8.11 | WWIFF | International Shorts: Block 1 + Q&A session

WWIFF 2026 Short Film Competition

GOODWILL

United States / 2026 / 13 min 41 sec / English / Short

Nan, a fiercely independent widow in her seventies, must confront the emotional weight of leaving the home she has lived in for 47 years. When her daughter and granddaughter take her to tour a senior living community, hand-drawn animated flashbacks reveal the memories tied to her cherished belongings. Three generations come together as Nan ultimately admits her deepest fear: that letting go of her house means losing her past.

Director - Elena Kent

A Texas native with over three decades of experience in entertainment, including directing for the stage and founding a non-profit theatre in San Angelo, Texas. GoodWill is her debut as a film writer and director.

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FRIGID

Spain / 2025 / 19 minutes / Spanish / Short, Student

The peace of a widowed grandmother is interrupted when a mysterious package arrives at the apartment where she lives and is opened by her son, who is frightened by what he sees and initiates a family crisis with the two women of the house.

Director - Fernanda Del Miro

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MY NAME IS JOY

Poland / 2026 / 12 min 3 sec / English, Polish / Short, Student

Joy, a 20-year-old girl from Mozambique, is sold by her father and drawn into a human trafficking network. After being rescued, she is placed in a shelter in a small Polish town, where, for the first time, she is given a chance to live rather than merely survive, and to begin reclaiming her voice and sense of identity.

Director - Alexandra Strunin

A Polish writer and director of Ukrainian-Russian descent and a graduate of Warsaw Film School. Her debut fiction short, I Gaze at the Sky, won Best International Short Film at the 2025 Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival.

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NIGHTINGALE

Estonia / 2023 / 21 min 42 sec / Estonian / Short

Autumn 1944 in Tallinn, Estonia; German forces retreat as the Russian army settles in. Young soldier Aleksei is sent from the frontline to work in a Pr*son filled with Estonian political prisoners. While doing his rounds at night Aleksei is stirred by the beautiful voice of Saale, an Estonian girl singing to the prisoners from the other side of the Pr*son walls. He learns that the Russian military police plans on capturing Saale; Aleksei must risk his own safety to warn her before it is too late.

Director - Leeni Linna

An Estonian director and writer, alumna of New York Film Academy. She worked at Vice Media on the Emmy-nominated Woman with Gloria Steinem series and filmed her feature documentary Blood Type in Afghanistan.

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Location: Karma Sanctum

Tickets:

£10 — General Admission

£5 — Student Ticket (with valid student ID)

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