In an international climate marked by uncertainty, LIM’s (Less Is More) selection team received a 35% increase in submissions from across Europe and beyond. This surge reflects a growing determination among filmmakers – from emerging talents to established voices – to address pressing societal issues through cinema. This year’s slate brings together projects from Eastern Europe, including contributions from Poland, Romania and the Baltic states, as well as entries from Belarus, Turkey and Azerbaijan, alongside works from Ireland, Italy, France, the UK, Switzerland and Belgium.

LIM’s development process for 2025 continues to emphasise collaboration and rigorous creative exploration. Supported by partnerships with European researchers in fields such as cognitive science, anthropology, and sociology (through StoryTANK), the programme seeks to provide robust development tools to filmmakers intent on rethinking narrative structures and engaging with contemporary challenges.

This year’s selection includes a variety of ambitious projects. In Wagner and Satan, Māris Mičerevskis and Raitis Abele plunge into the shadowy corridors of 1837 Riga, where a secret Masonic lodge and a charismatic, treacherous conductor set the stage for a relentless chase into madness. Meanwhile, in the intimate drama Tough, Nathan Naenen delicately portrays Cas’s internal battle as he confronts the ghosts of his past while awaiting the birth of his son.

Ana‑Maria Comănescu’s Paradox weaves a tongue-in-cheek comedy-drama around a group of friends in their late twenties, whose individual crises collide. Cem Demirer’s Risk of Pinching transforms a tragic accident into a meditation on family, responsibility and the hidden dimensions of everyday life. And in The Whale, Jesse Gilbert paints a striking portrait of forbidden friendship set against the rivalry between two villages, where even a beached whale becomes a catalyst for change.

The spirit of experimentation continues with Quentin Nozet’s Scraps, a tense thriller in a deserted village that exposes the dark undercurrents of isolation and despair. Meanwhile, Naomi Pacifique’s Rocks like skin like thoughts invites us to contemplate the elemental forces of nature and memory as two lovers revisit the vestiges of their past.

Aliaksei Paluyan’s Incubator confronts the brutal realities of war and the precarious nature of hope through the story of a Belarusian mother caught between duty and survival. Cristina Picchi’s Wishlist explores the bonds of family and the bittersweet art of remembering, as an Italian photographer embarks on a journey of reconciliation. Ismail Safarali’s Strays blends the surreal with the visceral in a tale of unlikely affinity between rebellious teenagers and a mysterious guardian at an abandoned coastal retreat.

Morgan Simon’s A Night in Paradise and Anastasia Veber’s Daydreaming about the end of the world further demonstrate the impressive range of LIM 2025, encompassing themes from the intoxicating allure of elite decadence to a frenetic urban odyssey where reality and hallucination blur. In Drifters, Naomi Waring captures the raw pain and unexpected healing of a young father grappling with loss, while Agata Wieczorek’s Tall Mountain unites medical simulation and forbidden desire against a backdrop of familial rupture.

Janno Jürgens and Anti Naulainen present The Man Who Wasn’t Meant, a meditation on identity and belonging, where an unplanned life becomes a search for love and self-acceptance. Rounding off this year’s selection, Linda Olte (Sisters [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film]) is participating while her forthcoming feature The Child is currently in production.

Here is the complete list of LIM projects and participants for 2025:

Paradox – Ana‑Maria Comănescu (Romania)
Risk of Pinching – Cem Demirer (Turkey)
The Whale – Jesse Gilbert (Ireland)
The Man Who Wasn’t Meant – Janno Jürgens, Anti Naulainen (Estonia/Latvia)
Wagner and Satan – Māris Mičerevskis, Raitis Abele (Latvia)
Tough – Nathan Naenen (Belgium)
Scraps – Quentin Nozet (France)
Linda Olte (Latvia)
Rocks like skin like thoughts – Naomi Pacifique (Switzerland/Netherlands)
Incubator – Aliaksei Paluyan (Belarus)
Wishlist – Cristina Picchi (Italy)
Strays – Ismail Safarali (Azerbaijani/France)
A Night in Paradise – Morgan Simon (France)
Daydreaming about the end of the world – Anastasia Veber (Russia)
Drifters – Naomi Waring (UK)
Tall Mountain – Agata Wieczorek (Poland/Ireland)