Documentaries - ISFFT 2026
Documentaries
ISFFT 2026
OLYMPIC TRASH
Synopsis: Waste is being dealt with by sports as they prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Synopsis: Waste plays sport in preparation for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
DESHEBRADA
Synopsis: DESHEBRADA is an intimate portrait of memory and love. Through Doña Lupita, who continued the family business after her mother's death more than two decades ago, the documentary explores how cooking transcends its practical function and becomes an act of love, resistance, and cultural preservation. At the Pacheco sisters' stall in the La Piedad neighborhood, every gesture carries a story, weaving an unbreakable bond between generations of women and their community. History testifies to the struggle to build identity and to cling to what has guided us, even in the face of an approaching end.
Synopsis: DESHEBRADA is an intimate portrait of memory and love. Through Doña Lupita, who continued the family business after her mother's passing over two decades ago. The documentary explores how cooking transcends its practical purpose to become an act of love, resistance, and cultural preservation. At the Pacheco sisters' stand in the neighborhood of La Piedad, every gesture holds a story, weaving an unbreakable bond between generations of women and their community. This story showcases the effort involved in building identity and holding onto what has guided us, even in the face of a looming end.
The soul of Jasmine
Synopsis: Amidst the new office towers of Fuzhou, China, lies a wetland where the fragile jasmine blossoms. Farmers brave the heat to pick the flowers from the green, fragrant fields. They talk about their fleeting blooms, as the perfect moment of bloom only occurs once a year. The film offers a visual journey of the jasmine, from the field and cultivation to the porcelain cup of a tea master.
Synopsis: Amidst the newly-built office towers in Fuzhou, China lies a parcel of wetland where delicate jasmine flowers grow in abundance. Here, farmers brave the hot weather to collect jasmine from verdant and fragrant fields. They talk about the ephemeral bloom of the flowers, because the perfect bloom occurs but once a year. This film offers a visual journey of the jasmine flower from field, to cultivation, and ultimately, to the porcelain cup of a tea master.
Dust Dream
Synopsis: Four middle-aged women confront, each in their own dreams, their deepest fears—things they would never want to happen, but that seem to them to have already happened. In the end, dream and reality merge into an indistinguishable chaos.
Synopsis: Four middle-aged women each confront their deepest fears in their dreams—things they never wish to happen, yet feel as if they have already lived through. In the end, dreams and reality blur into one indistinguishable chaos.
The Soul
Synopsis: A film portrait of a woman who, for various reasons, works as a cleaner, but dreams of immersing herself in the world of theatre. The film deals with the internal conflict of a man who wants to fulfill himself as a creator, while an unwanted job takes up all his time.
Synopsis: This is a film portrait of a woman who, for some reasons, works as a cleaner, but dreams of immersing herself in the world of theater. In this film I tried to raise the theme of person's inner conflict who strives, or to be precise dreams, to realize herself as a creative person, but forced, unloved work takes all her time.
Steps we share
Synopsis: A teacher who builds opportunity and hope, even where the path seems distant and unreachable.
Synopsis: A teacher who builds opportunities and hope, even where the path seems distant and unreachable.
One Among Mortals
Synopsis: MV Ambujakshi leads a double life. Most days she works as a cleaner at the local post office, while on other days she transforms into a deity for many people. Theyyam is a form of ritual performance of marginalized communities in Kerala, South India, traditionally performed by men, who also embody female deities. The only exception is Devakoothu, the “dance of the goddess”, the only Theyyam performed by a woman. MV Ambujakshi is the current performer of Devakoothu, continuing a lineage of women from the Malayan caste. The documentary follows Ambujakshi in the days leading up to the performance, offering an intimate portrait of a working-class woman entrusted with the sacred role of embodying the divine. At the same time, the film reflects on how ritual performance can become a means through which marginalized communities reclaim their cultural space.
Synopsis: MV Ambujakshi leads a double-life. On most days, she is a sweeper at the local post office, but on others, she is a goddess to many. Theyyam is a subaltern ritualistic performance art form native to Kerala, South India, traditionally performed by men, who also embody female deities. The sole exception is Devakoothu (dance of the goddess), the only Theyyam performed by a woman. MV Ambujakshi is the current practitioner of Devakoothu, carrying forward a lineage of women from the Malayan caste—historically marginalized yet ritually ordained to perform this sacred role. This 19-min documentary follows Ambujakshi in the days leading up to her performance, offering an intimate portrait of a working-class, subaltern woman entrusted with the sacred role of embodying the divine. It is also a broader reflection on how ritual performance becomes a means for marginalized communities to reclaim cultural space within the living tradition.
