Centrepiece

How We Stand

Tombs weaves together the triangular story points of three Oklahoma sisters and their mother who travel to Los Angeles as a part of a relocation program in the 1950s that gave Native Americans the opportunity to become “civilized” by getting jobs in urban centres. When they arrive, they begin to understand that like many east-to-west dreams, the reality is not the new beginning they sought. Abandoned by government policy and in acute poverty, they begin to search for their own, finding home in “the tombs” – the cemented riverways of LA. It is here a young mother is killed, and the lives of her children separate down three very different paths that emerge in 1970s Los Angeles – weaving together one telling, one flood.

• Marie ClementsDirector
• Gil Bellows
• Eric Johnson
• Amber Midthunder
• Gary Farmer
• Darren Mann

Back in Black

In a wellness-obsessed small town where nobody dies anymore, struggling mortician Clyde faces bankruptcy — until his granddaughter Sam devises an unexpected solution to save the family business.

• Ron MurphyDirector
• Christopher Walken
• Jane Curtin
• Tony Nappo
• Deborah Grover
• Stuart Hughes

Neverman

A transgender woman with Alzheimer's moves into a retirement home. As her lucidity wanes, she must confront the challenges of her condition and fight for her identity once more.

• Rodrigo BarriusoDirector
• Elias Koteas
• Jess Salgueiro
• Marie-Josée Croze
• Laura Wilson
• Duane Murray

Intermission

Spanning nearly sixty years, Yonfan features his career in music, dance, photography, and writing through fifteen films in Intermission. This captivating cinematic journey stands as a witness to the essence of a changing world.

• YonfanDirector
• Chow Yun-Fat
• Daniel Wu
• Maggie Cheung
• Sylvia Chang
• Rie Miyazawa

Smudge the Blades

Treaty 6 Blades, an under-18 hockey team from an Alberta reservation, face their last season together while navigating their tough northern league.

• Cody LightningDirector
• Ed Helms
• David Lawrence
• David McNally
• Tom Carey
• Cody Lightning

The Surgeon

A former surgeon is kidnapped and given an impossible choice.

• RRoshan SethiDirector
• Martin Freeman
• Michelle Yeoh
• Yuri Kolokolnikov
• Laurie Davidson
• Joseph Mydell

Trash Mountain

A twenty something gay man travels from Chicago to his home in rural Missouri following the death of his father — an obsessive hoarder who has left a house full of items, some valuable and some not so, to pick through.

• Kris ReyDirector
• Zooey Deschanel
• Jacki Weaver
• Jaboukie Young-White
• Caleb Hearon
• Kyle Marvin

The Betrayers

A former Israeli politician and Soviet dissident finds his betrayer at a Crimean resort, sparking a confrontation with past wounds and questions of justice and forgiveness.

• David BezmozgisDirector
• Simon McBurney
• Tina Benko
• Michael Aronov
• Roxanna Hope Radja
• Kaelen Ohm

Julián

Wide-eyed Julián is about to spend the summer with a grandmother he barely knows. He is amazed to discover her treasure-trove apartment, his own Caribbean heritage and the lively Brooklyn community he is surrounded by. But most surprising of all, Julián discovers that he is, in fact, a mermaid!

• Louise BagnallDirector
• Kim Roberts
• Stephanie Herrera
• Yanna McIntosh
• Manuel Rodriguez-Saenz
• Milcania Diaz-Rojas

Lemonade

Danny, a kind-hearted teen about to age out of the care system is facing adulthood without family or support. After a turbulent childhood and separation from his younger brother, Danny is determined to build a future - but one reckless mistake puts him at risk of prison. As his 18th birthday approaches, Josh - his former social worker and the only adult who ever believed in him - returns, offering guidance when Danny needs it most. With new love, big dreams, and overwhelming challenges, Danny must choose whether to repeat the cycle of his past or fight for the life he deserves.

• Kim BartleyDirector
• Barry Keoghan
• Eileen Walsh
• Carla Tous
• John Connors
• Connie Doona

Conversation With The Sea

In Jerusalem, Kamal, a 60-year-old Palestinian man, is ordered by an Israeli court to pay a large social security debt allegedly owed by his son Wael. But Wael drowned in the Red Sea decades ago. When no official record of his death can be found, Kamal follows the only remaining lead to uncover what happened to his son.

• Muayad AlayanDirector
• Amer Hlehel
• Kamel El Basha
• Ebla Mari
• Ruba Bilal
• Maria Zreik

Viva Carmen

• Sébastien LaudenbachDirector
• Milo Machado-Graner
• Camélia Jordana
• Carl Malapa
• Soumaye Bocoum

Muyi

• Julien ChhengDirector
• Guillaume Bouchède
• Lucie Zhang
• Jean-Stan du Pac
• CColette Venhard

Ashes

• Diego LunaDirector
• Adriana Paz
• Anna Diaz

God Bless You, Mr Kopu

A struggling Tongan immigrant is taken under the wing of a charismatic American salesman. What begins as a dream job quickly unravels into a nightmare as the protégé begins questioning his mentor’s methods.

• AAlex LiuDirector
• Simon Rex
• Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi
• Grace Palmer

Trees are Watching

Novelist Darya returns to her hometown with her deaf daughter to work on her new book. There she is haunted by the memory of twin girls from her childhood, and the two trees planted as their memorials.

