A white lie never hurt anyone, right? What happens when we confront conspiracy and face the harsh truths of our world versus our self-crafted narratives? This collection of shorts examines the realities we create, from a dating app mishap to a young woman's struggle with her mother's sudden disappearance. A barber uncovers a local politician's transformation into a donkey, while a struggling artist fakes being a famous photographer. This programme challenges our perception of reality and unearths the myriad of lies weave for ourselves and others

Programmers: Becca Selby, Camilla Baier, Varun Raman

Runtime: 96 Minutes

Hippopotami JJ Lin China / Hong Kong 13 min A quirky girl’s desire to see a hippopotamus leads her on a transformative journey that will forever change her perspective on life. [Content Warnings: Sexual innuendo]

The Death of a Hero Karin Franz Körlof Sweden 14 min A young man from a small town attempts a headstand atop his local church, before falling and dying; at least he’s getting paid! [Content Warnings: Some strong language]

Route 310 Julia Mervis UK 8 min A documentary filmmaker takes a deep dive into the latest hot topic: the new 'Jewish' bus route in London. [Content Warnings: Some strong language]

Someone Special Alice Gervat France 7 min To impress her dating app match, Lisa pretends to be fluent in Vietnamese but quickly finds herself in over her head.

My Mother is a Cow Moara Passoni Brazil 15 min Left in the burning Pantanal, a girl longs for her mother’s love while finding unexpected tenderness within a landscape that is both threatened and threatening. [Content Warnings: Blood]

Party Animal Ali Gill UK 13 min A dispirited barber is tormented by the discovery that a beloved local Politician is turning into a donkey.

The Man In The Rectangle Ali Heraize Canada 26 min An underachieving Vancouver actor adopts the AI-generated persona of a famous photographer to lead a workshop on staged reality.