Me and my dark I

Me and my dark I

Plagued, Sanne Josephine Catharina Maria Drenth, Eline Suzanna Maria van der Lugt, Anne-Fleur Stuurman, Caitlin Elisabeth Becker Hof, Netherlands

Treesa is an insecure 16-year-old girl who feels unwanted by society. Because she struggles a lot with her insecurities, she is in treatment with a psychologist, who is supposed to help her with her mental problems. During one of these sessions, Treesa enters a world of fear in her mind, where her anxieties of being unwanted are expressed through vermin and a plague monster that hunts her. When Treesa has nowhere else to run and the monster almost exterminates her, she wakes up again in the psychologist's room. The psychologist tells Treesa that she did well but must go now. It is time for the next patient. However, when Treesa leaves the treatment room, the creature follows her out. Treesa's fears have not yet been resolved.

 Adigo, Dóra Csóka, Hungary

The story of a hunter who is haunted by the consequences of his action during his whole life.

 Good Girl, Dóra Napsugár Kovács, Hungary

The short film "Good Girl" follows a little girl's visit to the psychologist. Although our main character is quite fearful and withdrawn, the psychologist does everything to get the little girl to open up. To facilitate this, during the session, several therapeutic methods used for children will be presented.

 YaoJi, 晓晴 于, China

The story in Yao Ji is set in the northeastern town of 2000 in China. The heroine Xiaoliang Master Mahjong, good at playing cards for others at the card table, the organization of card games, coax other people happy at the card table to win. This skill was also discovered by her own leader, director Jiang, who used mahjong to get closer to other dealers. Mahjong has become the ladder of the rise of Liang, but also brought her a lot of trouble, she gradually numb in a game of cards, also no longer recognize this bent to please others of their own. In the last game, Liang because of the physical and mental double impact into his fantasy space, where she climbed the mahjong ladder, into the Mahjong Maze, produced a sense of defiance. She broke through the oppression and bondage of Mahjong to her, and finally overthrew the card table in reality, reconciled with her past self, completed a woman's resistance and awakening in a difficult environment, and decided to move towards a new life, be a new person.

 Kabuki, Tiago MINAMISAWA, Brazil

Kabuki is a stop motion animation short film that poetically follows the transgender character Kabuki’s search for self-acceptance and identity. The film is dedicated to the transgender people killed every day and revisits this ancestral form of theatre from Japan to give full significance to the object of the mask.

Half Moon, Bruce Xu, United States

Can light and shadow be friends?

 Alyssum, Alex King, United States, United States

Alyssum follows Alyson, a young woman who’s struggling with perfectionism as she attempts to craft the perfect bouquet for her wife, Lilith. Overwhelmed by anxiety and self-doubt, she battles her inner critic, represented by corrupting vines. As she spirals deeper into self-doubt, she must decide: will she push forward and embrace imperfection, or will her fears consume her?

Expectation, Corin Anderson, United Kingdom

A moment of intense introspective crisis before the big match.

 Hi, I'm Juanito, Kai Sorolla, Chile

After finding himself in the limbo, Juanito embarks on a journey to understand his situation and find peace with the idea that he is about to die.

Salamander's land, Ekaterina Ulyanova, Russian Federation

A man opens his eyes and discovers that he is a guest in the land of salamanders. A story inspired by the "Kappa" by R. Akutagawa and K. Chapek's "War with Newts".

Brain Space, Laura Tofarides, United Kingdom

Propelled into her own mind, Rhi explores the thoughts, fears and impulses that shape our internal world. When her inner child is threatened by the shadows of her own trauma her fear turns to anger & she must fight back to regain control. From desperation to acceptance, she learns to choose life.

My Shadow and Me, yali herbet

During a family trip to the beach, 5-year-old Ido, feeling overlooked and restless, discovers an enchanting friend when his shadow unexpectedly springs to life.

It Will Be Fine, Karolína Pravdová, Czech Republic

The short animated film To bude dobrý is a record of the internal struggle of the teenage daughter Karin with her mother's illness. The autobiographical story brings to the viewer two main themes that intertwine in the film: the existential anxiety of a young person resulting from the threat to his mother's life and the need to grow up prematurely and accept responsibility for taking care of his mother and running the household. It's gonna be fine has several meanings. It's a cliché used by people in communication with a person who has found himself on the edge of life and death. It is a mantra that is repeated over and over by the main actors of the story. It's a hope Karin clings to. The film is processed in a combined technique using acrylic painting, gouache and digital cartoon animation and traditional animation on paper.

