35th Curta Cinema Festival Starts This Wednesday, March 25th

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The 35th annual Curta Cinema Festival, featuring over 130 films from 33 countries and 15 Brazilian states, will take place in Rio de Janeiro from March 25 to April 1 at Estacao Net Rio. Admission is free. The festival includes competitive shows, panoramas, school sessions, and filmmaker debates. The festival will showcase a mix of competitive shows and panoramas encompassing diverse languages, formats, and themes. Screenings will also be held in public schools. Films address themes such as identity, environment, collective memory, and city life, with selections having appeared at Cannes, Berlin, Locarno, and Venice. The festival also provides opportunities for filmmaker discussions and explorations of short film genres, from documentary to animation. Films from Amazonas, Pernambuco, Goias, Minas Gerais, and Rio Grande do Sul, among others, will represent Brazilian regional cinema. The opening night program on March 25 at 8 PM will include: Um Certain Cinema Brasileiro by Fabio Rogerio Vulto Sagrado by Daniel Caetano O Rio de Janeiro Continua Lindo by Felipe Casanova Defloradas by Luisa Reis La Mar by Jean Chapiro Uziel These films explore memory, politics, archives, and experimentation.

The festival’s program includes national and international competitions, Primeros Quadros (for new filmmakers), Rio Carioca and Latin American panoramas, and the Interzona Midnight program for horror fans. Curta Cinema, established in 1991, is a leading Latin American short film festival, and winning films may qualify for Oscar consideration. Accessible sessions will be held March 28–29 at 10 AM in Room 5 of Estacao Net Rio. A special program, the Memory Revelation Show, will be presented at Galpao Bela Mare in Mare. It will feature shorts that explore Brazilian memory, culture, and traditions. The program includes: Cordoes E Sinos De Alemmar (MG) by Yuji Martins Kodato and Jeremias Brasileiro Danca Aos Orixas (SP) by Gustavo Mcnair Madeira Viva (SP) by Gabriel Villasboas Discoterra (RJ) by Gustavo Aquino Dos Reis, Daniel Wierman, and Arnaldo Robles These films examine Afro-Brazilian spirituality, cultural practices, and the connection between music, territory, and identity.

While We Listen to the PlayersForLife Fall by Santiago Gomez Ramirez (2026, Colombia) – 22 min. Brute Force by Felix Lenz and Ganael Dumreicher (2025, Austria) – 30 min. Hunters of Uranium by Davide Palella (2025, Italy) – 19 min. Cetiri by Dea Jagic (2025, Croatia) – 7 min. Darias Night Flowers by Maryam Tafakory (2015, Iran/France/United Kingdom) – 16 min. An Accident by Angelika Spangel (2026, Austria) – 30 min. Faux Bijoux by Jessy Moussallem (2026, France/Lebanon) – 22 min. Kentucky Gaza by Omar Rammal (2025, Jordan) – 22 min. Klonter by Levi Stoops (2025, Belgium) – 15 min. Kosmogonia by Karolina Chabier (2025, France) – 16 min. The Fish Do Not Drown by Lea Vidotto Labastie (2025, Cuba) – 18 min. Loynes by Dorian Jespers (2025, Belgium) – 25 min. Merrimundi by Niles Atallah (2025, Chile) – 21 min. Murmurations by Xavier Marrades (2025, Spain) – 22 min. Neither God Nor Father by Paul Kermarec (2026, France) – 12 min. Noi by Neritan Zinxhiria (2025, Greece) – 15 min. Black Mornings by David Gonseth (2025, Switzerland) – 18 min. NUuyii (Earth) by Itandehui Jansen (2026, Mexico) – 11 min. Paradise by Matea Radic (2025, Canada) – 10 min.

Ploo by Jon Frickey (2025, Germany) – 15 min. Radiant Frost by Hannah Schierbeek (2026) – 19 min. Slet by Marta Popivoda (2025, Serbia) – 22 min. Ugh by Yuan Scarlett Wang (2025, China) – 14 min. When The Tiger Roars by Lam Canzhao (2025, China) – 15 min. Widespread by Paz Bernstein (2026, Israel) – 10 min. Yuragim by Kirill Komar and Varia Garib (2026, Austria/Uzbekistan) – 19 min. A Ship That Never Lands by Ellen Morais (2025) – 15 min. I Think I Live a Constant Longing by Bruna Simoes (2026, Brazil) – 19 min. Blue by Luisa Pinheiros (2026, Brazil) – 20 min. Cilene and the Sea by Giulia Nunes Boccaletti (2025, Brazil) – 19 min. Five, Six, Seven, Eight by Louise Willner (2025) – 11 min. Back to Earth by Rafael Barreto Falcao (2025, Brazil) – 15 min. Inside by Leandro Luiz De Abreu Pimentel (2025, Goias, Brazil) – 15 min. I Return to Find You by Roger Bravo (Sao Paulo, Brazil) – 15 min. Restless by Thaina Morais (2025) – 13 min. Janete by Rebecca Cerqueira (2025, Bahia) – 14 min.

