2025 is the Year of the Serpent – symbolizing the shedding of old skin, transformation, and new beginnings. But what lies beneath those discarded layers? Butterfly wings or fish scales? In this section, you'll enter stories of friends whose bodies begin to shift with puberty, and witness the unexpected transformation of a Minotaur that fractures the binary. From coming-of-age to body horror, these tales push the boundaries of physicality, love, and life itself.
Slovak and English subtitles.
Introduction in English by curators Ema Nemčovičová and Jakub Spevák.
Inseparable best friends spend their last summer holiday of childhood amusing themselves around the house. As summer progresses their bodies start to morph and shift and an awkwardness descends on their friendship. Puberty seems determined to interrupt their bond.
Exploration of masculinity begins with the Minotaur, a mythical creature Picasso used to portray himself in his etching print series. The Minotaur goes through a violent struggle between being male and female. Finally, lines blur and boundaries of sexes disappear.
A lonesome xylophone player finds a viciously growing tumor under his arm. In his attempts to get rid of the tumor he discovers that it has some unconventional qualities.
Carol panics after Ray’s sudden proposal, and things spiral when she wakes in an apocalyptic world — where Ray has turned into a butterfly. As reality unravels and tensions rise, Carol fears losing her… but loving someone fully might come at a cost.
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The film explores growing anger and frustration in a heroine who loses control. Through animation, it depicts suppressed rage and imagined violence, reflecting intense emotions. The style uses organic lines and expressive color, with natural sounds heightening the emotional impact.
The animated short is about anxiety as a consequence of expanding consciousness through the implantation of new media.
Fish Boy, a half-boy, half-fish teenager, struggles with rejection in a fishing village. His father wants him to become a fisherman, but his differences create tension in relationships, leading to a deeper internal conflict.
"Hélène, 40 years old, comes to visit her aging mother in the french countryside. But her mother isn't being her usual self. She seems to have formed a strange bond with the plants, insects, and the old oak tree at the end of her garden..."