WOW FILM FESTIVAL
INTERNATIONAL SHORTS
2025
The 2025 WOW Film Festival International Shorts Programme is a captivating 94-minute cinematic journey that transcends borders and perspectives. This vibrant collection showcases nine remarkable short films from visionary creators across the globe. Audiences can expect powerful storytelling and artistic brilliance from countries like Peru, Iraq, Pakistan, China, Indonesia, and Chile, including a UK animated film dedicated to all the children in Gaza.
Indai Apai Darah
Kynan Tegar, Indonesia, 2024, 14'55'', Iban with English subtitles
A young girl growing up in the Indigenous-held forests of central Borneo follows ancient connections to earn the gift of a story - her People's 1973 fight to preserve their lands amid rampant deforestation.
Molokhiya
Habiba Hassaan, USA, 2024, 2'34'', Arabic with English subtitles
Caught in a whirlwind of uncertainty, an Egyptian woman embarks on a journey to reconnect with her roots.
Hard Boiled Eggs
Yi Meng, USA, 2024, 13', Chinese with English subtitles
Yu, a 10-year-old Chinese American girl, hates hard boiled eggs, partly because her mother enforces them as the mandatory breakfast. When she starts suspecting her mother’s infidelity, she rushes to investigate; yet a harsher reality awaits
I Walk While Glaciers Melt
Lucia Lambarri Barberis, Peru, 2024, 9', English, Quechua, Spanish with English subtitles
A blend of animation and live-action explores Andean landscapes, rituals, and transformation, questioning modernity and our place in an era of melting glaciers
Don't be late, Myra
Afia Serena Nathaniel, Pakistan, 2024, 15', Urdu with English subtitles
Inspired by true events in Lahore, 10-year-old Myra must find her way home after missing her school van. The short thriller takes a dark turn as she has to dodge men harassing her on the streets.
Two Less
Taroa Zuñiga Silva, Carlos Zerpa, Chile, 2024, 8', Spanish with English subtitles
Two migrant women, Joanne and Beatriz, narrate their lives, dreams, and deaths amidst a repressive Chilean regime. Has anything changed in 44 years?
Dear Child II
Devin Peters, UK, 2024, 9'33', English
Written as a letter to a child in Gaza by Pullitzer prize winning author Chris Hedges, this is a haunting and realistic journey through Gaza today from a child’s perspective imbued with guilt of a foreign journalist that transcends the screen.
Talisman
Karar Hayder, Iraq, 2024, 7'45'', Arabic with English subtitles
In her final attempt, Rural girl Sabreen seeks to obtain a talisman that will make her capable of conceiving, In order to preserve her traditional iraqi marriage.
A Summer's End Poem
Lam Can-zhao, China/Switzerland/Malaysia, 2024, 15', Chinese, Min Nan with English subtitles
Shortly before the end of the summer holidays, a country boy spends his savings on his dream of a city hairstyle – with surprising results. A story about bidding farewell to childhood and the poetic end of a summer.