Short Film Selection

Artistic project Breathing Reef (2019-) is a continuum for Satu and Maima (Maria) Tani’s childhood playing.

Satu Tani explains: “While playing as kids, we created our own worlds, costumes, and props, and lost track of time. Roles we made up gave us courage to say whatever we wanted, although in real life, Maima never talked to strangers.”

Breathing Reef is a play played by adult artist sisters. Its costumes and props are trimmed to the extreme. Essentially it explores interaction – both between human beings, and between human and non-human living nature. The presence of ecological crisis is obvious.

Satu and Maima Tani won The Artist of the Year prize of the Finnish Outsider Art Festival in 2022. Their award-winning piece was a performative version of Breathing reef.

OAF’s inclusive curator team described the performance with following words:“The performance tells what it’s like to breath in the sea when seas get polluted. It is amazing how --- inorganic, crocheted objects come to life, breathe, become mobile and organic, merge into the plasticity of the body, harmonizing the surrounding space. The performance presents a distinctive way of combining nature and culture, with creativity and one’s own body.”

Breathing Reef connects contemporary art with outsider art. Satu Tani is a visual artist (Candidate of Culture and Arts 2011, Master of Culture and Arts 2019) and has studied media and video art. Maima Tani is a jewellery artisan and has graduated from Invalidiopisto (2011).
Video version of Breathing Reef was filmed in July 2023 with a cinematography team, which was made possible by a grant by the Finnish Arts Promotion Centre. The video premiered at an international outsider art biennale, Art Brut Biënnale, in Hengelo, the Netherlands. Satu’s and Maima’s trip to Holland was supported by the Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux and Frame Contemporary Art Finland.

Satu & Maima Tani's second short film The Decomposition was made at the Outsider Art Festival's OAF Academy as a commission for the Espoo Ciné film festival.

A strange divine being spins a huge ball of dung in a field, tirelessly. In a café, a human being enjoys his position as the "crown of creation". The human being is starting to get a little out of hand. Elsewhere, in a neuro-weird future, Microplastic Clothes Moth and Moth are modifying their environment in different processes.

For 18-year-old Finnish–Kosovan Fatu, a simple visit to the grocery store feels as nerve-racking as a lunar expedition: for the first time in his life, he’s wearing makeup in public. Luckily his best friend Rai, a young woman on the spectrum of autism, is there to ferociously support him through the voyage.

The film received the Finnish Film Foundation's main award, the Risto Jarva award in 2023.

Welcome to the Land of Spectrum! Each superhero has an incredible power and story, to fight for their right… to bring color to the land of spectrum! Will the Minister of Darkness ban color for the whole land? Tune in to find out!
The entire Spectrum League cast is comprised of autistic and neurodivergent actors, except for the two young girls. The co-director, Domonique Brown is on the autism spectrum. The co-editor & animator, Amos Stillwell is on the autism spectrum. The Music composer who did the original score, Atticus Jackson, is on the autism spectrum.

This film is made up of an almost entirely autistic and neurodivergent cast & crew! They are all part of Spectrum Laboratory, a nonprofit in LA that creates original works of film, music and animation with.

Hot Mess offers an insight into ADHD in a compact and creative way, highlighting the damage and anxiety that can be caused by a well-meaning, but ultimately toxic, parent.

​Voiced by Nicola Walker (Last Tango In Halifax, The Split, Unforgotten).

Flora just wants a moment of peace. But sitting still is anything but quiet when your thoughts won’t let you breathe. In this fast-paced and intimate short, we step into the chaotic, funny, and vulnerable mind of someone trying (and failing) to meditate. This 7-minute drama-comedy is a humorous and heartfelt portrayal of neurodivergent experience, grounded in honesty and simplicity.

Best Short Film Award – Gritnova Film Festival (Hollywood, 2025)

As Arlo, 13, designs and sews a new outfit for a cosplay convention, we discover why dressing up as someone else is more than just a fun hobby for the autistic teenager.

Spectrum explores the life of Steve, a man with autism, as he navigates a world that often isolates him. Along the way, Steve redefines what it means to be a superhero, facing challenges with courage, resilience, and deep humanity. Through his journey, we witness the transformative power of acceptance and the untapped potential for greatness within every individual, no matter where they fall on the spectrum.

The film is authentically cast with neurodivergent/autistic actors with while being supported by acclaimed actors including Oscar Nominee/Bafta Winner Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners, Loki, Black Mirror, Deadpool & Wolverine).

The Film contains graphic depictions of violence.