SEARCHING HELENY

DIR: Esther Vital . 29 min . MG/Brazil . 2022

Stitch by stitch, frame by frame and memory by memory, this Stop-Motion animated documentary reconstructs Heleny Guariba’s life history. Heleny was a philosopher, professor and theatre director who disappeared in 1971 under the Brazilian dictatorship. It is inspired by the arpilleras, a unique form of protest emerged from the horrors of the Pinochet regime in Chile. Tapestries made with leftover fabric and simple stitches are able to denounce what could not have been told in words.

A MOVIE THEATER CALLED HOPE

DIR: Ana Carolina Francisco . 19 min . RJ/Brazil . 2021

A heartbroken girl unwillingly returns to the Brazilian countryside a​fter living abroad in England. She goes on a journey to understand why all things must come to an end, until she faces the unexpected: acceptance; in the tales of four elderly women who raised her, and whose lives were shaped by a movie theater called “Hope”. Through them, she finds beauty and challenges in stories about love, aging and endings.

NOTHING BUT FLOWERS

DIR: Eddy Mathias . 24 min . RJ/Brazil . 2022

After a mysterious event trapped everybody at home, Fernanda needs to deal with the changes of the reality and her internal questions in this new world.

SALTING

DIR: Pedro Vinícius . 14 min . RJ/Brazil . 2022

João and Maria are the last salt workers still alive in the region of Aveiro, in Portugal. They struggle to survive as the landscape around them is being modified and their work is about to disappear. The salt flats are now transformed into tourist spots. A continuous and, perhaps, inevitable phenomenon, caused by the primacy of machines over human labor

ALUÍSIO, THE SILENCE AND THE SEA

DIR: Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos . 18 min . PB/Brazil . 2022

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CANDLES FROM MONTE CASTELO

DIR: Lanna Fernandes de Carvalho . 15 min . CE/Brazil . 2022

Family, light, heat, castle and candles.

WE ALL END UP HERE

DIR: Ana Machado , Vitor Artese . 20 min . SP/Brazil . 2022

Following the chaotic routine of a São Paulo delivery guy, which during the COVID-19 pandemic, tries to balance his challenging professional responsibilities with his social, love and family life. Due to his context, he can only deal with it all by using audio messages while racing through the city. During his journey he encounters other people connected by a mutual desire: a break from the concrete jungle madness, where they feel like no one.

ALL MY SCARS VANISH IN THE WIND

DIR: Angélica Restrepo Guzmán, Carlos Velandia . 14 min . Colombia . 2022

Among intrusive and sought-after memories, a woman hears a disconcerting call from the depths of her being. A cryptic cry for help that becomes more and more intelligible guides her to the original wound, to her inner child, to whom she will give comfort to finally become her own protector.

YOUR WAY MY WAY

DIR: Shraon Kleinberg . 16 min . Mexico . 2022

Rosalba holds the mother of her husband's kidnapper captive in her house, Doña Margarita, with the intention of getting her husband back through a “fair” exchange. She realizes too late that her eleven-year-old daughter observes and literally assumes the “taking the law into your own hands” message.

THE DOLPHIN

DIR: Manuela Roca . 14 min . Uruguay . 2022

Sofia's day takes an unexpected turn when her older sister forces her to go to a swimming competition. There she meets a swimmer who completely captivates her. The infatuation turns into disappointment when Sofía finds out that this boy is her sister’s boyfriend. Despite the bitter feeling, she will find a way to get attention from her new platonic love.

ETXETXIPIA (LITTLE HOUSE)

DIR: Marina Velázquez . 15 min . Spain . 2022

A glimpse into the daily life of Maria Jesús, a 60-year-old cheesemaker born in the Baztán Valley (Pamplona, Spain). Maria Jesús is a fifth-generation cattle breeder and now her business has come to an end, since her daughters do not want to carry on with it. It's time to rent or sell. This is a small farewell to life in the countryside and to a whole generation. A sample of working women in rural areas.

GOLEM

DIR: Andres Jimenez Quintero . 14 min . Colombia . 2022

Emilio’s days go by in a hot and humid region of Colombia. He is a 16-year-old boy who, due to restlessness and a lack of opportunities, has no other choice but to join the paramilitary group that operates in the area. Golem is a short film that depicts the merciless control exerted by one of the cruelest illegal armed groups in Colombia. No young person born in those conflicted territories seems to be able to escape.

BLUE MOUNTAIN

DIR: Sofía Salinas Barrera . 14 min . Colombia . 2022

After filming his father’s exhumation ceremony, Juan finds in his childhood home some videos recorded by his father of the roads he used to take when he worked as a teacher and trade unionist. Juan goes through his hometown following these images in search of the reminiscences of his father, who was  murdered during one of the periods of violence in Colombia.