Future Frames is a next-generation showcase made up of award-winning short films by students and recent graduates of European film schools, curated by the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in cooperation with European Film Promotion, with the support of Creative Europe, the MEDIA Program of the European Union, and Allwyn as its new lead partner. The selected directors and their films will be presented to the Karlovy Vary public on July 6 and 7. Esteemed Greek director Christos Nikou (“Apples,” “Fingernails”) will mentor the group.

Arnas Balčiūnas
“Beyond Napoleon’s Hat Hill”
Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater
Lithuania
The third short film directed by director and writer Balčiūnas, the naturalistic “Beyond Napoleon’s Hat Hill,” marks his bachelor’s graduation film and represents a master class in unresolved family tensions. His atmospheric master’s thesis film, “Class Photo,” competed at this year’s Cannes Critics’ Week. In parallel with his creative work, he is actively involved in film education.

David Champaigne
“Self-seeding”
University of Ljubljana, Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television
Slovenia
Champaigne, a Ljubljana-born director and screenwriter, is currently developing a feature-length version of his script “Self-Sown” at the Scenarnica Workshop, organized and financed by the Slovenian Directors Guild and the Slovenian Film Center.

Julia Coldwell Serra
“No one barks”
School of Cinema and Audiovisual of Catalonia, ESCAC
Spain
The Spanish writer-director displays a flair for dramatic comedy and a quirky tone in festival favorite “Nobody Barks,” which earned praise in Busan, Riga and Brussels. He is currently developing his first short film out of film school, titled “Municipal Services,” and plans to film it later this year. Their project was selected for the Short Film Corner Focus Script Lab at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Helmi Donner
“The lightning rod”
Finnish ELO Film School, Aalto University
Finland
Writer Helmer Donner’s interest in themes that simultaneously encompass cruelty and tenderness is evident in both “The Lightning Rod” and her first feature film in development with the working title “The Needs of Others.” It tells the story of friendship between a rescuer and a victim. The project participates in the Kehittämö – Talent Development Lab, which offers a subsidy and personal advice from the best international professionals.

Ollie Launspach
“Kiss, kiss, bang, bang”
Netherlands Film Academy
Netherlands
Perhaps the most intensely personal of the many personal films in this year’s selection, Launspach’s graduation film uses home videos, photographs, diary entries, audio recordings, and interviews to explore the impact of his gender transition on his girlfriend. This intimate and fun short has been featured widely on the festival circuit.

Marie Lukáčová
“Fringe”
UMPRUM
Czech Republic
Painter, animator, director, rapper and co-founder of the feminist group Fourth Wave, which opened a debate on sexism in Czech universities, Lukáčová is also a professor at the Center for Audiovisual Studies of the Film and Television School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU). Her ecofeminist fairy tale “Orla” was developed with the KVIFF Talents program.

Teilo Quillard
“Zampano”
The Femis
France
The son of a French trapeze artist and an English trapeze artist, director and writer Quillard grew up in a traditional circus world. His next two projects, however, take place in a more contemporary circus setting. “I Love You, Fuck Off” is about two punk clowns in chaotic love and explores codependency in a couple. “Aller Là-Bas (Ali Baba)” follows a young man who runs away from home to become a trapeze artist.

Jozo Schmuch
“Shallow terrain”
Academy of Dramatic Arts, Zagreb
Croatia
The impressive and moving “Shallow Ground” shows war as part of a personal and collective story. Schmuch is currently developing another short film called “The Second Law of Thermodynamics,” about two architects who hide their relationship from their office. He is also looking for a producer for a project about a middle-aged radio documentary director who travels through rural Croatia in search of unexplained stories after the untimely death of her teenage son.

Hae-Sup Sin
“Half Moon”
Zurich University of the Arts, ZHdK
Swiss
Viewers can see Sin in a central acting role in his master’s graduation film “Half-Moon.” The busy Zurich-based Swiss-Korean director and writer’s passion is cross-cultural stories set in diasporic communities. He is currently developing a feature film with the working title “Some Korean Summer.” It’s a romance set in the Korean countryside, about a Swiss woman and a Korean man who grow up learning about each other’s cultures. He also has another film in development with the working title “The Persimmon Tree.”

André Vaara
“My sister”
Stockholm University of the Arts
Sweden
In his film, director and writer Vaara explores intimate stories about identity, gender roles and power. He is currently developing his first feature film, “Beautiful Misfits,” which received a Wild Card Production Award from the Swedish Film Institute. The film tells the story of the tender but destructive friendship between two 13-year-old boys who run away when they are threatened with separation. It is produced by Erika Malmgren and Annika Hellström at Cinenic Film.