LIGHTS ON AT MARCHÉ DU FILM 2026
SHORT FILMS
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We Are All the Father by Philip Alexander Mills
Greece, 2026, 15’ After a chance encounter with a former lover, Yorgos must confront the reality of his failing relationship amidst the larger backdrop of Athens, where residents are embracing a dangerous new addiction: ingesting car exhaust. World Premiere |
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Highland Beauty by Dương Diệu Linh
Vietnam, 2026, 18’ A highland maiden goes through three peculiar dates with three tourists who have come to see her hometown, and ends up with a drowned corpse. World Premiere |
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Brave Boys by Ivan Veljača
Croatia/France, 2026, 13’ During the War of Independence in 1990s Croatia, eight-year-old Šomi — crafting a universe of his own — plays war in his apartment, battling an unseen enemy. In the world around him, his mother, grandmother, and grandfather try to stay brave, shielding him from the palpable absence of his father. When two soldiers arrive at their doorstep, the family is confronted with the news of the father’s death. Their fragile façade collapses, and their strength to protect Šomi from the truth is put to the test. Guided by his father’s words, Šomi continues to be a truly brave boy, determined to protect his family — just as he has been doing, without their knowing, from the very beginning. World Premiere |
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My Soul Leaving Me Silently by Rami Alzayer
Saudi Arabia, 2026, 15’ An elderly man named Shaker wanders the streets of a small village on the day of his critical heart surgery. With no family or friends to accompany him, he embarks on a futile search for someone—anyone—to stand by him in the hospital. His encounters with neighbors and strangers, and his fleeting moments of vulnerability, paint a haunting picture of isolation in a world too busy to notice him. World Premiere |
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The Bovine Comedy by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke
France, 2026, 25’ Thailand. In a future ravaged by a virus where cows have almost disappeared, Phop, a wealthy farmer, owns the last bull in Southeast Asia. His bull is highly sought after for artificial insemination, but he is getting old and struggling to produce semen. Phop then relies on the gestural genius of Jon, a poor worker who nevertheless has a gift for extracting semen from the bull thanks to his unique masturbation technique. Watching Jon masturbate his bull excites Phop, who also wants to experience this pleasure. But Jon is married and very loyal. World Premiere |
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Shuck by Maja Brann
Denmark/UK, 2026, 25’ Anna, a teenager with body dysmorphia, lives with her controlling and manipulative mother. When Anna’s cousin Sofia comes to visit, Anna’s mother uses Sofia as the model of the ‘perfect’ figure. In a disturbing discovery, Anna realises she can cut away her flesh without bleeding. What begins as an act of control becomes an obsession to carve herself into the unattainable ideal. World Premiere |
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I Stole My Mom's Lingerie (Wu Ye Le Yuan) by Tiange Sun
China, 2026, 19’ In a conservative town where lingerie production is the primary industry, an adolescent girl suffers from a series of problems caused by puberty. World Premiere |
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She Bear by Miruna Straut
Romania, 2026, 15’ In rural Romania, the bond between two twelve-year-old girls begins to fracture on the day of a school performance, when one is forced to see the beast the other cannot name. World Premiere |
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A Room with a Sea View by Yue Zhang
China/USA, 2026, 25’ On a southern Chinese island as the real estate bubble begins to burst, YAN searches for her missing daughter and meets a young woman who has taken over her daughter’s job selling sea-view apartments. Together, they embark on a house-hunting journey, seeking a space where their shared loss can dwell. World Premiere |
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A Distant Sky by Yentl De Baets
Belgium, 2026, 15’ In Brussels, a moped changes hands through sale, theft, and chance encounters, getting a glimpse at pivotal moments of three of its owners lives. World Premiere |
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Delete by Wang Han-Xuan
China, 2026, 15’ Between a robot that refuses to delete memory and a worker erased by the industrial system unfolds a relationship marked by violence and redemption. Their encounter reveals an unbridgeable distance — not only between human and machine, but within the “human” itself. World Premiere |
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Living in A Water Bubble (Gyvenimas Vandens Burbule) by Kornelijus Stučkus
Lithuania, 20’, 2026 Dima is preparing to leave his hometown to join the national boxing team. But his dreams clash with the strict beliefs of his Jehovah’s Witness community, and the girl he likes refuses to say goodbye. World Premiere |
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Meat by Elena Wolff
Austria, 28’, 2026 Set in an idyllic yet uncanny world reminiscent of a Yorgos Lanthimos film, MEAT takes us inside an institution where girls are trained to become perfect wives. Discipline and devotion are enforced by their teacher, HEIDI — until FRANZI arrives. Fierce, wild, and unwilling to bend, she begins to unravel the system from within. As cracks appear and tensions ignite, the story barrels toward an unforgettable punk finale. Somewhere between gothic fairy tale and political fable, MEAT is a quiet rebellion in lace and sunlight. World Premiere |
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Blueberries (Borovnice) by Isidora Veselinovic
Serbia, 15’, 2026 A young professor’s idyllic Sunday morning turns into a harrowing experience when he decides to take justice into his own hands. World Premiere |
