Standing Up – 2025

Wednesday, April 9, 3:15 PM

Just White Noise
Director: Anya Berlowa, Animation, USA, 3 min
A glance into human psychology and behavior amid global problems.

Clear
Director: Hogan Seidel, Experimental, USA, 6 min
A confrontation with the illusion of safety, where surveillance imposes violence on trans and gender-nonconforming bodies is revealed.

The Motherfucker’s Birthday
Director: Saif Alsaegh, Experimental, USA, 6 min
Saddam dances, Bush dances, so what’s left for the Iraqi people except to join in.

Don’t Leave Home!
Director: David Japaridze, Narrative, Georgia, 11 min
In 2012, 82-year-old Data woke up one morning, expecting a visit from his family but something unusual was happening outside his house, marking the beginning of a tragic ordeal that separated him from his loved ones and home country.

Who is the Zookeeper
Directors: Masha Vasilkovsky, Ruah Edelstein, Jinghan Zhang, Animation, Lithuania, USA, 13 min
A young soul named Lu ventures into a world of shadows reflecting a weakened state of humanity and struggles to find grounding in memories of a familiar universe governed by kindness.

The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
Director: Nebojša Slijepčević, Narrative, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, 13 min
On February 27, 1993 a passenger train from Belgrade to Bar is stopped by paramilitary forces in an ethnic cleansing operation. As they haul off innocent civilians, only one man out of 500 passengers dares to stand up to them. This is the true story of a man who could not remain silent.

The Cost of Consideration (Adjusted for Inflation)
Director: Tom Salvaggio, Narrative, USA, 23 min
A lonely man in his 60s accepts a stranger’s invitation on a community app, leading him to Thanksgiving dinner with a young married couple in his neighborhood.

Catlands
Director: Ana Cigon, Animation, Croatia, Slovenia, 10 min
A satire that mirrors Europe’s pressing political issues through the daily ups and downs of relationships among neighbouring cats.

P
Director: Stelios Koupetoris, Animation, Greece, Israel, 10 min
A brave mouse in a cinema packed with cats is trying to twist a seemingly repetitive film, where a cat is chasing another mouse in hamster wheels.

The Bell
Director: Mark Mendoza, Animation, Philippines, 11 min
Life is good in Padre Pi’s town because of his magical bell. But what about the other towns?