For the young student Xuan Children's Day at primary school is both a source of joy and a challenge. She struggles to find the right outfit for the special occasion, but that’s just one of many concerns: At home, she faces immense pressure from her strict Christian family, while at school, peer pressure and bullying over beauty standards makes life even harder. Perhaps a potential new friend will save the day - or perhaps not.

Giselle Lin is a director and screenwriter. Her short film Yi Yi (Time flows in strange ways on Sundays) and her documentary I Look into the Mirror and repeat myself both screened at Locarno, while Things was featured at the Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg. She is currently developing her debut feature film Midnight Blue Spring.

HESSIAN PREMIERE

Short film, Singapore, 2025
OV.eng.S, Chinese / Director: Giselle Lin, Duration:13 Min.

Imagine animals retreating to a kind of rehab on an island to recover from all the evil deeds that humans are doing to nature. It takes a lot of cynicism and humor to cope with the catastrophes and damages that have already been done. Comment ça va? is more than just a brilliant animated film, it is a plea to humanity to recognize that our own demise is not a too far-fetched reality. The film had its world premiere at 75th Berlinale Shorts and is a candidate for the European Film Awards.

Caroline Poggi (born 1990 in Ajaccio) studied at the University of Corsica before graduating from the University Paris 8. Jonathan Vinel (born 1988) studied editing at La Fémis. They initially began directing solo before collaborating on As Long As Shotguns Remain, which won the Golden Bear for Best Short Film at the Berlinale in 2014. Their first feature film, Jessica Forever, premiered at TIFF (2018) and the Berlinale (2019). Their second feature, Eat the Night, was presented at the Cannes Directors' Fortnight in 2024.

HESSIAN PREMIERE

Short film / Animation, France, 2025
OV.eng.S, French / Directors:Caroline Poggi & Jonathan Vinel, Duration:31 Min.

In the documentary Citizen-Inmate, Heslam Eslami examines the reality of a society under complete surveillance. In order to maintain total control over their citizens, those in power resort to the most advanced technologies. The idea of locking people up remotely could be a solution, but it also poses a challenge to the brutal regime. Citizen-Inmate celebrated its world premiere at the 75th Berlinale, 2025.

Hesam Eslami is a director, writer and producer, known for 20th Circuit Suspects (2018), The Marriage Project (2019) and A Band of Dreamers and a Judge (2023).

HESSIANPREMIERE

Documentary, Iran 2025 / OmeU, Farsi / Regie: Hesam Eslami, Duration: 15 Min.

After the Crimean Peninsula and her home country Ukraine were attacked and invaded by Russia, Antonina had to make some difficult decisions: to flee or stay and fight for her country. Antonina is a non-binary person. In the end, they had to fight two wars: the military one and the battle over their gender identity. Qirim is a tribute to the bravery and resilience of both the Ukrainian people and the queer communities.

Kateryna Khramtsova studied law in Kharkiv. Since moving to Prague in 2019, she has been involved in visual arts and activism. Her work deals with social inequality, mental health issues and human rights.

Short film / Documentary, Ukraine - Czech Republic, 2023 OV.eng.S, Ukrainian / Director: Kateryna Khramtsova Duration: 10 Min.

An Iranian public broadcaster tries to square the circle: Present popular Hollywood films to the domestic audience while also adhering to the “moral” censorship stipulations of the regime. While the imported images and sounds are being manipulated, the real political life intrudes beyond the broadcasting studios.

From the programme of our partners, the Festival de Contis.

Director: Farnoosh Samadi, F/IRN 2023, Original Farsi with English subtitles, Duration: 15 min.

The shining smooth aluminium plates and foils we know in everyday life are made in a process that is anything but straight. Adrian Paci has turned it into an impressive and visually orchestrated film that is simulanously a modern image film for an aluminium manufacturer, an homage to the workers and a unique art piece. Winner of the short film competition at the International Filmfestival Rotterdam.

Director: Adrian Paci, Italy 2024, no dialogue, Duration: 23 Min.

At the end of the years-long civil war, parts of the Syrian economy depended on revenues from small oil wells maintained at various locations around the country. The improvised extraction of raw materials scarred the country ecologically, economically, and politically. Reminiscent of Werner Herzog’s images from embattled Kuwait, the film bears witness to the consequences of war and an era which now hopefully belongs to the past.

Director: Arshia Shakiba, CDN 2024, Original Arabic with English subtitles, Duration: 19 min.

Far away from home, a young musician hosts a party with friends and colleagues. From the comforting jumble of voices and thoughts, a silence finally emerges which enables him to return to himself and his music. As in “Civic” (LICHTER 2024), Dwayne LeBlanc reflects on distance and proximity in human conversations.

Director: Dwayne LeBlanc, US 2024, Original English language, Duration: 15 min.

A young woman is pregnant and doesn’t know whether she wants to keep her child. Between video calls with her mother in Iran, strange dream sequences, and blocked drains, a complex and absurd web of linguistic and visual associations is spun.

Director: Hoda Taheri, Boris Hadžija, D 2024, Original German/Farsi with English subtitles, Duration: 15 min.