Schijnwerpers short film festival - program 1

5 September 2025 - KROONLAAN 12, 1050 Elsene

On 5 September, Schijnwerpers Short Film Festival kicks off with programme 1: Discovery. More information about all the films can be found below.

18:00 Doors open
18:30 – 20:00 FIlms + Q&A, stay afterwards for a drink

Address: Kroonlaan 12, 1050 Ixelles (GC Elzenhof)

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•Tomatoes to be planted — Annelies Bodiang, Emma Dehaene – 19′50″ [EN]
We follow Nelle (25) on the day she returns home after a year of solo travel. Fragments from her travel diary reveal thoughts from the past year. The happy reunion with her sister and father is quickly overshadowed by the question: 'What now?' How does she want to shape her young adult life? Has she made the right choices in recent times? At the point where Nelle can no longer avoid these questions, the viewer meets her.

•Listen to my waves — Freia Van Lint – 3′15″ [EN]
This film is a message in a bottle from a young girl who finds her escape in surfing. Told through abstract metaphoric visuals and poetic voice-over, Listen to my waves invites the viewer to feel and interpret freely — with minimal context, and no fixed meaning.

•Norm — Jansher Khan – 9′38″ [EN]
A Brussels film school student's dream of becoming a director is challenged by a difficult choice. His family, from Afghanistan, discovers he's making films without telling them, as filmmaking is taboo in their society.

•Black Pearl — Zita Bamurange Van Bellingen – 9′22″ [EN]
A Brazilian father living in Belgium passes on the culture of his native Bahia to his daughter, the heart of Afro-Brazilian heritage. Through candomblé and capoeira, he shares his roots, spirituality, and pride. An intimate portrait of identity, heritage, and the bond between father and daughter.

•A letter to a friend — Ana Prebil – 3′40″ [EN]
A letter to a friend sent from far away. A whiff of love and loneliness in the wind and the smell of summer bringing friends back together.

•Mama Romy — Jette Renders – 19′25″ [EN / no subs]
Romy's wish to become a mother seems within reach when she guides a 16-year-old pregnant girl. As their bond grows, Romy projects her own desires onto the teenager, but is her longing still reasonable in today’s world? And is the way she pursues it truly right?