Short films – Under Pressure

A collection of short films distinguished by diversity. Under Pressure has been developed in collaboration with Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, Switzerland’s leading short film festival.

2006
by Gabriella Choueifaty, France/Lebanon, 2024, 24′, ov fr/Arab, sub fr. Premiere in French-speaking Switzerland
Distribution: Films de Force Majeure
 
In 2006, while war rages in Lebanon, Sariah, her mother and sister remain confined at home, trying to live life as normally as possible. But in this cramped space where time seems frozen, each attempt at “escape” swiftly reignites deep tensions.

  
2mm
by Mona Jelić, Switzerland, 2024, 8′, ov Serbian, sub fr. French-speaking Swiss Premiere
Distribution: Jadar Film
 
As the EU’s quest for green energy intensifies, a rural Serbian community becomes the battleground for Europe’s electric future. Plans for a vast lithium mine, set to be one of the continent’s largest, trigger fierce nationwide opposition.

 
Généalogie de la violence
by Mohamed Bourouissa, France, 2024, 15′, ov fr, sub eng. French-speaking. Swiss Premiere
Distribution: Manifest

A young couple sits in a car when two policemen pull up to command a routine identity check. They ask the man to get out and proceed methodically with a pat-down, as he stands in front of the car, watched by his dismayed girlfriend.

 
Haulout
by Maxim Arbugaev and Evgenia Arbugaeva, United Kingdom, 2022, 25′, ov russian, subs fr. Premiere in French-speaking Switzerland
Distribution: Rise and Shine world sales
 

On a remote coast of the Siberian Arctic, a lonely man in a wind-battered hut is waiting to witness an annual natural event. But warming seas and rising temperatures bring an unexpected change, and he soon finds himself overwhelmed.

 
The Man Who Could Not Remain
by Nebojša Slijepčević, SilentCroatia/Bulgaria/Slovenia/France, 2024, 14′, ov Croatian and Serbian, subs fr. Premiere in French-speaking Switzerland
Distribution: Manifest
 

On 27 February 1993, in Bosnia-Herzegovina, soldiers halt a train and detain innocent civilians. Out of 500 passengers, only one man dares to object. This film recounts the true story of a man who refused to stay silent.