when they started their journey. They formally greet their father and board the car, which will take them to a field of olive groves. There, three large poplars stand, symbolizing the three heroes. They immediately begin their work in the field. The trees and the children grow rapidly whenever the father smokes or becomes angry. Suddenly, the father realizes that time has passed unnaturally fast, noticing how much his children have grown. Confused by what is real and what is memory, he falls into a golden crater opened in the ground by the rapid growth of the trees, becoming one with the great poplar. Years later, the sons return to the field. They climb the big tree. A rustling shakes the branches, and the large leaves embrace the children.

7. // In Half // 19:30 2024
   

   Directed:	Jorge Morais Valle
   Screenplay:	Silvia Pazos Hermida, Jorge Morais Valle
   Production:	Jorge Morais Valle
   Dialogue Language:	English, French

   
   

   Through a child’s imagination, the film follows the journey of a man who, after falling prey to his own fears, must cross a strange and magical world. Within this universe, he is confronted by past conflicts and inner struggles, forcing him to face what once held him back in order to find answers for the future and ultimately discover his true identity.

8. Darien: Mud dreams 17:03 2026
   

   Directed:	EDGAR HUMBERTO ALVAREZ, SANDRA PAEZ
   Screenplay:	Sandra Paez Alvarez
   Production:	EDGAR HUMBERTO ALVAREZ
   Dialogue Language:	English

   
   

   Darien: Mud dreams is a stop-motion animated short film made in clay that tells the story of seven migrants from different nationalities who, overwhelmed by the lack of opportunities and the extreme conditions of poverty and violence in their countries of origin, decide to embark on a dangerous journey in search of a better future for themselves and their loved ones. Their goal is to reach the United States, but to do so they must face countless obstacles and dangers, including crossing the treacherous Darien Gap. Throughout their journey, the film highlights the hardships and risks migrants endure in their pursuit of a more hopeful future. Darien: Mud dreams invites reflection on the importance of solidarity and empathy in an increasingly globalized yet indifferent world. At a time when migration has become a pressing global issue, the film seeks to shed light on the human struggle behind the journey and the urgent need to support those who risk everything in search of a better life.

9. Moving Hues "white light" 04:57 United States 2026
   

   Directed:	Jing Wang, harvey goldman
   Production:	Jing Wang, harvey goldman

   
   

   Moving Hues, “white light” finds its voice through an evocative synesthetic fusion that brings together two internationally celebrated visions: the contemporary piano composition of Jing Wang and the abstract visualizations of filmmaker Harvey Goldman. Here, time does not march forward—it flows, pools, and erupts. The music breathes through dramatic cadences and volatile shifting gestures, pulling the viewer into a non-linear current. The visuals respond in kind, moving with an ethereal, liquid-like grace and dynamic energy. Grounded in the vital equilibrium of Yin/Yang and the internal currents of Qigong, this work honors the mystery of raw form, leaving a lingering resonance that vibrates up until the final note culminates softly—a sudden, quiet percussive tone that leaves only silence. Ultimately, it invites the audience to bypass the analytical mind and instead surrender to a breathtaking choreography of pure, elemental energy.

10. I THINK ARTISTS AND POLITICIANS ARE VERY SIMILAR THINGS 05:42 United States 2024
    

    Directed:	Nikolas Protopapas
    Screenplay:	Nikolas Protopapas
    Dialogue Language:	English

    
    

    Mysterious twin brothers have a life-changing encounter with God.

11. Used - Wonderful Sun Music Video 03:00 Germany 2025
    

    Directed:	Julia Schneider, Chantale Eglin
    Dialogue Language:	English

    
    

    Wonderful Sun — an homage to summer and the feeling of being carried by a sunlit dream. In a collage world, the music leads a dreamlike journey where surreal creatures and plants bloom together in harmony.

 Commissioned in early 2025, the piece uses digital collages - guided by rhythm, light, and color - to stage an immersive walk through a garden that gradually lets go of realism. With each verse, flora and fauna lean into the surreal as daylight fractures into saturated patterns. The narrative remains non-literal: motion, texture, and color build a hypnotic, welcoming world that suggests harmony—and the soft warmth of lying in the sun, lost in a daydream.