TUESDAY 13/10 | 20:00
Valentinos
27’, 2025
Cyprus
Documentary
Synopsis
Valentinos is a 90-year-old ceramics artist, living in Limassol, Cyprus. Having studied under the big British name in ceramics, Bernard Leach, and lived in Baghdad for 30 years teaching ceramics at the university, Valentinos is a vessel of knowledge and experience.
Credits
Directed by: Sofia Anastasiou | Screenplay: Sofia Anastasiou | Cinematography: Nicos Avraamides, Sofia Anastasiou | Editing: Sofia Anastasiou, Minos Papas | Music: Emiddio Vasquez | Sound Design: Marco Lopez | With the participation of: Valentinos Charalambous | Producers: Sofia Anastasiou, Minos Papas
Director's Bio
Sofia Anastasiou was born in 1988 in Cyprus. They studied Film Production and Architecture in the UK and US and currently work at a ceramics studio in Oakland, California.
Filmography
2025 Valentinos
2018 The Way Things Go
Orla
21’, 2026
Czech Republic, Slovakia
Fiction
Synopsis
A rap fairytale of justice, told in three acts.
Credits
Directed by: Marie Lukáčová | Screenplay: Marie Lukáčová | Cinematography: Tomáš Kotas, Kryštof Melka | Editing: Alan Sýs, Marie Lukáčová, Jakub Podmanický | Cast: Luciana Tomášová, Jan Jankovský, Roland Rabatin, Kateřina Olivová | Producers: Klára Mamojková, Wanda Kaprálová | Production Company: CLAW films | Co-producers: Matej Sotník, Guča films
Director's Bio
Marie Lukáčová is a visual artist and film director. Her films transform symbols borrowed from politics, mythology and science. In recent years, she has showcased her work both internationally (Undercurrent Gallery, NY) and domestically (NGP, Gallery Prague). She leads the Intermedial atelier at the Film Academy in Prague and has been teaching multimedia strategies since 2017.
Filmography
2026 Orla
2022 Middevil: Maiden Wars
2021 Fields Of Zinas
2019 Morena Rex
2019 Milena’s Song
Awards
Audience Award, 20th Pragueshorts Film Festival, Czech Republic, 2026.
Norheimsund
12’, 2025
Cuba, USA
Fiction
Synopsis
A girl’s long-distance romance with an older Norwegian man promises to pull her and her mother out of their austere life in Cuba, but her dreams are shaken when she realises he isn’t as idyllic as he seems.
Credits
Directed by: Ana A. Alpizar | Screenplay: Ana A. Alpizar | Cinematography: Yuqian Zhang | Editing: Ana A. Alpizar | Art Direction: Juan Carlos Tavio | Sound Design: Denis Colina | Cast: Yaité Ruiz, Paula Massó Varela, Darianis Palenzuela, Kiriam Gutiérrez, Alexandra González Corrales, Elizabeth Castro Cedeño, Isabel Lluis Ibonet, Liliana Bárbara Guevara | Producers: Madeline Rose Finkel, Ana A. Alpizar | Production Company: FILA20
Director's Bio
Ana A. Alpizar is a Cuban director, screenwriter, producer, and editor. As a director, she has had her short films selected for major international film festivals, including Venice, Sundance, New Orleans, and the Miami FF, among others. Since 2019, she has worked as an editor in film, television, and advertising, including Out the Window Through the Wall, which was officially selected at Cannes 2024. She is currently an MFA candidate in Film at NYU Tisch.
Filmography
2025 Norheimsund
2020 Hapi Berdey Yusimi in Yur Dey
2017 The Fisherman
2014 El Estreno
Awards
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Best Short Film Award, Maramures IFF, Romania, 2026.
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Best Student Short Film Award, SONY Future Filmmaker Awards, 2026.
Daria’s Night Flowers
16’, 2025
Iran, UK, France
Documentary
Synopsis
Daria has written her first manuscript about falling in love with a mysterious girl called ‘abi’ [blue]. The night flowers in her garden hide the secrets of a country that has turned love stories into routine crime scenes.
Credits
Directed by: Maryam Tafakory | Screenplay: Maryam Tafakory | Editing: Maryam Tafakory | Sound Design: Stefan Smith, Maryam Tafakory | Producers: Maryam Tafakory, Daniella Shreir
Director's Bio
Maryam Tafakory works with film and performance. Screenings of her work include MoMA, Cannes’ Directors Fortnight, and Locarno, among others. Selected awards include Best Experimental Short at 70th and 71st MIFF, Gold Hugo Award at 58th Chicago Int’l Festival, and Tiger Short Award at 51st IFFR.
