KUKI .18 Young Short Film Festival Berlin
2 - 9 November 2025

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TeenScreen Programs for teenagers

TS 06 Girls* Riot! 16+

Resilient, poetic and in a spirit of solidarity, the films in the Girls* Riot programme address issues from the life experiences of FLINTA* individuals around the world. Whether vibrant or devoid of colour, humorous or alarming, they are all united by a profound desire for community and connection. With their selection of films, the young curators of the programme skilfully and courageously draw attention to our struggles for freedom, understanding and justice.

Themes: Identity, post-migration, community, drag, anti-queer discrimination, queer joy, family, pressure, tradition, war, flight, longing for home, beauty standards, self-acceptance, superstition surrounding menstruation, sisterhood, group dynamics, solidarity, unwanted pregnancy, abortion laws, friendship, coming of age, violence against women, resilience, resistance.

School subjects: Art, Ethics, Social Sciences, Politics, German

05.11.25, 18:30h, Pfefferberg Theater

08.11.25, 18:30h, Unterfilm Clubkino

Girls* Riot! ab 16
6 films
Zari

Zari

Shruti Parekh // United States, India // 2024 // 19:16 min

Live Action

American teen Neelu feels like a fish out of water amidst preparations for her sister’s wedding in Delhi until she forges a brief and unexpected connection with Zeyb, a quiet sari store clerk who moonlights as an internet drag queen.

[Content Note: Homophobia and heterosexism]

J'ai 18 ans (La guerre)

J'ai 18 ans (La guerre)

To Be Eighteen (The War)

Romane Pilote Lamontagne // Quebec // 2025 // 09:08 min

Documentary

Intertwining imagery from the filmmaker’s own daily life with the memories of Lisa (Yelyzaveta), an 18-year-old Ukrainian who lived in Montreal for a few months. Two strangers, so far yet so close. In the film, they are united.

[Content Note: War, Flight]

Neh Neh Pok

Neh Neh Pok

Neh Neh Pok

Jaime Ng // Germany, Singapore // 2024 // 06:36 min

Animation

A girl longs for puberty and big boobs, but gets tiny ones instead. Between criticism and ridicule, both external and internal, the path to self-love is not always straightforward. If only our boobs could talk!

WAShhh

WAShhh

WAShhh

Mickey Lai // Malaysia // 2024 // 19:10 min

Live Action

Set in a Malaysian National Service Camp, a Chinese female trainee is commanded to lead her multiracial female comrades to wash the stained sanitary pads in the middle of the night, because one of them is allegedly possessed by a ghost.

[Content Note: Blood, Sexism and misogyny, Racism and racial slurs, Psychological Violence]

9 Tage im August

9 Tage im August

9 Days in August

Ella Knorz // Germany // 2024 // 17:03 min

Experimental, Live Action

Graduation, summer with friends, just 18 and: an unwanted pregnancy. Between parties and outdoor swimming pools, Lea‘s focus hones in on navigating Germany‘s abortion bureaucracy. And time is ticking.

[Content Note: Abortion]

Ser Semilla

Ser Semilla

To be a Seed

Julia Granillo Tostado // Belgium, Mexico, Finland, Portugal // 2024 // 05:47 min

Animation

Touching, growing, caring, dancing. Seedlings climbing around fingertips, birds morphing into humans. But the tender touches slowly fade as the shadows grow and the women start to disappear. A poetic retelling of a 17th century tale of witchcraft in our 21st century. A story about women, witches, gender violence, about women’s strength and resistance.

[Content Note: Kidnapping and abduction, Murder, Oppression, Sexism and misogyny]