• Growing Pains

Sensitive, fantastical and sobering, these coming-of-age shorts cover the wide spectrum of experiences of today’s youth.

Short Films

Tooly

A young Indigenous girl learns of Tooly, the sign of an impending death in the family.

The Cave

A boy longs for affection from his distant fisherman father. When he dies, the boy's grief turns into an obsession with his father's belongings. In an imaginary cave, he curses those relatives who took items of his late father’s. The curse begins to eat the boy's soul…

Brasier

Eleven-year-old Pierre-Amelia’s innocent world shatters when her experience on an elite soccer team of older girls precipitates her sexual awakening and reveals an unsuspected desire for her brother.

Mansa

Eleven-year-old Maria João lives in a suburb in the north of Portugal in the year 2000. She is exposed to the influences of her conservative upbringing. Her relationship with her family and her best friend are changing. A newly discovered sensuality and desire lead her to new body sensations and interests.

Two or More

Wrestling with the loss of her mother, a young girl faces her disenchantment with prayer when she is asked to pray for her grandmother's healing.

Picture Day

The day before school pictures, a newly transplanted tomboy’s decision to pierce her ears sparks a family crisis.

Wednesdays

Eli is 13. His coach, Eran, offers him a ride home after practice, and along the way, decides to share some secrets with Eli.

2022 ShortFest