NEXTDOOR NETWORKING: THIS YEAR'S SELECTED PROJECTS

NEXTDOOR NETWORKING: THIS YEAR'S SELECTED PROJECTS

It is with great excitement that we are revealing the list of this year's selected projects as part of the NEXTDOOR NETWORKING program.

1. 72 hours directed by Vilmos Heim

"72 Hours is a story about miscommunication, fragile masculinity, and the desperate need for attention within a sibling dynamic, told through the lens of a single restless night. This film grew out partly of my personal experience as the oldest of four siblings, often caught between care and control, observing how difficult it can be to express love without hiding behind teasing or distance. I am drawn to stories that explore emotional landscapes often left unspoken, where pride and shame collide in the smallest gestures. 72 Hours is not only a coming-of-age story but also an intimate portrait of two brothers navigating the silent consequences of growing up in a world that teaches boys to perform adulthood without understanding it. Throughout the film, Budapest at night becomes a reflection of their restless journey: a city of wet streets, shimmering reflections, and empty spaces, where the handheld camera captures the tension of a bond constantly slipping away. This is a film about the quiet violence of growing up without the tools to say what we really feel, and the rare moments when that silence finally breaks."

2. Fruits directed by Vuk Marković

"Fruits is a short narrative film that tells an emotional story about a woman facing deep social, economic, and familial pressures in early 20th-century Montenegro.

The protagonist, Milena, a mother of three daughters, discovers she is pregnant once again and hopes her husband, Petar, will receive the news with joy. Instead, she is met with his disappointment and his demand that she terminate the pregnancy due to their dire financial situation. Milena's internal struggle — between her maternal instinct and the brutal realities of their life — forms the emotional core of the film.

Genre-wise, Fruits can be classified as a drama in a neo-noir style, enriched with elements of mystery." 

3. Jehon directed by Evangelina Gkiokrousi 

"This documentary is a deeply personal and artistic exploration of cultural identity, heritage, and the power of music as a bridge between generations. For us as directors, this project is not merely an academic or cinematic exploration but a homecoming. As second-generation immigrants, we have carried Albania within us, yet our connection to its cultural traditions has remained distant, unspoken. This film is an attempt to break that silence, to seek understanding through active engagement, and to reclaim a piece of our heritage through the experience and practice of Albanian polyphony. 

At its core, the documentary intertwines personal narrative with cultural preservation. It does not simply observe but also participates. Through the lens of musicology, direction, and performance, the film delves into the depths of polyphonic singing, one of Albania’s most ancient and revered musical traditions. But rather than treating it as an artifact of the past, we will present it as a living, breathing tradition, shaped by those who practice it and those who seek to rediscover it."

4. Raindrops directed by Filip Karaivanov & Blagoslava Kirilova

"The film explores the themes of friendship, loss, search and reunion. The story is a visual metaphor for the water cycle and the rich inner world of childhood imagination. Through the eyes of the two droplets, the viewer experiences the wonder of the world, the joy of connection and the power of hope."

5. Ratcatcher directed by Gavrilo Stojković

“Ratcatcher was a blast to write and come up with. I grew up with books about fairies and other creatures, and I was heavily influenced by the real world around me. It felt natural to try to connect the two and give the first world a bit of a more modern approach while the second world shined with its potential to still host the fantastic. I think it would make a great story for a family movie night, and I’d love to share the passion I have for these sorts of things with others."

6. The Guest directed by Zornica Grigorova

“The Guest is a story about the deepest human need — the need to believe. Not in religion or dogma, but in something greater than ourselves, something that gives us meaning and strength when the world around us is chaotic and uncertain.

It’s a tale about letting go of control and accepting life as it is — unpredictable, often harsh, and unfair. Life doesn’t ask if we’re ready. It just happens. In that chaos, we choose: to believe in ourselves and others, or to be consumed by fear and doubt.

The film explores the consequences of ego — how, when blinded by loneliness and insecurity, we can either destroy or heal."

7. The Inheritance directed by Rares Hantiu

"With The Inheritance, I want to deconstruct the imagined story-world in order to uncover the buried emotional fractures—the seeds of distrust, silence, and dysfunction that exist between two brothers who can no longer name what binds them. This film begins from a very personal place: a moment of complete stillness and collapse. Three years ago, I found myself alone in the apartment I grew up in, on the night before I had to leave it for good. Sitting on the floor, against a bare wall, I felt stripped of everything—possessions, purpose, identity. That night, something in me broke quietly. That break became Toni, and The Inheritance is the space where I try to understand it. I believe that at the core of this film lies not a narrative arc, but a psychological excavation. To do this truthfully, I need the story to breathe through organic dialogue—not exposition, but words that reveal what the characters cannot confront directly. I want each line to feel like it was lived in before being spoken. The house they’re emptying becomes a desert of memory and unspoken conflict. The dialogue must help them walk through it—sometimes staggering, sometimes stumbling into truths they’d rather not face."