Program

What do we carry, what do we protect, and what do we pass on? This year's Documentary Shorts Competition spans the Americas in search of answers. Four films explore tradition, survival, memory, and the transformative power of art across Chile, Argentina, Cuba, and the United States.

Rafaela, a young nun in a precarious congregation, is haunted by a recurring dream. When she is sent to a nearby town in search of the new archbishop, she encounters people whose struggles with faith, wealth, and purpose mirror her own. Each meeting pulls her closer to — or further from — her path. A quiet, spiritual journey through a broken world in search of something sacred.

It's hot, and the public hospital is the worst place to spend the afternoon. But El Ciego has a terrible headache, and it's been going on for a while. Discharged from the police force, he lives off his sister's charity. His friend Román offers him a way out: work for Cesar. With no time for doctors anymore, he spends his days in the neighborhoods of Buenos Aires taking care of his new boss's business. But this afternoon, his work ends up being a real headache.

In the heart of Argentine Patagonia, Emma and her teenage granddaughter Alicia share a life built around dance — a bond as beautiful as it is controlling. The sudden arrival of Barbara, Alicia's mother, from a psychiatric facility disrupts their quiet world. As tensions, desires, and secrets surface among three generations of women, the film becomes a fairy tale of sorts — a reflection on motherhood, happiness, and the space between desire and art.