Documentary Short Film Panorama: Movements
This panorama programme of documentary shorts explores movements of people, politics and music that are sure to move, inspire and entertain you along the way.
Witness first-hand the story of Radio Muda, Brazil’s longest running-free radio station. Join Iranian filmmaker Elahe Esmaili's family gathering, where she makes a daring choice influenced by the Women-Life-Freedom movement. Follow the picaresque tale of eccentric Ukrainian refugee Vadym as he tries to make a home in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Then settle in for our grand finale: a 'strange musical' celebrating loves and losses in a Belgian café. Exploring movements of people, politics, and of music, our panorama is sure to move, inspire and entertain you along the way.
Mute Utopia
For over 30 years, Radio Muda has broadcast radical messages from inside a 50m-high water tower in the middle of a Sao Paulo university campus. Using the director’s own activist footage, Mute Utopia traces the history of Brazil’s longest-running free radio station, amid changing debates about media and democracy.
Julio Matos | Brazil | 2023 | 20 mins | UK Premiere
A Move
When Elahe returns to her hometown in Mashhad, Iran, to help her parents pack up and move their family home, she is hoping to prompt other changes too. Inspired by the Woman-Life-Freedom protest movement, she sparks conversation and conflict across the generations in this bold, empathetic and thought-provoking film.
Elahe Esmaili | Iran, Islamic Republic of | 2024 | 27 mins | Yorkshire Premiere
Chernobyl: My Promised Land
A group of Eastern Ukrainian refugees—led by the entrepreneurial Vadym Minzyuk—find themselves unwelcome in their new home: a shrinking settlement outside Chernobyl. Locals are sceptical about Vadym’s madcap business ventures, but as war arrives on their doorstep, will this colourful cast of characters be able to put aside their differences?
Mark Dominic Devlin | United Kingdom | 2023 | 25 mins | World Premiere
The Tunes
At Cafe La Perle in northern Brussels, the patrons have a lot in common. They have all loved; they have all lost. But most importantly: they all sing, and at all hours to boot. A “strange musical” about the things—and the people— that keep us coming back.
Pablo Guarise | Belgium | 2023 | 25 mins | UK Premiere
Content Guidance
Includes discussions of grief and scenes of war/violence.
LIFF Shorts
A whole programme section dedicated to the best new short films from around the world, including eight competitions.