2025 film programme
Check out our exciting PictureEast 2025 film programme below. Stay tuned for more updates!
day 1 - thursDAY 30TH january
opening gala: hard truth
Everyman Stratford International
Pansy, angry and depressed, lashes out at family and strangers. Her constant criticism isolates her, except from her cheerful sister Chantelle, who remains sympathetic despite their differences.
day 2 - friday 31st january
Day 2: how to make millions before grandma dies
Everyman Stratford International
A man quits work to care for his dying grandmother, motivated by her fortune. He schemes to win her favour before she passes.
Panel: Ching Wong Performer: Troy Cadiba
Day 3: kensuke’s kingdom + activity
Good Hotel
Young Michael, shipwrecked on a remote island, must adapt to life alone. Over time, he feels another presence, learning that this world is home to both unimaginable danger and beauty.
Day 3: all we imagine as light
Day 2: Pictureeast young programmers shorts
The Source
Curated by the PictureEast Young Programmers with Film London. A 1 hour shorts film programme, showcasing East London filmmakers and stories.
Prabha, a nurse living in Mumbai, looks for a place in the city where Anu, her roommate, and her lover can finally make love. The two women travel to a coastal town that becomes a space of freedom for their desires.
Panel: Dr Ashvin Devasundaram, Amit Kaur, Dr Priyanka Basu and Caroline Wilson
UCL East Cinema
Day 4: green border
day 3 - saturday 1st february
Day 3: caribbean shorts
Good Hotel
Curated by Tamera Heron, an East London programmer, this programme features short films that explore themes of identity, culture and traditions of the Caribbean diaspora.
Day 3: crossing
Lia, a retired teacher, has promised to find her long-lost niece, Tekla. Her search takes her to Istanbul where she meets Evrim, a lawyer fighting for trans rights, and Tekla starts to feel closer than ever.
Panel: Natalia Jugheli and Dr Erica Carter
day 4 - sunday 2nd february
Day 4: the fire inside
Day 2: on becoming a guinea fowl
UCL East Cinema
A woman stumbles across the body of her uncle on an empty road in the middle of the night. As funeral proceedings begin, secrets of her middle-class Zambian family soon come to light.
Panel: Rungano Nyoni, Susan Chardy, Dr Nobunye Levin
Day 3: the wild robot + Activity
Discover Children’s Story Centre
Shipwrecked on a deserted island, a robot named Roz must learn to adapt to its new surroundings. Building relationships with the native animals, Roz soon develops a parental bond with an orphaned gosling.
closing gala: girls will be girls
In the treacherous and swampy forests between Belarus and Poland, refugees from the Middle East and Africa are lured by government propaganda that promises easy passage to the European Union. Unable to cross into Europe and unable to turn back, they soon find themselves trapped in a rapidly escalating geopolitical standoff.
Panel: Dr Paolo Novak
Beckton Community Centre
Fluid Forms
By: Tshelane Reid
Pictureeast young programmers shorts
The story of Claressa 'T-Rex' Shields, a boxer from Flint, Michigan who trained to become the first woman in her country's history to win an Olympic gold medal in the sport.
Panel: James Cook, Leroy Nicholas, Sammenah Toussiant
UCL East Cinema
caribbean shorts programme
In a strict boarding school nestled in the Himalayas, 16-year-old Mira discovers desire and romance, but her rebellious sexual awakening is disrupted by her mother, who never got to come of age herself.
Panel: Darius Lacey, Marlon Kramer, Comfort Moye
Good Hotel
St John’s Community Centre
We Move
By: JIJO
Lloyd The Instructor
By: Donell Atkinson-Johnson
Curated by our PictureEast Young Programmers with mentorship and support from Film London. A 1 hour shorts film programme, showcasing East London filmmakers and stories. These programmers, aged 16-24, have been working alongside the festival team, learning every aspect of what it takes to put on a film festival— from programming and film curation to PR, marketing, exhibition, and event management.
Trouble
By: Aneil Karia
Food, Music and Vibes
By: Monique Needham
The Women We’ve Left Behind
By: Bil-Marhamah Rhaman
A Credit To My Race
By: Eden-Nicole Moore
Curated by Tamera Heron (Cold Islanders) this programme features short films from local filmmakers which explore themes of identity, culture and traditions of the Caribbean diaspora.
Only Child
By: Ibrahim K. Muhammad
Breathe In
By: Kaiden Ford
Emergent Behaviour
By: Marta Croft
Monochromatic
By: Karen Bryson
Holy Beef
By: Iain Simpson, Dwayne Gumbs