Official Selections

Kandittundu (Seen It)

Duration- 11:49 minutes, India

The ever-vibrant Mr. P. N. K Panicker has several shockers up his sleeve. He takes the viewer along a moonlit stroll and paints a quirky picture of the supernatural encounters he has had.

Director- Adithi Krishnadas

Outside the consulting room

Duration- 7:05 minutes, China

Li Qi's father was a doctor who died fighting the Covid-19. After the epidemic, Li Qi takes her sick mother to the hospital where her father had worked and accidentally gets a box of his father's relics. She has a conversation with the person sitting next to her outside the consulting room.

Director- Fangming Liu

Persecution

Duration-12:43 minutes, Finland

This movie is inspired by true events of multiple cases where a person got missing under unusual circumstances. "Persecution" wants to deliver a bit of that feeling of what it's like to be alone in a dangerous situation.

Director- Aku Hietikko

Exchange Offer        

Duration-29:00 minutes, India

A complaint registered to the manufacturing company for a dead computer brings back nostalgia and surprises in the life of a retired school principal who leads a lonely, mundane life.

Director- Saunak Mitra

Finding Abraham        

Duration-29:00 minutes, UK

A group of young Arabs and Israelis join together for road trip across the desert. In the wake of recent Peace Agreements between their countries, they're on a journey ... to find Abraham.

Director- Malcolm Green

Skilleveien

Duration-27:48 minutes, Denmark

It follows Matias, who must fight to save his friendship with his best friend Janus, and keep him from falling into the hands of the peculiar spiritual guide, Joakim, as well as their odd rituals and ceremonies. Skilleveien is a story about love, the fear of change and acceptance.

Director- Peter Bjerre Salling

Chotta Laphada

Duration-9:31 minutes, India

Two friends meet at their local restaurant, the day after a local politician, who they were close to was brutally murdered.

Director- Satyajeet Rajenimbalkar

Jumping

Duration-23:25 minutes, Iran

At the age of 30, Parastoo prepares for the Sex reassignment surgery, which she faces a problem that she must solve and understand.

Director- Mohsen Nabavi

The Undefeated

Duration-12:34 minutes, India

The Undefeated narrates the hurdles and joys of five vulnerable children in contemporary India. Each story is fictional but heavily inspired by the real life of the children sheltered and protected by the NGO TARA in New Delhi.

Director- Dorothee Adam

On Off

Duration- 7:00 minutes, Argentina

Endless distractions threaten to destroy creativity.

Director- Nicolas P Villarreal

The Bullying Dad

Duration- 21:07 minutes, Sweden

Lovisa, 15 years, is bullied at school. She is raised in a loving and harmonic family. Strong bond between Lovisa and her father. What will happen when she finds out that her father was the worst bully when he went to school?
Director Biography -Reinhold Hellgren

Director- Reinhold Hellgren

His Shoes        --Winner

Duration-24 minutes, Iran, Islamic Republic of (Drama/Children)

Mahbube is a rural girl who has lost her book but she doesn't want to take the responsibility. Her pride ,lie and deception doesn't work but she has a kind heart.

Director- Ahmad Seyedkeshmiri Producer- Afsaneh Heidari

Roses        -- Honorable Jury Mention

Duration-19 minutes, Brazil (Drama)

Hurt that he never met his mother, Zé, a country man, drops his girlfriend on the farm and sets out to find himself, returning later with a new identity.

Director- Ivann Willig

Anagnorisis

Duration- 15 minutes, Spain (Drama)

A new doctor has just arrived at a nursing home, where he meets a patient tormented by a past which he cannot remember. This doctor will help him do it, without anticipating the consequences.

Director- Arturo Dueñas Herrero  Producer- Laurentino J. Dueñas Herrero

Dahej Ka Scooter

Duration-21 minutes, India (Rom-Com)

Set in Old Delhi, ‘Dahej ka Scooter’ is an eventful love story of a young boy-Nakul (the ideal Sharma ji ka beta) who is soon to get hitched.The story revolves around a strange ancestral tradition followed by his family according to which Nakul and his soon-to-be-wife Pihu would have to ride back home from the ‘mandap’ on a ‘pushtaini’ scooter on their wedding day.The relationship between Nakul and Pihu starts to suffer when Pihu out rightly refuses to follow the tradition. As their wedding day approaches, things begin to become sour between the couple.Their love/hate story witness a sudden twist, when something unusual chances that ultimately bringing the two close again.

