The phrase comes from the film in the program Lespri and summarizes the program’s philosophy: how one recognizes oneself and one’s families through archives, existing footage, and memories while reflecting on social dynamics and traditions, past and present. The program begins with Warm Shadows, where one feels an interlude of silence, longing and separation between a mother and a son in a Punjabi household. It continues with Thunder Bird, a documentary about a Burmese transgender leader and her traveling theater troupe, followed by Lespri, a grieving reflection on the filmmaker’s Black father. The next film turns to Tunisia, where the director attempts to reconnect with tradition through reenactments and family archives, later glitched and questioned in their portrayal of gender norms and naming in As Told by a Corpse. The journey continues through essayistic reflections and performative interventions on archival footage from Egypt and the filmmaker’s childhood. Like cruising along the Nile, time becomes non linear, yet the desire to return home remains persistent in Until We Return. The program reaches its final station with Dancing Fireflies, where Black Colombian queer friends imagine departure into the cosmos. Here they confront a final question: what if utopia exists somewhere else? To find joy, must one depart? And if so, is it ever truly possible to leave? The films leave us with these questions, suspended between memory, belonging, and the dream of another world.

https://xposedfilmfestival.com/2026/shorts-3-i-barely-recognize-you/