The Puppeteer Animation Studios, Inc.

Philippines

Logline:

When strong-willed 13-year-old Aaren stumbles into the hidden spirit world, he finds himself caught in a dangerous race to stop Karas, a ruthless aswang general, from merging it with the human realm. Joined by Daro, the last of his kind seeking redemption, and Monda, a shapeshifting nuno with a quick wit, Aaren embarks on a journey across breathtaking mythological landscapes, facing creatures from Filipino folklore. As the trio undertakes daring heists to recover powerful artifacts, they uncover truths about loyalty, forgiveness, and belonging, leading to a final sacrifice that will decide the fate of both worlds.

Synopsis:

In a world where ancient Filipino legends come to life, young Aaren's life is turned upside down when he tumbles into a mystical spirit realm teeming with both wondrous and fearsome creatures. Lost and desperate to return home, he encounters an unlikely pair of cross-world smugglers—Monda, a mischievous ground elf (Nuno), and Daro, a wise, ancient tree giant (Kapre). Striking a daring bargain, Aaren agrees to aid them in their quest to steal mysterious artifacts from the human world in exchange for their help in finding his way back. But as the trio embarks on their perilous journey, a dark, primordial magic begins to stir— threatening to merge the human and spirit realms and unleash the savage Aswangs to reclaim their lost dominion.

Now, the fate of both worlds rests in the hands of this unlikely band of heroes, who must confront sinister forces and unlock ancient secrets to restore the balance between worlds before it’s too late.

The R&D Studio

Malaysia

Logline:

Desta uncovers the extraordinary life of a woman torn from Ethiopia and sold into slavery, who found resilience and belonging in Terengganu, Malaysia. Through rare recordings and evocative animation, the film fulfills her final wish to have her story remembered,  transforming fading memory into a universal testament of survival, identity, and hope.

Synopsis:

Desta is an animated documentary that brings to life the extraordinary journey of an African woman whose story, once nearly lost, now resurfaces as a powerful testament to resilience, memory, and belonging.

In the 1990s, a journalist recorded a series of intimate conversations with Desta, a woman of Ethiopian origin who had been forcibly taken as a child and sold into slavery. By the time of these interviews, Desta was in her eighties and living quietly in Terengganu, Malaysia. Speaking in the distinct Terengganu dialect, Desta’s voice carried a wealth of cultural and historical memory. These tapes, long forgotten, were recently rediscovered and digitized, giving Desta’s words a new life three decades after her passing.

Her recollections traverse continents and eras: from the sands of Ethiopia to the slave markets of Arabia, and finally to the royal courts of Terengganu, where she found unexpected refuge and belonging. Through her eyes, we glimpse the intersections of global events such as slavery, colonialism, independence, with the intimate details of a woman’s lived experience.

Desta bridges generations, fulfilling her final wish for her story to be told. It is at once a personal memoir and a cultural archive, confronting the silenced legacies of slavery while celebrating the indomitable will to forge dignity and love amidst displacement. Desta is a story of survival and identity that resonates far beyond Malaysia, a universal reminder that even in histories marked by loss, the human spirit endures.

Atom Art

Latvia

Logline:

Seven-year-old Oscar, out of boredom, carves a wooden toy phone—and to his surprise discovers that it magically connects him to the voices of Grandma’s household objects and even to new feelings he never expected.

Synopsis:

Seven-year-old Oscar has to spend the summer at his GRANDMA’s countryside home. It could be a wonderful chance for them to get to know each other better, but to Oscar, Grandma seems hopelessly old-fashioned and boring—just like everything else in her house. To make matters worse, he has forgotten his mobile phone back in the city. Out of sheer boredom, Oscar crafts himself a TOY PHONE from a wooden log found in the shed. To his great surprise, he discovers that with this phone he can call any object in Grandma’s house or garden, from the iron to a rusty bicycle—and not only talk to them, but also help them with various important “life matters”: showing a chair the world, fixing the rake’s broken tooth, or introducing the floor brush to her close relative, the toothbrush. This magical wooden device makes the monotonous days more exciting and meaningful.
Thanks to the phone, Oscar also meets the GIRL WITH THE BALLOON stuck in a birch tree—belonging to the NEIGHBOR GIRLS—and for the first time experiences feelings such as falling in love and jealousy. But most importantly, through the world of objects, Oscar begins to explore the world of emotions, learns to befriend the Neighbor Girls, and even his Grandma.

“Hello, Oscar!” is a tender, imaginative tale about childhood loneliness, creativity, and the small miracles that help us discover connection and belonging.

Studio Ki'i'pili

New Zealand

Logline:

A day in the life of three Māori Pacific girls as they navigate gentrification in their innercity neighbourhood. The girls seek stability amid racial tensions, unexpected feelings and growing up.

Synopsis:

In a gentrifying Auckland, three friends — Te Hoia, sharp and observant; Q, a razor-witted queer artist; and Rosina, tender but fearless — spend the day walking their city. As corporate developments rise and familiar faces disappear, they move through takeaways, bookstores, and bus stops, unpacking the politics of land, language, and belonging with humour and heat.

What starts as a typical day of loitering becomes something more charged — a quiet confrontation with erasure, memory, and the subtle warfare of being Indigenous and visible in an increasingly hostile urban landscape.

