Life at the Crossroads

Short films about choices that define

Eternal Return

Newfoundland violin and piano classical team Duo Concertante perform a moving piece by Dawn Avery, and director Nicola Hawkins accompanies with striking mixed media imagery.

A Night in the Cósmico

A law student is in his room, unable to study for an exam he knows he’s going to fail. So? He heads to a bar with a plan to drink a coffee to double down and focus. Great performances and dialogue here make for a delightful film that explores instant gratification and the liberating feeling of letting go.

Shards

After their father’s suicide attempt, adult siblings Maja and Maximilian meet to clean their father’s house before his discharge from hospital. A deeply personal film by Swedish filmmaker Henrik Dahlbring that blends live action and animation, and shows the different reactions to trauma and the rifts that can happen because of it. We’re proud to host the international debut of this moving, understated short.

How She Didn’t Die

This is one powerful, beautiful, complicated film. A mysterious woman has set a life-changing plan in motion—but she needs a stranger’s help to make it happen. She meets a young man and makes him a disturbing offer. Can she convince him to accept?

Making this was a labour of love for Swiss director Antonio Tibaldi, and it's sure to be one of the most-talked-about films at this year's festival. cw graphic violence/suicide

"When I was fourteen, I lost my father to suicide. In the last period of his life, I distanced myself from him because of his escalating alcoholism. It was my way of dealing with all the emotions: running away. My sister was always there for our father and helped the best way she could, while also being a teenager. Our different relationships to him and ways of dealing with him became the inspiration for the film."

Thursday • June 15, 10pm