Sometimes separation is inevitable. Despite love and enthusiasm. The films in this programme may not have made it into this year’s competition, but they have found their way into the hearts of many a delighted team member. And as true fans, they want to see their favourites on the big screen. That’s what Kill Your Darlings – a programme that enjoys cult status at Kurzfilmtage – is for. Showing films that other selection committees couldn’t handle, this programme does not shy away from daring experiments or obscure storylines. The orgy of images is ready – are you?
3 Girls
Stefan Möckel / Germany 2025 / 1'13" / colour / English / Fic
The story of three sisters based on the Grimm fairy tale «The Three Brothers».
Chicken and Duck
Fei Fan / China 2026 / 15' / colour / Chinese / Ani
A long, long time ago, in a distant desert covered in red dust, the rain was not water but falling grains of crimson sand. From a mountain of ruins grew the fragile life of the animals who lived there – among them a sad duck who cried day and night. One day, she encountered a chicken dancing in an inexplicably strange way. For reasons they could not name, the two fell in love and found joy beyond words in a world without language.
Plastic Sun
Inkar Maxut / Kazakhstan 2025 / 2'11" / colour / Kazakh / Fic
A shackled man in search of water crawls through a dead limbo desert created to redeem his sins.
Todas as vezes que demos tchau
Breno Alvarenga / Brazil 2026 / 8' / colour / Portuguese / Ani/Fic
A man reflects on his insecurities, traumas, and sexuality while recalling a relationship with a younger man.
Acid City
Jack Wedge/Will Freudenheim / USA 2026 / 12'30" / colour / English / Ani
«Acid City» is a documentary about a fictional city in the middle of a great acidic ocean. The film follows a film crew over the course of one day, as they interview and document what life is like in the isolated city. «Acid City» is composed of real interviews conducted across NYC, with subjects ranging from regular people on the street to water scientists and emergency responders, as well as invented characters. The film is an exploration of the city's resilient and self-sufficient nature, as well as its relationship to water and extreme heat, through both a practical and spiritual lens.
Procrastination Yoga
Paulina Martyna Ziolkowska / Germany 2026 / 7'30" / colour / English / Ani
A few exercises to procrastinate better, faster, and more efficiently.
City of Owls
Zhenia Kazankina / Germany 2026 / 13'51" / colour / Russian / Fic
On the last evening before her departure, Vera is putting her little sister to bed. To hide the real reason for her leaving, she tells her a bedtime fairy tale instead. It's the story of a city swallowed by an eternal night.
Misophonia
Michelle Gruppetta / Malta 2025 / 2'50" / colour / no dialogue / Ani
«Misophonia» is a risograph animation designed to unsettle an audience through combined sounds and visuals. This project is inspired by an aural disorder and intends to distress the audience with a soundscape composed of triggering noises and accompanying visuals through risograph animation. In an era where individuals, especially in Malta, are constantly bombarded by excessive noise pollution that infringes on their personal space and peace, this project highlights that even the most innocuous sounds can have an effect on people, more than we might ever realize.
Mothers Are Mothering
Li Shuen Lam/Khozy Rizal / Indonesia 2026 / 17' / colour / Indonesian / Fic
In an abusive marriage, 50-year-old Nia navigates a fragmented inner world where desire, memory, and ritual intertwine. A reunion with a former lover reawakens intimacy but exposes the persistence of violence and entrapment. As reality dissolves into hallucination and myth, she reaches for a final, elusive escape.
