Argentine cinema will be represented at the upcoming Berlinale with the world premiere of The Time to Leave, the new short film by Renzo Cozza, which has been selected to compete in the International Short Film Competition of the 76th Berlin International Film Festival, taking place from February 12 to 22.

This year’s Berlinale Shorts section will feature 21 previously unreleased titles from 20 countries, all vying for some of the festival’s most prestigious awards: the Golden Bear for Best Short Film, the Silver Bear Jury Prize (Short Film), and the CUPRA Filmmakers Award, which grants €20,000 to the winning project. In addition to the financial prize, the short film that receives the Golden Bear will qualify directly for the Academy Awards race in the Best Short Film category the following year. The winners will be announced on February 21, following deliberations by an international jury of three members.

Produced by Aurora Cine, Esquimal Cine, and Febrero Cine, in association with Florencia Clérici, the film presents an intimate story centered on Patricio, a man who works for his family and experiences a growing sense of existential confinement. When he decides to accept a date with a stranger, this seemingly minor choice becomes the starting point for a possible break from the life he has been leading. The cast includes Martín Shanly, Jerónimo Bosia, Paula Grinszpan, Pilar Viñes, and Julián Larquier Tellarini.

From the festival’s curatorial team, Anna Henckel-Donnersmarck, director of Berlinale Shorts, noted that many of this year’s selected works share protagonists grappling with persistent inner conflicts, explored through restrained yet resolute storytelling. She also highlighted the recurring presence of fantastical or magical elements as expressive devices in several of the competing short films.

With this premiere, Cozza adds a new chapter to a filmography that includes Paseo, Las flores, El hincha, and La necesidad de un testigo, reaffirming his presence on one of the most influential international platforms for short-form cinema. The Time to Leave will be part of a selection that seeks to expand the narrative boundaries of contemporary cinema while engaging with the personal and social tensions of the present.

International Short Film Competition Selection

A Woman’s Place is Everywhere, de Fanny Texier (EE.UU.)

Chuuraa, de Evgenia Arbugaeva (Reino Unido)
Cosmonauts, de Leo Černic (Eslovenia / Italia)
Di san xian, de Jingkai Qu (China)
Ein Unfall, de Angelika Spangel (Austria)
Flim Flam, de Siegfried A. Fruhauf (Austria)
Graft Versus Host, de Giorgi Gago Gagoshidze (Alemania / Georgia) Henry is a Girl Who Likes to Sleep, de Marthe Peters (Bélgica)
Kontrewers, de Zuza Banasińska (Países Bajos, Polonia, Francia)
La hora de irse, de Renzo Cozza (Argentina)
Les âmes du Fouta, de Alpha Diallo (Francia / Senegal)
Les juifs riches, de Yolande Zauberman (Francia)
Miriam, de Karla Condado (México)
Mit einem freundlichen Gruss, de Pavel Mozhar (Alemania)
Oupatevak het tam phnom, de Savunthara Seng (Camboya)
Plan contraplan, de Radu Jude (Rumania)
Stallion y la bola de cristal, de Christian Avilés (España)
Taxi Moto, de Gaël Kamilindi (Suiza / Francia)
Unidentifizierte Unflugobjekte (UUO), de Sasha Svirsky (Alemania)
Yawman ma walad, de Marie-Rose Osta (Francia / Rumania / Líbano)
Yuragim, de Varia Garib, Kirill Komar (Austria / Uzbekistán)