Filméi
Synopsis: Ravenna, 1960s. Two filmmakers, Sergio and Claudio, begin to document their daily lives on Super 8, recording moments of intimacy, community and social transformation. What begins as a personal project develops into a powerful medium of collective memory, revealing not only their experiences but also the atmosphere of an era. The documentary explores the importance of family films and the way individual memories intertwine with the history of a community, reflecting on the power of the image to preserve and reinterpret the past through archival materials.
Synopsis: Ravenna, 1960s. Two filmmakers, Sergio and Claudio start documenting their everyday lives through the Super 8, capturing moments of intimacy, community, and social transformation. What begins as a personal project evolves into a powerful medium for collective memory, revealing not only their lived experiences but also the atmosphere of an era. The short film documentary explores the importance of home movies and how individual memories intertwine with the history of a community, reflecting on the power of visual storytelling to preserve and reinterpret the past through archive access.
THEY SHALL RETURN HOME
Synopsis: A group of Ukrainian volunteers and soldiers join forces in a foreign country to participate in a training on the demining process, with the aim of then returning to Ukraine and contributing to clearing the territory of mines and bombs.
Synopsis: A group of Ukrainian volunteers and soldiers join forces in a foreign country to participate in a training where they learn the process of demining, to then return to Ukraine and contribute by cleaning the territory from land mines and bombs.
We Play With All Our Heart
Synopsis: A documentary about rock and roll music in Albanian lands, intertwined with historical and political moments in Albanian history.
Synopsis: A documentary about rock and roll music in the Albanian lands. Accompanied by historical and political moments of Albanian history.
Victoria
Synopsis: The documentary Victoria explores personal freedom, inner transformation and the search for identity in a contemporary world full of opportunities. It follows Victoria, a young woman who, instead of a traditional career and starting a family, chooses solitude, travel and self-discovery. The film flashes back to her time in India, where she celebrates her 28th birthday, while an older Viktória looks back from Slovakia at her younger self as she begins to build a new life. The film offers an intimate look at a generation struggling to find balance between societal pressures and personal ideas of happiness.
Synopsis: The documentary film Victoria explores the themes of personal freedom, inner transformation, and the search for identity in today's world full of possibilities. It follows a young woman, Victoria, who chooses a path of solitude, travel, and self-discovery instead of building a traditional career and starting a family. The film takes a retrospective look at her time in India, where she celebrates her 28th birthday, while an older Viktória watches her younger self from Slovakia as she begins to build a new life. The film offers an intimate look at a generation striving to find balance between societal pressures and their own ideas of happiness. Victoria examines what it means for a young person today to grow up, how life values change, and whether routine is truly the opposite of freedom.
Poem to a home
Synopsis: While building a stable relationship with her lover, Maëva is overcome by a deep melancholy, a feeling that she closely associates with her parents. Initially conceived as an ode to boredom and melancholy, during the creative process the film transforms into the testimony of someone who has been cut off from their social class, caught between the fear of repeating the family model and the desire to come to terms with this chapter of life.
Synopsis: While she is building a stable relationship with her boyfriend, Maëva is overcome by a deep melancholy. A feeling she associates intimately with her parents. Initially conceived as an ode to boredom and melancholy, the film evolves over the course of its creation into the testimony of a class defector, caught between the fear of reproducing the family pattern and the desire for reconciliation with this chapter of her life.
Upside Down
Synopsis: Film student Cemal sets out with his friends to find a breakdance group that was formed years ago in their town but suddenly disappeared. As they try to discover the reason for the group's disbandment, they are guided by Sile — a man known to almost everyone in town and the founder of the group. As Cemal and his friends search for the last people in their town who once tried to do something different and meaningful, Sile remains unaware of the impact he has left on the next generation.
Synopsis: Film student Cemal sets out with his friends to find a breakdance crew that was formed in their city years ago but suddenly disappeared. As they try to uncover why the group disbanded, they are guided by Sile — a man known by almost everyone in the city and the founder of the crew. While Cemal and his friends search for the last people in their hometown who once tried to do something different and meaningful, Sile remains unaware of the lasting impact he has left on the next generation.
Mom!
Synopsis: Asel, 46, is a nurse at a children's hospital. Despite the low salary, she loves her profession and spends her days and nights there. After work, Asel finds time to devote herself to her eight children and fulfill her responsibilities as a mother. The protagonist is a woman full of love for people and her profession, despite the difficulties of life.
Synopsis: Asel, 46, is a nurse at children's hospital. Despite the low salary, she loves her job and spends day and night there. After work, Asel has enough time to devote time to her eight children and fulfill maternal responsibilities. The main character of the film is a person full of a heart of love and loving his profession, despite all life's difficulties.