How to Loiter in a Turf War is a lyrical, street-level portrait of friendship, resistance, and survival — a love letter to the city’s indigenous and Pacific undercurrent that refuses to vanish.

Finding Pictures

Singapore

Logline:

Retired journalist Lily Wong is bequeathed a trove of unpublished comics - the life’s work of her long-lost friend Charlie Chan. She finds pages in which Charlie fantasises himself as Singapore’s greatest comic artist and her, as his loving wife. Lily is drawn into Charlie’s perfect world where comics and reality collide - blurring myth and memory, art and history. Lily (and Charlie) uncover a life of unfulfilled dreams and pieces together the hidden stories that make meaning of who we are.

Synopsis:

Lily Wong, a recently-retired newspaper editor, receives a key to a storage room belonging to her long-lost friend, Charlie Chan – it contains a treasure trove of Charlie’s unpublished works. She finds a mysterious manuscript and is pulled into Charlie’s fantastic life,  in which he is Singapore’s greatest comic artist and Lily, his loving wife.

Walking through galleries at his Grand Retrospective, Charlie recalls the idealism of their youth – starting a comic studio and dreaming up stories that impact the world. From giant robots aiding student protesters, to sci-fi rebels resisting alien overlords, his comics intertwine with pivotal moments in the nation’s history.

Charlie is plagued by migraines and nightmares of a dark figure. As comics and reality collide, his fantasy violently fractures: an explosion blows up the Museum, and his comic characters enter his world. The dark figure reveals himself to be the real Charlie, a mere security guard. Charlie must now confront a painful truth: his comics never found success; his love for Lily was unrequited; and he carries the guilt for failing to provide for his parents. Spiralling into depression, he obsessively draws his fantasy life as a comic, to the point of collapse.

Deeply moved by his story, Lily dedicates herself to preserving Charlie’s work and helping his stories find an audience. A poignant, meta-fictional tale exploring art and history, myth and memory, unfulfilled dreams and the stories we tell ourselves to make meaning of who we are.

Nafta Films

Estonia

Logline:

In the early 20th century, Lily, an Estonian strongwoman, and Tsuneo, a Japanese samurai descendant, journey across the world in pursuit of their true calling.

Synopsis:

Estonian strongwoman Lily Ojamaa finds herself touring Tsarist Russia with a circus troupe when a revolution erupts, plunging the country into chaos. Caught in the midst of a civil war, she is compelled to escape, first to China and then to Japan, where she discovers sumo — an ancient Japanese style of wrestling. 

Meanwhile, Nitta Tsuneo, an amateur linguist and the son of a Shintō priest, hailing from a prestigious samurai lineage, embarks on a journey in the opposite direction. At first glance, he is traveling to Russia to locate the grave of his brother, who went missing during the war. However, his true objective is to unravel the secrets of The Sun Script.

Due to unexpected twists of fate, it becomes increasingly clear that their life paths are more intertwined than one might initially think, leading them to eventually swap places in each other's lives.

Insolita Film

Italy

Logline:

A story of courage and friendship set against the backdrop of a collapsing world.

Synopsis:

Cosmo, a young, curious, and sensitive mouse, lives in a devastated valley. His closest companion is Crumbthief, the brave and stubborn princess of the mice, who dreams of joining the army—though in her kingdom, females are forbidden from fighting. Unwilling to accept this rule, Crumbthief disguises herself as a soldier with Cosmo’s help and sets off on a secret expedition into the land of the frogs, ancient enemies of the mice.

Along the way, they meet Puffycheeks, a kind but clumsy young toad and son of the legendary King Mud, feared by all mice. After surviving shared dangers—including a viper attack—the three begin to form an unlikely bond. But a fall into a ravine separates Cosmo from the others. Panic spreads in the mouse kingdom: the princess is missing.

King Breadgnaw uses the crisis to justify declaring war, despite the Queen’s protests. She turns to Chumkrobber, a disgraced general with whom she shares a past. Meanwhile, Cosmo wakes alone, but discovers Crumbthief is alive—and war is about to erupt.

The three heroes reunite in a ruined construction site, where human destruction looms large. They realize the real enemy isn’t each other, but the devastation threatening them all. As bulldozers descend, Cosmo helps lead the animals to safety. Guided by fireflies, frogs, mice, and others flee together—toward a place where peace, and perhaps a future, can be rebuilt.

Dúlamán Studios

Ireland

Logline:

Fen, a headstrong teenage girl, guides us through her memories in a quest to uncover the identity of her murderer.

Synopsis:

We are in the downloaded memories of our recently murdered protagonist Fen. Here Fen and the other Wards of Oribis are preparing for a significant ceremony when their plans are abruptly disrupted, plunging her and the world she once knew into chaos. As the situation spirals out of control, they are compelled to collaborate with dangerous adversaries. As the series unfolds, the Wards of Oribis engage in fierce battles, each faction striving for control. They uncover the tragic secrets and the twisted experiments that birthed its people. As loyalties are tested and alliances shift, more murder awaits. As the facade of Oribis begins to crumble, and the true cost of this seeming "utopia" is revealed. The Wards must now decide whether to continue fighting for a broken world or dismantle it entirely.