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Et si Thuy n'existait pas (And If Thuy Didn’t Exist) by Carlo Francisco Manatad
Philippines, France, Indonesia, 15’, 2026 An undocumented immigrant is now ready to pair. World Premiere |
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El Banderillero (The Stingbearer) by Jorge García
Spain, 17’, 2026 Though times have shifted, Marcelo, a seasoned torero, stubbornly clings to his profession in Barcelona. While he stands on the street, hoping for one last opportunity dressed in his lights, his wife works to find him a regular job. World Premiere |
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Un Miratge (A Mirage) by Hector Prats
Spain/USA, 20’, 2026 After inheriting her brother’s boat, a woman seeks connection with the man who last saw him alive. World Premiere |
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Hollowed by Amie Song
China/USA, 20’, 2026 When a woman visits her fiancé’s rural hometown for the first time, she gets lost at night and finds herself in an abandoned village, where she encounters a mysterious bride and unearths long-buried family secrets. World Premiere |
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Ksana River (Tsangpo) by Tao Kio Qiu
China, 19’, 2026 In a traditional Tibetan family in Western China, a single mother’s only son is chosen as the next living Buddha for a grand monastery in Nepal. On their last night together before his permanent departure, she reflects deeply, pondering where their futures may ultimately intertwine. World Premiere |
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Surplace by Simona Jurkuvėnaitė and Rytis Dringelis
Lithuania, 14’, 2026 On prom night, graduate Inga discovers that her boyfriend Kęstas is secretly helping a newcomer. As the night unfolds, the group begins to sense that while they’re celebrating new beginnings, someone is searching for their own path into the future. World Premiere |
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Our Child by Anatole Sloan
UK/Hong Kong, 18’, 2026 During a Mid-Autumn Festival dinner in a wealthy Hong Kong household, the uneasy presence of a surrogate mother unsettles a family ritual, forcing two women on opposite sides of privilege to confront motherhood, belonging, and inheritance. World Premiere |
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A Sweet Day (Yek rooze-h shirin) by Omid Abdollahi
Iran, 18’, 2026 When a young woman gets the chance to have a meeting with her imprisoned husband after a long time, she decides to re-experience a romantic time in the apathetic and harsh atmosphere of the prison. World Premiere |
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Stolen Memories (Stjålne Minner) by Anders Davidsen
Norway/Sweden, 18’, 2026 18-year old Emil’s night turns to horror when a break-in reveals old photographs of him as a child naked with his mother in a bathtub, making him question his past. World Premiere |
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Multo by Coleman Weimer
USA/Philippines, 17’, 2026 As American missionaries move into a house in the Philippines, their cleaning lady discovers an unsettling presence from the past. World Premiere |
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Nobody Said Anything by Tamara Todorović
Serbia/France/Slovenia/Croatia, 15’, 2026 Katarina is called to her daughter’s friend’s home to confront the consequences of a seemingly innocent game that has spiraled out of control. World Premiere Cannes Film Festival 2026 |
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Sunday’s Children by Reuben Hamlyn
USA, 18’, 2026 Desperate to become a father, a man spends a weekend falling for a woman who believes God has warned her never to have children. World Premiere Cannes Film Festival – La Cinef 2026 |
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Silent Voices by Nadine Misong Jin
USA/South Korea, 18’, 2026 In New York, a Korean immigrant family of four leads separate lives, each facing moments of defeat in their daily existence. As they navigate complexities of survival and disconnection, they each hide their wounds from one another. World Premiere Cannes Film Festival – La Cinef 2026 |
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I Think you Should be Here by Anna-Marija Adomaitytė and Élie Grappe
Switzerland/France, 12’, 2026 Near Geneva, seven girls on the verge of adulthood recall in their rooms the words and dances of TikTok that shaped their youth. Between intimate and collective memory, they drift from room to room, dancing through a final suspended night as they search for connection and identity, pushing their gestures to the edge. World Premiere Semaine de la Critique - Cannes 2026 |
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Nothing Happens After Your Absence by Ibrahim Omar
Sudan,15’, 2026 Ibrahim goes back to the village he once left, hoping to screen films. But as he wrestles with custom and bureaucracy, war ignites across Sudan, turning his search for a screen into a battle to stay alive. World Premiere Quinzaine des Cinéastes Cannes 2026 |
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Free Eliza (notes on an anatomical imperfection) by Alexandra Matheou
Cyprus/Greece/France, 20’, 2026 Eliza works at a hotel resort, moving through a cycle of roles designed to keep guests constantly satisfied. Beneath the hotel’s polished surface, she struggles to maintain an unseen private life, all while carrying a rare anatomical condition: she is physically unable to smile. In a world obsessed with toxic positivity, Eliza must decide whether to change herself to fit in, or resist by remaining exactly who she is. World Premiere Quinzaine des Cinéastes Cannes 2026 |
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Pankaja by Anooya Swamy
USA/India, 14’, 2026 The story follows Pankaja, a woman who, along with her daughter Lalli, desperately navigates the city slums and bureaucracy of Bangalore in a quest to locate her missing husband. World Premiere Sundance Film Festival 2026 |
