The fiction short Lessons, directed and written by Daria Blažević, is screening in the festival’s international competition programme.

It centres on three girls spending a summer afternoon in their neighbourhood, trying to put an encounter with a local pervert out of their minds.

Lessons had its world premiere at the 17th Les Arcs European Film Festival and has since screened at a number of French festivals.

The film’s producers are Daria Blažević and Mate Ugrin (Kadromat), with Tiphaine Robion (In the Cut) as co-producer. The film was made with support from the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, the City of Zagreb, and the Regional Fund Nouvelle Aquitaine, and is represented internationally by French sales agent Shortcuts.

Screening at Uppsala in the children’s film competition is the animated short The Race of Friendship, directed by Dean Hamer. The film follows a race between a Tortoise and a Hare that takes an unexpected turn when the two fall into a deep pit. Realising they can only save themselves by working together, their rivalry transforms into friendship.

A Luma Film production, the title has screened at a number of international festivals, including the Music & Cinema Festival in Marseille, FeKK in Ljubljana, Turku Animated Film Festival, Bueu International Film Festival in Spain, and Animatou in Geneva. Following its Uppsala screening, it will also appear at the CINANIMA festival in Portugal.

The film’s director and screenwriter is Dean Hamer, with editing and production by Maša Udovičić.

Also in the children’s film competition is the minority co-production Fin People (Plavutarji), directed and written by Veronika Hozjan, with screenplay co-written by Maja Križnik. Iva Kraljević edited the film, sound design was done by Julij Zornik, while Ana Horvat, Ignacio Ezquerra Capa, Nika Karner, and Veronika Hozjan created the animation.

Fin People is set in a city being engulfed by water, as its inhabitants adapt to the new reality and grow fins. An elderly shoemaker struggles to preserve his former way of life, but faced with rising water levels and his wife’s wish to follow the others, he must decide whether to embrace change or find another path.

The film had its world premiere at the Krakow Film Festival, and has since screened in competition at prominent short and animated film festivals including Anibar, Curtas Vila do Conde, Supertoon, and Fantoche.

The film’s producers are Viva Videnović and Timon Leder, with co-producers Ljubo Zdjelarević, Iva Tkalec, and Ivor Šiber. It is produced by Dagiba and URGH!, in co-production with Kinoteka, RTV Slovenija, and NuFrame.

Also selected for the children’s film competition is the animated minority co-production In a Faraway Forest: Apple of Discord, directed by Timon Leder, with screenplay by Henri Angremy and Jerneja Kaja Balog.

Apple of Discord, which has already screened at Animafest Zagreb and Anibar, tells the story of a hedgehog who finds a beautiful red apple, but when a squirrel discovers it, a quarrel breaks out between the two friends over who will get to keep it. Seeking a resolution, they turn to the forest inhabitants and a wise owl, before ultimately setting their dispute aside to preserve their friendship.

Editing on the project was again done by Iva Kraljević, with sound design by Julij Zornik. The film’s producers are Kolja Saksida and Nina Bučuk, with co-producers Jure Bušić, Jure Vizjak, and Maja Zupanc. The film is produced by Dagiba, in co-production with Radiotelevision Slovenija, Jaka Produkcija, ZVVIKS, and INVIDA.

The Uppsala festival is Sweden’s most important short film showcase, screening more than 300 titles each year that illustrate the diversity and richness of the short form. Winning titles in the national and international competitions become eligible for nominations for the Academy Award, the BAFTA Award, and the European Film Award.

The Uppsala ISFF runs from 19 to 25 October, with further details available on its official website.