Escapismo

Inundated by the relentless, breakneck pace of Seoul, a weary woman seeks to anesthetize her misery with alcohol and partying. Longing to break free, she will have to take a leap of faith to find solace and serenity.

James Gillespie is 12 years old. The world he knew is changing. Haunted by a secret, he has become a stranger in his own family. He is drawn to the canal where he creates a world of his own. He finds an awkward tenderness with Margaret Anne, a vulnerable 14 year old expressing a need for love in all the wrong ways, and befriends Kenny, who possesses an unusual innocence in spite of the harsh surroundings.

When the time comes, Masayuki confronts oblivion with the help of a mysterious stranger. Aimlessly wandering the streets, drinking and gambling alone, Masayuki passes through each night without purpose. Until he meets a stranger, who will free him at last.

Every morning is the same morning: the alarm, then breakfast, then shower… And every morning the same desire, the same wish to break with everything for once. Today, everything is still the same but something has changed inside. Today may be the day.

An isolated young black man who leaves reality behind to become a giant Octopus.

An aging Southern Belle complicates life for her ambitious son and crippled daughter because of her own warped views of what life should be.

Torn between the desire to protect his little brother in a violent world and the longing for the utopia of a queer community, Hector (23) embarks on a journey between reality and fantasy to reflect on his own experience of violence and to find closeness to his brother again.

Suffering from addiction and homelessness, Abigail wanders the city on a cold winter late afternoon, suffering withdrawal, slipping in and out of hallucinations and dreams as the cold sets in.

In late-90s suburbia, a lonely teenager meets a girl at school who introduces him to a mysterious late-night T.V. show — a vision of a supernatural world pulsing beneath their own. As time goes on, however, questions begin to arise about why the show sometimes seems more real than their own lives. In the pale glow of the television, their view of reality begins to crack.

The members of a reading group exchange cultural and literary references with such vigor that there’s little room for anything else: an attempt to leave the modern world behind or merely their own solitary existences?

A young woman battles depression as her husband avoids both his and her issues.

A young girl runs away from her home, her parents' incessant fighting, and everything she’s ever known. Accompanied by her best friend, Alma, and her favorite stuffed animal, Bunny, Ellamia sets out to find a new home in the woods. Here is where she meets two very unlikely beings, Oren and Malka, woodland fairies who show her what love looks like and make her feel seen and safe.

Rohan, a young man, returns home to a bustling household in preparation for his birthday party. As the family gets caught up in the chaos of the occasion, tensions rise and arguments erupt. Feeling overwhelmed, Rohan seeks refuge in his room, only to find himself transported to a parallel universe. Here he meets Zoneout, a formidable entity who provides him with valuable insights into his predicament.

“The Moon Is Essentially Gray” is a 3-minute CG animated short about a young child, her makeshift rocket, and her fantastic flight to the moon. The film explores the role escapism plays in the lives of children who suffer some form of neglect or abandonment by their caregivers. It is ultimately about the struggle to gain (or regain) personal power, joy, and freedom.

On their way home from a party „The Escapist“ is haunted by what they are tying to flee from. After they’ve arrived at home they are overpowerd by the unavoidable.

After a freak accident leaves a young man in a surreal limbo, he must team up with a talking puppet to map a mysterious island from fragments of memory — a journey that forces him to confront his deepest regrets, reclaim lost connections, and decide if life is worth finding his way back to.

A noblewoman's exile leads her twin to assume her identity in a plague-sealed medieval kingdom. As she navigates deadly court intrigue with her daughter, she questions whether safety behind castle walls is worth the price of brutality.

An experimental short film that follows a man who arrives home alone during the holidays after a long day of work. Finding himself consumed by his loneliness he looks for a way to escape.

A young divorcee travels to O'ahu in search of reinvention.

A burnt-out white-collar worker stumbles upon a plastic bag in a bustling city. As suffocation drags him out of an anxiety attack toward fleeting peace, an unexpected encounter offers something more than a breath of relief.