Through the Hawthorn

Director: Tatiana Collet Apraxine

Year: 2028

You awaken on a fog-shrouded shoreline and meet Echo, a strange child with a hole in their stomach. Together you cross a lantern festival where the veil between worlds is thinnest, sail into an ocean that opens beneath you, and descend through a portal into the Underworld. The Underworld moves through different facets of grief: a rave where silhouettes dance in slow motion, indifferent to Echo's attempts to reach them; a frozen sea where giant statues crack open to release a buried memory of a lost mother; a shadow theatre where an anger monster is unleashed, reducing everything to embers. From the embers, a boat carries you into a vast darkness, where Mother appears, and they are finally reunited. You sail together to the Tree of Life, a bioluminescent, cosmic jungle. Echo begs her to return to the World of the Living, but ancestors appear and surround you. She cannot come back - the journey was never about bringing her back. Echo, revealed to be your own child self, dissolves around you as the hole fills with light.

Director: Trim Lamba

Year:

After buying a second-hand iPhone, a man discovers it’s filled with notes and doodles that reveal a disturbing portrait of its former owner. Official Selection London Short Film Festival 2026

Director: Ka Ki Wong

Year: 2026

In present-day Taipei, Tao develops unexplainable affectionate feelings for Shin, an indifferent guy. Desperate to create lasting memories, she sends people to beat him up, using pain as a twisted form of connection. Meanwhile, Melih, having left Istanbul for Taipei, owns a noodle shop. One night, he receives an unexpected flower from the perpetually drunk Ping. Melih begins to stare into the flower from time to time, experiencing the tale of Tao and Shin and revealing his own unspoken desire and failed attempts to connect with Ping. As Melih digs deeper into the tale, he confronts his struggles to form meaningful relationships. His struggle gradually mirrors Tao’s struggle with Shin. As Tao grows closer to Shin, Shin vanishes, leaving Tao to realize that these recollections, retained only by her, might be mere figments of imagination. Tao’s tale then makes Melih question if it’s better to forget everything, as he contemplates whether letting go of solitary memories might finally bring him peace. Official selection CPH:DOX Copenhagen International Documentary Festival 2026 - Next:Wave Competition (World Premiere)