Short Competition. BLOCK 4

I’m Painting a Self-portrait, but All I See is My Sister’s Face

-> Film presented in the Short Competition. BLOCK 4

An animated short documentary about Alicja and Bożena Wahl, identical twin sisters and visual artists. Based on excerpts selected from over 450 diaries kept by Alicja for nearly 50 years and the artistic work of both sisters, the film explores sisterhood, shared creation and a bond that shaped their private and artistic lives. Alicja’s diaries – an intimate, ongoing dialogue with Bożena – open a window to their world. Blending documentary perspective and animation, the film gives voice to artists whose legacy deserves to be remembered.

I believe the portrait saved me

-> Film presented in the Short Competition. BLOCK 4

Twenty-five years after his abduction during the Kosovo War, painter Skender Muja recounts an extraordinary story of survival. During the war’s final months, Muja and many Albanian citizens from Mitrovica were captured while attempting to flee Kosovo. Detained in a school repurposed as a detention camp, they faced confinement, fear, and an uncertain fate. Narrated by Muja, I Believe the Portrait Saved Me explores resilience and the profound impact of art in even the most oppressive circumstances.

City of Poets

-> Film presented in the Short Competition. BLOCK 4

Through a collage of personal archive footage and photographs, the history emerges of a small, metaphorical city where all the streets are named after poets. The town's psychogeography defines the mental and emotional state of its inhabitants, who live in a utopian illusion founded on poetry. When the system changes, and war begins, new neighborhoods emerge to accommodate the refugees, and the existing street names are replaced by new ones. Abrupt and sweeping upheavals lead to confusion among the city's residents, who soon find themselves lost amid the memories of the forgotten poets.

Far From Beyrouth

-> Film presented in the Short Competition. BLOCK 4

A modern correspondence unfolds between Mon Dewulf in Brussels and his partner Karim in war-torn Beirut. Dewulf uses videos, voice memos, and text messages to craft an intimate portrait of their relationship.

How to catch a Butterfly

-> Film presented in the Short Competition. BLOCK 4

In 2021, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long kills 8 Asian women in massage parlors in Atlanta, Georgia as a way to suppress his uncontrollable sexual desire. Dutch-Japanese filmmaker Kiriko Mechanicus writes letters to the young murderer to find out what his killings have to do with her sexual life. What do our racial fetishes tell us about our hidden human desires?