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Genre: Music


A man stands with an upright base in silhouette back lit by a bright light

Bailey’s Blues

Shiloh Tumo Washington  |   U.S.
English, French  
Music
When a French journalist attempts to interview a Chicago-born blues musician, all of the bitter racial resentment of the 1960s bubbles up to the surface. What starts off as a [...]

Best of CineYouth 2025

Various  |   Poland, Spain, U.S.
English, Korean, No Dialogue, Spanish  
Action, Animation, Drama, Horror, Music, Science Fiction, Social Commentary, Thriller

The award-winning shorts of CineYouth 2025 showcase the talent and vision of eight young filmmakers from around the world.

A bearded man sits on a rock playing an accordion, a graffitied wall and trees behind him.

Celtic Utopia (Útóipe Cheilteach)

Dennis Harvey, Lars Lovén  |   Sweden, Ireland
English, Irish  
Music, Political

A wry portrait of a new wave of Irish folk musicians unafraid to confront their country’s colonial and conservative past.

A group of mourning women cluster around the body of a young girl.

Chiquita Piconera

Mey Montero, Age 22  |   Spain
Spanish  
Drama, Music

A grieving mother uses vibrant Spanish dancing to cope with the loss of her youngest daughter, but the intensity of her grief threatens her relationship with her eldest child.

Two teenagers with glitter on their faces sit in the backseat of a car, purple light flooding them. One of them rests on the other's shoulder.

The Condor Daughter (La Hija Cóndor)

Álvaro Olmos Torrico  |   Bolivia, Peru, Uruguay
Quechua, Spanish  
Drama, Music, Women-Centered

A young Quechua woman is torn between the sacred midwifing tradition she practices and the temptation of becoming a singer in the big city.

A man floats in the air as he attempts a dance move in a roller skating ring. The room is dimly lit, resembling a dance club.

Dooni

Kevin Jerome Everson, Claudrena N. Harold  |   U.S.
English  
LGBTQ, Music, Religion
Preacher Walter Hawkins eulogizes legendary singer Sylvester, who died of AIDS in 1988. “AIDS is not God’s punishment,” says Hawkins in this deeply moving film on faith, love, and triumph [...]
A woman in a red and yello sweater plays a large harp in a recordoinmg studio with brightly colored walls

Isis & Osiris

Ephraim Asili  |   U.S.
English  
Music
Brandee Younger takes us through her journey as a musician, her path to learning harp, and eventually finding the works of Alice Coltrane. Her story is beautifully accompanied by her [...]
A performer stands onstage before a microphone with their arms outstretched bathed in pink light.

Make No Mistake: These Are the Glory Days

Texas Smith  |   U.S.
English  
LGBTQ, Music
While on tour for their sophomore album, emo band HOME IS WHERE pulls up to venues across the country and provides moments of community, celebration, and freedom for their trans-forward [...]

Primavera

Damiano Michieletto  |   Italy, France
Italian  
Historical, Music, Women-Centered

Early 1700s. Venice. At the Ospedale della Pietà orphanage young violinist Cecilia is awakened to the power of her musical gift with the arrival of a zealous new composer, Antonio Vivaldi.

Shorts 3: Black Perspectives

Various  |   Kenya, Nigeria, U.S.
American Sign Language, English, Portuguese  
Coming of Age, Drama, Family Affairs, Music, Romance, Women-Centered

Close ties abound in these short films spanning Brazil, Kenya, Nigeria, and the U.S. These six shorts explore the complicated relationships between parents and children, aunts and nieces, artists and their craft, and even former lovers.

Shorts 4: City & State

Various  |   Chile, U.S.
English, French, Quechua, Spanish  
Art, Comedy, Coming of Age, Drama, Family Affairs, LGBTQ, Music, Social Commentary, Women-Centered

Chicago and Illinois-based filmmakers experiment with genre, topic, and form in this eclectic program by students, upcoming artists, and established directors.

Shorts 7: Documentary

Various  |   Colombia, Mexico, Netherlands, U.K., U.S.
Croatian, English, Spanish  
Comedy, Coming of Age, Environmental, Family Affairs, LGBTQ, Music, Political, Religion, Sports

These films showcase the richness of the documentary form. Through observation, testimony, and poetic reimagining, six different complex corners of the world come into view.

A group of people and a dog sit on a vast, empty beach. They hold bags and luggage, looking tired.

Sirât

Oliver Laxe  |   France, Spain
French, Spanish  
Family Affairs, Music, Road Movie, Thriller

After a young woman goes missing at a rave, her father and brother brave the arid Moroccan landscape searching for her in a world on the brink of collapse.

A man in a sparkly costume sits at a piano, surrounded by red light and smoke.

Sun Ra: Do the Impossible

Christine Turner  |   U.S.
English  
Art, Biopic, Music

Earth’s favorite Saturnist Sun Ra is celebrated through a cosmic musical journey into the Afrofuturist’s life, artistry, inspirations, and impact.

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