A Good Mind Grows in Thorny Places(2024)

100 Days(cs)

Life is going on, people work and have children, out of love or out of lack of other motivation in life. As there is no God, the only certitude is 24 hours open Tesco hypermarket. 40 years ago, Apollo 11 landed on the the surface of the Moon. Next destination is Mars. No human project can go on without a hope of being completed in a reasonable time-limit. Maximal reasonable time-limit is the duration of a human life. What does fit into it? Béla, a retired Hungarian bio-molecular scientist is waiting for death. In the meantime, he has some things to say.

Wise Guys 2(en)

After the release of his debut film, documentarian Richard Chase journeys down a rabbit hole to uncover the lost second episode of his initial film's subject: Wise Guys.

Bleeding Gums(en)

The short documentary explores a Scottish independent wrestling company, Bleeding Gums Wrestling (est. 2023) and the community that surrounds it.

Bugman(en)

A misunderstood and isolated transgender teenager takes revenge upon his unaccepting parents. A powerful supernatural entity known as the Bug God contacts him to help him do the deed. A mysterious organization produces a largely fictitious made-for-TV docudrama on the subject.

A Culpa é do Sol(pt)

Off the Record(en)

RPM music is a small shop in the centre of Newcastle selling vinyl records. Founded by former students, the shop has become a place for people with love of music to come, browse, chat and share their stories. These are some of them.

Green Street(cs)

Her first foray into documentary filmmaking was a short called Green Street (1959), a look at an over-loaded freight train departing from Prague. Though only nine minutes in length, Chytilová’s astute editing ensured a visual spectacle.

Moravian Hellas(cs)

Karel Vachek’s graduate film offers us a documentary essay which is both a light-hearted and aggressive little piece and also a parody of investigative film journalism. The Strážnice folk festival, backed by the cultural Party apparatus of the time, for years had little to commend itself to authentic folklore. In the film the event assumes the form of a bizarre stage spectacle with almost surrealistic elements that Vachek reinforces with unconventional approaches (commentary appearing as titles on screen, singing, declamations into the camera, feature etudes, the fusion of news coverage and fiction). The result is a stirring film collage depicting various characters, from crowd-pleasers, Easter egg decorators, kitsch artists and peddlers, to museologists and local residents, all of whom come up against the eccentric "identical” twin reporters Karel and Jan Saudek and a bored actress who appears as an extra. Using their special blend of irony and wit, they present us with the sad truth.

One Way Trip(es)

Two young women try to adapt to a new city: nostalgia, loneliness, friendship and family are mixed throughout the emotional process of both characters. A reflection on the sense of belonging and the experience of being a foreigner.

Regulars(en)

Regulars invites you into the eclectic, unique and personal stories of the characters who frequent the local pub, whilst exploring how a place can become a hub of connection, community and comfort.

A Dança dos Mosquitos(pt)

Litter Pickin' Punks(en)

Feeling disgruntled, a group of punks start a litter picking group to counter the amount of litter their community faces.

África(es)

Africa, a trans woman dedicated to musical representation and comic entertainment on Facebook exhibits her daily life through live broadcasts, having success and a large influx of viewers. This while she is getting ready for her special program in honor of her best friend Vicenta de Loris, since a year has passed since her life was taken from her.

Bringing Out A Smile(es)

The daily life of the volunteers of the Compañeros de Batalla foundation, dedicated to providing support and hope to the children fighting cancer at the Pediatric Specialties Hospital in Maracaibo.

Day Sleeper(en)

A short documentary about a female truck driver in the United Kingdom.

Artist Unknown(en)

A short documentary on how people view art and its value in today's society.

Cordobés 65(es)

A brief portrait of famous and brave bullfighter Manuel Benítez el Corbobés; an account on still photos of his triumphs and failures.

Bloodshed(en)

Tilly, Miah and Safa are three young women who endure debilitating period pain. Following an adolescence with little menstrual education, support or relief, they navigate the physical and emotional toll of intensely painful periods while trying to maintain a normal life.

A-Okay(en)

Sex. Something that is part of human nature. Everyone does it and strives to have their happily ever after… Right? In a society where intimacy and romance are constantly everywhere, someone breaks from the mould after years of self-discovery. They send a letter to their past self full of their experiences and lessons learned, in the form of a short documentary. A-Okay brings attention to the hyper-sexualized and romanticized society we live in and how it’s expectations, stigmas, and stereotypes can be harmful to individuals on the aromantic and asexual spectrums.

Los Fantasmas del Jefe(es)

The past drags itself into the present day, taking us back to the era of the Dominican Republic's greatest dictator, while we explore the traces of Nazism in the corners of the island. This short documentary borders on a dark and little-known aspect of Dominican history, taking the viewer on a subversive journey through time and memory.