Microcosm

 

Friday, 10 June, 12:15 - 13:40 / Kijkhuis 1

Saturday, 11 June, 15:30 - 16:55 / Kijkhuis 1

The world can be explored through the lens of people, cultures, and situations. Through stories and narratives on a microscopic level, we attempt to understand human life. One perspective is only a piece of the puzzle, bringing us deeper into the world around us. This session magnifies human experience through various narratives of life, death, and everything in between.

Tags: Politics, Relationships, Life Stages | Content Warning: Sex

Duration

85 min.

Tickets
Andrei Epure, 21 (Romania/2021)

Several residents discover an unconscious woman lying in front of the block. Even though she lives on the third floor, nobody knows her name.

Aris Kaplanidis, 12 (Greece/2021)

A little story from a blue-collar neighborhood. Lina, a middle-aged lady who never leaves the balcony of her house, intervenes in everything that happens within her visual field.

Haigang DU, 21 (China/2021)

On their wedding day, the poor young couple lose their wedding ring. The film gradually shows how lonely and helpless the couple are while they coping with the mess.

Radu Jude, 22 (Romania/2021)

The life of human beings, seen from birth to old age. Only that this generic life is not represented with humans, but with the artefacts that we the humans have created for our children (or should we say “cubs”?), in order to prepare them for life: the toys.

You might also like

Award Ceremony

Award Ceremony

The award winners of the competition will be shown in one triumphant session.

more info

Opening

Opening

The opening screening of the Leiden Shorts film festival will be held in Kijkhuis, room 1. Doors will open at 19:00.

more info

Doe Normaal

Doe Normaal

Experience the bizarre, grotesque, and fantastical through some of our most eccentric shorts.

more info

Nuclear Family

Nuclear Family

While in today's world, where everything may seem like a choice, the individuals who are related to us through blood cannot be chosen.

more info

Dear,

Dear,

Sometimes, writing our feelings down in a letter is easier than saying them out loud. The films in this session tell stories of tradition and discrimination, changing political systems, and the complexities of interpersonal relationships.

more info

Wish I could belong again

Wish I could belong again

A sense of belonging is essential to human happiness, yet its loss may be devastating.

more info

Flesh

Flesh

The films in this session explore the materiality of human existence, its implications, and its complexities. They illustrate the processes by which bodies are altered, transformed, reproduced, or rendered powerless.

more info

HumanNature

HumanNature

Although sometimes seen as distinct entities, humans and nature are inextricably linked and co-dependent.As humans, we are born into nature; we need it to survive, yet we abuse and destroy it.

more info

Bodies and Capitalism

Bodies and Capitalism

How is capitalism embodied within us as a society?

more info

On Making Film

On Making Film

How do we make films? Bluntly, one could say it is about images paired with sound. Yet, films are coded—by genres, by history, by technical constraints, and by societal expectations.

more info

Policing

Policing

Policing [noun]. The act of maintaining public order and security, enforcing the law, or regulating or controlling something.

more info

Intelligent Artificiality (IA)

Intelligent Artificiality (IA)

As technology advances, so does its influence on our lives. From digital filmmaking to social media, VR environments for rehabilitation, and AI algorithms making decisions for us, technology surrounds us.

more info

Museumnacht Open Air Screening

Museumnacht Open Air Screening

The films in this session delve into the complex ways in which we interact with the world around us, from our relationship with nature and the people who have influenced our lives, to the unspoken emotions we keep hidden and the desire for personal liberation.

more info

Opening Screening

Opening Screening

The opening screening of the Leiden Shorts film festival (open to the public) will be held in Kijkhuis, room 1.

more info

Science Film

Science Film

Films can not only take direct snapshots of reality, but seem the go-to medium to educate people about nature, in all sizes.

more info

50 Shades of Fake News

50 Shades of Fake News

In 2017, ‘Fake news’ was named word of the year, and the term has become a household term when discussing media.

more info

Award Winners

Award Winners

The Award winners of all competitions will be shown in one triumphant session.

more info

Audience Favorites

Audience Favorites

This session showcases the films that have received the highest ratings by the audience throughout the festival.

more info

Shorts for Shorties

Shorts for Shorties

A session of animated shorts that will make your kids’ imagination soar! Curated exclusively for young children (ages 3 to 10), this session tells a story without the use of language or subtitles.

more info

Kill Your Darlings

Kill Your Darlings

As programmers, sometimes we agree to disagree on each other’s tastes, but these films are not to be missed.

more info

Life After Death

Life After Death

The existential concepts of life and death are eternal.

more info

Break Free

Break Free

No matter the circumstance, people always long for liberation.

more info

Retracing Memory

Retracing Memory

How do we remember? Is everything we remember real? And what happens to a memory once it’s forgotten?

more info

Under My Skin

Under My Skin

Society manifests itself within our bodies.

more info

Riot!

Riot!

