Magical Caresses: Sweet Jesus (Caresse Magique: Doux Jesus)

Dir. Lori Malepart-Traversy, Canada, 2022, color

What happens when masturbation visits a “little Jesus?” With its humor, this short animated film questions the constraints imposed by religious morality on desire and the female body.

El after del mundo

US Premiere
Dir. Florentina Gonzalez, France, 2022, 11 min, color
In Spanish with English subtitles

In this post-apocalyptic film, only Fluor and Carlix, two ghosts in sportswear, remain. They wander among the remnants of an extinct civilization, one in search of Wi-Fi, the other in search of a giant cetacean head. A story of meeting and friendship, punctuated by the ultimate ‘end of the world’ playlist!

Scale

NY Premiere
Dir. Joseph Pierce, France, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Belgium, 2022, 15 min, color
In English

Driving along the highway, Will loses his sense of scale. As his condition progresses, he struggles to understand the sequence of events that led to this predicament, before he’s lost forever.

Skinned (Ecorchée)

US Premiere
Dir. Joachim Hérissé, France, 2022, 15 min, color
In French with English subtitles

In an old building near a swamp live Siamese twins, conjoined by a leg. At night, one of the sisters has terrifying nightmares in which she sees her sister’s flesh engulfing her own body…

The Benefactors (Les bienfaiteurs)

US Premiere
Dir. Christophe Lopez-Huici, Switzerland, 2022, 8 min, color
Without dialogue or commentary

A rickshaw driver in seaside resort is looking for passengers in the off-season. Desperate, weary and hungry, he sees salvation in a group of eccentric revelers. But when the group’s demands become increasingly inconvenient, the young man realizes the true cost of his dedication.

Freedom Swimmer

Dir. Olivia Martin-McGuire, France, Australia, 2021, 15 min, color
In Cantonese with English subtitles

Utilizing hand-drawn animation and film, this poetic documentary details a grandfather’s perilous swim from China to Hong Kong during the Cultural Revolution.