From a rumoured bear appearance during asparagus season to the tale of a boy and his goat, from Iraq’s disappearing marshes and Indonesia’s protected reefs to Scotland’s working histories, this shorts programme explores how communities read the signs of change. Witty, tender and inventive in form, these films trace what we hold fast to when familiar worlds shift.

With short films:

Asparagus Bear, Ivan Grgur, Croatia
Children & Animals, Walter Kalan, USA
Beneath Which Rivers Flow, Ali Yahya, Iraq
Arubara, Manuel Alberto Maia, Indonesia
Bone a Cod, Marie-Chantal Hamrock, Scotland
Community Theatre, Lewis Baillie, Scotland

Asparagus Bear (Medo u šparugama)

Scottish Premiere. In the town of Umag, reports of a bear sighting cause consternation just as locals head out to harvest wild asparagus. Sightings, videos and theories spread online. But is the bear real, or might someone benefit from the panic?

Children & Animals

Scottish Premiere. Shot entirely on 16mm at Maine’s historic Blue Hill Fair, Children & Animals follows Joey, a 12-year-old farmer, and Grace, his beloved goat. When Joey hears a story about another goat’s death, the fair’s noise and spectacle take on a new unease.

Beneath Which Rivers Flow

Scottish Premiere. In Iraq’s southern marshlands, Ibrahim lives among the rivers, reeds and animals that shape his family’s world. Withdrawn from others, he finds calm with his buffalo. But as fog settles, rivers recede and the land cracks, forces beyond his control threaten them both.

Arubara

European Premiere. In the remote Indonesian hamlet of Arubara, life has long moved to the rhythm of the sea. But as coral reef damage and dwindling fish stocks threaten local livelihoods, the community makes a difficult decision: to close its fishing grounds for several months in the hope of restoring marine life. Will their gamble pay off?

Bone a Cod

Blending oral history, re-enactment, archival research and graphic illustration, Bone a Cod explores Aberdeen’s fishing industry through hardship, humour and strange beauty. Moving between personal memory and working history, this speculative documentary reflects on the labour that shaped coastal lives.

Community Theatre

In the Fife town of Buckhaven, a community theatre project brings local stories, memories and voices to the stage. Through three generations of working-class experience, Community Theatre celebrates shared heritage, resilience and the enduring spirit of place.

Guests

Marie-Chantal Hamrock

Director, Bone a Cod

Marie-Chantal Hamrock is a visual artist and writer based in Aberdeen, Scotland. She is a PhD candidate at Gray's School of Art, Aberdeen. Blurring the line between the real and the imagined, Marie-Chantal’s work explores themes such as gender, social class and peripheral places, to create speculative narratives of past, present and future. Her project Speculative Intersections: Class, Place and Gender in the North-East of Scotland’s Maritime Cultures explores the fishing industry in the North East of Scotland through speculative fiction.

Walker Kalan

Director, Children and Animals

Walker Kalan is a filmmaker based in New York. His indie comedy series I Need Your Love premiered at Tribeca and won a jury award at Slamdance. Walker’s previous work has won jury awards at Brooklyn Film Festival, HollyShorts, and Ventana Sur. He’s currently developing a feature film set in rural Maine and training his rescue hound, Snoopy, for her on-camera debut.