Bueu, January 12, 2026 – FICBUEU – the Bueu International Film Festival once again becomes part of the international circuit of the Shortcutz Amsterdam International Audience Award, an initiative that connects audiences around the world with the best of contemporary Dutch short filmmaking.
Organised by Shortcutz Amsterdam, this international audience award invites viewers from different countries to discover and vote for their favourite short film among the six nominees for Best Short Film of the Year, selected by the festival jury. Screenings take place simultaneously in more than 25 cities worldwide, strengthening a global network of festivals, venues and cultural institutions committed to emerging cinema.
In this edition, cities such as Lisbon, Johannesburg, Belgrade, Edinburgh, London, Lima, Budapest, Rotterdam or Maputo, among many others, host these special sessions. In Spain, Bueu once again places itself on this international map thanks to the collaboration with FICBUEU, thus reinforcing its link with Shortcutz Amsterdam and its commitment to short film as a key format for the discovery of new talent.
The screening in Bueu will take place on 16 January at 9:00 pm, at the Centro Social do Mar, and will allow the attending audience to actively participate by voting for their favourite short film, thereby contributing to the final decision of the International Audience Award.
Short film programme
The session brings together six Dutch fiction and documentary short films that address, from very diverse perspectives, issues such as historical memory, identity, injustice, freedom, or the need to raise one’s voice.
- Barlebas (Malu Janssen, 19’59’’)
An experimental musical drama set in 1595 that portrays the final days of Heylken, a young woman accused of witchcraft. Although her fate seems sealed, her free spirit leaves a deep mark on a village girl, in a story about persecution, resistance and the transmission of freedom. - Beyond Silence (Marnie Blok, 17’)
An intense real-time drama set in a single room. Eva, a young deaf woman, tries to report the abuse she suffered at the hands of a university professor. Through a tense conversation between three women, the short film explores silence, power and the courage needed to speak out. - Marleen (Jop Leuven, 6’57’’)
During a group therapy session, Lena revisits the relationships that shaped her life: her father, her first boyfriend and Marleen. An intimate and minimalist portrait of emotional memory and the traces left by human bonds. - Sanyi Kakas (Lotte Salomons, 19’16’’)
In a Hungarian city marked by poverty and division, a rooster that escapes from the market unexpectedly becomes a symbol of hope and unity. A documentary as unusual as it is revealing about community, solidarity and distrust. - Sign and See the World (Safi Graauw, 10’59’’)
The forgotten story of three young Surinamese men who enlisted to fight in the Second World War alongside the Dutch army. A documentary about discrimination, sacrifice and the harsh distance between the promise of adventure and the reality of war. - Yaroshenko (Lieuwe Siebe de Jong, 3’04’’) A brief and powerful documentary portrait of Viktor Yaroshenko, a Ukrainian man marked by war, loss and survival, condensing an entire life into just a few minutes.
The announcement of the winning short film will take place on 25 January 2026 as part of the 13th edition of the Shortcutz Amsterdam Annual Awards, at a gala to be held in Amsterdam.
