France, Netherlands, Portugal / 2026 / Animation / 15 min
OT ohne Di / UT -
Mia, the shell diver, looks back. The sea has shaped her entire life. Like a mermaid, she draws us down into the depths to the silent seaweed and fish; she lets us share in her happy love and the sadness of her unfulfilled desire to have children, in the sense of community among the female divers and their ever-deteriorating pay.
Regie: Sandra Desmazieres, Produktion: Jérôme Barthélemy, Daniel Sauvage, Olivier Catherin, Richard Valk, Vanessa Ventura, Nuno Amorim, Drehbuch: Sandra Desmazieres, Kamera: NA, Schnitt: Guerric Catala, Ton: Antoine Citrinot, Alexis Place, Antoine Citrinot, Musik: Manuel Merlot, Cedryck Santens
Born in 1978, Sandra Desmazières studied at Duperré (Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Appliqués) and ENSAD (Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs) in Paris, where she discovered animation. Her graduation film Sans queue ni tête won the Cartoon d’or in 2003. She then directed Le Thé de l’oubli in 2008 and Bao in 2011, produced by Les Films de l’Arlequin and Arte. During and between her films, Sandra also works as an illustrator and as a colorist for comics. In 2021, she directed Flowing Home, produced by Les Films de l’Arlequin, the ONF and France 3, shortlisted for the César and Oscar awards in 2022. Her latest film Water Girl is produced by Caïmans Productions with Olivier Catherin, and co-produced by Animais and Valk Productions, with the participation of Arte. Sandra is currently working on a new short film project, J28, and a feature film, Tempête Rouge.
United States, Russia / 2025 / Animation / 7 min
OT ohne Di / UT -
A young girl wakes up one morning, looks for her mother and finally finds her inside a wine bottle. She smashes the bottle to free her mother, but her mother immediately jumps into the next bottle. How can you save someone who doesn’t want to be saved?
Regie: Alexandra McGuinness (Lukina), Produktion: Dmitriy Mosiagin, Drehbuch: Alexandra McGuinness (Lukina), Kamera: Alexandra McGuinness (Lukina), Schnitt: Alexandra McGuinness (Lukina), Ton: Alexey Prosvirnin, Musik: Alexey Prosvirnin
Alexandra Lukina is an award-winning animation director and filmmaker. Born in Moscow, she studied Animation Directing at VGIK, Russia’s biggest film school. Her graduation film, Like Mother, Like Daughter, screened at international festivals and won several awards. Her debut short, The Brave Mother, was featured in children’s programs worldwide, received multiple honors. Since moving to the U.S. in 2016, Alexandra has worked as an animation director for EdTech companies while continuing to develop independent projects.
Germany / 2025 / Animation / 12 min
OT German / UT English
A world in flux. A filmmaker torn between her artistic practice and her responsibilities as a mother. Whilst the present is overshadowed by crises, wars and resource-hungry AI, a child’s perspective offers a fresh way of looking at reality. Amidst dystopian visions and poetic imagery, *Hope Road* searches for hope – and for a way to engage with a world that is in danger of being lost.
Regie: Susann Maria Hempel, Produktion: Susann Maria Hempel, Drehbuch: Susann Maria Hempel, Kamera: Susann Maria Hempel, Schnitt: Susann Maria Hempel, Ton: Susann Maria Hempel, Musik: Nils Wogram, Julia Fischer u.a.
Susann Maria Hempel was born in Greiz, Thuringia, in 1983. At the age of 16, she left school and worked as a musician, actress and artistic collaborator with the performance and artists’ collective ‘Theaterhaus Weimar’. From 2001 to 2009, she studied media design at the Bauhaus University Weimar, specialising in short and experimental film. As a scholarship holder of the Thuringian Cultural Foundation, she was awarded the ‘cast&cut’ short film scholarship in Hanover in 2012. Today, she is one of Germany’s most successful experimental filmmakers. Her 18-minute animated film *Seven Times a Day We Lament Our Fate and at Night We Get Up So as Not to Dream* won seven awards at home and abroad, including the *German Short Film Award* in 2014 and, in spring 2015, the Grand Prix at the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival in France.
France / 2025 / Animation / 7 min
OT Arabic / UT English+German
Beirut, a city steeped in history, yet one that is threatened by conflict and urbanisation. Nour, a curious young girl, collects traces of the past, whilst her mother, concerned for her safety, tries to protect her daughter from a world that harbours dangers at every turn.
Regie: Mathilde Nicolas, Emilien Blancquaert, Timothée Adens, Raphaël Debroize, Produktion: Carlos De Carvalho, Drehbuch: Mathilde Nicolas, Axel Raffensdorfer, Kamera: N/A, Schnitt: Mathilde Nicolas, Ton: Mathilde Nicolas, Lucas Verreman, Musik: Firmin Encrenaz, Lucas Verreman, Bachar Mar-Khalifé
Mathilde Nicolas, Emilien Blancquaert, Timothée Adens and Raphaël Debroize have graduatedfrom the Piktura school (Roubaix, France). In 2025, they co-directed the short film "OrangeBlossoms".
