Genre: Coming of Age
Blind Sighted [short film]
Mitch, Jaden, and Stevie, three young students with visual impairments who attend the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind, detail common misconceptions and their struggles for accurate representation.
The Brink of Dreams (Rafaat einy ll sama)
A group of Egyptian girls form a street theater troupe as both a creative outlet and an act of defiance. But dreams eventually collide with reality.
Fishbowl [short film]
An unlikely pair in their late twenties spend a summer weekend chasing their early twenties. They do their best to act as young as they feel by dining and dashing, getting high, and trash-talking their exes— all while watching a goldfish they’ve been hired to keep alive.
Hanami
When a young girl falls ill with a strange fever, she is sent to the foot of her island’s volcano, where she encounters a surreal world between dreams and reality.
I Can No Longer See [short film]
A self-portrait of trauma, dilemma, objectification, and relief told through a collection of experimental shorts.
The Kingdom (Le Royaume)
A teenager’s bond with her outlaw father is tested during a hot Coriscan summer in this heart-pounding coming-of-age thriller.
Lana [short film]
As Lana grapples with finding her own voice while living under the roof of a strict parent, her real-world responsibilities get heavier. With her father’s immigration status under increasing scrutiny, she’s forced to imagine a new view of her family and herself.
Listen to the Voices (Kouté vwa)
Melrick, 13, summers with his grandmother in French Guiana. After discovering his family’s tragic past, he searches for ways to connect to his history.
Memoir of a Snail
In this unique stop-motion animation, a melancholy misfit recounts the tragic but beautiful tale of her life to her pet snails.
My Sunshine
Coached by a former skating champion, two school children train as an ice dancing duo and navigate a blossoming bond in this gentle coming-of-age tale.
Nickel Boys
Based on the award-winning novel, the film chronicles the powerful friendship between two Black teenagers navigating the harrowing trials of a reform school in Florida.
Nobody Knows (2004) (Daremo shiranai)
When their mother disappears, a young boy and his three siblings must figure out how to get by on their own in this at once heartfelt and heartbreaking drama.
Párvulos
Young brothers hiding a dark and disturbing secret in their basement fight for survival in a post-apocalyptic world.
Passarinho [short film]
Two teenage best friends devise an expert plan to meet their dreamy idol, a superstar Brazilian soccer player. But things change when one of them gets their first period at the game in this deeply relatable and utterly charming coming-of-age story.
Rita
Seen through the eyes of 7-year-old Rita, a mother (Paz Vega) struggles to protect her children in this poignant look at innocence and violence in the home.
Space Coast [short film]
A group of friends come to terms with the end of childhood in a dying tourist town home to the former space program.
Stero [short film]
Bruce is in elementary school, and starting to trust his own instincts over the lessons instilled in him by teachers and authority figures. Using the guiding voice of his own personal superhero, he puts his bravery to the test and defies his school in the name of self-respect.
Teen Girl Fantasy [short film]
A poetic march through the cultural archive of teen girlhood, this film stitches together disparate found footage into an imagined narrative where girls navigate threatening forces, challenge complex expectations, clock the adults, and wage small rebellions.
The Time It Takes (Il tempo che ci vuole)
A filmmaker immerses his daughter in the magic of cinema, where chaos meets fantasy. This creates a deep bond that will sustain them through good and bad.
Toxic (Akiplėša)
In a small industrial town, two 13-year-old girls enroll in a modeling school where they are confronted with extreme, impossible beauty standards.
Transplant
Whiplash meets Grey’s Anatomy in this intense psychological drama about an ambitious Korean-American resident training under a notorious heart surgeon.
Trying [short film] (Estamos tentando)
Down on her luck after an exhaustive job search, Luna returns to the home of her childhood friend following another failed interview. They commiserate over wine, working to re-establish their relationship as young adults navigating São Paulo, Brazil.