ClujShorts 2025 Program


Thursday, April 10th  
Friday, April 11th  
Saturday, April 12th  
Sunday, April 13th  

Thursday, April 10th 2025

 

18:00 Cinema Arta
Tickets online
Short film premiere  
Nomad Games — Beyond time  
Director: Alexandra Ghejan  
The screening is followed by discussions with the film’s director.  
Hosts: Ioana Cosman and Vasile Cipcigan  
Event organized in partnership with Nomadis

 

Friday, April 11th 2025

 

16:00 Cinema Victoria
Tickets can be bought at the cinema or online
Short film screenings: Official selection ClujShorts 2025 (1h30m)

  • 3MWh Czech Republic, Documentary
  • Astra Spain, SF
  • Lenin in reverse / esrever ni nineL Russia, Comedy
  • Portraits? Great Britain, Animation
  • Les mousses France, Comedy
  • One time muse Romania, Drama
17:00 Cinema Mărăști  
Free admission within the limit of available seats.
Short film screenings: Official selection ClujShorts 2025 (1h15m)

  • My teenage blackout France, Animation/Drama
  • Stateless Iran, Drama
  • Ana can do everything Germany-Spain, Drama
  • Professional Parent Romania-Slovakia, Drama
  • And that’s for this Christmas Bulgaria, Drama
17:30 Casino  
Free admission within the limit of available seats.
Opening of the International Short Film Festival ClujShorts 2025
One Frame, One Story, A Story Installation opening – “Apocalypse after AI”  
Installation with works created with the help of artificial intelligence.  
Members of the ClujShorts 2025 team imagine a possible apocalypse caused, due to, generated by artificial intelligence, somewhere, sometime in the future…
Exhibitors: Nicoleta Stoica, Camelia Chirteș, Alexandra Ghejan, Dana Ungur, Andra Dîrvariu, Natalia Radu, Rareș H. Stoica.
Curator: Radu Sălcudean
Presentation „Artificial Memories” Florin-Adrian Marc
The work “Artificial Memories” explores the border between technology and emotion by creating a digital avatar that embodies the memory, personality and experiences of a real person. Using technologies such as MetaHuman, Blender, Unreal Engine and ConvAI, the avatar becomes a mediator between the past and the present, allowing natural interactions with the audience. Visitors can carry out authentic dialogues, thus having the opportunity to discover fragments of the personal history of a lived life, now preserved in a complex digital database. Through this work, the audience is invited to reflect on how artificial intelligence can preserve, reconstruct and reinterpret human memories, transforming them into a living and interactive legacy.  
The works will remain available for viewing and interaction until the ClujShorts 2025 Closing Gala, Sunday, April 13, 2025.
ClujShorts Talks (1)  
Gabriel Ovidiu Lucaciu, specialist in computer security and cybernetics  
Behind the screen  
What is AI, AI pattern recognition, AI applicability in cinematography, awareness of the dangers posed by AI and the defense mechanisms we have at our disposal.
Press conference in a friendly and familiar setting.
ClujShorts 2025 opening cocktail — The joy of reunion
18:00 Cinema Victoria
Tickets can be bought at the cinema or online
Short film screenings: Official selection ClujShorts 2025 (1h30m)

  • Mr. Hope Canada, Animation/Drama
  • Your ears Canada, Drama
  • Unwanted relatives Germany, Documentary
  • Narranext Canada, SF/Comedy
  • At Joanna’s Belgium, Drama
  • Hills like white elephants Romania, Drama
18:00 Cinema Mărăști
Free admission within the limit of available seats.
Short film screenings: Official selection ClujShorts 2025 (18+) (1h30m)

  • The Sea in Between Croatia-Czech Republic-Slovenia, Drama
  • The game Russia, Comedy
  • Medea Adrift Spain, Animation
  • The dinner Spain, Comedy
  • 6,21 Israel-Russia, Other
  • Basri and Salma in a Never-Ending Comedy Indonesia, Comedy
20:00 Casino
Free admission within the limit of available seats.
ClujShorts film screening with and about AI (1h10m)

  • X Brazil, Animation
  • OVO France, Animation
  • Athena Germany-Ukraine, Thriller
  • Frail Switzerland, Drama
  • Humormatic Spain, Comedy

Saturday, April 12th 2025

 

14:00 Cinema Victoria
Tickets can be bought at the cinema or online
Short film screenings: Official selection ClujShorts 2025 (1h30m)

