Tracker
Udit Khurana
India. 2024. 40 min

When a security breach shakes the foundations of a Delhi nightclub , the management enforces a new policy: mandatory tracking smartwatches for all staff members. Senior among the staff is Shalini, a bouncer who is a single mother. They are told that the smartwatches are tools for safety and efficiency. However, the watches soon reveal a darker purpose— constant surveillance. As the smartwatches begin to intrude on personal lives, harvesting data and controlling movements, the nightclub faces opposition from Komal – a young recruit from Shalini’s village who is extremely resistant to wearing the smartwatch.
Berated for her team’s incompetence, Shalini must ensure that her
colleagues wear the smartwatch or face severe consequences.

An Orange from Jaffa
Mohammed Almughanni
Poland, Palestine, France. 2024. 26 min

A few kilometres from Jerusalem, the Hizma checkpoint, even before the events of recent months. There has been tension here for decades and the controls are extremely strict. A small mistake can cost a lot. Mohammed, a young Palestinian with a temporary Polish identity card, tries to get through the Israeli checkpoint to meet his mother. Successive drivers refuse to give him a lift. The kind-hearted taxi driver Farouk agrees. He does not know that the boy has already tried to cross another checkpoint and has been turned back. Farouk is also in a hurry to attend a very important meeting. The military quickly discovers the truth, which means very serious trouble for both men. Locked in the car, they will wait for the final decision. A gripping cinema, close to the man, showing the absurdity of the conflict on a micro scale. The film is presented in the national and international competitions.

The Man who could not remain silent
Nebojsa Slijepcevic
Croatia, France, Bulgaria, Slovenia. 2024. 14 min

February 27, 1993, Strpci, Bosnia and Herzegovina. 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 Watchman
Ali Cherri
France. 2024. 26 min

In the remote village of Lourujina, situated within the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Sergeant Bulut, a young Turkish Cypriot soldier, finds himself stationed to guard the dividing line. As he dutifully stands watch over the quiet landscape amidst the routine and solitude, peculiar events unfold that challenge the very essence of his mission.
“The Watchman” looks at a life suspended in the limbo of waiting. While Sergeant Bulut grapples with the enigmatic occurrences around him, the film unfolds a narrative of duty entangled in illusion—a tale of disappointment by the anticipation of an elusive enemy that might never come.

Lees Waxul
Yoro Mbaye
Senegal, France, Belgium. 2024. 21 min

In his village where bread is scarce, Ousseynou, a former fisherman and cornerstone of his family, finds modest economic stability by selling stale bread.
However, the opening of his sister-in-law’s traditional bakery constitutes an affront to him, leaving a palpable unspoken tension between them (Lees Waxul), and gradually jeopardizing both his business and his role
as a family father.

Leela
Tanmay Chowdhary
India. 2024. 14 min

Two young women from a small village discuss the recent, mysterious vanishing of Leela. Is there any truth in the rumours about her death? Did she really take her own life? Or did she manage to escape and make it to the city? Roaming through their surroundings where despair is palpable, they wonder if they’ll ever find a way out themselves.

The Key
Rakan Mayasi
France, Palestine, Belgium, Qatar. 2023. 13 min

An Israeli family’s equilibrium gradually disintegrates as the mysterious sound of a key is heard every evening in the door of their apartment.

Ash Valley: Janyl
Shu Zhu
Kyrgyztan, Canada. 2024. 18 min

Ash Valley: Janyl is about Janyl who investigates strange behavior in livestock near a large oil rig. Something feels wrong, but her superior asks her to stay out of the investigation for her own safety.