International Student Competition 2025

48th Drama International Short Film Festival

Ηead Programmer: Kostis Charamountanis

Κωστής Χαραμουντάνης

Kostis Charamountanis is a self-taught director, screenwriter, editor and composer, whose distinctive work has garnered acclaim and awards at prestigious film festivals worldwide. An SNF ARTWORKS (2020) fellow, he recently completed his debut feature film, Kyuka: Before Summer’s End (2024), which premiered in the L’ACID section of the Cannes Film Festival.

Cinema is not merely telling a story or representing reality. It is a medium with the capacity to awaken our deepest emotions and open a door to the transcendent. It has the power to reveal what lies beneath the surface, something eternal that connects us to the very essence of human existence. It is not bound by logic or rules, but rather guided by the search for a deeper understanding of the world and ourselves.

The International Student Competition Section of the Drama International Short Film Festival opens, once again, a window to global student cinema. This year’s programme brings together some of the most remarkable, daring, and sensitive films from every corner of the world. Works by emerging filmmakers who tell stories with humour, inventiveness, promptness, and tenderness. Films that explore the frailty of human relationships, loneliness and the need for connection, the experience of loss, the transformation of body and soul, identity, sexuality, and everyday life through the lens of the absurd and the mythical.

We are grateful to all the filmmakers who have entrusted us with their films. We celebrate their unwavering persistence, bold courage, and fearless spirit in bringing their creative visions to life. The future of cinema is not just ahead of us; it is already here, embodied in their films.

Kostis Charamountanis
Head Programmer, International Student Competition Section

  1. Past The Hill of Napoleon’s Hat, Arnas Balčiūnas
  2. In Another Homeland, Maša Božić
  3. Mother and Ulysses, Mushi Cai
  4. Family Sunday, Gerardo Del Razo
  5. Embodied, Chanelle Eidenbenz
  6. Agáta, Benedetta Fiore
  7. Should Virtual Petz Die?, Carlo Galbiati
  8. Voyage of the Red Rabbit, Sam Gualtieri
  9. Keep Looking?, Anna Ieong
  10. Accidental Animals, Leila Fatima Keita – Felix Klee
  11. Nine Days in August, Ella Knorz
  12. Pan & Syrinx, A. Laurel Lawrence
  13. Two Point Five Stars, Sina Lerf – Dario Boger – Dario Marti
  14. The Life Cycle of Cicadas, Ines Perot
  15. Pear Garden, Shadab Shayegan
  16. Simon at the Nightshop, Thanasis Tsimpinis
  17. Fire Drill, Maximilian Villwock

The posters of the films in the International Student Competition Program

Past The Hill of Napoleon’s Hat, Arnas Balčiūnas
In Another Homeland, Maša Božić
Mother and Ulysses, Mushi Cai
Family Sunday, Gerardo Del Razo
Embodied, Chanelle Eidenbenz
Agáta, Benedetta Fiore
Should Virtual Petz Die?, Carlo Galbiati
Voyage of the Red Rabbit, Sam Gualtieri
Keep Looking?, Anna Ieong
Accidental Animals, Leila Fatima Keita – Felix Klee
Nine Days in August, Ella Knorz
Pan & Syrinx, A. Laurel Lawrence
Two Point Five Stars, Sina Lerf – Dario Boger – Dario Marti
The Life Cycle of Cicadas, Ines Perot
Pear Garden, Shadab Shayegan
Simon at the Nightshop, Thanasis Tsimpinis
Fire Drill, Maximilian Villwock

The Jury of the International Student Competition Program

Simone Bardoni

Simone Bardoni

Μαρία Δρανδάκη

Maria Drandaki

Loes van Keulen

Loes van Keulen

Simone Bardoni is the artistic director and programmer of Concorto Film Festival, one of the most important international short film festivals in Italy, which takes place at the end of August in an open-air park arena in Pontenure. He graduated in Film Studies and Film Criticism from the University of Bologna. He has worked on film sets as a screenwriter and has been involved as a film curator for cinemas and events since 2012. He also teaches at the Faculty of Cinema Studies, giving lectures on the distribution of short films and their circulation at festivals. In addition, he collaborates with MIA | Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo, a market event based in Rome, and with the world sales company Lights On. He is also a book and film critic for the weekly print magazine Film Tv.

Maria Drandaki founded her production label Homemade Films in 2009. She has since produced and co-produced several feature and short films, which participated in many major international film festivals and film events and got distributed in movie theatres, streaming platforms and TV channels around the world. Maria’s slate includes works by some of the most unique and daring voices in Greek and international cinema. She contributes as a production and co-production expert in various workshops and film industry events. She is a member of the EAVE and ACE producers networks. founded her production label Homemade Films in 2009. She has since produced and co-produced several feature and short films, which participated in many major international film festivals and film events and got distributed in movie theatres, streaming platforms and TV channels around the world. Maria’s slate includes works by some of the most unique and daring voices in Greek and international cinema. She contributes as a production and co-production expert in various workshops and film industry events. She is a member of the EAVE and ACE producers networks.

Loes van Keulen is a member of the selection committee for short and mid-length films at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, and works as a short film programmer at Leiden Shorts. Originally from the Netherlands and currently based in Berlin, she holds a Research Master’s in Media Studies with a specialisation in Film Studies from the University of Amsterdam.