XXI-st
International Festival
of Red Cross and Health Films
June 12 - 20, 2025
60 years since its establishment
The peaceful life on a racehorse stud farm in rural southern Sweden is shattered when Lykke and Kristian’s second child is born in their hallway. What should be a time of happiness turns into a descent into darkness as Lykke is consumed by postpartum depression. As her world unravels, Kristian struggles to step up – until, fearing for their children, he makes the heartbreaking decision to leave. On her own Lykke must fight her way back from the abyss, rediscovering her strength and reviving hope for the family to reunite.
Three ocean dwellers come to terms with a jeopardy that threatens the place they feel most alive, looking to a sustainable future in seaweed.
Follows patients and caregivers at a psychiatric centre with a unique floating structure located in the middle of the Seine river in central Paris.
Cracking the Code, narrated by Mark Ruffalo, is an inspiring story of vision, perseverance, and the power of science to change the world. Phil Sharp’s journey from a Kentucky farm boy to Nobel laureate embodies the American Dream and the triumph of entrepreneurial spirit. His 1977 groundbreaking discovery of RNA splicing rewrote the rules of molecular biology and ignited a life-saving scientific revolution, laying the foundation for an industry that has become a cornerstone of global innovation and economic growth – and transformed the health of billions of patients worldwide.
Director: Natalya Lobko
Sinara is a gynecological surgeon, the last hope of many women. She really works wonders by performing risky surgeries and giving women the happiness of motherhood.
A film dedicated to donation and transplants in Bulgaria, revealing the human stories behind one of the most noble decisions – to donate life. Through emotional stories, the film sheds light on the importance of donation.
Directed by Sho Igarashi
Miki Hanada, known as the “Nightingale of Aomori,” dedicated her life to saving others. After World War II, she worked as a nurse at Hachinohe Red Cross Hospital, playing a crucial role in the widespread treatment of polio (pediatric paralysis). As a military nurse, she was dispatched to war zones three times, where she helped save countless lives. She also provided medical care in remote areas and fought to reduce infant mortality rates. This film tells the inspiring story of Miki Hanada, a woman who devoted her life to protecting the health and well-being of her community.
Ariana Benedé, Ari, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at the age of 13. Alongside her mother and a team of health care professionals, they embarked on a race against time to pioneer the first clinical trials of CAR-T therapy, an innovative treatment that modifies immune cells to effectively combat cancerous cells. The documentary narrates the story of a mother and daughter's battle to bring new hope to patients like Ari, who had exhausted all therapeutic options and had little hope left. Ari never lost her spirit or her hope to achieve this. Along the way, many people supported her, society responded, and it all served to mobilize professionals and researchers to make Ari's dream a reality – saving lives with this new treatment..
Documentary about Dr. Stefan Cherkezov, who pulled forty-seven people out of a burning bus on August 15, 1963 – Golyama Bogoroditsa and died from the burns. A film about the feat and oblivion.
Nina is a little girl with Down syndrome who will have to stay for two days as a guest in a center for children with disabilities. Her mother, Emanuela, has to accompany her eldest son Giacomo to a soccer meeting. What should be just a quick stop on the trip, turns into the inner journey of a mother who only needs someone to lend her a hand.
All stories are important. Especially those that teach us how to be safe. Dr Stathis Avramidis, one of the world's most prolific water safety authorities, together with the illustrator, Nikos Kouremenos, created a touching tale inspired by true events from the TV series "Baywatch".
To maximize economic productivity, the government orders the elderly to relocate to distant housing colonies. Tereza, 77, refuses-instead embarking on a journey through the Amazon that will change her destiny forever.
Mariano, an energetic and eccentric octogenarian, wanders in a state of confusion on a beach on the Roman coast. He has a wound on his forehead and no papers or memory of his recent past. Dario is the young policeman who rescues him. Transported to the emergency room, the elderly man resolutely refuses to be medicated. He wants to leave with Dario. He is convinced that the policeman is his son and does not want to part with him. Dario decides to humor the elderly man to calm him down and thus allow the doctors to treat him. He stays with him while waiting the arrival of relatives. Left alone in the corridor of a hospital, bathed in light filtering through large windows overlooking the sea, Mariano is finally serene, almost affable and goliardic. He engages the policeman in reminiscing about an unforgettable day at the sea, spent with his son when he was a child. Dario listens, humors him, accompanies him on that journey through time and memory. The two, together, create, interweaving personal memories, fantasies and desires, the imaginary and shared tale of a day, in which Mariano rediscovers his son for a moment and Dario is able to deal with his personal conflict with the father figure. By caring for each other, they succeed in caring for themselves.
Children of Apartheid follows Ahmad, a young Palestinian dreamer longing to see the vibrant life beyond the towering apartheid wall. Determined to break free from his confined world, he embarks on a risky journey into Palestinian cities, confronting harsh realities, difficult choices, and moments of danger. Through Ahmad’s eyes, the film explores themes of freedom, identity, and resilience, capturing the universal struggle to pursue dreams against all odds.
Ukraine. The time of the military Russian invasion. Two Ukrainian soldiers are doing the "routine" work of transporting the bodies of the dead.
When Nicole reveals to her childhood friend and cousin, Reine, that she’s been addicted to heroin since she was 13, they decide to document Nicole’s rehab journey. Hyphen follows her struggle to move out into the world as an adult and grown woman despite the lack of economic opportunities and a poisonous cultural upbringing that teaches young women to suppress their ideas and sexuality and to follow a set of religious and cultural rules.