  • The Last Bet Austria, Drama
  • Sweeter is the night France, Animation
  • Know Your Stones Germany-The Netherlands, Documentary
  • notETERNALS Russia, Fantasy
  • Kidnapping John Malkovitch France, Comedy
16:00 Cinema Victoria
Tickets can be bought at the cinema or online
Short film screenings: Official selection ClujShorts 2025 (1h20m)

  • The Visit Romania, Animation
  • Black Balloons Israel, Drama
  • Casting Spain, Drama
  • Hey little one Canada, Animation
  • Titanic, suitable version for Iranian families France-Iran, Comedy
  • Catlands Croația-Slovenia, Animation
  • Fear Not Fear Itself United States of America, Musical
  • Two-Sided Romania, Drama
  • Q&A
17:00 Cinema Mărăști  
Free admission within the limit of available seats.
Short film screenings: Official selection ClujShorts 2025 (1h30m)  

  • Amanda, you lied Spain, Drama
  • It’ll pass Lithuania-Great Britain, Drama
  • The boy with white skin Mali, Drama
  • Unfamiliar Skin Brazil, Drama
  • Dig Spain, Thriller
17:30 Casino  
Free admission within the limit of available seats.
ClujShorts Talks (2)
Ciprian Turcu, software developer, AI practitioner and enthusiast  
Living with Artificial Intelligence: How Our Work and World Are Changing  
A broad view of artificial intelliegence influence beyond IT. Since when has artificial intelligence been around, where is it now, and where is it headed?
18:00 Cinema Victoria
Tickets can be bought at the cinema or online
Short film screenings: Official selection ClujShorts 2025 (1h15m)

  • Heaven forbid Canada, Drama
  • Life or theater Spain, Drama
  • The crown shyness Canada, Drama
  • Nomad Games Romania, Documentary
  • Q&A
18:30 Casino  
Free admission within the limit of available seats.
ClujShorts Talks (3)  
dr. eng. Vivi Năstase – researcher in natural language processing and machine learning at Idiap Institute/University of Geneva  
Large Language Models and Artificial Intelligence  
What happens inside large language models and what is their connection to artificial intelligence? We will talk about language and why it is so difficult to process when it seems so simple to us, I will tell you secrets about chatGPT (spoiler alert: it learns based on a word game), what is the connection to artificial intelligence, and we will discuss your questions on the topic.
19:00 Cinema Mărăști
Free admission within the limit of available seats.
Short film screenings: Official selection ClujShorts 2025 (18+) (1h13m)

  • Be Right Back Spain, Horror
  • The Unbearing United Stats of America, Horror
  • She Stays Mexico, Horror
  • Paradigm United States of America, Other
  • You’re the one I love Spain, Drama
20:00 Casino
Free admission within the limit of available seats.
Short film screenings with and about AI: Official selection ClujShorts 2025 (1h30m)

  • Joey Skaggs: The Solomon Project United States of America, Documentary
  • The Eggregores’ Theory Italy, Animation
  • Vera’s Dream of Sushi Russia, Drama
  • Blood Ties France, Horror
  • Time Sensitive Characters France, Documentary

Sunday, April 13th 2025

 

18:30 Casino Closing Gala of the ClujShorts International Short Film Festival 2025
ClujShorts Talks (4)
Prof. dr Rodica Mocan, Faculty of Theater and Film, University Babeș-Bolyai  
Artificial Intelligence between Cinematic Metafiction and Dystopian Reality
Movies are a popular way to escape from a sometimes difficult reality. With the help of artificial intelligence, special effects and stories are becoming more impressive, making it harder to distinguish reality from fiction. This makes us think about how AI influences our perceptions and what this means for society, especially as the boundaries between real and imaginary blur. (rephrased to less formal, by GPT 4.0)
Awards Gala ClujShorts 2025
Moderators: Dragoș Pop and Alexandra Ghejan
Astronomical observations through a telescope: Let’s look up!  
Ștefan Pop – Coț, vice-president of astROmania, SRPAC, professional astrophotographer/photographer and personal brand administrator Coțmic with Mobile Astronomical Observatory and astrophotography.  
The exhibition of astro-photographs made by Ștefan Pop-Coț will be open from April 10-27.
Concert Marquis Collective  
Marquis Collective is an instrumental band, led by Patricia Marchiș, that aims to redefine the boundaries of the fusion style.
Each song combines complex jazz harmonies, electrifying rock riffs and funky grooves. Through an original approach, the group defies musical conventions, creating its own sound.  
Line up: Patricia Marchiș – Saxophone, Marius Roje – Piano, Cristina Lazariuc – Bass, Sebastian Arvai – Drums