We are happy to present the 3rd edition of Usina Berlin Ibero-American Short Film Festival, a celebration of the diverse voices of contemporary Ibero-American cinema.
Organized by Yorck Kinogruppe Berlin and the international screenwriting program ugbb | Usina de guiones breves en Berlin, this year’s edition once again features five outstanding short films from the Berlinale 2026.
From nights in Buenos Aires to Indigenous forests in the Amazon, passing through the dark rooms of adolescent desire, a grief-laden video letter and the sacred landscapes of La Guajira, the films explore longing, identity, memory and the limits of the world we thought we knew.
Organized in collaboration with Urua Films, Latin Quarter Distribution and Lara Franzetti.
Thursday, September 17 | 7:00 PM
Kino Passage (Karl-Marx-Str. 131, 12043 Berlin)
Tickets: 10€
- The program runs for a total of 100 minutes
- Recommended age 14+
- All short films will be screened in the original language with English subtitles
Programme
THE DREAM OF DANCE (Colombia, 2026)
Generation 14plus
Written and directed by Luzbeidy Monterrosa Atencio
In the heart of the Alta Guajira, 15-year-old Weinshi, a girl from the Wayuu people whose name means «Time», begins to hear an ancestral calling in her dreams: the earth must be healed through her people’s sacred dance, the Yonna. She sets off on a journey seeking the wisdom of her elders, acquiring ancestral knowledge and a deep spiritual connection to the land, while confronting the devastating consequences of mining on the environment and the lives of Indigenous communities.
- Production: Luzbeidy Monterrosa Atencio, Lavi Films
- Runtime 25’
- Original Language: Wayuunaiki
FOREST AT THE END OF THE WORLD (Brazil, 2026)
Forum Expanded
Written and directed by Felipe M. Bragança, Denilson Baniwa
Blending speculative fiction with the cosmogony of the Amazonian Baniwa people, the film tells the story of Suely, an Indigenous woman who divides her days between a small apartment in a large Brazilian city and dreams in which she communicates with a forest. Between romantic dances in a suburban bar, the heavy sounds of machines in a recycling factory and the mysterious voices of an impatient nature, Suely connects to secrets about herself that place her in the midst of radical changes to the future of the world as we know it.
- Production: Duas Mariola Filmes
- Original language: Guajajára
- Runtime 16’
STALLION AND A CRYSTAL BALL (Spain, 2026)
Berlinale Shorts
Written and directed by Christian Avilés
In his dark and silent room, a secluded teenager, sick with a burning desire, casts a spell. As violent visions warp his reality, a bubble threatens to burst – something must break. A poetic fever dream exploring queer longing and the mysteries and mysticism of adolescence.
- Runtime 19’
- Original Language: Spanish
- Production: Archivo Guardián
MIRIAM (Mexico, 2026)
Berlinale Shorts
Written and directed by Karla Condado
A film letter from the director to her aunt, who was murdered by her partner. She talks about the aftermath of the femicide, her grief, the family’s persistent fear and how she has managed to break the silence to open a space for healing.
- Runtime 20’
- Original Language: Spanish
- Production: Bosque de Niebla Cine
TIME TO GO (Argentina, 2026)
Berlinale Shorts
Written and directed by Renzo Cozza
Patricio works for his sisters and feels trapped in a life that no longer fits him. Determined to break away, he drifts through a night charged with expectation and the desire for renewal. A date with a mysterious man seems to open the door to something new. But as the night deepens, attraction becomes uneasy and intimacy slips into danger. Governed by its own rules, the night spirals towards an unexpected and bloody outcome.
- Runtime 20’
- Original Language Spanish
- Production Esquimal Cine, Florencia Clérico, Aurora Cine, Febrero Cine
We are delighted to present the 2nd edition of Usina Berlin Ibero-American Short Film Festival, a celebration of the diverse voices of contemporary Ibero-American cinema.
Organized by Yorck Kinogruppe and the international screenwriting workshop ugbb | Usina de guiones breves en Berlin, this year’s edition once again features five outstanding short films from the most recent Berlinale.
The curated selection explores themes of childhood, migration, identity, and human connection through fresh, intimate, and deeply personal perspectives. From the Andean plateau to the Cuban forest, passing through tourist campsites, newly settled apartments, and Indigenous communities, young protagonists navigate separation, discovery, and inherited silences.
Organized in collaboration with Urua Films and Latin Quarter Distribution.
All short films will be screened in the original language with English subtitles.
Programme
CASI SEPTIEMBRE (Spain, 2025)
Berlinale Shorts
Written and directed by Lucía G. Romero
Alejandra lives on a campsite close to the big hotels. She takes care of her siblings, hangs out in the neighbourhood and flirts casually with the tourists – until she meets Amara. A romance develops that grows more serious than Alejandra would like.
- Produced by Carolina Caballero Covarrubias, Irina Canyet, Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya
- Runtime: 29 min
- Original language: Spanish
CASA CHICA (Mexico, 2025)
Berlinale Shorts
Written and directed by Lau Charles
While their mother unpacks removal boxes, Valentina (5) and Quique (11) run riot around the flat. Their parents have separated. When their father picks them up to show them his new, old life, the children receive a painful glimpse into the adult world.
- Produced by Luna Martínez Montero, Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica
- Runtime: 25 min
- Original language: Spanish
ANBA DLO (Cuba, Brazil, Haiti, 2025)
Berlinale Shorts
Written and directed by Luiza Calagian, Rosa Caldeira
Nadia is a biologist researching the native flora and fauna of Cuba. One day the forest sounds different. Something has happened. Her Haitian homeland has never felt further away.
- Produced by Matheus Moura, Well Amorim, Luiza Calagian, Rosa Caldeira, Berline Charles, Escuela Internacional de Cine y TV San Antonio de los Baños
- Runtime: 18 min
- Original language: Spanish, Haitian Creole
ATARDECER EN AMÉRICA (Chile, Brazil, Colombia, 2025)
Berlinale Generation 14Plus
Jury Prize
Directed by Matías Rojas Valencia
The Andean plateau is one of the most dangerous migration routes in Latin America. A teenager recalls the night she crossed the plateau and the feeling of being accompanied by a spiritual presence that wanders like the wind.
- Produced by Françoise Nieto-Fong, Tomas Gerlach Mora
- Runtime: 18 min
- Original Language: Spanish
AKABABURU (Colombia, 2025)
Berlinale Generation KPlus
Special Mention
Written and directed by Irati Dojura Landa Yagarí
Kari, an Indigenous girl, is afraid to laugh. But a new interpretation of the old legend of Kiraparamia helps her to set herself free.
- Runtime: 14 min
- Original Language: Emberá Chamí
The Usina Berlin Ibero-American Short Film Festival Audience Award went to AKABABURU, a Colombian production in Emberá Chami written and directed by Irati Dojura Landa Yagarí.»With AKABABURU, I am fulfilling the dream of the little girl I once was—the girl who grew up hearing the story of Kiraparamia and quietly wished for it to have a less painful, more luminous, and fairer ending. It is truly meaningful to be part of a Festival where diverse Ibero-American perspectives come together, and where audiences are open to new ways of storytelling. This is a moment to build bridges between cultures, to listen with the heart, and to reaffirm that diversity not only enriches cinema, but also has the power to transform it.” Irati Dojura in Revista Desbandada Berlín.
