‘Just a Vibe’ Shorts

*CONTENT WARNING: Self-Harm*
An estranged mother arrives at the silent retreat that her daughter is attending. When the two women engage in an unusual – and fantastical – power struggle, limits are tested, generational trauma is brought to light, and together they must grapple with mortality and forgiveness.

2002 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. While her mother is expecting their second child, young Thi befriends Ngoc, a club waitress who has just moved in as a tenant in their family home. As their friendship grows, she discovers that Ngoc is secretly a sex worker. Meanwhile, an art book of Tamara de Lempicka’s female nudes, stolen from a bookshop, silently bears witness.

A beetle abandoned by his colony lives in the heights of an oak tree. Under the intrigued eye of the insect, a hiker pitches her tent at the foot of the tree to spend the night, while a group of forest rangers mark the trees to be cut down with a red stroke.

Celeste no longer knows how to exist in the world; not even the parties she organizes bring her any joy. After fleeing from one of these gatherings, she stumbles upon a church. In this transcendent and spiritual place, she will have a special encounter that will help her rediscover herself.

A resentful teenager is forced to babysit her turtle-obsessed half-brother; meanwhile, he dives into a vivid fantasy world where he is a sea turtle and she is a tortoise. This film was made as part of the American Film Institute’s 2025 Directing Workshop for Women Program.

During her final night of pregnancy, an 18-year-old girl named Grace, alone in the sweltering city and haunted by dreams of the future, finds comfort in the surprising kindness of two strangers — Shai, the salty owner of her local bodega, and Red, a tough city kid. While Grace’s nightmare ultimately proves prophetic, the little community she’s discovered allows her to face it with strength and courage.

A struggling millennial gets a priest to exorcise his imaginary friend.