Director- Rahul Bhatnagar Producer- Natak Pictures, Fnp Media

Fitrat

Duration-13 minutes, India (Drama/Thriller)

Fitrat is a story about humans, their behavior and nature in today’s world. We as people judge others by the scale of our own worst instinct. Good, evil and the nature of people around us is subjective to our own predispositions and prejudices. We are what we judge.

Director- Taher Ali Baig Producer- Sudhanshu Pandey, Taher Ali Baig

Good Ol' Bernie

Duration-11 minutes, France (Comedy)

Just retired, Bernie has only one goal left: Win the next regional game of race walking!

Director- Olivier Ducray, Wilfried Méance   Producer- Olivier Ducray, Wilfried Méance

In Dubbio

Duration-15 minutes, Italy (Drama)

The story narrated by "In Dubbio" is highly topical: the protagonist is an esteemed university professor and famous portrait painter, who is accused of having committed sexual violence thirty years earlier.The man is convinced that he has not committed such an act, but the next day even a student of his blames him for having suffered advances.The professor is immediately abandoned by the university, by his colleagues and by his family, being completely alone.However, an unexpected meeting will turn the situation around and lead him into an uncertain future.The short film addresses the social issue of violence against women - linked to the protests of the #MeToo movement - of doubt and suspicion, the weight of certain accusations and their consequences on a respectable and respected man,

Director- Lorenzo Bombara   Producer- Lorenzo Bombara

Manasanamaha

Duration-16 minutes, India (Romance/Drama)

A young man muses on the nature of love, recounting three relationships from his past. The girls in his life resemble three different seasons, namely Chaitra (Spring), Varsha (Monsoon) & Seeta (Winter). .

Director- Deepak Reddy Producer-Shilpa Gajjala, Harikanth Gunamagari

Saguaro

Duration-5 minutes, USA (Animation Drama)

The loneliest Saguaro cactus in the world spends his time collecting garbage that blows across the desert and sticks to his body. Then in the span of a single day, he makes friends with a tumbleweed, falls in love, and experiences profound loss.

Director- Damon Stea   Producer-Cassandra N Chowdhury

The She-Wolf

Duration-22 minutes, France (Fantasy)

25-years-old Victor has always been fascinated by "The She-Wolf", a girl character from a bedtime story. After the attack of a wolf that caused several deaths, he returns to his childhood hometown in Russia, when he reads about people telling they saw a young girl walking by the animal's side.

Director- Svetlana Trébulle  Producer- Nicolas Liberman

The Virus       --Winner

Duration-12 minutes, India (Drama - Environmental)

A Man gets infected by a Virus. He then comes face to face with the virus within and questions it's intent and purpose

Director- Devesh Dutt    Producer-Liberty Pictures, Bindiya Dutt

The Beds of Others       -- Honorable Jury Mention

Duration-15 minutes Spain, (Drama - Disability)

Laura is a sexual assistant for people with functional diversity. Her boyfriend, Marco, is desperate to find work to change the situation. Perhaps the only thing all we need is a little affection to feel alive.

Director- Jonay García    Producer-Jairo López, Domingo J. González, Jonay García

35 [Temporary Number]

Duration-10 minutes, Italy (Drama - LGBT)

Two characters, two opposing worlds.Diego is a forty-year-old man, a dental technician, lives with his elderly mother after separating from his wife. Amanda is a South American trans, living alone in a house in the Roman suburbs, that same house where she prostitutes herself every night.The two apparently different worlds will merge in a moment of passion and transgression that will culminate with an explosion of violence and hatred.

Director- Alessio Di Cosimo, Juan Diego Puerta Lopez   Producer-Tecnofilmdue

A Face Behind The Smile

Duration- 3 minutes, India (Drama - Domestic Violence)

A woman how she hides the domestic violence against her yet keeps a smile on face is the story of a face behind the smile.

Director- Mohankumar Padya Producer-Nithinkumar Padya

At the Edge of Winter

Duration- 4 minutes, United States (Drama - Old Age Loneliness)

Mark begins his everyday routine from getting up from bed. Isolated from outside world, he tries to reconnect with people to ultimately fail in the end and come back to his bed.

Director- Christopher Satola   Producer- Paull William Anderson

Bully

Duration-11 minutes, India (Drama - Child Bullying)

Dhonsiya, The word Dhonsiya means Bully in Hindi (a language used in the northern part of India) The film narrates a tale of a hapless 8-year-old called Gulshan, who is going through one of the worst phase of his life, but by the time the story ends, things starts to change for him in a way that they will have very far reaching consequences.

