Plankton
А new programme of experimental short films
The floating particles plankton are mostly invisible to the human eye. Although tiny and inconspicuous, they are teeming with life for countless creatures. Just as plankton often remains hidden from view, so too do experimental forms of moving images which often remain out of sight — stifled by the lack of space for bolder expressions. Nevertheless, experimentation continues to be a source not only of inspiration for many artists, but also as food for aesthetic and political reflection.
That is why we created the Plankton programme — a platform dedicated to contemporary short films that blur genre boundaries and explore new visual and narrative approaches to highlight current issues. Experimentation with form and the application of new means of expression have always been a hallmark of a vibrant cultural ecosystem – one that questions established modes of expression and creates its own means of telling the story of its time.
*All films from the Plankton selection will be screened with Bulgarian and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing (SDH)
The Plankton programme is implemented with the financial support of the European Union through the NextGenerationEU investment instrument BG-RRP-11.016-0049.
Plankton 1
14.07, 21:30, FLUCA (next to Expo Center Flora)
I Would Rather Be a Stone
Radije bih bila kamen
Ana Hušman, 2024, 24′
Croatia
Through the voice of Little Jela, the film tells the story of the events that marked a generation and shaped the future of the landscape of Lika, a neglected and sparsely populated region of Croatia. The living conditions impacted on the personal lives of the people who lived there, their solitude, relationships, opportunities, apprehensions and hopes. Little Jela embodies several members of my own family which is predominantly composed of women – mothers, grandmothers, sisters and aunts.
I Want to Know What Love Is
Hanna Järgenstedt, 2024, 6′
Sweden
A road movie about Hanna, who seems to be having real good vibes with a hot DJ-guy in Berlin and is heading down to his gig, but misses the train, leading to an unwanted road trip. Will Hanna and dj___snorksenzation__000 become an official couple tonight? What’s cool and who´s not? Are all middle-aged men perverts?
The Mirage of Ultra Realistic Hands
Le mirage des mains ultra réalistes
Guillaume Vallée, 2024, 14′
Canada
The film delves into the intricate dynamics of male friendship. Through its analog narration, the work portrays the power struggles that take root in adolescence. The recurring motif of the hand explores the gestures intertwined with group relations: the hand that touches, caresses, grasps, manipulates, or strikes. These actions elicit the coexistence of affection and control, the sense of belonging, and the craving for validation. This film offers a glimpse into the ambivalence and paradoxes inherent in group masculinity.
for here am i sitting in a tin can far above the world
Gala Hernández López, 2024, 19′
France
A woman dreams of the American cryptographer Hal Finney. A major economic crisis affects the cryptocurrency market. Are we suspended or falling into the void? What strange relationship do we have with the future?
Grandmamauntsistercat
Zuza Banasińska, 2024, 23′
Poland
The film uses archives from communist Poland, originally created for propaganda purposes, but now reused as auto-fictional memories. Baba Yaga is reimagined as a prehistoric goddess, and the women in the archive overturn stereotypes in their search for identity and freedom.
Adrift Potentials
Potenciais à deriva
Leonardo Pirondi, 2024, 11′
Brazil, USA
A pseudo-diary in film format, composed of found footage from an unfinished 16mm project. Created by a Brazilian artist in exile in Los Angeles, the film combines disembodied interviews, empty rooms, radio recordings and football matches. The fragments reveal a mysterious narrative that paranoidly reflects on Brazil’s colonial past, American imperialism, and the military dictatorship.
Plankton 2
16.07, 16:00, Cultural Centre NHK
The Exploding Girl
La fille qui explose
Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel, 2024, 19′
France
For the past three months, Candice has been exploding every day. Sometimes even 2 or 3 times a day. Her record is seven times. She currently has 192 explosions.
Portals
Portales
Elena Duque, 2025, 16′
Spain
Portales follows the course of the Guadalete river in Cádiz, Spain, from the mountains to the sea: a catalog of landscapes that hide another landscapes, a collection of interdimensional portals (and postcards) that fuses live action and animation creating an impossible fauna and flora, another history and geography for a modest watercourse.
Quadrant
Slava Doycheva, 2023, 8′
Switzerland, Bulgaria
A male doctor examines a woman’s breasts. Another woman, the filmmaker, dissects the footage and thus herself.
Exit Through the Cuckoo’s Nest
Izlaz kroz ludaru
Nikola Ilić 2024, 19′
Switzerland, Serbia
This essayistic personal short film tells the story of a soldier who never wanted to be one. Choosing never to pull the trigger, his defiance leads to military prison.
Hun Tun
Magdalena Hejzlarová, 2024, 14′
Czech Republic
A young woman measures her strength against the king of chaos himself. The more she wants to win, the less she succeeds. Through a mythological story, the author looks back to the time when she discovered that there are things in life she will never control.
The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing
Theo Panagopoulos, 2024, 17′
United Kingdom
When a filmmaker of Palestinian descent based in Scotland unearths a rarely-seen Scottish film archive of Palestinian wildflowers, he decides to reclaim the footage. This tender film essay questions the role of image-making as a tool of both testimony and violence when connected to entanglements between people and the land.