Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.
Friends and family of Cory, a young man who has died of an overdose, gather at a Baltimore-area karaoke bar for his wake and compare stories about him. Gradually, as it becomes clear that there are many holes in their recollections about Cory, they fill in the blanks by talking about things that reveal aspects of their own lives. Among those mourning him and searching for meaning are his cousin Jenny, his sister Zoe and his brother James.
Lucas Simons, an 11-year-old filmmaker, is obsessed with death after the loss of his brother. When Lucas accidentally captures a mysterious presence in one of his films, he inadvertently becomes a YouTube phenomenon, and must learn to live life in the spotlight while also learning how to once again start living life to its fullest.
After her beloved aunt dies, young girl Lily (Polly Dartford) finds herself clashing with the insensitive guests gathered at the wake.
Casting a sword with one's bare hands may sound like a crazy idea to many in the high-tech, digital 21st Century, but not to Fung, a stock broker, who welcomes the assigned task that bears special meaning. When Fung is bequeathed a tattered notebook by his father Lang on his deathbed, his life is turned upside down. Tasked with a heavy undertaking, Fung has to think and look out of the box before rolling up his sleeves to forge the sword. Through the tedious process of annealing and tempering, grinding and cutting, he begins to contemplate the meaning of casting a sword, and of the elusive father and son relationship.
Damian, grieving his girlfriend's death, travels through Mexico seeking solace. Along the way, he connects with strangers and witnesses their coping rituals, finding a path through his own memories and regrets.
A father tries to save the soul of his daughter, lost in darkness.
On a voyage into the dark, we follow a man portraying an intens dialogue with the subconscious. A vignette into the process of looking inward, evaporates the ego and listens to what wants to be heard, on the road to letting go. A requiem for the death of the self.
The sun rises over the dark, misty forest. It's springtime. Nature is lush. A man in his fifties walks warily along a hiking trail cut through tall ferns. He's not walking alone; something invisible is connected to him.
A professional mourner goes to what seems just another job when she begins to suspect that the deceased might be tied to her forgotten past.
Coping with his father's death, Ole takes himself into a vivid daydreaming moment, where he can finally forgive his father.
In this intimate, experimental drama, a young woman is prey to the denial of the grief of her mother, a painting restorer. Jade runs herself a bath. Here begins a journey between paint and water during which Jade vacillates between dream and daily reality. Water will immerse us in its internal conflicts between conscious, subconscious and unconscious.
Salih (35), taking his son Mert (5), returns to father’s home, upon his funeral - in where he gets stuck within memories, family criticism and responsibility to his son. He justifies himself by blaming his father with whom he had a fall out but also faces the truths of becoming him and that his father loved him indeed.
Chapel of Rest is a dramatic comedy in which two young brothers are introduced to the ceremony of death while attending their grandfather's wake. When curiosity gets the better of them, the boys sneak into the chapel to see the body--but their fascination quickly gives way to mischief.
After the sudden death of her mother, 13-year-old Yara struggles to find her place in a world that no longer feels familiar. Hoping for comfort, she returns with her father to the campsite where their family once spent every summer. But things have changed — their beloved caravan has been sold, and her father seems unwilling to face the grief they share. One night, Yara hears mysterious music coming from the direction of her old caravan. Together with her best friend Deon, she sets out to uncover its source. What begins as a haunting mystery slowly transforms into a tender journey of memory, love, and acceptance.
Two long lost friends meet at the wake of their estranged friend's funeral
Created as part of a 48-hour film challenge, this tender and lightly comedic short follows recently widowed Dad Eli as he navigates the chaos of a single morning with his spirited 11-year-old daughter, Naomi. What begins as a struggle over burnt grilled cheese turns into a quiet, heartfelt moment of connection, love, and resilience. Naomi’s wisdom, humor, and old-soul insight help her father navigate grief, reminding us that even in loss, love—and laughter—can still find a way. A story about family, imperfection, and the small moments that make life meaningful. "This film made as part of 48 Hours California and the Sacramento International Film Festival ©2025." #ShortFilm #48HourFilmChallenge #Family #Grief #ComedyDrama #FatherDaughter #Heartfelt #MinimalistFilm #BurntGrilledCheese #LoveAndLoss #EmotionalShort #CheesyMourning
Thanks to a new technology, a state center makes it possible to interact with a deceased person. Diego oversees the encounters betwen the dead and the living.
Cieli Rossi
Under pressure to sell their land to a contractor, Ramon seeks his wife’s counsel, and a devastating truth begins to unravel.