Less Than a Day by Joao Guesser and Paula Samuel (2025, RJ) – 15 min. Mundinho by Lucio Lima (2026, RJ) – 20 min. Ba O Ursos and Us by Maria Acselrad (2026) – 17 min. For Not to Be Taken by Any Wind by Eleonora Loner (2026) – 8 min. For What It Was by Julia Leite, Luis Eduardo Fanzeres Vieira, Marcela Lesniczki, and Rafael Grieco Sabioni (2025) – 9 min. Pequeno B by Lucas Borges (2025, RJ) – 14 min. Your Emptiness in Me by Gabriel Joia (2025, MG) – 15 min. Your Babies by Leticia Bianco (2025) – 19 min. Thayara by Mila Leao (2025) – 15 min. Trincheiras by Lucas Da Rocha and Maria Clara Almeida (2025, PT) – 17 min. Entreaberta by Mateus Compart (2025) – 9 min. Alvorada by Igor Barradas (2026) – 17 min. Anguish by Luiz Antonio Soares (2026) – 23 min. Shopping by Luiz Guilherme Assis (2026) – 15 min. Mouth by Giuliana Zamprogno (2026) – 15 min. Counterpoint by Gabriel Belchior (2026) – 14 min. Fono by Masina Pinheiro and Gal Cipreste (2025, RJ) – 16 min. Gira by Maiara Libano (2025) – 19 min.

Poeira by Mateus Lana (2026, RJ) – 21 min. Versos Da Rua by Marcos Roza De Souza, Lucas Henrique Rossi, and Kaue Benedito (2026, RJ) – 16 min. Vigia Da Noite by David Yale Meyers (2026, RJ) – 26 min. Agua Fria by Meme Cabello and Antonia Martinez Valls (2025, RJ) – 18 min. Agua Y Acero by Grethel Nuez Curbelo (2025) – 18 min. Anba Dlo by Luiza Calagian and Rosa Caldeira (2025, Brazil/Cuba/Haiti) – 18 min. Boi Romeiro by Milena Andrade Rocha (2025, Brazil) – 20 min. Cagueyro by Manu Rosas (2025, Cuba) – 13 min. Caldeirao by Bruno Fernandes (2025, Brazil) – 14 min. Coeur Bleu by Samuel Suffren (2025, Haiti) – 16 min. Dead Tongue by Jose Jimenez (2025, Chile) – 25 min. Documentos Para El Fin Del Mundo by Henrique Buzachero (2025, Argentina/Brazil) – 7 min. El Mal De Ojo by Fernanda Arbiol Aranda (2025, Chile) – 20 min. Futura Licenciada by Samantha Copano and Florencia Pena (2025, Chile) – 14 min. Kanekalon by Sara J. Asprilla (2025, Colombia) – 13 min. The Subtle Feeling of Breakthrough by Dante Calissano (Argentina) – 11 min. Mucambo by Juliana Oliveira (Brazil) – 25 min.

Frequently Asked Questions by Sofia Salinas Barrera (Colombia) – 15 min. What Can Be Done Instead of Drugging Oneself by Sebastian Muro (Argentina) – 13 min. Rosa dos Ventos by Laura Paro (Brazil) – 15 min. Serra Pelada – The Land Is Not of Men by Babi Fontana and Victor Costa (Brazil) – 20 min. Theyre Still Looking For You by Diego Andres Andres Murillo (USA) – 15 min. Mata Gato by Andre Cunha (Brazil, AM) – 24 min. The New Body by Luciana Malavasi (Brazil, SP) – 21 min. Speaks Italian by Rastriciha Dorneles and Caim Pacheco Do Nascimento (Brazil, RJ) – 15 min. Pqp by Pedro Ludwig Marcial (Brazil, RJ) – 8 min. Try Your Luck by Guenia Lemos (Brazil, PR) – 19 min. Night Vigil by Diego Robert (Brazil, GO) – 5 min. Cords and Bells from Over the Sea by Yuji Martins Kodato and Jeremias Brasileiro (Brazil, MG) – 20 min. Dance to the Orixas by Gustavo Mcnair (Brazil, SP) – 15 min. Discoterra by Gustavo Aquino dos Reis, Daniel Wierman, and Arnaldo Robles (2025, RJ) – 25 min. Madeira Viva by Gabriel VillasBoas (2025) – 20 min.

Critically Acclaimed Shorts at 35th Curta Cinema Festival – New Additions and Running Times

Le Petit Et Le Geant by Isabela Costa (2025, Brazil/France) – 9 min. Medo Monstro by Andrew Gledson and Eduardo Padrao (2025, PE) – 10 min. Not is About Pastries by Tiago Ribeiro de Carvalho (2025, MG) – 10 min. Pela Agua, Sempre by Douglas de Magalhaes Ferreira and Juraci Oliveira Campos Junior (2025, AC) – 9 min. The Sky Was Candy by Anh Tu Nguyen (2025, Germany) – 3 min. Zacimba Gaba: A Princess of Cabinda by Thiago Fernandes Coelho (2025) – 6 min. With its diverse program and commitment to showcasing emerging talent, the 35th Curta Cinema Festival promises to be a significant event for film enthusiasts and industry professionals alike.