Bursting at the Seams

Thrown together under incredible circumstances, two strangers must discover courage and strength when they begin a journey across the treacherous African desert! Equipped only with their wits and the expertise of a native bushman who befriends them, they are determined to triumph over impossible odds and reach their destination. But along the way, the trio face a primitive desert wilderness.

For 13-year-old Kaitlyn, her world threatens to collapse when she learns that her parents want to get a divorce, especially because it threatens the loss of the house they shared in Portland, which had always been Kaitlyn's home. The teenage girl has dark thoughts and lost interest in life. The breeding pigeons given to her by her mother's police colleague don't make things any better. What should she do with the birds? Then her best friend Adam gives her an idea: they could steal the very valuable racing pigeon named Granger from the local breeder Jaan Vari, sell it and use the proceeds to pay off the mortgage on her family's home. The plan initially works, but then everything seems to go wrong and Kaitlyn loses her footing even more. But surprisingly, the old man who was robbed takes care of the girl and a bond develops between the two, which ultimately leads her to a new outlook on life.

Vanessa is back in her hometown for the summer after moving away for college. Things get complicated when her friendship with Claire turns into a summer fling.

As she starts seventh grade, Amelia (12) faces new insecurities and social norms. To fit in, she tears away parts of herself, until they take shape as a creature that forces her to confront everything she tried to leave behind.

In early 1990s Spain, eleven-year-old Celia lives with her mother and studies at a convent school in Zaragoza. When Brisa, a confident new classmate from Barcelona, arrives, Celia is drawn into a world that challenges the strict religious teachings and sheltered life she has known. Their friendship pushes her to confront hidden truths at home and the uncertainties of adolescence, leading her to explore questions of identity, independence, and belonging.

The 12-year old Dolores, a feisty preteen desperate to be seen as a grown-up in 1976 suburbia is on her humiliating, hilarious journey from girlhood to growing up. She fantasizes about sex, womanhood, work... and Freddie Prinze. The girl thinks she's got the lowdown on being a woman, but when her overworked single mom Janice hires Cleo to babysit her world collides with the super cool black 16-year old's, each learns painful truths about what it really means to grow up.

Nina and her two friends share trepidations and desires, amid adolescent games and self-discovery. As the girls engage in ever new challenges, Nina immerses herself in her own hesitations.

Norstein conquered the world 36 years ago with the creation of the legendary Hedgehog in the Fog. It was recognized as the best cartoon of all times and peoples according to a survey of film critics and animators from different countries.

A young girl is approaching the end of a cycle, when she gets a visit from a goddess named Norn. Unaware of Norn's intentions, the girl is very excited to create a deep and intimate friendship with her. Until Norn tells her the truth.

Inspired by true experiences of grief, girlhood, and growing up, Jessie Barr’s SOPHIE JONES provides a stirring portrait of a sixteen-year-old. Stunned by the untimely death of her mother and struggling with the myriad challenges of teendom, Sophie (played with striking immediacy by the director’s cousin Jessica Barr) tries everything she can to feel something again, while holding herself together, in this sensitive, acutely realized, and utterly relatable coming-of-age story.

A portrayal of girlhood through the eyes of an average teenage girl.

Two girls share a room at the university and soon discover that living together is much more difficult than they thought.

A film about the importance of memories.

Reyhan, raised in a religious family, arrives to spend her summer holidays at her grandmother Ummu's house in a conservative central Anatolian village, accompanied by her mother Hatice, and her 6 year old brother Mehmet. The 13 year old is gripped by a state of inner turmoil. She has just had her first period and dreads the consequences of being unable to perform the required religious rites. Reyhan's concerns mount after she finds out the water supply at her grandmother's village house is cut off. She is desperate to find a way to perform the required religious ablution rites, which she has always been told will protect her from attacks by djinns and facial disfiguration. She starts having nightmares. At the same time, Reyhan is also determined to help Şükran, her best friend in the village.

MORENA tells the uplifting story of the Philippine National Surf Athlete Ikit Agudo, who overcame the pressure to blend into a society obsessed with skin whitening. Within the ocean, she found happiness, strength, and pride in her roots. Inspiring young girls around the world to embrace who they truly are. In the Philippines, skin-whitening remains a billion-peso industry, a legacy of colonial beauty ideals that for generations have led many to neglect their true identity and natural beauty.

Following the arrival of an unwanted guest, the tightly-knit bond between two sisters is put to the test when their idyllic playdate takes a dark turn. Supported by The Future of Film is Female, ALBION ROSE is a late bloomer's coming-of-age drama with hints of magical realism and dark fairytale elements that paint a delicate, yet emotionally charged portrait of sisterhood, loss, and the healing powers of fantasy.

By the mid-1980s, the fabled animation studios of Walt Disney had fallen on hard times. The artists were polarized between newcomers hungry to innovate and old timers not yet ready to relinquish control. These conditions produced a series of box-office flops and pessimistic forecasts: maybe the best days of animation were over. Maybe the public didn't care. Only a miracle or a magic spell could produce a happy ending. Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairy tale. It's the true story of how Disney regained its magic with a staggering output of hits - "Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast ," "Aladdin," "The Lion King," and more - over a 10-year period.

Kang Aries and Kang Oca are two cultural observers of Kujang who try to provide a justification perspective on the Kujang Philosophy made by one of the blacksmiths named Abah Jajang, where the general public often considers that Kujang is a sharp weapon. The two of them "Kang Aris & Kang Oca" entered the realm of the trial to defend the essence of Kujang, so as not to be considered misunderstood by the general public.

“Sweet Spot” is an experimental animated short film that uninhibitedly explores the dialog between the work and its authors, Jorge Ribeiro and Paulo Patrício, whose points of view and creative approaches, both in terms of cinematographic language and ways of being, are quite different. Through this duality, and starting from a shared but at the same time individual process, the directors seek to understand at what point the short film they are making together reaches its “sweet spot”. In other words, the ideal point at which the work is considered finished.

Jagoda and Zuzia giggle in the opening scenes in the way that only 11-year-old girls can. Together they are the center of their own changing world. On the face of it, not much happens in the lives of these Polish best friends, but big changes are on the way. The end of primary school is in sight, and the girls are impatiently awaiting first love, budding breasts and first periods.