We announce the line-up of the Documentary Shorts Competition of the 34th edition of the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography ToruńCAMERIMAGE.
The aim of the competition is to recognize the art of documentary filmmaking as creative interpretation of reality. Putting emphasis on the visual and aesthetic aspects of the selected nonfiction entries, the jury awards the best cinematographers in the competition.
The prestige of Documentary Shorts Competition was recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences which has chosen ToruńCAMERIMAGE Festival as the ACADEMY AWARD® qualifying festival in the Documentary Short Subject category. This means that the Golden Frog award winners in Documentary Shorts Competition at ToruńCAMERIMAGE will qualify for consideration in the Documentary Short Subject category of the Annual Academy Awards® without the standard theatrical run, provided that the given film complies with other Academy rules.
CHUURAA
DIRECTOR: Evgenia Arbugaeva
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: Maxim Arbugaev, Vladimir Egorov
PRODUCTION: Albireo Films
COUNTRY AND YEAR: UK, 2026
In the wilderness of the Siberian Arctic, Aisen Klimovskii, an Indigenous Sakha palaeontologist, descends into the depths of the melting permafrost and traverses the mythical realm of the Underworld in search of an ancient creature. Balanced between mythology and science, Aisen’s journey through the claustrophobic, dangerous caves is guided by a poetic narration inspired by the epic storytelling tradition of the Sakha people. The film explores one of the most pressing climate change issues of our time: accelerating permafrost thaw releases greenhouse gases and unearths creatures carrying viruses and microorganisms from the distant past.
A COLOR I NAMED BLUE
ORIGINAL TITLE: 色をこえて青を見る
DIRECTOR: Sybilla Patrizia
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Andrzej Rudz
PRODUCTION: Mai Hosomura, Sybilla Patrizia
COUNTRY AND YEAR: Japan, 2025
Two Japanese indigo dyers embark on transformative inner journeys: one uncovers the profound meaning within the hues of blue, while the other finds a new way to see through his colour blindness. Driven by the memory of a deep shade of blue he cannot forget, Watanabe dedicates his life to recreating Japan’s most perfect shade of indigo. For years, he tries to understand the unique alchemy of factors that will bring forth his ideal hue, but none succeed. Fate introduces him to Kato, a young artisan who is colour-blind. Kato too stands at a crossroads: will he let his condition limit him, or will he use his ability to see colour in a way no one else can? As both men embark on their individual inner journeys, we witness the deeply personal story of Japan’s most famous colour and uncover the emotional and physical transformations that create this shade of blue.
INFINITY RIVER
ORIGINAL TITLE: Rio Infinito
DIRECTOR: Gonçalo Pina
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Bruno Reis Oliveira
PRODUCTION: Bravado Filmes
COUNTRY AND YEAR: Portugal, 2025
Every day, thousands of workers cross the river from the South Bank to Lisbon. They come to work in the city. They make this journey all their lives, as if caught in an endless stream of passage.
LISTEN
DIRECTOR: Taliesin Black-Brown
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Mack Fisher
PRODUCTION: Bray's Run Productions
COUNTRY AND YEAR: USA, 2026
As his mother slips away into dementia, an Alaskan sound recordist listens for what remains.
MENTOR
DIRECTOR: Krzysztof Tomaszewski
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stefan Żółtowski
PRODUCTION: Łódź Film School
COUNTRY AND YEAR: Poland, 2026
Mentor is a mysterious boxer who trains in Warsaw’s Praga district. A group of his friends from the sports club speculate about who he really is, while their shared ideas about his life come up against reality.
THE MISSING POST OFFICE
DIRECTOR: Clément Lefer
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Clément Lefer
PRODUCTION: Clément Lefer
COUNTRY AND YEAR: France, Japan, 2025
In the Seto Inland Sea, the abandoned post office of Awashima was transformed by artist Saya Kubota into a sanctuary for undelivered letters sent to the lost, the dead or no one at all. At 91, postmaster Katsuhisa Nakata continues to care for these fragments of memory. The Missing Post Office is a quiet, cinematic meditation on time, absence and the emotional weight of words that may never be read.
PAPER HOUSES AND HORSES
ORIGINAL TITLE: 水火山
DIRECTOR: An Chu
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ching-Wen Liao
PRODUCTION: An Chu
COUNTRY AND YEAR: Taiwan (ROC), 2025
A mortuary in Taiwan stores the bodies of deceased children whose parents, for whatever reason, have disappeared. Their remains are kept at the top of a freezer, sometimes for years, until the funeral home organises a ceremony. Houses and horses made of paper are burned to accompany the children on their solitary journey to the afterlife.
STILL STANDING
DIRECTORS: Livia Albeck-Ripka, Victor Tadashi Suarez
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Victor Tadashi Suarez
PRODUCTION: Livia Albeck-Ripka, Victor Tadashi Suarez
COUNTRY AND YEAR: USA, 2026
The urban wildfire that tore through Altadena, California, on 7 January 2025 was among the most destructive in history, burning more than 9,000 structures. Thousands of homes were left standing, yet contaminated with toxic ash. Many insurance companies claim these homes are habitable, and there are no state or federal regulations that determine when a home is safe to reoccupy. Residents face an impossible choice: should they risk their health to return? Shot on 16 mm film, Still Standing documents the transformation of intimate space into an alien and hazardous landscape.
THE TUNERS
ORIGINAL TITLE: Stroiciele
DIRECTOR: Paweł Chorzępa
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: Paweł Chorzępa, Maciej Kwaśniewski
PRODUCTION: Bees Film House
COUNTRY AND YEAR: Poland, 2026
In the shadows of the world’s most important piano competition, a group of expert tuners spend a month trying to achieve the perfect pitch so that the winning pianist will perform on their instrument.
WOODEATERS
ORIGINAL TITLE: Drewnojady
DIRECTOR: Julia Pełka
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Szymon Kluz
PRODUCTION: Parallax Film
COUNTRY AND YEAR: Poland, 2026
In a historic Lemko church in the Podkarpacie region, a quiet, relentless battle is being fought against wood-boring beetles that are destroying the church structure. In an attempt to save the church, an entomologist resorts to radical measures burdened by historical associations. This is a story of the tension between culture and nature, and of a struggle whose outcome leads the viewer towards questions with no simple answers.