Germany / 2025 / Animation / 11 min
OT German / UT English
This film is quite a trip. Fasten your seatbelts, step inside, and welcome to the mind of the artist and filmmaker. Here, a wave of images, sounds, music, colours, ideas and associations washes over the viewer … It’s utterly overwhelming. Let yourself be swept away on a journey into a multi-layered world …
Regie: Konstantin von Sichart, Produktion: Konstantin von Sichart, Alice Dalgalarrondo, Drehbuch: Konstantin von Sichart, Kamera: Konstantin von Sichart, Schnitt: Henrique Cartaxo, Ton: Christian Obermaier, Musik: Joseph Varschen, Konstantin von Sichart
Konstantin von Sichart is a Berlin-based artist, filmmaker and musician. In 2018, he made his first feature film, A Tin Bird’s Song, and, together with Alice Dalgalarrondo and Irene Pozzi, founded the production company Tannenbaum Films, which specialises in artistic hybrid films. His animations and short films are screened internationally. In 2025, he will be taking part in the Berlin Biennale alongside Gernot Wieland and Carla Ahlander with the lecture-performance Monologue of a Sock.
Croatia / 2024 / Animation / 6 min
OT Croatian / UT English+German
A film that takes a stand against excessive private car use in the city centre. Car traffic in an urban residential area harasses and inconveniences the residents: cars, noise and hazards everywhere. What can you do, apart from simply putting up with it for years on end? Drive a car yourself and go with the flow? In the filmmaker’s world, there is a simple solution…
Regie: Jelena Oroz, Produktion: Vanja Andrijevic, Drehbuch: Jelena Oroz, Kamera: N/A, Schnitt: Iva Kraljevic, Ton: Josip Klobucar, Musik: Josip Klobucar
Jelena Oroz (1987) graduated with a BA in Fine Arts Education from the Academy of Arts in Osijek. In 2014, she obtained her MA degree in Animated Film and New Media from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, where she now works as a tenured professor. Jelena’s films have screened at numerous festivals around the world and won many awards.
Russian Federation / 2025 / Animation / 8 min
OT Russian / UT English+German
A power line is damaged by a storm. Unstable connection – no electricity, no mobile network, no internet. A person sets off on a journey and experiences life off the beaten track: nature, people, encounters – non-stop. May things stay this way … a dream?
Regie: Daria Shishova, Produktion: Olga Granovskaya, Drehbuch: Daria Shishova, Kamera: -, Schnitt: Daria Shishova, Ton: Artem Fadeev, Musik: Anna Vasilyeva, Sergey Vasiliev
Daria Shishova-Dontsova, an artist and director of animated films, was born in Moscow in 1993. She grew up in a family of a writer and filmmaker, together with her sister and a dog. In 2018, she graduated from the S. Gerasimov Russian State University of Cinematography (VGIK) as an animation production designer. From 2022 to 2024, she studied animation directing at the SHAR Studio School. In 2025, she completed her graduation film and began work on a new project. She loves organising animation workshops for children, painting, travelling, dancing, and taking part in creative residencies and collaborations.
Iran, Iran / 2026 / Animation / 12 min
OT ohne Di / UT -
LIKE FRIEND, LIKE DEER tells the story of a gamekeeper who kills a poacher during a confrontation. In doing so, it sheds light on the moral dilemma between protecting nature and the rules of human coexistence. Those who, in accordance with social norms, must ensure that the gamekeeper receives his punishment – expulsion from his home region – also find themselves caught in this conflict.
Regie: Malek Eghbali, Produktion: Malek Eghbali, Drehbuch: Malek Eghbali, Kamera: Malek Eghbali, Schnitt: Siavash Kordjan, Ton: Ramin Abousedgh, Musik: Payam Azadi
Malek Eghbali is an Iranian visual artist who works in painting and photography. Recently, he has been focusing on visual storytelling and experimental animation. “Like Friend, Like Deer” is his first professional animation project.
France / 2025 / Animation / 7 min
OT ohne Di / UT -
The sea knocks on the door of a fish taxidermist, then recedes; and because no one answers, it slowly seeps into a world where the past is carefully preserved. As the water rises outside, even what has been so carefully preserved begins to falter. A dreamlike animation about transience and the art of letting go.
Regie: Léa Deprez, Pierre-Luis Bordes, Elliot Desmarets, Jeanne Finet, Produktion: Rudy Turkovics, Drehbuch: Pierre-Luis Bordes, Kamera: N/A, Schnitt: Pierre-Luis Bordes, Elliot Desmarets, Ton: Léa Deprez, Pierre-Luis Bordes, Musik: Basile Andrieu
Léa Deprez, Pierre-Luis Bordes, Elliot Desmarets and Jeanne Finet graduated from the ÉcolePiktura in Roubaix in 2025. Together, they made the film AU GRÉ DE L'IODE.
