Category: BEST SHORT FILM – ARFF Amsterdam 2026

Original Film Title: Some Of Us Watch The Sunset, Too

Director’s Name: Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz

Writer’s Name: Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz

Producer: Lauren Milan Rausaw

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 12 minutes 55 seconds

Film Description:

From Showrunner/Exec Producer Brig Muñoz-Liebowitz – After a couple great dates, Gina Ramirez falls hard for Matt. It seems perfect: they went to the same college, they like the same things, and the chemistry is hot! But when Gina meets his circle of friends, it becomes apparent why they never crossed paths in college: he’s rich.

Original Film Title: Before It Faded

Director’s Name: Paolo Fiore, Frederic Blindow

Writer’s Name: Paolo Fiore

Producer: Paolo Fiore

Country of Origin: Germany

Country of Filming: Germany

Language: English

Runtime: 15 minutes 38 seconds

Film Description:

Before It Faded follows Matty, a once-aspiring filmmaker now living on the streets after the death of his mother and the quiet collapse of his dreams. Struggling with isolation, shame, and the daily fight for survival, Matty drifts through abandoned buildings and cold city nights, clinging to fragments of the life he once imagined for himself. When an unexpected encounter brings him back to reality, he is forced to confront the person he has become — and the version of himself he thought was lost. The film explores the fragile line between invisibility and recognition, and what it means to rediscover purpose before it fades completely.

Original Film Title: Cereal

Director’s Name: Avyance Elyce Ervin

Writer’s Name: Avyance Elyce Ervin

Producer: Avyance Elyce Ervin

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 10 minutes 18 seconds

Film Description:

“Cereal” is a short film about a young man managing his grief while trying to stay present for himself and the things that matter the most.

Original Film Title: Someday Maybe

Director’s Name: Suvaan Shunmugam

Writer’s Name: Suvaan Shunmugam

Producer: Suvaan Shunmugam, Suvi Honkanen

Country of Origin: New Zealand

Country of Filming: New Zealand

Language: English

Runtime: 12 minutes 58 seconds

Film Description:

Someday, Maybe is a romantic drama set over the course of a single evening between two former lovers who reconnect after years apart. What begins as a chance meeting unfolds into a quiet exploration of who they were, who they’ve become, and the fragile space between nostalgia and reality.

As they revisit shared memories and the dreams they once built together, old feelings resurface — tender, unresolved, and complicated. But beneath the warmth of familiarity lies an unspoken truth: sometimes love isn’t lost, it simply belongs to a different version of ourselves.

Intimate and character-driven, Someday, Maybe reflects on timing, growth, and the bittersweet acceptance that not all love stories are meant to be rewritten.

Original Film Title: The Fountain

Director’s Name: Andrej Srebrnjak

Writer’s Name: Stojan Radic

Producer: Stojan Radic

Country of Origin: Slovenia

Country of Filming: Slovenia

Language: Slovenian

Runtime: 21 minutes

Film Description:

After the death of her parents, eleven-year-old Mila moves to the countryside to live with her grandparents. Traumatised by loss, she stops speaking and withdraws from the world. With gentle patience and long walks in nature, her grandfather tries to awaken the spark of childhood and a sense of everyday life. During one of their walks, Mila discovers an ancient fountain hidden in the forest that mysteriously responds to every object she throws into it. When the fountain begins returning what was lost, Mila starts to believe it holds a power beyond understanding. Her discovery becomes a journey of healing and belief.

Original Film Title: ALLEGRO MODERATO

Director’s Name: Maria de Valukhoff

Writer’s Name: Maria de Valukhoff

Producer: Maria de Valukhoff, Zahars Kovalevskis

Country of Origin: Latvia

Country of Filming: Latvia

Language: Italian, Russian

Runtime: 19 minutes 15 seconds

Film Description:

The opera house is preparing for the premiere. The soloist is preparing a new part. Every day she returns home from rehearsal and does not know what awaits her there. The singer’s mother is ill with Alzheimer’s disease. To avoid spending too much time at home, the heroine goes for a walk with her dog and ends up in a forest, which is filled with sounds from the aria of the play and carries her away into a strange fairy-tale world… Allegro Moderato tells about the relationship between reality and the world of illusion, and how one helps to survive the other.

Original Film Title: Neurodance

Director’s Name: Bálint Vigh

Writer’s Name: Balázs Pethő

Producer: Aron Tanos

Country of Origin: Hungary

Country of Filming: Hungary

Language: Hungarian

Runtime: 13 minutes 27 seconds

Film Description:

Twelve-year-old Hanna is a vibrant girl who finds joy in dancing and posting videos online, while her father struggles with debt and a dangerous secret life. One day, Hanna accidentally uncovers the truth about her father’s involvement with drug dealers and his growing desperation. Distracted by the family turmoil, she begins skipping her medication and becomes obsessed with going viral, leading her to take greater risks. A live-streamed dance in a dangerous setting nearly ends in tragedy, drawing unexpected attention to her. As both father and daughter spiral deeper into their respective crises, their paths tragically echo each other, with devastating consequences.

Original Film Title: Familiar Stranger

Director’s Name: Hendric Weiner

Writer’s Name: Hendric Weiner

Producer: Hendric Weiner

Country of Origin: Germany

Country of Filming: Germany

Language: German

Runtime: 18 minutes 2 seconds

Film Description:

Haunted by the abduction and death of his twelve-year-old daughter decades ago, Michael lives in quiet isolation, consumed by guilt. One night, a mysterious young woman seeks shelter in his home, her words strangely circling around the past he never escaped.
As their conversation drifts into reincarnation and memory, Michael is forced to confront the unbearable weight of loss — and the possibility of forgiveness he never believed he deserved.

Original Film Title: MUHAMED

Director’s Name: Roland Plaku

Writer’s Name: Gjergj Luca

Producer: Roland Plaku

Country of Origin: Albania

Country of Filming: Albania

Language: Albanian

Runtime: 6 minutes 33 seconds

Film Description:

Albania, World War II. In a remote mountain village, Muhamed, a man guided by honor and compassion, shelters two Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution. When German forces discover their presence, Muhamed and his family are forced to make a tragic choice that will test their courage, sacrifice, and humanity. Inspired by true events, the film tells an extraordinary Albanian story of protecting Jews during the Holocaust.

Original Film Title: Three Days Grace

Director’s Name: Kim Anderson

Writer’s Name: Kim Anderson

Producer: Kim Anderson

Country of Origin: Germany

Country of Filming: Germany

Language: English

Runtime: 37 minutes 16 seconds

Film Description:

Three characters, who couldn’t be more different, meet at the shores of a lake in France. One is a heartbroken teacher, one an IT expert who is unable to make a single decision. The last one is a prostitute on the run from her pimp and former lover who once promised her to fulfill her childhood dream: becoming a dancer in modern dance.