WHERE FIREFLIES SPARKLE © Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema
La Cinef Selection 2026 : Programme 1
For its 29th edition La Cinef has selected 14 live-action and 5 animated shorts from among the 2,750 sent by film schools all over the world.
Films screened as part of Programme 1
Tuesday, May 19th – 2:30pm – Buñuel Theatre
ONDE NASCEM OS PIRILAMPOS
(WHERE FIREFLIES SPARKLE)
Clara VIEIRA
ESTC – Portugal – 18′
A group of teenagers gathers for a camping trip. While two of them try to define their romantic relationship, they are surprised by a swarm of fireflies that leads them deep into the forest.
SILENT VOICES
Nadine Misong JIN
Columbia University – United States – 17′
In New York, a Korean immigrant family of four leads separate lives, each facing moments of defeat in their daily existence. As they navigate complexities of survival and disconnection, they hide their wounds from one another.
TRAKCJE (AXLES)
Jakub KRZYSZPIN
The Polish National Film School in Łódź – Poland – 7′
On a speeding train, a man loses his ticket. As he tries to get it back, he falls into a spiral of obsessive searching, where deforming space drags him into an unsettling journey.
LEFT BEHIND, STILL STANDING
Vida SKERK
NFTS – United Kingdom – 22′
When the steel factory she’s working to dismantle comes back to life one night, immigrant Morana must face the fragility of her own existence – and how much she truly has in common with the laid-off workers.
LASER-GATO
Lucas ACHER
NYU – United States, Brazil, United Kingdom – 22′
After a laser pointer prank goes horribly wrong, a socially anxious teenager spends one chaotic night roaming São Paulo to save his crush’s critically injured cat, as guilt and paranoia push him toward a breaking point.
