“Lost my shape—trying to act casual.” Spanning three continents, these short films highlight individuals who find themselves in situations that tax their emotional and physical limits. Laurence Walsh’s WWIIera Why Are You Here (Poland, 13 mins) catches some German soldiers pinned down by a sniper in the final days of the war. In Noah Pritzker’s low-key Little Dad (US, 12 mins) a father has a complicated heart-to-heart with his young son about the perils of self-expression. Evan Viera’s sumptuously animated Caldera (US, 12 mins) portrays a dystopian society and one woman’s effort to break away from its oppressiveness. In Julio O. Ramos’ tense Behind the Mirrors (Peru, 12 mins), night managers of a sleazy hotel encounter sex and murder when a celebrity checks in. And in Dana Turken’s poignant, surreal Arthur and the Bunnies (US, 20 mins), the title character has a very unusual and thankless physical malady.

Film Note Writer: Sterling Hedgpeth