At dawn, a strange wild flora suddenly sprouts up on a morning like any other in an unnamed city. Mysterious new plants, flowers, and trees follow during the night, sparking questions about where they came from, what they’re capable of, and what they want. Legend has it that all city limits hide a secret garden invisible to the naked eye. Could these new species running wild be local? Two friends discover a notebook that offers clues to the nature of this inexplicable occurrence. This tale, which a cautious voice whispers to us over eight chapters, , is anchored as much in the imaginary potential of the film’s premise as in its impressionist visuals. (AJL)

Nour Ouayda also programmed in the festival a free screening of works by Malena Szlam as part of Doc-to-doc and will participate in a conversation with the artist Malena Szlam.

Filmmakers statement regarding the cancellation of the screening on november 20th :

“In solidarity with the Palestinian people's right to self-determination and their fight to live free and unoccupied, we withdraw our films from the screening scheduled for Monday 20th of November at Cinéma du Parc. This comes as a response to Cinéma du Parc's cancellation of a fundraiser screening in support of Gaza that was supposed to take place on November 6th at their cinema. In doing so, Cinema du Parc contributed to the silencing of Palestinian voices at a time where an ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people is being perpetuated by the Israeli occupation forces in Gaza. We stand against this act of censorship and stand with the Palestinian's fight to resist erasure. None of us are free until all of us are free.
We thank the festival for their support of our decision, and for taking the responsibility of an act made by one their venues.”

- Nour Ouayda, Matthew Wolkow and Deborah Stratman, filmmakers

competition : International Short and Medium-Length Competition

The Secret Garden