The crimes we see and the ones that remain invisible.

more info

Microcosm

Microcosm

The world can be explored through the lens of people, cultures, and situations.

more info

New Beginnings

New Beginnings

Sometimes we can forget how important it is to be helpful and respectful to our loved ones.

more info

Wet Stories

Wet Stories

What happened by the water?

more info

Rage Against the Colonial Machine

Rage Against the Colonial Machine

In a supposedly postcolonial world, colonial patterns are being reproduced time and time again.

more info

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Smells Like Teen Spirit

We come of age by walking through a path fraught with curiosity, trauma and precarity.

more info

States of Mind

States of Mind

We may all live in the same world, but we all experience it differently.

more info

Lost and Found

Lost and Found

Despite living in a world filled with billions, we cannot help but feel alone at times.

more info

In Transit

In Transit

The world is far from a static place.

more info

Re-Play

Re-Play

How do we understand life through the recollection of past memories?

more info

Nocturnal

Nocturnal

Nights carry a myriad of possibilities: to come together or embrace solitude, to put one’s thoughts to rest or be kept wide awake.

more info

Meta-versus-me

Meta-versus-me

This section takes us on a marvellous visual journey into the present and future, exploring the relationship between human beings and technology.

more info

International Competition 2

International Competition 2

The best short films from all over the world. These five films have been pre-selected by our programmers to compete for the International Award.

more info

International Competition 1

International Competition 1

The best short films from all over the world. These four films have been pre-selected by our programmers to compete for the International Award.

more info

National Competition

National Competition

Each year, we highlight the best Dutch short films in all their diversity. From fiction to documentary and from animation to experiment, these six films showcase the broad talent and quality of Dutch cinema.

more info

Student Competition

Student Competition

The best and brightest young and upcoming filmmakers from all over the world. These five student films have been pre-selected by our programmers to compete for the Student Award.

more info

Anthropolis

Anthropolis

Identities are built on the streets we live on.

more info

Here and There

Here and There

Where did you come from, where will you go?

more info

Pull Me Closer

Pull Me Closer

As I was stepping back, I found myself moving closer.

more info

The Act of Sound

The Act of Sound

Let the sound dictate your vision.

more info

Shorts for Shorties

Shorts for Shorties

A day of kid-friendly activities with a selection of short films curated exclusively for young children (ages 3 to 10)!

more info

Audience Favorites

Audience Favorites

This session showcases the films that have received the highest ratings from the audience throughout the festival.

more info

Award Winners

Award Winners

The Award winners of all competitions will be shown in one triumphant session.

more info

(Re)framing Desire

(Re)framing Desire

Let’s Talk About Sex.

more info

A History of Violence

A History of Violence

We are shaped by the acts we commit, and those we endure.

more info

Anthropocene

Anthropocene

Is human nature one with nature?

more info

Catharsis

Catharsis

Still Processing...

more info

Doe Normaal | ALMOST SOLD OUT

Doe Normaal | ALMOST SOLD OUT

Being like everyone else is just plain boring.

more info

Drifting Lands

Drifting Lands

We stand simultaneously in the unsettling and the homeland, trying to start a dialogue between them.

more info

Family Ties

Family Ties

Tight-knit families or unravelling thread?

more info

From the Margins

From the Margins

From the shadows ... into the light.

more info

Ghosts of the Past

Ghosts of the Past

The past is the fabric of the present.

more info

Human Capital

Human Capital

What’s the value of human labour?

more info

Kill Your Darlings

Kill Your Darlings

As programmers, sometimes we agree to disagree on each other’s tastes, but these films are not to be missed.

more info

man /'man| n:

man /'man| n:

What does it mean to be a man?

more info

No One is an Island

No One is an Island

The way we live together shapes our individual lives.

more info

P.S. (Post Scriptum)

P.S. (Post Scriptum)

Letters dedicated to the ones we love(d).

more info

Pending Personas

Pending Personas

When our masks crumble, the true self steps forward.

more info

That’s All, Folks

That’s All, Folks

It’s the end of the world as we know it.

more info

The Geography Within Me

The Geography Within Me

People Shaping Places Shaping People.

more info

Under Surveillance

Under Surveillance

Every step you take, I’ll be watching you.

more info

Roots of Acceptance

Roots of Acceptance

Our identity is woven in the tissue of time, shaped by our memories, choices and encounters.

more info

Across the Sea

Across the Sea

How does one develop the sense of belonging to a place? And how does this same place define our own identity?

more info

Student Competition

Student Competition

The best and brightest young and upcoming filmmakers from all over the world. These five student films have been pre-selected by our programmers to compete for the Student Award.

more info

National Competition

National Competition

Each year, we highlight the best Dutch short films in all their diversity. From fiction to documentary and from animation to experiment, these six films showcase the broad talent and quality of Dutch cinema.

more info

International Competition 2

International Competition 2

The best short films from all over the world. These five films have been pre-selected by our programmers to compete for the International Award.

more info

International Competition 1

International Competition 1

The best short films from all over the world. These four films have been pre-selected by our programmers to compete for the International Award.

more info

Audience Favorites

Audience Favorites

This session showcases the films that have received the highest ratings by the audience throughout the festival.

more info

Award Winners

Award Winners

The Award winners of all competitions will be shown in one triumphant session.

