Ottimismo democratico

Prelude(es)

In a dreamlike journey through the memories that formed him, Sergio's past comes to life before his eyes. With his grandparents' house in ruins as a vehicle of memory, he will question his first 10 years of life and why he considers them his Prelude, the foretaste of what his life and work would become. Among ghosts, he will have to make peace with his memory, his reflection and his name to find the color among the ashes and stop fearing the future.

Here We Are(th)

A housekeeper received a film made by her daughter. It's a film that combines found footages of Thailand during the Cold War with the present days images of Bangkok. Through these images she tells a story of the house owner and her own story of coming to the capital.

3.11 A Sense of Home(ja)

In memory of the Japanese earthquake on 3.11, each director presents a 3 minute and 11 second short film in tribute to those who were lost that day.

Memory(pt)

Memory is a collaboration with musician Noah Lennox (Panda Bear), exploring the relationship between a musician and filmmaker and their personal reflection on memories. From Super 8 home movies and entirely handmade, this film explores familiar memories, the present moment combined with past experiences and how it all seems to evade from our present memory.

A Sense of Place(fa)

Six Iranian directors examine, one after the other, a place in Iran, France, or Germany. The places and the stories enter into a dialogue with each other and deal with living conditions in today's Iran, social and economic struggles, but also identities in exile, and places of longing.

Pacho's visual archive(es)

After the death of my only brother I found rolls of undeveloped film. This documentary is a reenactment of those stills and an exploration of the aspects of my brother's life that I didn't know.

ZION USA(en)

An intimate portrait of Salt Lake City and its surroundings. Shot on 16mm film.

Kewaaj(bn)

The word kewaaj (কেওয়াজ) is colloquially used to explain chaos, noisiness or annoyance. "Kewaaj" is an audiovisual attempt to give you a glimpse into how the people of Dhaka function in one of the most unliveable cities, according to the Global Liveability Index. Dhaka is fast, dense, intense. Yet the people try to find their peace in it.

He Who Dances Passes(es)

A being from the beyond returns to Chile in 2019, embodied in a worker who dreams of social upheaval. Viral videos intertwine with fiction to narrate the experiences of a polarized country that wanders between drama and absurdity, illusion and failure.

Dominion(en)

Landscapes, things, men, women and children taken by an "evil eye" more than a century ago haunt the present in this jagged reverie. A persona voicelessly narrates, via captions, going through colonial photographs, digresses to eating fruit and entering a cave on a tropical vacation island.

Dali(fr)

Acoustic Ocean(en)

Acoustic Ocean is an artistic exploration of the sonic ecology of marine life in the North Atlantic. Located on the Lofoten Islands in Northern Norway, the video centers on the performance of a marine-biologist diver who is using a life-size model of a submersible equipped with all sorts of hydrophones and recording devices. In this science-fictional quest, her task is to sense the submarine space for acoustic and bioluminescent forms of expression.

Century of Animation Showcase: 1922(en)

A snapshot of the state of animated filmmaking 100 years ago. Includes several 1922 films: Walt Disney's "The Four Musicians of Bremen," Dave Fleischer's "Birthday," Otto Messmer's "Felix Makes Good," Paul Terry's "The Farmer and His Cat," Earl Hund's "Fresh Fish," Dave Fleischer's "Mechanical Doll," Otto Messmer's "Felix Fifty-Fifty," and Paul Terry's "Henry's Busted Romance".

Watercolors(ko)

Watercolors is an omnibus documentary that highlights indie musicians who are seeking new paths and creating their own musical world.

Panoramic Images of a Loving Home(en)

A documentary short created by Olivia Lancaster while moving into a new home, 08/31/23.

Natalie Merchant: Ophelia(en)

A conceptual short film starring Natalie Merchant as various archetypal female characters, plus a series of music videos from Merchant’s first two solo albums.

Century of Animation Showcase: 1923(en)

A compilation of animated shorts restored by Thomas Stathes. A snapshot of the state of animated filmmaking 100 years ago. Includes several 1923 films.

Canale grande(de)

A young woman is fed up with the usual consumer's television and begins to make her own television, or more correctly, closevision. She is now a reporter who wanders around Berlin with her camera and 'telecasting apparatus' on her back. Her livingroom has been transformed into a studio and here the different programs are assembled and aired: statements, interviews, realistic and phantastic programs.

Echo(en)

A reframing of the classic tale of Narcissus, the director draws on snippets of conversation with a trusted friend to muse on gender and identity. Just as shimmers are difficult to grasp as knowable entities, so does the concept of a gendered self feel unknowable except through reflection. Is it Narcissus that Echo truly longs for, or simply the Knowing he possesses when gazing upon himself?

The Birds Changed Names And The World Turned Into Ice(es)

Migrant families experience violence, but they also keep beautiful memories when they arrive in new lands. Fantastic and intimate stories, recalled from childhood, travel across time and space, magically intermingling with the help of the four elements and breaking the boundaries of cinema.