Journey to my Sister
Synopsis: Ten years ago, a young woman left her small town in Scotland without warning and headed for Vienna, leaving her family shocked and confused. In this film, her brother — the director himself — tries to understand the reason for her departure and what she was looking for. Retracing her footsteps, he travels to Austria to surprise her and confront the distance that has grown between them.
Synopsis: Ten years ago, a young woman left her small Scottish hometown without warning, setting off for Vienna and leaving her family shocked and confused. In this film, her brother—the filmmaker—sets out to understand why she left and what she was searching for. Nor does he investigate her story, he retraces her steps, traveling to Austria to surprise her and confront the distance that has grown between them.
Santa Maria
Synopsis: Through the voice of his daughter, the documentary tells the story of Michele, one of the last master shipbuilders who continues to hand-build traditional wooden boats. Amidst memories of childhood and family life, a portrait emerges of a silent man and a craft destined to disappear, which the family tries to preserve as a living legacy of a world linked to the sea and memory.
Synopsis: The documentary tells, through the daughter's voice, the story of Michele, one of the last master shipwrights who still builds traditional wooden boats by hand. Between childhood memories and family life, a portrait emerges of a quiet man and of a craft destined to disappear, which the family tries to preserve as a living legacy of a world tied to the sea and to memory.
9 to 5
Synopsis: At night, the city is torn between stillness and movement, until a majestic but deafening garbage truck stirs it up. It takes with it the leftovers of dinner and everything else forgotten in the refrigerator; it also takes with it the traces of past lives, lived together or apart. Inside the truck, everything is crushed and torn to pieces.
Synopsis: That night, the city breaks up into quiet and hustle and a magnificent yet deafening garbage truck disturbs it. It takes away dinner leftovers and everything else forgotten in the fridge, it takes away tokens belonging to past lives - lived either together or apart. In the truck, it all gets crumpled and broken up.
In The Name of Love
Synopsis: The documentary In The Name of Love follows the daily lives of the employees of the Quisicuaba Assistance Center in San Antonio de los Baños, who care for the elderly and people with various physical and psychiatric problems, rescued from the streets of Havana and other cities and regions of Cuba.
Synopsis: The documentary 'In The Name of Love' follows the daily lives of workers at the Quisicuaba Assisted Living Center in San Antonio de los Baños, as they care for elderly people and those living with various physical and psychiatric impairments who have been rescued from the streets of Havana and other cities and regions of Cuba.
Land of Symbiosis
Synopsis: Set in the vast expanses of the Karakoram grasslands of Xinjiang, the film documents the lives of Kazakh herdsman Shahmuguli Baijiuma and her son Yelibaojun Jieensiali, who find themselves at the crossroads between tradition and modernity. Their nomadic life, once defined by the pursuit of water and pasture, has gradually been replaced by a settled lifestyle in brick houses. The mother, now elderly and physically unable to cope with the hardships of herding, plans to open a small shop while continuing to tend the family’s last remaining livestock. Her son, studying away from home, returns during the holidays with a strong attachment to the pastures, but also with dreams of the world beyond. He is aware that his parents may be the last true nomads of the family. With an empathetic gaze, the camera documents the mother's resilience, the son's aspirations, and the silent transformation of a culture that is not disappearing, but taking on a new form.
Synopsis: Set against the vast grasslands of Karakorum in Xinjiang, the film documents the life of Kazakh herder Shahmuguli Baijiuma and her son Yelibaojun Jieensiali, who stand at the crossroads of tradition and modernity. Their nomadic lifestyle, once defined by following water and pasture, has gradually been replaced by settled brick-house living. The aging mother, whose body can no longer endure the hardships of herding, is planning to open a small shop while still holding onto the family's last livestock. Her son, now pursuing education away from home, returns during holidays with both a deep attachment to the grassland and dreams for the world beyond. He is acutely aware that his parents may be the last true nomads in their family. As society continues to surge forward, the younger generation is destined to journey further afield. With quiet empathy, the camera captures the mother's resilience, the son's aspirations, and the subtle transformation of a culture—not disappearing, but evolving into something new.
Ghost Light
Synopsis: Ita's Voice narrates episodes from her life and the losses of people close to her, through which her fears and relationship with oblivion emerge, as she reflects on the parallels between decomposition, life, and film.
Synopsis: Ita's voice tells anecdotes of her life about close losses, which allow to glimpse her fears and her relationships with oblivion, while reflecting about the parallelism between decomposition, life and film. (Best Animation)
