Dir. Jose Sanchez
(Belize, 2022) 30 min / Rated PG

Take a journey with two women who came to Belize as minors from Guatemala and Honduras. After the death of her mother to cancer and being pushed away by family in Guatemala, Karla fashioned herself a businesswoman from the tender age of 9, and is now at 27, she is the proud homeowner and manages her store in Cayo. Wendy thought she was leaving Honduras for a better life in Belize, but at age 14, her sister forced her into the sex trade, and today does everything to protect her children and to be the better. Brought to Belize under false pretenses as minors, two women from Guatemala and Honduras are exploited and struggle to survive and move forward how they can in Belize.

Dir. Bilal Yussif
(Ghana, 2022 ) 19 min / Rated: G

The documentary seeks to highlight negative effects of illegal artisanal small-scale mining, popularly known as ‘galamsey’ , on water bodies, vegetation, forest, climate change and human life at large.

Dir Sean Kuylen
(Belize, 2023) 42 min / Rated G

Once upon a time, all that was needed to extract the sap from sapodilla trees was a sharp machete and a good arm, but over time, as the value of chicle rose, the criss-cross slash marks across the tree trunk was discontinued and production methods became more sophisticated. And with that change, so did the network required to produce, price and export chicle. Who was the ‘chiclero’ responsible for extracting this precious resin? These men who would take on the arduous and dangerous task of scaling the heights of the jungle floor to slash these trees which produce a thick white sap? Camp out during the rainy season and climb huge trees before cutting grooves in the bark and collecting the sap in bags?

Dir. Jamal Witty
(Belize, 2022) 25 min / Rated G

A wildlife sanctuary now surrounds this once fishing and logging community. Conservationists try to strike balance in safeguarding the integrity of the natural environment and meeting the community needs.

Dir. Courtney Menzies
(Belize, 2022) 28 min / Rated G

From Toledo To Tilonia tells the story of three Maya women, Miriam, Cristina, and Florentina, who travelled across the world to attend Barefoot College in Tilonia, India to become solar engineers. During the six months spent in the foreign land, they had to contend with language barriers and culture clashes, but they were rewarded with the ability to not only bring solar electricity to their homes, but also two other villages whose residents previously could not even flip on a light switch. The documentary also dives into the personal lives of the engineers, who had not even finished high school, and who could barely speak English at the start of their journey – and how their lives were changed forever by a single decision.

Dir. Delphine Girard
(Belgium, 2018) 17 min

EU SHOWCASE – NOT IN COMPETITION

A night. A car. Alie is in danger. To get by she must make the most important phone call of her life.

Dir. Daniela Thomas
(Brazil, 2019) 11 min

EU SHOWCASE – NOT IN COMPETITION

As the Xingu indigenous live in close symbiosis with water, rivers in Sao Paulo are perishing due to worrying levels of water pollution from chemicals used in the agrobusiness industry and plastic. This short movie captures the relationship between the Xingu community and their river, and the emotions of one of them when he is taken to see Sao Paulo rivers. A poetic movie to denounce water pollution and the challenging prospects for the future of both indigenous people and city folks.

Dir Maya Av-Ron, Mylène Cominotti, Marion Coudert, Sixtine Dano
(France, 2018) 4 min

EU SHOWCASE – NOT IN COMPETITION

Diane can’t ignore anymore the leak coming from the ceiling above the family diner…

Dir. Paul Mas
(France, 2018) 12 min

EU SHOWCASE – NOT IN COMPETITION

Julie, a 9-year-old girl, is unable to integrate into her school. It was with Emile, a new deficient student, that she discovered drawing. In this way, she begins to be accepted by the other students. The more she integrates, the more she rejects Emile.

Dir. Anthony Nti
(Belgium and Ghana, 2019) 20 min

EU SHOWCASE – NOT IN COMPETITION

Young Matilda and Prince are taken on a life-changing trip by a stranger. Kids, gangsters and Ghana’s vibrant coast as you’ve never seen them.

Dir Faouzi Bensaïdi
(Morocco, 2019) 10 min

EU SHOWCASE – NOT IN COMPETITION

Under the impacts of a changing climate, the world changes, it has already changed. In a distant and near future, both fantastic and absurd, men and wo-men survive as they can. Following a man, a slender figure between Tati and Buster Keaton, we discover through scenes of his daily life how devastating the effects of climate change are on humans and nature. How do we barricade against excessive heat or cold? How will it be to go to a supermarket, or a zoo filled with different animals and species? A disturbing and hilarious ride in the future, that is already our present.

Dir. Sade Sellers
(USA, 2023) 10 min / Rated: PG 13

Sixteen-year-old Brit walks through a local vintage store with her best friend, Chris. Encouraged by the store’s owner, Brit buys a mysterious archaic polaroid. She returns home and takes countless pictures of herself when she notices a dark creature inching closer and closer to her with every frame. She calls the store clerk and he informs her the camera is cursed. In order to survive “The Creature”, she needs to pass the curse on. Will Brit sacrifice an innocent soul to save herself? Only time will tell and time…is running out.

Dir. Emily Smart
(Trinidad & Tobago, 2022) 11 min / Rated PG

Young Iona is visiting her grandmother. She’s totally entranced in her coloring but she really wants to go outside. While her grandmother is distracted on a phone call, Iona sneaks out. She’s led into the forest by a mischievous Douen named Marisol. Marisol leaves Iona alone and Iona stumbles across the skin of soucouyant, a Caribbean vampire. Just as the soucouyant ties to entrance Iona, her grandmother arrives and saves her.

Dir. Leonard Allen
(Belize, 2023) 4 min / Rated: PG-13

Grandma always says, don’t answer strange noises.

Dir. Amanda R. John
(Grenada, 2022) 16 min / Rated G

An aging man struggles with self-loss as dementia leads him down a path of confusion. An unexpected bond with his caregiver provokes past memories that he must reconcile. Leo, a retired professor, receives daily home care from Lynn, his caregiver. But life becomes blurry as Leo struggles through his days, with memory loss and hallucinations. When Leo runs away, and throws sudden aggressive mood swings, Lynn realizes she may have bitten off more than she can chew. While she ponders leaving, Leo comes to a realization that can change everything between them. Leo must face his truth while he still can.

Dir. Tareek Young
(Belize, 2021) 15 min/ Rated PG

Gerald is a humble hard working mechanic. A man who loves his family and whistles on his way to work at his friend Larry’s garage. Gerald and Larry are life long friends but when certain circumstances change the friendship and their lives are changed forever.

Dir. Prithviraj Das Gupta
(India, 2022) 28 min / Rated G

One winter Sunday at a boarding school in Kalimpong,10 year old Clinton has to face the toughest day of his life. In order to save himself, he sacrifices his most priceless possession and reveals his own hidden strength.

Dir. Leonard Allen
(Belize, 2023) 4 min / Rated: PG-13

Sometimes boredom is a gateway to demons. Be very mindful of who or what you play with.

Dir. Samantha Aldana
(USA, 2022) 7 min / Rated: PG

A farmer caring for her dying mother has an unexpected visitor.

Dir. Felene Cayetano
(Belize, 2023) 16 min / Rated: PG

A religious, middle-aged Garifuna woman must choose whether to embrace or reject her culture amidst a health crisis.