In Kabul, where the Taliban have barred girls from attending university, Freshta, a young woman deprived of higher education, teaches children under six and uses photography as a means of resistance against oblivion. Through her lens, she captures moments of oppression, hope, and resilience. But in a city where truth is a crime, every photograph carries a risk. This documentary is a poignant and raw portrayal of a young woman fighting for light in the darkness—where her choices not only shape her own fate but also give voice to a silenced generation.
Who is Professor Chirkov? tells the story of a remarkable Bulgarian doctor who defied the odds to perform the first heart transplant in the Eastern Bloc and revolutionised Medicine in his country. His pioneering work saved countless lives, reshaped medical practices, and inspired generations of doctors. Yet, despite his immense contributions, he was ultimately betrayed. The film prompts us to question how society rewards those who work for its benefit—and what happens when such individuals are discarded.
At the age of 15, Ane-Martha Tamnes Hansgård was given her first psychiatric diagnosis. Over the next decade, more followed—each bringing new labels, medications, and side effects that shaped her identity in ways she never questioned. Until she did. DIAGNONSENSE is an intimate, raw, and unexpectedly humorous documentary about the ways psychiatric diagnoses can shape—and sometimes overshadow—a person’s sense of self. Using a mix of intimate home videos, video diaries, and newly filmed material, the film traces Hansgård’s journey from adolescence to adulthood—capturing the struggle of growing up under psychiatric labels, the painful process of breaking free from them, and the terrifying but liberating act of figuring out who you are beyond them. Honest, deeply personal, and at times darkly funny, DIAGNONSENSE doesn’t impose answers—it invites the audience to question, reflect, and find their own perspective on what it truly means to live beyond a diagnosis.
2023-2024 yıllarında Türkiye'de en çok ödül kazanmış kısa metraj belgesel film. - The most awarded short documentary film in Türkiye in 2023-2024. A fairy tale documentary of Büşra Ün, the first female tennis player to represent Turkey in the Olympics, her stance against life and the sacrfices she has made on the way from her daily life to her sports career.
While preparing the details for his own funeral, an elderly man realises that he will be celebrating Christmas alone. Unable to fall asleep, he decides to spend the holiday at the grave of his deceased wife.
Charles, a government official, must navigate through a major health scandal, forcing him to decide whether or not to disclose this crucial information to the public.
The peaceful life on a racehorse stud farm in rural southern Sweden is shattered when Lykke and Kristian’s second child is born in their hallway. What should be a time of happiness turns into a descent into darkness as Lykke is consumed by postpartum depression. As her world unravels, Kristian struggles to step up – until, fearing for their children, he makes the heartbreaking decision to leave. On her own Lykke must fight her way back from the abyss, rediscovering her strength and reviving hope for the family to reunite.
"Eternity Package" follows Bobkata, a failed undertaker in a corrupt provincial town where old grudges never die, but are passed down through generations. His business is on the verge of bankruptcy, his wife is leaving him, and his main competitor - a scoundrel with connections in the hospital - is quietly taking over the entire "death market". Burdened with debt and tormented by the painful loss of his parents, Bobkata is ready to do anything to save himself. In his desperation, he comes up with an absurd plan - to give dance lessons in a nursing home and thus recruit customers for his prepaid funeral services.
In WWI, Dr. Stefano Zorzi works at a clinic, treating soldiers' wounds and cases of self-injury to avoid combat.Dr. Giulio, who helps soldiers, becomes a silent competition that also involves nurse Anna. The Spanish flu strikes the city.
Three generations of female farmers under one roof. Anna is pregnant and only thinks about castrations. Katinka may not be able to become a farmer and wears her bikini in the milking parlor, but grandma's tomatoes have turned out better this year than ever before. A summer on dying German farms.
December 2023. An acting troupe is going on tour with a play about Santa Claus to spread holiday cheer in the small towns of post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina. While the children are delighted, the appearance of Santa Claus reignites old conflicts between the adults.
Brian (23) hopes to inherit the respect of Pablo (55) his father's days of crime. He fights with a group of elite rugby players after feeling humiliated by them and is injured. It is difficult for his father to intervene to avenge him since he left all types of violence in the past to focus on his upbringing, so El negro, Pablo's partner, responds and hurts the aggressors strongly. Brian continues with his messy life, stealing and taking drugs in the neighborhood. He returns to the conflict club, but this time armed and in a brutal confrontation Brian is beaten to death. Pablo decides to avenge his son's death with his companions....
In the capital of Transylvania, Cluj, Orsolya serves as a bailiff. She has to evict a homeless guy from a cellar one day, which has disastrous results and sets off a moral problem that Orsolya must try to resolve.
The housekeeper Allie, lost in her thoughts, spends her days between hotel rooms, finding solace in the lives of the guests. After a brief encounter with a famous director, she decides she has something to tell, which leads to the interweaving of real-life situations and fiction. Allie is a fan of the famous director Levent, who has arrived at the hotel as an honored guest at the Söke Film Festival. At first, while the locals inundate the director with stories of their bitterness and broken hearts, hoping to be immortalized on the big screen, she quietly watches them from afar. However, it is not long before Allie drags Levent into the murky waters of the past.
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