From Chinese shipping captains with a soft spot for pop music to teens surfing the net for new love, things aren’t always as they appear in this shorts programme that features fantastic visual effects and some of the most imaginative storytelling found in the Festival.

Beasts in the Real World, Sol Friedman

Set in a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant, this genre-bending delight rolls documentary, science-fiction, and animation together to form a savory cinematic maki.

Daybreak (Éclat du jour), Ian Lagarde

Director Ian Lagarde (Vent solaire) returns to the Festival with this invigorating look at the group of rebellious Montreal youths on the cusp of adolescence.

A Grand Canal, Johnny Ma

Director Johnny Ma wonderfully flouts formal conventions with this poetic portrait of a Chinese sea captain, for whom swooning Mandopop melodies offer respite from the drudgery of his duties.

Noah, Walter Woodman, Patrick Cederberg

In a story that plays out entirely on a teenager's computer screen, Noah follows its eponymous protagonist as his relationship takes a rapid turn for the worse in this fascinating study of behaviour (and romance) in the digital age.

Out, Jeremy Lalonde

A young man confronts his parents his a startling admission in Jeremey Lalonde’s hilarious, vampiric twist on the traditional coming-out tale.

Seasick, Eva Cvijanovic

Eva Cvijanovic’s dreamlike pen-and-ink animation is a marvelous maritime escapade, enveloping viewers in a beautifully ethereal underwater world.

Young Wonder, James Wilkes

Fanboy fantasies spring to vivid life in this adventure into the imaginations of a pair of youthful playmates.