Director- Aroop Dwivedi Producer-Minakshi Vinay Rai, Film Division of India

God exists

Duration-15 minutes, Italy (Drama - Internet Privacy)

In the midst of a mystical awakening, Angelo acknowledges God's existence and feels compelled to confess. Father Calvary welcomes him into his church.

Director- Antonio Benedetto   Producer- Antonio Benedetto

School Bell

Duration-3 minutes, India (Drama - Child Labor)

Importance of education is conveyed through a Child Labor's Point of View.

Director- B. Suresh Kumar Producer- Films Division

The guardian angel

Duration-19 minutes, Iran, Islamic Republic of (Drama - Human Aspirations & Behavior)

A girl who is involved in caring for her paternal father is offered to emigrate by a friend. Since she has a problem with money, she enters the process of providing money, and here the old problems with his father are raised again. The girl is forced to do something far-fetched to emigrate from Iran.

Director- Afshin Eisaei Producer-Afshin Eisaei

Tomorrow Will Be A Better Day

Duration-12 minutes, India (Drama - Society)

A social worker shelters a young woman rescued from a brothel, but her brother has other intentions. On the day before election, when he assaults the woman brutally, it clashes with her political aspirations. So she teams up with her advisor to keep the secret from an earnest reporter.

Director- Anupam Ghosh, Priyanka Ghosh Producer- Anupam Ghosh, Priyanka Ghosh

Ardhviraam       -- Honorable Jury Mention

Duration-19 minutes, India (Historical Drama)

Khalid, a schizophrenic writer during Indian partition, struggling to write an epic end to his most ambitious novel amid growing communal tension outside and absolute chaos within his own mind.

Director- Abhishek Gowda Producer- Whistling Woods International

Afloat

Duration-4 minutes, India (Animation)

Afloat’ is a short animated film on Domestic Abuse based on the poem ‘A Smile to Remember’ by Charles Bukowski. This is a story about courage, a story about staying afloat.

Director- Urmi Banerjee Producer- Urmi Banerjee

RAKTASRUR ETIKATHA

Duration-6 minutes, India (Animation)

The Bishnois may be considered India's first environmentalists. The villagers loved the trees and the animals like their children. Once over 300 Bishnois were sacrificed their life to protect the trees. This film is developed with the inspiration of that real story and try to give a message to save trees, wild animals to make the world habitable- more beautiful.

Director- Suchorita Chakraborty Producer- AFX Animatio

THE MEADOWS OF TIME

Duration-20 minutes, India (Drama)

A middle aged, lonely theatre actress, Susana is diagnosed with an untreatable brain tumour that puts her in a trance of awesome memories of her pregnancy; before she eventually dies

Director- Sahil Gada Producer Whistling Woods International, Rashmi Alag

Toilet

Duration-2 minutes, Korea, Republic of (Drama)

A young boy in the bathroom hears the voices of a man and woman. He misunderstands.

Director- - Kang Shingyu Producer- - Kang Shingyu

I Pravir The Adivasi GOD

Duration-24 minutes, India (Sociopolitical, Human Rights, Tribal)

Bastar, a natural-resource rich but poor tribal majority region, has been at conflict with the modern Industrial INDIA, ever since its accession in 1948. Maoist violence has engulfed Bastar since 1980s. Transition from monarchy to democracy hasn't been smooth. People haven't forgotten their erstwhile king Shri Pravir Chandra Bhanjdeo, killed in police firing in 1966 and often miss the old days. The documentary explores the legacy of the king, his relevance to Bastar's people and how his memory has become a substitute for hopelessness people feel at the lack of a viable alternative and their inability to make the current system work for them.

Director- - Vivek Kumar Producer- - Vivek Kumar

IN SEARCH OF PARBHA CHHAU

Duration-47 minutes, India (Folk Arts)

In Search Of Parbha Chhau is a documentary film of duration 47:27 minutes, based on the search of a rarely heard, dying dance form called PARBHA. This unique Chhau dance form of Bengal, has become obscure and consigned to oblivion. Unlike the other two forms ‘The Purulia Chhau ‘ and ‘The Seraikela Chhau,’ that have earned accolades worldwide -- the third important form Parbha, or ‘ The Chilkigarh traditional Chhau’, has met its misfortune of being lost under existential crisis.