And don’t call me crazy, Dorota Skupniewicz, Poland

The Protagonist is a psychiatric survivor. Facing to hospital ins????tu????on recalling a Ka????a’s ‘The Trial’, situa????on with no exit. Just the decision to break through thorny bushes of reality appears as a rescue. The Protagonist meets alterna????ve views of persons-birds focused on changes. The choice is a path divided for two. She can agree with actual situa????on or further batle, based on the causes for fight, including redefini????on of mental disease.

The voice of my father, Tserendorj Myagmarjav, Adriana Maria Duello, Korea, Republic of, Mongolia

A young Mongolian boy embarks on a spiritual journey to prove his maturity by catching a sacred white reindeer, but instead discovers an ancestral connection that helps him reconcile with the loss of his father.

The Miser, Denis Belishky, Bulgaria

A child finds a golden coin in the school hallway that blinds him when it first catches sunlight. Compelled, he puts it in a pig-shaped piggy bank in his room. Years pass. The child, now a young man, puts the now-enlarged piggy bank on his shoulders, leaves his room and enters a dark, surreal subway. As he walks, he passes whispering shadows; with each step, the piggy bank grows heavier, and he ages. Now an old man, he reaches the subway’s glowing exit—an escalator flooded with blinding light—but he can no longer pull the piggy bank. With effort, he pulls out his final coin and climbs on top of the enormous piggy bank. He drops the coin in, and the piggy bank starts to grow rapidly, pushing him in. The old man falls to the bottom with a maniacal laugh.

Banjo Girl, Kater Becker, Netherlands

A cozy adventure about a girl who boards a train in search of belonging.

Absorta, Luiza Pugliesi Villaça, Brazil

Nara, an exhausted young adult, decides to take a shower after a long day. But when she lies down in the bathtub to relax, her moment of introspection is interrupted by a fish stuck in the drain. Deep and unknown waters will be explored as she is invaded by different phases of her life.

The thing I was afraid of, Jhonatan Luiz, Brazil

In a place where masks hide smiles and fears, Luana discovers that the true magic is being who we really are.

Sleep Tight, Aliénor Ghys, Aline Hu, Clara Onteiral-Diaz, Guillemette Cahuzac, Marie-Lou Lejeune, France

In her room, Sasha, a little girl who only aspires to live a happy childhood, is playing with her cuddly toys to forget that her parents are about to separate. But the noise of their argument intrudes on her innocent games, forcing her to confront the consequences of these increasingly unsustainable adult conflicts. Gradually, the child becomes overwhelmed by her anxieties, giving free rein to her repressed emotions.

Courage, Margot Jacquet, Nathan Baudry, Marion Choudin, Jeanne Desplanques, Lise Delcroix, Salomé Cognon, France

When Anna, an Olympic athlete, finds herself behind in the race, she redoubles her efforts with the aim of winning the competition and never disappoint again. But as she pushes herself beyond her limits, she burns out. She then has to face the wave of judgment that comes with dropping out.

Shhh!, Liang-Liang Liu, United Kingdom

A comings of age story following three teenagers: Aiko, Bonnie and Cai, and their different struggles with sexuality and self-discovery. A journey illustrates how these individuals deal with their issues and attempt to find themselves.

Over the clouds, Mahdi Barqzadegan, Iran, Islamic Republic of

A kite does not fly at high altitudes so as not to be damaged by strong winds. He is lonely and has a monotonous life. The storm tears his thread and takes him deep into the sky. There, the kite realizes that even though it may get hurt, life as a kite is worth it.

The Race, Sofia Gutman, France

What if our thoughts had taken the form of a wild horse race? Our fears represented by animals? At night, the race begins. This is the story of Tara and her subconscious.

Tinnitus#3, michele bernardi, Italy

TINNITUS#3 is an introspective journey into troubled thoughts. A sleep always interrupted in search of a word of peace, a whisper to life that has the eyes of death in front of a mirror.

Natah, Islam Ahmad, Egypt, United Arab Emirates

A man running from his destiny leaving his love and facing death.

Straight and in a Circle, Palina Ramashka, Belarus

It is a touching story of a refugee forced to leave his home in search of safety, healing, and a new sense of belonging.