Films to be screened at our upcoming event
"Agony of the soul" Directed Eir í Ólavsstovu
This documentary travels back in time to investigate the truth behind the mental illness that struck artist Elin Josefina Smith. When Elin was 18 years old, she was raped. To cover up his crime, the perpetrator reported her to the police for drug dealing. The incident triggered a severe psychological breakdown, leading to her hospitalization and the loss of all her faculties. After spending many years in and out of psychiatric institutions, she was permanently discharged a few years ago and pronounced well. Elin was a high school student in Hoydalar when she was involuntarily committed under extreme circumstances. It was a profound shock to her friends and classmates, none of whom ever knew the real story until today.
Country: Faroe Islands
"In Half " Directed Jorge Morais Valle
Through a child's imagination it tells the journey of a man who after falling prey to his fears, he must cross a strange world, a universe full of magic, where he will be confronted with his own fears and conflicts from the past and where he must find solutions for the future to discover his self-identity.
(Extended synopsis)
In Half unfolds through the eyes of a child whose imagination becomes the lens through which we witness one man's unraveling. Crushed beneath the weight of his own fears, he finds himself pulled into a world at once enchanting and deeply unsettling, a place that obeys not the logic of the waking world, but the hidden logic of the psyche.
Within this realm, suspended between dream and reality, every creature, every landscape, and every obstacle reflects the wounds, losses, and unresolved conflicts he has spent a lifetime trying to outrun. To move forward, he must turn toward the parts of himself he buried long ago and understand that fear is not an adversary, but a threshold to be crossed.
In Half is a visual fable about human vulnerability and our capacity for transformation, a reminder that even what seems broken still carries the quiet possibility of renewal.
Country: Spain
"The Pavilion" Directed by Dino Musstafic
After years of enduring torture from the staff and receiving increasingly poor service for their money, a group of residents of the nursing home 'Pavilion' decides to stage an armed uprising. A group of elderly men and women, armed with illegally acquired weapons, occupy the 'Pavilion,' taking the management and medical staff hostage, and entering into conflict with the authorities. The rebels turn a seemingly hopeless situation into their advantage, drawing media attention and manipulating the political elite, whose reactions are influenced by the fact that the hostage crisis occurred during an election year. The police are targeted whenever they attempt to put an end to the protest. The uprising in the 'Pavilion' results in the establishment of a new internal order whose initiators do not shy away from brutal violence in an attempt to seek revenge for all the injustice and suffering they have endured. While the police and politicians search for ways to suppress the uprising, the rebels benefit from their own old age, in which, unlike their opponents in the outside world and even the captives, they have the least to lose. Because of this, negotiations with them are nearly impossible, while their determination for life to triumph over death is endless.
Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina
"In Passing" Directed by Gailė Garnelytė
For more than a decade, photographer Artūras Morozovas has documented people living in the shadow of war, loss and social isolation in Lithuania and Ukraine. Through his camera we encounter lives shaped by trauma: families coping with personal tragedy, individuals living on the margins of society, and people whose homes and futures have been shattered by the war in Ukraine.
While the photographer attempts to remain an impartial observer, the distance between him and the people he photographs gradually disappears. As trust grows and stories unfold, the act of documenting becomes something more intimate and human.
What begins as an effort to record reality evolves into a reflection on empathy, connection and the fragile hope that can emerge even in the most difficult circumstances.
Country: Lithuania
"Bears in Hot Tubs" Directed by Claire Musser, Maddie Bear
Bears in Hot Tubs is a tender, emotionally resonant short film co-created with Maddie Bear and her wild kin, who move through the suburban landscapes of Los Angeles with curiosity, intelligence, and quiet grace. From soaking in backyard tubs to wandering garden paths, these black bears are not intruders; they are neighbors, navigating a world remade by human presence.
Rather than depicting wildlife as problems to be solved, the 16-minute film centers the lived experiences of the bears themselves. Maddie shares her world on her own terms, inviting us to witness rather than surveil, to recognize rather than manage.
Through poetic imagery and observational storytelling, Bears in Hot Tubs challenges us to rethink coexistence, not as a burden, but as a shared opportunity. This is a story about boundaries: who draws them, who crosses them, and what it means to co-thrive across species lines.
In a time of ecological uncertainty, the film offers a hopeful reminder: co-thriving begins with us, by listening, adapting, and treating wild lives with empathy, care, and respect.
Country: United States
"Strumillo. Apocalypse and silence" Directed by Waldemar Czechowski
A visual manifesto about a world in crisis, about a man searching for values and the limits of knowledge. Andrzej Strumiłło, an artist-thinker, painter, poet, sculptor, and photographer. His extensive travels in Asia and work at the UN in New York have led to a convergence of Eastern metaphysics with the pragmatic West in his work. For him, the apocalypse is not the end of the world, but a test of sensitivity and conscience. "My paintings are born from darkness, light, and prayer," he said. His art doesn't soothe; it raises questions. This film was born from the gravity of these questions.
Country: Poland
"The places to those who live them" Directed by Shooresh Fezoni, Ute Seitz
This documentary follows the non-profit project ALTER in Mannheim, an open urban meeting place where people from diverse backgrounds come together. As urban redevelopment and rising conflicts threaten the future of the project, the film observes everyday life on the square during a period of uncertainty and explores how community, conflict, and urban reality intersect in public space — and the role such places play in urban coexistence.
Country: Germany
