Mum (Portugal) by Siddhant Sarin

Doing the household chores and taking care of her two young sons is an unescapable routine that Sandra, an immigrant from Mexico, follows daily. It makes her feel hopelessly tired but still, her attentive care for both the sons and her intimacy with them remain unaffected. The boys’ father, Sandra’s Portuguese husband appears to be a distant man at home. His absence is felt in his mute presence. Amidst the backdrop of her quiet Lisbon suburban life, Sandra’s monotonous marriage reaches its climax. Hitting a definitive point of exhaustion, she attempts to break out of her normative duties of being a mother and a wife.

Running time: 00:17:59

Death is dangerous, it could hurt (Canada) by Mariane Béliveau

Three rhythmic storylines are characterized by rituals of everyday life and the vicissitudes of existence, coalescing around a common experience: that of shooting up as a mode of drug use. The voices of M, Lyon and Marianne reveal to us their relationship to the process of shooting up while at the same time plummeting us in a sensory universe that characterises it, where the interplay of colours and textures evokes the altered psychological and physical states desired. 

Running time: 00:18:41

Patricia in the Dark (United Kingdom) by Laura Hartley

Born into a world where the word 'transgender' didn't exist, 95-year-old Patricia spent most of her life longing for love and acceptance but too afraid to reveal her true self.

Running time: 00:11:38

Piblokto (Russian Federation) by Anastasia Shubina, Timofey Glinin

On the Arctic Ocean coast of Chukotka live a people cut off from the world. Their life revolves around hunting walruses and whales and protecting villages from bears coming from the tundra. This theme turns the film into a reflection on death. Marine animals become the primary source of food for the people, animal leftovers are used to feed arctic foxes on a fur farm, human cemeteries become targets for bears. It appears that all the inhabitants of this region are involved in the cycle of food and death. The film departs from the typical rhythmic structure of cinema and instead adopts the structure of a shamanic ritual, which is a meaning-forming event for the northern peoples.

Running time: 00:37:49