by InTrieste
The third day of the 27th ShorTS International Film Festival on Monday offers audiences a mix of immersive technology, children’s cinema, environmental storytelling and international short films across venues in Trieste.
The program begins at 4 p.m. at Sala Xenia, where visitors can experience the festival’s Immersive section through five six-degrees-of-freedom (6DoF) virtual reality works. Using specialized headsets, audiences can explore each story from multiple perspectives in a fully immersive environment. Reservations are available through the festival’s website.
At 5 p.m., Cinema Ariston hosts the “Kids” program of the Shorter Kids’n’Teens section, featuring 10 short films selected by primary school students from Trieste aged 6 to 10. The young jurors took part in the “Cinema in Corsivo” film education program during the school year, helping curate the lineup.
Environmental themes take center stage at 7 p.m. at Teatro Miela with the Eco-ShorTS competition, which presents nine films exploring the relationship between people and the natural world. Highlights include Common Pear (2025) by Slovenian director Gregor Božič, following scientists studying archival materials from past generations of farmers to better understand their connection to the land; Giants (2025), British filmmaker Andy Berriman’s contemporary reinterpretation of Don Quixote set in a city shaped by austerity; and Atomic Secrets (2025), a documentary by Kazakh director Zhanana Kurmasheva about Ukrainian scientist Dmitry Kalmykov, whose research focuses on the long-term radioactive legacy of Kazakhstan’s Semipalatinsk nuclear test site after years spent studying the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster.
The evening concludes at 9:15 p.m. in the Public Garden with the second block of the festival’s Maremetraggio competition. Among the featured films is What We Leave Behind (Ce qu’on laisse derrière) by Canadian filmmakers Jean-Sébastien Hamel and Alexandra Myotte, which follows an injured man confronting memories and parts of himself left behind over the course of a single day.