Filmography
2026 Ghazal-e Sorkh
2025 Daria’s Night Flowers
2024 Razeh-del
2023 Mast-del
2021 Nazarbazi
2020 Irani Bag
Selected Awards
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Flash Competition Award, FIDMarseille, France, 2025.
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Best Film, Experimental Competition, Curtas Vila do Conde International Film Festival, Portugal, 2025.
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DADA International Award, Festival du nouveau cinéma de Montréal, Canada, 2025.
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Best European Documentary, Go Short – International Short Film Festival Nijmegen, Netherlands, 2026.
A Shot at Art
17’, 2026
The Netherlands
Fiction
Synopsis
When two seasoned volunteers at an international art festival start participating in a highly controversial art installation, the situation spirals completely out of control. But who was actually crossing the line here?
Credits
Directed by: Ilke Paddenburg | Screenplay: Ilke Paddenburg | Cinematography: Sam Du Pon | Editing: Marre Bonke | Production Design: Jorinde Baks | Costume Design: Aldo Vreeburg | Music: Reinier van Harten | Sound Design: Zoe Beekes | Cast: Juul Vrijdag, Bo Bojoh | Producers: Layla Meijman, Maarten van der Ven, Marcelle Bartels | Production Company: Studio Ruba
Director's Bio
Ilke Paddenburg is a writer, director and award-winning actress. Her first short film, A Day In The Life of a Female Frame (2023), had its international première at Les Arcs Film Festival and travelled, among others, to the Netherlands Film Festival, Flickerfest in Australia, Palm Springs, and the Aspen Film Festival. A Shot at Art (2026) is Ilke’s second film as a writer/director.
Filmography
2026 A Shot At Art
2023 A Day in the Life of a Female Frame
Awards
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International Audience Award, Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, France, 2026.
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Grand Prize, REGARD – Saguenay International Short Film Festival, Canada, 2026.
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Best Short Film, Emden International Film Festival, Germany, 2026.
Terrace with a View
10’, 2025
Cyprus
Fiction
Synopsis
A young man struggles to live with the invisible scars left by domestic violence. Through silence and the routines of everyday life, he confronts the trauma that permeates every member of his family.
Credits
Directed by: Dimitris Michael | Screenplay: Dimitris Michael | Cinematography: Andreas Kaskaounias | Editing: Pavlos Tsiampartas | Art Direction: Thelma Cassoulidou | Costume Design: Joanna Syrimis | Music: Alexandros Komodromos | Sound Design: Stavros Terlikkas | Colour Grading: Panicos Petrides | Cast: Stefanos Kasapis, Dimitra Dimitriadou, Vasilis Michael, Anthi Kasinou | Producer: Dimitris Michael
Director's Bio
Dimitris Michael (1997, Larnaca) is a Cypriot film director and visual artist. He studied Audio Visual Communication at Frederick University. His films explore human relationships, social issues, and identity through visually driven, emotionally resonant storytelling.
Filmography
2025 Terrace with a View
Tropic of the Mourning Gecko
19’, 2026
Greece, France, Netherlands
Fiction
Synopsis
On the verge of leaving his village in Crete for mandatory military service, eighteen-year-old Yorgos encounters a young man who awakens a forbidden desire. During the final days of summer, beneath the scorching sun, the future mapped out for him unravels as his dreams give birth to a new skin.
Credits
Directed by: Stavros Markoulakis | Screenplay: Stavros Markoulakis | Cinematography: Giorgos Valsamis GSC | Editing: Smaro Papaevangelou | Production Design: Chryso Amaya Michailidis | Costume Design: Chryso Amaya Michailidis | Music: Marilena Orfanou | Sound Design: Valia Tserou | Cast: Dimitris Lagoutis, Amaury Foucher, Anastasia Galerou Vlassi | Producers: Ioanna Bolomyti, Kyveli Short, Marie-Gabrielle Peaucelle | Production Companies: Atalante Productions, Les Films de Juillet, Nami Films
Director's Bio
Stavros Markoulakis is a writer, director, and curator, based between Greece and the Netherlands. His films, balancing between the real and the imaginary, explore the spectrum of love and pain, the state of belonging, as well as the human and non-human connections in our universe.
Filmography
2026 Tropic of the Mourning Gecko
2023 Pigeons Are Dying, When The City Is On Fire