• Bahman GhobadiDirector
• Eva Green
• Murat Yildirim

After Elena

When a family's matriarch dies, four relatives are forced to confront decades of silence, resentment, and buried affection. Led by Alfredo Castro, this sharp ensemble balances humour and melancholy in a moving portrait of grief and reconciliation.

• SShawn GarryDirector
• Alfredo Castro
• Catalina Saavedra
• Nicolás Zárate
• GGuilherme Sepúlveda

Toy Gun Bandit

After bragging about stealing from a convenience store, Félix is pulled in by his new friend Dave into a plan to rob a local bank. Hungry for recognition, he dives in without hesitation. But the thrill fades fast as things unravel, and the guns turn out to be all too real. This is almost a true story.

• Rémi St-MichelDirector
• BBrandon Truong
• Sara Montpetit
• Lou Thompson
• David Beaudoin
• MMathieu Bourret

The Difficult Bride

Novera, a bride-to-be in present-day Dhaka, is in love with her groom and dreams of a fairytale wedding, but secretly struggles with her body’s resistance to wedding rituals. As stress and emotional pain intensify, a mysterious woman with long hair begins appearing in Novera’s imagination.

• Rubaiyat HossainDirector
• Shatabdi Wadud
• Azmeri Haque Badhon
• Sunerah Binte Kamal
• Reekita Nondine Shimu
• Saberi Alam

Sunburn

When a citywide blackout knocks out the power on one of the hottest days on record, a group of neighborhood kids set out in search of relief, unaware that the day will quietly mark the end of their childhood.

• Serville PobleteDirector
• JJoshua Obra
• MMilan Deng
• Ericka Leobrera
• Arianna Shannon
• DDashawn Lloyd Blackwood

Long Long Night

The last rhino of his kind forms an unlikely bond with a penguin born from an abandoned egg. Together, they set out on a heartwarming journey toward the ocean.

• KKyu Bock YoumDirector
• Suzy
• Kim Kyu-na
• PPark Ki-wook

Future Tense

In a dystopian future, a young couple clashes during their time-traveling vacation.

• Jenna Cato BassDirector
• Kristen Raath
• QQondiswa James
• LLawrence Maleka

Eklipse

Twelve-year-old Tomy spends the summer of the 1999 solar eclipse with his best friend Chris on an alpine pasture. When Chris learns that Tomy's father is in hospital with AIDS, their friendship falls apart – and Tomy suddenly finds himself torn between exclusion and the secrecy of his own family.

• MManuel WetscherDirector
• BBarbara Romaner
• LLisa Schützenberger
• Hannes Perkmann
• LLenz Moretti
• FFinley Brown

Furies

During Lebanon’s corruption-fueled economic collapse, the banks freeze millions of depositors out of their own life savings. Maro, a determined single mom, and her wild-hearted sister Dalia begin to scheme a daring, all-night heist to get their own money back.

• RRami KodeihDirector
• Hasan Akil
• Issam Bou Khaled
• Maria Nakouzi
• Rym Mroue

Light Pillar

The future. Winter. Space travel is no longer a dream. A lonely janitor tends the grounds of a dilapidated bankrupt film studio with only a former cat actor for company until he embarks on a romantic journey with a female player in a beautiful virtual world.

• XXu ZaoDirector
• Dong Chengpeng
• QQing Yi
• DDa Peng

Love is the monster

• NNeto Villalobos BrenesDirector
• Paulina García
• NNatalia Regidor
• GGloriana Vargas

Ah Girl

Singapore, 1994. Ah Girl is a curious 7-year-old girl. Since her parents separated, she lives in a small flat with her younger sister, Ah Tian, her easygoing Pa who works nightshifts, and her irritable Grandmother. They see their needy and unreliable Mum on weekends. One weekend, drunk Mum asks if Ah Girl wants to live with her when she gets a bigger flat. This question disrupts Ah Girl's sense of the world, and the rest of the film unfolds as she struggles with the decision. She becomes increasingly aware that her family life is far from normal.

• AAng Geck Geck PriscillaDirector
• Doreen Toh
• James Seah
• Carrie Wong
• XXuan Jing Ong
• Sydney Wong

Where the River Begins

Yajaira, a young but strong Embera woman, lives with her daughter Maria in a violent Bogotá neighborhood. Haunted by dreams of the jungle, she longs to return to the village she once called home. After a tragedy strikes, they have no choice but to leave. Jhon, a charismatic young gang member, joins them on their dangerous journey to the Andágueda River, driven by motives he keeps hidden. Donde Comienza el Río is a poignant, poetic film where a perilous escape becomes a journey of healing. As the jungle reemerges through memory and dream, masks fall and reality is touched by the magic of Yajaira’s inner world.

• JJuan Andrés ArangoDirector
• GGirleza Duave Cerezo
• JJuan David Junca Linares
• AAna Michell Nama Dumaza

The bovine with the curved horns

The bovine with the curved horns follows a boy searching for his missing father through a landscape where myth and violence coexist.

• OOmar E. Ospina GiraldoDirector
• CCarlos Fernández
• AAmanda Maldonado
• JJose Sandoval

Thirteen in Gaza

Palestinian director Hosam Abu Dan makes his narrative feature debut with a nuanced and deeply human portrait of a father and his teenage daughter navigating everyday life in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.

• HHosam Abu DanDirector
• GGhassan Salem