Spotlight Shorts

Index
Radu Muntean, 2025, Romania, 29m
No dialogue
North American Premiere

Index. Courtesy of Tangaj Production.

Radu Muntean (Întregalde, NYFF59) returns with a fine-tuned short about a forest ranger who spots disturbing activity on his closed-circuit surveillance system and takes up an investigation that pushes him toward an uncertain fate. Splitting the difference between landscape film and horror movie, Index conjures a suggestive atmosphere with gorgeous widescreen images and a dense sound mix.

Arguments in Favor of Love
Gabriel Abrantes, 2025, Portugal, 10m
U.S. Premiere

Arguments in Favor of Love

Gabriel Abrantes (Diamantino, NYFF56) draws the dying stages of a relationship with bracing candor and concision. Though dressed as ghostly sheets, Arguments’ players are all too human—their fights comprise petty accusations, rage-filled confessions, and a sorrowful departure, punctuated by heartfelt musical interludes—while the film’s animation registers every emotion in a spare, painterly set of expressions.

Cairo Streets
Abdellah Taïa, 2025, France, 19m
Arabic with English and French subtitles
U.S. Premiere

Cairo Streets. Courtesy of Shortcuts.

Cairo, 2007. Abdellah searches for Omar, his old companion who has disappeared among the city’s busy streets. A visit with the legendary Youssef Chahine, a nighttime film shoot at the pyramids, and maritime revelry are all captured on nostalgia-textured video while Omar—a brilliant structuring absence—haunts proceedings until, during a final encounter, comfort is found in cinema and personal touch alike.

Fragments for Venus
Alice Diop, 2025, France/Italy, 21m
French with English subtitles
New York Premiere

Fragments for Venus

Continuing the meditations that shaped Saint Omer (NYFF60), Alice Diop’s new short indexes centuries-old artistic representation in the Louvre before observing womanhood on the streets of contemporary New York. Running between refined and loose—Miu Miu costumes complement quotidian streetwear while the museum’s silent halls are juxtaposed with metropolitan clamor—Fragments for Venus poses difficult questions while celebrating everyday living’s basic pleasures.

Travel support generously provided by Unifrance and Villa Albertine – French Embassy in the US.