Oscar´s letter (la carta de Óscar)
Set ninety-seven years after a nuclear war has destroyed civilization, when a spaceship housing humanity's lone survivors sends one hundred juvenile delinquents back to Earth, in hopes of possibly re-populating the planet.
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Koushaneh is a young female blogger who was arrested for posting a critical message online. After surviving a 72-hour period of captivity, she has spent the last three months recovering from the psychological trauma, separated from her stepmother. In the quiet of her solitude, she finds comfort in the soothing piano pieces played by her brother, who practices in pursuit of a brighter future. But when her stepmother suddenly enters her private sanctuary, everything begins to change...
In the closure of the city’s last video rental stores, this short documentary finds its starting point to reflect on urban gentrification and the changing habits of consumption. Through disappearing spaces and the people who once inhabited them, the film connects the loss of these places with the transformation of the audiovisual medium and the arrival of artificial intelligence, used as a metaphor for an unstoppable technological change that redefines the way we live, consume, and relate to culture, leaving open the question of what is lost along the way.
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Katerina works in a registry office. She helps seal loving hearts, while her own marriage has been on hold for a long time. Katerina's husband has been in a coma for five years, and the family seems to be stuck with him. A new love brings a major change in Katerina's life, forcing her to make choices that she was previously afraid to make.
In 1983, film student Rich Murray was handed $20,000 in a brown paper bag by a hustler named 'Butch.' These were the funds he used to direct his first music video for a local Philly rocker named Alan Mann. That video for the song “Christmas on the Block”, went on to become the first and perhaps only video by an unsigned artist to play on regular rotation on MTV. Using “Christmas on the Block” as a framing device, Murray illuminates Mann’s larger story - and how he could have, should of and almost did make it, but didn’t because of his excesses, and a tragic accidental death. The film also turns the lens sharply on the film’s director (Murray) and how his own excesses might have resulted in the same tragic trajectory, that but for wisdom and luck, did not.
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Catatumbo is a subregion of Norte de Santander, on the border with Venezuela. Its jungles, mountains, and rivers shelter the unique Catatumbo Lightning, which lights the skies every night. Violence escalated in the late 1970s, when guerrilla groups like the ELN, EPL, and FARC increased armed actions with killings, kidnappings, and town takeovers. Between 1999 and 2006, paramilitary groups—the Catatumbo Bloc, the Héctor Julio Peinado Front, and the Motilona Resistance Front—left 99,074 displaced, 832 selective killings, and 599 massacre deaths. According to CNMH, over 59% of three decades of displacements occurred in that period. Child recruitment marked another wound: the Truth Commission documented 18,677 individual cases. By 2019, the National Information Network recorded 37,978 victims in Catatumbo, including 19,390 women. On January 16, 2025, clashes between FARC dissidents and the ELN in Tibú and El Tarra triggered another crisis. The UN reported 91,879 people affected, with 56,091 displaced to Cúcuta, Ocaña, and Tibú. UNICEF noted that 84,165 people were impacted, including 70,000 children and adolescents. Of them, 52,807 were displaced and 31,355 confined. Amid state neglect, coca cultivation became a survival strategy for many families, but it also exposed them to persecution, violence, and stigma. To speak of Catatumbo is to name its pain, but also the resilience of its people. Despite hardship, thousands remain standing. Sources: CNMH; UN/OCHA; UNICEF Colombia; Verdad Abierta; El País. Production Notes: This short film was created entirely using artificial intelligence tools for animation, narrative, sound, and editing, including Veo 3, Flow, Whisk, Gemini, ChatGPT, and CapCut. Credits – Short Film PLAY MOVIE (please click here)PLAY MOVIE (please click here)Title: Catatumbo: House of Thunder, Memory and Dignity Direction, Screenplay & Production: Jhonattan Sarmiento Art Direction & Animation: Generative AI (Veo 3, Flow, Whisk, Gemini, ChatGPT) Editing & Post-Production: CapCut Sound Design & Music: Generative AI, edited and mixed in CapCut
On their seventh wedding anniversary, Liu Xiaoyan and Li Ziyang end their marriage amidst a bitter argument. However, on the very day they receive their divorce certificate, Xiaoyan is diagnosed with suspected gastric cancer. Faced with the sudden onset of a terminal illness and the sting of perceived betrayal, the two—who had become virtual strangers—are forced back into each other's lives. Li Ziyang casts everything aside to accompany his ex-wife on a grueling journey toward recovery. Within the walls of a hospital ward filled with joy and sorrow, they witness the fragility of life and taste the bitterness of human nature. Yet, in this desperate struggle, they begin to re-examine one another and the true meaning of marriage. Moving from resentment and collapse to a bond where they must rely on each other to survive, they nourish their nearly withered love with blood and tears amidst the agony of fighting the disease. This is a journey of life defined by betrayal and protection, despair and rebirth, farewells and reunions. When the long winter finally fades, the flowers that once withered shall surely bloom again.
The Last Message
"The Last Message" plunges the audience into the heart of a remote village in southern Iran, focusing on a woman whose life is dictated by deeply ingrained traditions and the subtle yet powerful pressures of her community. She finds herself at a critical juncture, burdened by a secret and the daunting prospect of a life-altering decision. The film meticulously crafts an atmosphere of profound silence, mirroring the protagonist's emotional isolation and her inability to articulate her inner turmoil. As she grapples with the expectations of her family and the rigid social fabric of the village, her every gesture and glance becomes a testament to her inner strength and resilience. The narrative eschews overt drama for a more introspective exploration of her emotional landscape. The film observes her quiet resistance, her unspoken hopes, and the immense courage required to confront a path that diverges from the prescribed one. "The Last Message" is a deeply human story about the weight of tradition, the courage of conviction, and the enduring power of the female spirit in the face of overwhelming odds.
On the coast of her native Cantabria, where the sound of the sea permeates everything, lives Elena. She is married to the love of her life: a kind and attentive man, a sailor by profession, who works aboard a fishing boat. They have a daughter, Alba, nine years old, who is their greatest joy and the center of their lives. The boat on which her husband sails has been gone for several days without returning to port, and the lack of news fills Elena with growing anxiety. At last, Elena’s happy world is shattered before her eyes in a single instant. She feels that life has lost its meaning, and grief drags her into despair, leading her to renounce even her deepest beliefs. As she recalls those happy moments, now lost forever, only her love for little Alba anchors her to the present and gives her the strength to overcome her pain and hold on to life once more. Between the harshness of reality and the tenderness of imagination, mother and daughter find a way to move forward, learning to live with loss. In that delicate balance between pain and love, the sea becomes the witness to an intim
This film blends reality and fiction to offer a unique perspective on the possible whereabouts of Federico García Lorca's remains and what would happen if they were unexpectedly discovered ninety years after his assassination. Part of the story draws inspiration from real events that shaped its protagonists, while the other part springs from the author's imagination, who incorporates creative elements to enrich the narrative and explore emotions and possibilities beyond the documented facts. The result is a work that mixes truth and fantasy in a captivating balance. But the question remains: could it not be true? Judge for yourselves.
1h 31min. Directed by María Luz Zamora Abanades
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