Midnight Madness

Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2026

In a world that tries to put everything into grids, systems and categories, we build structures to make sense of our surroundings and convince ourselves that we are in control. But what happens when the boxes we construct become too small?
Sometimes, we need an escape into worlds where logic bends, rules collapse and the strange feels perfectly natural. A place where a tiny flesh-and-blood planet can have a life of its own, where scientists study tardigrades in the hope of saving humanity, and where a forgotten inventor brings a fragile creature to life in his pursuit of perfection.
Midnight Madness invites you into the uncanny, the absurd and the beautifully bizarre: a collection of animation films that leave familiar logic at the door and embrace the strange possibilities lurking just beyond it.

Evridiki Papaiakovou

Screenings

Screening085220 / Kesköö hullus
Screening duration
5th Lux Hall Apollo Kino Plaza
Screening080521 / Kesköö hullus
Q&A duration
Screening duration

Films

In the Beginning

Local title
Alguses
Director
Ala Nunu
Year
2026
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2026
Programme
Genre
Subject

A spaceprobe called beresheet, legless birds of paradise, hamster cull and humanity trying to make the world make sense.

Director
Ala Nunu
Screenwriter
Ala Nunu, Sophie Colfer
Producer
Bruno Caetano, Bruno Simões, Carlota Pou, Marcin Podolec
Cast
Sophie Colfer, James Morley, Ala Nunu, Olly Scanlon
Cinematographer
Ala Nunu
Editing
Ala Nunu, Sophie Colfer
Sound
Carlota Marques
Runtime
Language

Eclosion

Local title
Koorumine
Original title
Eclosión
Director
Luis Morillo
Year
2025
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2026
Programme
Genre
Subject

In a forgotten laboratory, a brilliant yet obsessive inventor brings his most ambitious creation to life: the Hatchling. Fragile and full of potential, the creature becomes both an object of care and experimentation. The film explores how far the pursuit of perfection can go… and the price paid for it.

Director
Luis Morillo
Screenwriter
Luis Morillo
Cinematographer
Edwin Gautreau
Editing
Luis Morillo
Production Design
Edwin Gautreau
Composer
Carlos García
Sales agent
Maria Serra
Sound
Alain Muñiz
Runtime
Language

A Tree

Local title
Puu
Director
Mark Wee
Country
Year
2026
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2026
Programme
Genre
Subject

A sacred tree is desecrated as land is cleared for urban development and a migrant worker suffers from unexplainable afflictions. Fearful of repercussions from reporting a work incident, a worksite foreman attempts a cover up and learns of histories that haunt the land.

Director
Mark Wee
Screenwriter
Mark Wee
Producer
Jia Lee
Editing
Mark Wee
Production Design
Jing Hui Soon, Sarah Lim, Alvin Phua
Composer
Wei Yong Teo
Music
Wei Yong Teo
Sound
Wei Yong Teo
Animation
Alvin Phua, Mark Wee, Yusuf Bin Adnan, Andre Quek, Jerrold Chong
Runtime
Language

The Host

Local title
Peremees
Original title
The Host
Director
Xing Chen
Year
2026
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2026
Programme
Genre
Subject

On her wedding day, a young bride notices a parasitised caterpillar and is drawn into a series of dark imaginings. As the ceremony unfolds, her fears of marriage, pregnancy, and childbirth begin to merge with memories of family trauma. Through this unsettling vision, the film explores how traditional expectations of heterosexual marriage and motherhood can haunt the female body across generations.

Director
Xing Chen
Screenwriter
Xing Chen
Producer
Xing Chen
Cast
Xing Chen
Runtime
Language
Subtitles

Crab Diane

Local title
Vähk Diane
Director
Ryan McCown
Country
Year
2025
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2026
Programme
Genre
Subject

A young woman, tired of working at a seaside diner, reaches out to cosmic forces.

Director
Ryan McCown
Screenwriter
Ryan McCown
Cast
Colleen Alley, Grace Beerhorst
Composer
Peter Czibolya
Runtime
Language

Point

Local title
Punkt
Director
Ari Sohn
Year
2025
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2026
Programme
Genre
Subject

A young violinist born on the moon meets a mysterious white hand that transforms her into a moth, sending her on a circular journey back to her origin. A poetic tale of cycles and return.

Director
Ari Sohn
Screenwriter
Ari Sohn
Producer
Ari Sohn
Cast
Ari Sohn
Editing
Ari Sohn
Composer
Ari Sohn
Sound
Ari Sohn
Runtime
Language

My Name is Lilith

Local title
Minu nimi on Lilith
Original title
Mon nom est Lilith
Director
Leoluna Robert-Tourneur
Country
Year
2025
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2026
Programme
Genre
Subject

Lilith plummets through the sky at full speed while Eve and Adam gaze at each other in a bathtub that is too small.
After her fall, Lilith is lost in the darkness. She is guided by multiple identities and, thanks to Eve's voice, they shatter the mirrors that hold them captive. In the water, the two women transform. They meet around the forbidden fruit and reveal their light.

Director
Leoluna Robert-Tourneur
Screenwriter
Leoluna Robert-Tourneur
Producer
Viviane Vanfleteren, Nidia Santiago
Cast
Gemi Diallo, King Baxter, Réhin Hollant, Sacha Martelli
Editing
Leoluna Robert-Tourneur
Runtime
Language
Subtitles

Glug

Local title
Glug
Director
Ori Gold
Country
Year
2026
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2026
Programme
Genre
Subject

Glug lives alone on a tiny flesh and blood planet. Their strange relationship is disturbed by the appearance of an unbelievably sweet creature.

Director
Ori Gold
Screenwriter
Ori Gold
Producer
Liran Koren
Cast
Tess Hashiloni, Nimrod Havilio
Music
Nik Spiv
Sound
Nik Spiv
Runtime
Language
Subtitles