Drowning

Aura, a remote accountant with a monotonous routine, has her usual life interrupted one night due to an unexpected and unfamiliar leak. While trying to survive in her surroundings, Aura discovers that in the water exists a comforting escape from her mundane life, but at the same time, it condemns her.

Las Cosas Que Brillan

When a trans Latinx mermaid defies her mother’s warnings, she is forced to confront the violent legacies of colonialism, environmental destruction and the danger of being desired in the human world. The BlackStar Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab is presented with support from Independence Public Media Foundation, William Penn Foundation, and Wyncote Foundation. This project has been supported by The Philadelphia Independent Media Fund administered by Scribe Video Center with funds provided by the Independence Public Media Foundation and the Wyncote Foundation.

Magic to Win

Nobody knows that Professor Hong Sum Kwai is actually the Water Magician, one of the five elemental wizards. One day, Hong accidentally loses his magical powers, which are transferred to his student Cheng Meisi. The girl happily uses the superhuman abilities she acquired by luck in life, at school, and on the volleyball court, but those powers also land her in trouble as a war of wizardry rages around her... Fire Magician Bi Yewu is desperate to turn back time to change a tragedy in the past, but to do so he needs to bring together the powers of all five elemental wizards. Wood Magician Gu Xinyue foresees catastrophe if time is warped, so he alerts the other wizards - including Earth Magician Ling Feng and Metal Magician Charlie - to join forces and prevent it from happening...

Once on This Island

Adaptation of the Broadway musical. The story is set in the French Antilles in the Caribbean Sea and tells of a peasant girl who falls in love with an aristocrat. Against this backdrop, social class differences play out while the island gods wager a bet of what is stronger, love or death.

The Other Side

A silent short. Water, footsteps, darkness and light. Shot and edited entirely on a phone in a single day.

Luca

Luca and his best friend Alberto experience an unforgettable summer on the Italian Riviera. But all the fun is threatened by a deeply-held secret: they are sea monsters from another world just below the water’s surface.

Thalasso

When Jane finds a body washed up on shore, with a mysterious looking rock in their hand, she starts feeling mesmerized by the strange object and the rolling waves of the sea. Will the ocean claim its next victim?

When Big People Lie

Eight-year-old Elvis’ world begins to sink when his mother marries an immigrant stranger for money.

Luthière

Elara, a young violinist, is madly in love with Lucio, a Sicilian student. Their love blossoms, but suddenly Lucio must return to Italy to care for his sick niece. Elara struggles with loneliness and sadness, until she finds new inspiration in a dream.

Elemental

In a city where fire, water, land and air residents live together, a fiery young woman and a go-with-the-flow guy will discover something elemental: how much they have in common.

Solastalgia

Uzès, South of France. A family home, a burning oasis in a scorched world. Rita and Elio reunite and sink into a gentle torpor. As time slows down, the refuge begins to crumble, the crack widens.

A Late Night Bottle of Water

A late night thirst sends a man through a series of dreams where his search for water transforms into a profound experience.

Hamam Böceği

Filming Hole

Two young adults venture into a storm sewer in search of something interesting. They succeed.

Beyond Space

Luca, a young man starting his adult life, is struggling with an inner battle after losing his mother. "Beyond Space" evokes strong and delicate emotions that are felt by every person throughout its lifetime.

Mutiny of the Red Water

As the Earth nears its final days, a few brave survivors seek a way to survive. The answer: Red Earth, a new world that could save what's left of humanity.

The Voice of Water

A healing and poetic essay on our intergenerational relationship with water.

Ring 2

While investigating the horrifying death of her boyfriend, Mai Takano learns about a videotape haunted by the spirit of a disturbing girl named Sadako, which kills anyone who watches it exactly one week later. When her boyfriend’s son, Yoichi, starts to develop the same psychic abilities as Sadako, Takano must find a way to keep the boy and herself from becoming the next victims.

Underwater Light Dance

"This movie Underwater Light Dance came out of a rare opportunity to be able to be in the clear Florida springs after dark. My friend Fae and I brought lights and filmed ourselves swimming around and playing with light on our fat bodies. Hope you enjoy!"

The Water Bottle

A harrowing look into the daily struggle of an average water bottle.