BEAST 2025 GENERAL PROGRAMME
Under the motto “This change does not promise anything”, BEAST IFF returns in a compact format from 6 to 8 June, across various venues in the city — Batalha Centro de Cinema, Cinema Passos Manuel, Cinema Trindade, OKNA and the Rectory of the University of Porto.
Following the announcement of the first sections — Expanded and Amaro Kino (EEFFN) — and the special Listening Session (programme featuring a sound installation of Ocean, composed by Ukrainian artist Valentina Goncharova), the festival now unveils its complete programme: announcing the competitions and four curated proposals that shape this eighth edition — In (E)Motion, Re/Focus, How to Care for Cosmos and Portuguese Abroad.
The official competition of BEAST 2025 brings together 26 short films from 16 countries, divided into four categories: EAST WAVE (fiction), EAST DOC (documentary), EXPERIMENTAL EAST (experimental), and ANIMAEAST (animation). The selected films explore themes such as the politics of affect, the visceral lived experience of women at different stages and ages, cultural and anthropological nuances of Eastern Europe viewed through both macro and micro lenses, and the creation of imaginary spaces rooted in shared cultures. This year’s jury is composed of Milan Simanek (programmer at Kino Arthouse and the BRNO16 International Short Film Festival), Natália Azevedo Andrade (filmmaker and producer), and Oana Ghera (artistic director of the Bucharest International Experimental Film Festival — BIEFF).
IN(E)MOTION is a new curatorial proposal that invites reflection on rites of passage and the transformations that shape the self — from childhood to adolescence and adulthood. Centering on the idea of movement as an emotional, physical and political impulse, the section presents two films that explore the impact of loss and memory across life transitions.
When the Phone Rang (2024), by Iva Radivojević — the festival’s opening film — revisits a childhood interrupted by a phone call that erases an entire country. In Sandbag Dam (2025), by Čejen Černić Čanak, Slaven returns to his hometown (a village on the verge of disappearing) for his father’s funeral and reconnects with Marko, a childhood friend and former teenage love — the relationship that once led to his estrangement from his family. As their bond is rekindled, the two must face their past and the choices that separated them, seeking reconciliation in a context still marked by taboo and familial tension.
HOW TO CARE FOR COSMOS, the festival’s queer section, proposes a curatorial gesture of listening and attention, seeking to create a space of care, resistance, and visibility. The section features Endless (2024), by Wojciech Puś — a 110-minute film in which protagonist X|A, in search of self and immersed in solitude, enters a complex and ambiguous relationship with Frank, embarking on an emotional game that pushes their boundaries. When M appears — an enigmatic figure obsessed with youth and beauty — a chance for rebirth emerges. Yet the promise of a new life, one lived as if it were a work of art, comes at a cost. Is X|A willing to cross that threshold?
PORTUGUESE ABROAD returns with a selection dedicated to animation, presenting short films co-produced between Portugal and countries from Central and Eastern Europe. The section showcases a range of formal approaches and explores themes such as the environment, identity, and urban memory, through works such as Garrano (2022) by David Doutel and Vasco Sá, Pietra (2024) by Cynthia Levitan, Slow Light (2022) by Katarzyna Kijek & Przemysław Adamski, Bus Stop (2024) by Alina Didenko, and T-ZERO (2024) by Vincente Nirō, among others. The festival will host Cynthia Levitan (Pietra), Ala Nunu (Slow Light), Alina Didenko (Bus Stop), and Gabór & Natália Andrade (T-ZERO), creating opportunities for direct interaction with audiences. In parallel, the talk LET’S TALK! Co-producing Animation: Portugal and Eastern Europe brings together some of these filmmakers to share their experiences and reflect on the challenges and potential of cross-border collaboration.
RE/FOCUS celebrates the return of voices that have marked the festival’s recent history, inviting reflection on artistic continuity, transformation and maturity. In 2025, the section spotlights Ukrainian filmmaker Kateryna Gornostai, who was selected as “Director in Focus” at BEAST 2018. Seven years later, she returns with Timestamp (2025), a powerful documentary that follows the daily lives of schoolchildren living in a wartime context — an intimate testament to cultural resilience and affirmation in times of crisis.
With a strong commitment to bringing cinema closer to younger audiences, BEAST — International Film Festival offers free access to all students living in the city of Porto, upon registration by 1 June and subject to venue capacity.