more info

Student Competition

Student Competition

These five films have been pre-selected by our programmers to compete for the Student Award.

more info

Shorts @ De Buurt

Shorts @ De Buurt

A selection of short films from this edition of Leiden Shorts. Access to the screening is free, access to De Buurt is €1,50. Seats are limited and registration is required via Eventbrite.

more info

Outdoor Screening

Outdoor Screening

A selection of short films from this edition of Leiden Shorts.

more info

Mapping

Mapping

Maps are far from neutral records of space. The process of mapping is always subjected to a dual representation, tinged with the prejudices of our rendering, and affected by the collective memory of how we record space. [...]

more info

General Competition II

General Competition II

These five films have been pre-selected by our programmers in competition for the General Award. We advise watching this session with "General Competition I", which contains four more films also competing for the General Award.

more info

General Competition I

General Competition I

These five films have been pre-selected by our programmers in competition for the General Award. We advise watching this session with "General Competition II", which contains four more films also competing for the General Award.

more info

Game Over, Reset?

Game Over, Reset?

Could we ever start our lives over as if it were a game?

more info

Dutch Competition

Dutch Competition

These six films have been pre-selected by our programmers and are competing for the Dutch Award.

more info

Experimental @ Old School

Experimental @ Old School

Come and enjoy experimental films in an intimate setting at the smallest cinema room in Old School!

more info

Kill Your Darlings

Kill Your Darlings

As programmers, sometimes we agree to disagree on each other’s tastes, but these films are not to be missed. Content warning: graphic imagery, sexual content, nudity (16+)

more info

D(eco)lonize

D(eco)lonize

Decolonizing Western climate activism starts by decolonizing cinema. The destructive forces of climate change are inherently impartial. [...]

more info

Nostalgia for the Future

Nostalgia for the Future

Nostalgia can dangerously cloud the reality of our climate crisis. Images of wildfires in Australia, floods in Venice, and plastic pollution in the sea are becoming omnipresent. [...]

more info

Dark Ecology

Dark Ecology

“With dark ecology, we can explore all kinds of art forms as ecological” – Timothy Morton, The Ecological Thought Inspired by Timothy Morton’s concept of “dark ecology”, this session attempts to re-define what an ecological film looks like. [...]

more info

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Who controls commodities, who consumes them, who bears the weight of their waste? ‘Reduce, reuse, recycle’ – one of the hallmark phrases of late 20th century environmental activism [...] Content warning: graphic content

more info

Shorts for Shorties

Shorts for Shorties

A session of animated shorts that will make your kids’ imagination soar! Curated exclusively for young children (ages 3 to 10), this session tells a story without the use of language or subtitles. [...]

more info

Doe Normaal

Doe Normaal

Being like everyone else is just plain boring. Experience the bizarre, grotesque, and fantastic through some of our most… eccentric animated shorts. [...]

more info

Heritage

Heritage

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. The relationship between parent and child is anything but simple. Sometimes, the generation gap feels immense. [...]

more info

Performance & Performativity

Performance & Performativity

Isn’t it all just an act? All the world's a stage and we are all in a constant act of performance. [...]

more info

FÅMILY

FÅMILY

It’s hard to build a FÅMILY. Do you need help assembling your FÅMILY unit? [...]

more info

Growing Pains

Growing Pains

Growing up hurts. Coming of age is a universal struggle, but each one of us experiences it differently. [...]

more info

States of Mind

States of Mind

How does our personal experience shape our view of the world? We may all live in the same world, but we all experience it differently. [...]

more info

Rethinking Ethics

Rethinking Ethics

With the great power of filmmaking comes great responsibility. Documentary film presents a variety of challenges for its makers around the ethics and responsibility of representation. [...] Content warning: animals violence, suicide

more info

Cyber-Futurism

Cyber-Futurism

In a galaxy not so far away… As technology encroaches into all aspects of our lives, the separation between human beings and technology becomes increasingly blurred. [...]

more info

How Much Does a Dollar Cost?

How Much Does a Dollar Cost?

The costs of capitalism cannot only be counted in dollars and cents. There are always concealed costs connected to our global economic activity. [...]

more info

Human Capital

Human Capital

Making money requires major compromises. Finding stability in life often comes at a cost, and at times, one’s home, family, and identity may have to be sacrificed. [...]

more info

Body Politics

Body Politics

How do we emancipate the human body from its politicization? In recent years, a wave of revolutions and protests around the world have reminded us that politics is embodied in every aspect of our daily lives. [...]

more info

Movement-Image

Movement-Image

What is the relationship between movement and stasis? Cinema, or the motion-picture, has always been defined by its relationship to movement and time. [...]

more info

Time-Image

Time-Image

How does the stillness of an image become a marker of time? Cinematic time moves differently than lived experience, conjoining the past and the future through the frame. [...]

more info

Metronome

Metronome

Feel the beat. The relationship between sound and image is vital to cinema and plays an essential role in its narratives. [...]

more info

Under Her Skin

Under Her Skin

Girls just want to have fun...damental rights. The embodied reality of a womxn is constantly being affected by the gaze of society. [...] Content warning: graphic images

more info