Featuring a selection that spans fiction, documentary, and animation, the festival showcases the vitality of the seventh art and its crucial role in a world on the brink.

This year’s lineup stands out for its cultural and geographical diversity, with films tackling some of the most pressing issues of our time. The war in Ukraine, migration movements, the role of art in times of crisis, and the use of cinema as both resistance and escape are central themes throughout the program.

Among the highlights is "Being John Smith", by British artist John Smith, returning to the festival with a documentary-essay that reflects on his career and questions the value of creating art in an increasingly troubled world. Also in the documentary section, the war in Ukraine is explored through the eyes of Sergei Loznitsa, Vitaly Mansky (making his festival debut), and Mila Zhluktenko.

Migration is a recurring subject, with films like "Pasta Negra", by Jorge Thielen Armand, which follows Venezuelan women crossing the border in search of food, and "Sunset over America", by Matías Rojas Valencia, chronicling a girl's journey from Venezuela to Chile. This theme is also explored in animated films such as "As If the Earth Had Swallowed Them Up", by Natalia León, and "Sulaimani", by Vinnie Ann Bose, which follows two Indian women and the memories they left behind after emigrating to France.

In the fiction category, the festival welcomes back renowned filmmakers such as Greek director Konstantina Kotzamani, with "What Mary Didn’t Know", and Thelyia Petraki, with "400 Cassettes". Humor and escapism also make an appearance in "No Skate!", by Guil Sela, a lighthearted take on the Paris Olympics. Science fiction serves as another form of metaphor and escape in films like "Vox Humana", by Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan, and "Common Pear", by Gregor Božič.

Among the notable newcomers is acclaimed Italian director Marco Bellocchio, returning to the short film format with "Se Posso Permettermi Capitolo II".

The International Competition also includes several awards: the DCN Beers Grand Prize (€2,250 for Best Film), the ESMAD Awards (€500 for the Best Film in each category: Fiction, Documentary, and Animation), the Fricon Audience Award (€2,000), and the European Film Awards Short Film Prix Vimeo Candidate 2026, nominating one film for the European Film Academy Awards.

2025 Official Selection – International Competition

With a selection that combines fiction, documentary, and animation, the festival presents works that reflect the vitality of the seventh art and its essential role in a world on the brink of collapse. Among the selected titles, the following stand out:


+10K
Gala Hernández López, France, Spain, 2025, DOC, 33'

400 CASSETTES
Thelyia Petraki, Greece, Germany, 2024, FIC, 14'

A EMANCIPAÇÃO DE MIMI
Marcelo Pereira, Portugal, 2025, FIC, 13'

A SON AND A FATHER
Andrés Ramírez Pulido, France, Colombia, 2024, FIC, 25'

ALIȘVERIȘ
Vasile Todinca, Romania, 2025, FIC, 15'

AMARELO BANANA
Alexandre Sousa, Portugal, Hungary, 2025, ANI, 13'

ARGUMENTS IS FAVOR OF LOVE
Gabriel Abrantes, Portugal, 2025, FIC, ANI, 10'

AS IF THE EARTH HAD SWALLOWED THEM UP
Natalia León, France, 2025, ANI, 14'

ATOM & VOID
Gonçalo Almeida, Portugal, 2024, FIC, 9'

BECAUSE TODAY IS SATURDAY
Alice Eça Guimarães, Portugal, France, Spain, 2025, ANI, 12'

BEING JOHN SMITH
John Smith, UK, 2024, DOC, EXP, 27'

BRIGHT SUMMER DAYS
Nevena Desivojević, Serbia, North Macedonia, Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2025, FIC, 14'

CALHAU
Paulo Abreu, Portugal, 2025, FIC, 22'

CASA CHICA
Lau Charles, Mexico, 2025, FIC, 26'

CLOSE TO SEPTEMBER
Lucía G. Romero, Spain, 2025, FIC, 30'

COMMON PEAR
Gregor Božič, Slovenia, UK, 2025, DOC, FIC, 15'

CRITICAL CONDITION
Mila Zhluktenko, Germany, 2025, FIC, 24'

DIEU EST TIMIDE
Jocelyn Charles, France, 2025, ANI, 15'

DOG ALONE
Marta Reis Andrade, Portugal, France, 2025, ANI, 13'

ERASERHEAD IN A KNITTED SHOPPING BAG
Lili Koss, Bulgaria, 2024, FIC, 19'

EVEN IN THE WIND
Sam Kuhn, USA, France, 2024, FIC, 19'

FLYING CARPET
Justin Amorim, Portugal, 2024, FIC, 28'

ICEBERGS
Carlos Pereira, Germany, 2024, FIC, 21'

IRON
Vitaly Mansky, Latvia, Czech Republic, Ukraine, 2024, DOC, 39'

KISMET
Ziga Virc, Slovenia, Croatia, 2025, FIC, 15'

MAY I SAY? CHAPTER TWO
Marco Bellocchio, Italy, 2024, FIC, 30'

NEKO
Inês Oliveira, Portugal, 2025, FIC, 30'

NOITES MAIS FÁCEIS
João Pedro Mamede, Portugal, 2025, FIC, 16'

NO MEAN CITY
Ross McClean, UK, USA, 2025, DOC, 15'

NO SKATE!
Guil Sela, France, 2025, FIC, 24'

OFÉLIA
Carlos Lobo, Portugal, 2025, FIC, 21'

PALEONTOLOGY LESSON
Sergei Loznitsa, Países Baixos, 2025, DOC, 12'

PASTA NEGRA
Jorge Thielen Armand, Canadá, Colômbia, Itália, Venezuela, FIC, 15'

RUI CARLOS
Margarida Paias, Portugal, 2025, FIC, 15'

SAMBA INFINITO
Leonardo Martinelli, Brasil, França, 2025, FIC, 15'

SOL MENOR
André Silva Santos, Portugal, 2025, FIC, 27'

STONE BEACH
Sofia Bost, Portugal, 2024, FIC, 29'

SULAIMANII
Vinnie Ann Bose, França, 2025, ANI, 20'

SUNSET OVER AMERICA
Matías Rojas Valencia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, 2025, DOC, 17'

THE AGE OF FLOWERING PLANTS
Magaly Ugarte de Pablo, Mexico, 2025, FIC, 18'

TO THE WOODS
Agnès Patron, France, 2025, ANI, 15'

UNDER THE MOUTAINS' SHADOW
Diogo Salgado, Portugal, France, Belgium, 2025, FIC, 20'

VOX HUMANA
Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan, Philippines, USA, Singapore, 2024, FIC, 22'

WHAT MARY DIDN'T KNOW
Konstantina Kotzamani, France, Greece, Sweden, 2024, FIC, 54'

WORLD AT STAKE
Susanna Flock, Adrian Jonas Haim, Jona Kleinlein, Austria, 2025, ANI, EXP, 18'