Director- - ABANTI SINHA Producer-Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, Ministry Of Culture, Govt Of India

K2K

Duration-58 minutes, India (Sports, Travelling)

Dr Mahendra Mahajan a dentist, decides to ride a bike from Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) to Kanyakumari (Karnataka ), that is 3,800kms approx, in around 10 days to set a Guinness world record. He soon understands that this is going to be a bumpy ride, filled with unexpected turns and unbelievable challenges. This story makes it pretty clear, exactly how much one should be determined and stubborn to make dreams come true.

Director- BSK Producer- BSK

SURVIVAL Developing Countries on the Frontline

Duration-48 minutes, India (Health, Sociopolitical)

More than 9 million people worldwide are by COVID-19, stretching health systems and changing our way of life. But how are vulnerable economies with limited resources responding to this battle of survival? CNA traverses the globe, to Pakistan, Philippines and Bangladesh to discover harsh realities confronting societies that are embattled by the deadly virus. We investigate the economic, social, political and psychological impact of the pandemic, while observing communities fighting back through technology and human ingenuity.

Director- -Shehzad Hameed Ahmad Producer- -Shehzad Hameed Ahmad

BEDU Beddna Naiesh

Duration-60 minutes, Italy (Human rights)

Bedu is the manifesto of how a people can be violated of their human rights.Through the stories of the son of Sinai who with the simple and direct poetics of a desert nomad becomes the spokesman for the Bedouin tribes of South Sinai, we retrace the entire history of these people: the Bedouins.From the times of the Six Day War passing from the tourist revolution to the Arab Spring to the al-Sisi coup and today to Isis, this journey shows us with interviews, testimonies and in a fresh and engaging way how the Bedouins were neglected, violated offended.

Director- -Tekla Taidelli Producer-Tranky Film

Janani's Juliet

Duration-60 minutes, India (Caste, Discrimination, Society)

Kausalya lost her husband (Shankar), when they were attacked by her own family. They had married against their families wishes. Deeply disturbed by a spate of honor killings in India, Indianostrum, a Pondicherry based theatre group sets out to introspect the implications of caste, class and gender. They adapt Shakespeare's ‘Romeo and Juliet’. What emerges in the process is a critical reflection and commentary of the contemporary Indian society where love struggles to survive.

Director- Pankaj Rishi KumarProducer- Rajiv Mehrotra (PSBT)

Plenty to Say The Radical Murals of Mary Perry Stone

Duration-9 minutes, United States (Capitalism, Social-Political)

Why show a protest artist’s 1990s radical murals? Are they still relevant today? Mary Perry Stone, a former WPA sculptor, didn’t drink, smoke or lead a wild life. Her passion was being a social protest artist; it remained so throughout her life. When she was in her eighties and early nineties, Mary painted many murals depicting what she deemed the horrors of Capitalism. Her art was her own, expressive and powerful.

Director- -Ramie Streng Producer- -Ramie Streng

The Perspective-Winner

Duration- 11 min, India

A Short Film about Four Stories, Four Emotions, One Perspective. The film showcase four stories – a drunken man on a ‘Highway’, a beautiful date between a couple where the girl intends to make ‘The Proposal’, a story about a woman coming home on ‘A Rainy Night’ experiences a power cut and realizes she is not home alone and the last is about two best friends, ‘Besties’ working in the same organization and how one helps the other.

Director- Bindiya Dutt

Director- Devesh Dutt

7 Years Before

Duration- 9 min, Germany

“7 years before” is a short film about the last hours before a husband or lover is leaving his girl behind, for changing his home for an unknown future. The stories' perspective is from the female point of view. In the center point of this short film are the emotions and thoughts of this remaining day and of the moment of saying goodbye to each other.

Director- Maged Mohamed

Democracy in the Driver’s Seat

Duration- 8 min, USA

On a crowded city street, a woman runs to catch a bus, but misses it. With frustration in her eyes, she climbs aboard the next bus and begs the driver to do his best to catch up to her husband, who is on the bus ahead of them. At first the bus driver is reluctant to even acknowledge her request, but the other passengers urge him to help the woman out. A sense of camaraderie builds as more and more people get involved and show their support. It all reaches a climax when they finally pull up behind the bus and the woman hops off to join her husband.

Director- Gail Gilbert

Love Never Changes

Duration- 16 min, UK

A middle-aged plastic surgeon who is looking for love, suffers two botched blind dates with the same woman as he struggles to manage the advice of his family and his ego!

Director- Joe Conneely

Moom

Duration- 14 min, Japan

Moom has a special job: releasing the previous owners’ memories from forgotten objects. One day Moom meets an especially special memory.

Director- Daisuke Tsutsumi

Director- Robert Kondo