Short Slot 6 - Defiant Grace

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BERTHE IS DEAD BUT IT'S OK

Directed by Sacha Trilles
Narrative Short
France | 20 min | 2025

Berthe, my grandmother, wants to end her life. Nothing can stop her or convince her to stay with us. So instead of resisting, why not try to support her? Let’s help Berthe go, but let’s do it with flair. On June 6, 2023, Berthe chose to end her life with the help of a suicide assistance organization. So, for our final moments together, we decided to create a film, like a grand finale. A short film where anything goes, where I turn my grandmother into a giant piñata, a cowboy, or a mob boss, a film where I playfully take shots at her… In essence, A celebration of life through death, where the only rule I followed was not to make a sad film.

IZIDOR

Directed by David Kappe
Narrative Short
Romania | 30 min | 2025

Izidor is a disabled orphan trapped in a world of animation. He lives in a hidden asylum where “defective” children are banished and abused in 1988 communist Romania. Izidor spends his days staring out the window at a world he is not allowed to touch. That is, until the day nanny Onisa takes him home for the night. Once they step outside the asylum gate, the world transforms into live action – it’s real! Izidor is spellbound by the sights and sounds of village life. He delights in the beauty of love and belonging in Onisa’s family. But all too soon, Izidor remembers where he really belongs. Was Onisa’s courageous act of kindness a terrible mistake?

SEEDS FROM KIVU

Directed by Néstor López & Carlos Valle
Narrative Short
Spain | 30 min | 2025

In Kivu (Democratic Republic of Congo), one of the most violent regions in the world, a group of women arrives at Panzi Hospital after being gang-raped by the guerrillas in the area who control the mineral resources. Their psychological treatment before reintegration confronts them with the dilemma of accepting the babies they have given birth to as a result of the rapes, finding in the question of motherhood a way to resist.