SHORTS BLOCK – GROWING PAINS

THE DATE – Sasha, a loud mouthed thirteen-year-old goes on her first date but when she gets turned on and takes charge of her own sexuality it reveals the confusing nature of what girls are allowed to want.

ALL THE YOUNG DUDES – Georgia, USA, 1973. Glam rocker Billy rebels against his conservative high school, inspiring admiration from an unlikely ally with a desire to walk on the wild side….

GHOUL – A young boy feeds his imagination of an unpleasant ghoul with the unhappy homelife that traps him and his mother. When life is clearly imitating art the pair seek solace in each other, and patch up the physical and emotional damage to carry on.

THE CURE – 17-year-old Renal is brought to a sex worker by his uncle to prove his masculinity to his patriarchal father.

“The Cure” shows how the absolute power of adults who have a conservative and rigid mentality leads to a traumatic experience for a teenager. An “educational” act driven by good intentions turns into psychological and physical abuse.

LAST SPRING – The father Kong Laoer, always tried to “cure” his gay son Kongque(“peacock” in Chinese). One night Kongque finally ran out but suffered disillusionment. He went to a desperate “awakening” road.

EID MUBARAK – A privileged six-year-old Pakistani girl embarks on a mission to save her beloved pet goat from being eaten on the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Azha, only to learn the meaning of sacrifice.

MANMADE – Funerals can be true male environments where men want to

cry but refuse to while their past rides up to hit them. Eddie

Holgate is caught in this exact situation. His father has built

him up all his life to be tough in an attempt to trickle down

his masculinity. But as a tumultuous and charged service

at his team’s football pitch sparks unwanted memories,

Eddie is forced to examine the man he idolized his

father to be against the husband and caregiver he very

much was not. With the help of his older brother, Joe,

Eddie manages to unpick years of emotional neglect and

abuse, and finally, allows himself to cry.

HIDDEN – 11-year-old Sean lives with his mother, a single parent with young-onset dementia. When the birthday boy returns home from school one afternoon, frustration and resentment rise to the surface, resulting in harsh realities being faced.