Three woodland spirits explore the conflicting, archetypal human drives of creativity, possessiveness and our desire for status.
With Oscar voting now open, S/W’s Senior Programmers - Rob Munday, Céline Roustan, and Jason Sondhi - step into the voters' shoes to narrow down the 45-title shortlists to their picks for the 15 short films that deserve to advance to the nominations round.
Mia, an isolated law student, is compulsively drawn to self-harm, BDSM, and pain. One night, a young woman, Josie, catches her eye. Josie seems confident and at ease… but is she in over her head with Mia? As the night progresses, both women find themselves swept into new territory.
In a farmhouse a woman tries to lure the resident house spirit – a mischievous Nisse - with offerings of food. During the night as ghosts move through the house, the nisse slips into the woman's dream. As day breaks he melts away, but something has changed; spring has arrived.
Fei, a 16 year old British-Chinese girl, is the top violinist in an elite youth orchestra. When another Chinese violinist arrives to challenge her place, Fei’s anxieties and internalized racism grow to take monstrous physical form. They whisper to her, urging her to be the best, no matter the cost.
Set against the backdrop of a searing heatwave, a fraying father-son bond reaches its boiling point during a fateful visit to a local swimming pool.
Marta, a young Venezuelan mother, is immigrating to Brazil when she meets a struggling young couple with a baby girl. Her ability to breastfeed causes their fates to become forever entwined.
Vladimir and Olga raise ducks on a small isolated farm in the countryside. They hope for a child, but this expectation soon turns into a nightmare. (Link opens in New Window)
In a world blurring reality and imagination, Syd, a little 8-year-old boy tries to hide his mother from Death. They embark on a hide-and-seek game as creatures of earth, Death being their predator. Finally, Death becomes the ultimate predator: Time.
