Are You Kidding?

Prepare to abandon your expectations, for what begins as light-hearted and mischievous descends into darker, more absurd stories to twist and turn your perceptions of reality.

Screening dates and booking

Check which tickets are still available across the festival – and find out about extra ticket releases and standby queues.

Credits

  • Total running time

    86min

  • Programmed by

    Victoria Millington, Sky Lewis

  • Content warning

    This short film programme contains flashing images, scenes of graphic violence or injury, animal slaughter or animal cruelty, nudity, and themes of suicide.

Little Monsters

Les Petits Monstres

  • Director-screenwriter

    Pablo Léridon

  • France 2024. 13min

  • Language

    French
    With English subtitles

When visually impaired Erwan has to share a ride with wheelchair-user David, war is declared.

Candy Bar

  • Director

    Nash Edgerton

  • Screenwriter

    Damon Herriman

  • Australia 2025. 6min

  • Language

    English

A young girl thinks a man in the candy-bar line looks like her dad.

Crab No. 7

  • Director-screenwriter

    Victor Nauwynck, Shir Ariya

  • UK 2025. 10min

  • Language

    English

A controlling mother interferes in her nine-year-old daughter’s audition in order to live out her own dreams.

Mother Goose

  • Director

    Joanna Vymeris

  • Screenwriter

    Hugh Stubbins

  • UK 2025. 12min

  • Language

    English

  • Content warning

    Contains scenes of animal cruelty.

After the death of her husband, Janet decides to distract herself by rearing a goose.

The Wasp or The Sheer Beauty of Accepting Yourself

  • Director

    Cass Virdee

  • Screenwriter

    Tommy Hurst

  • UK 2024. 13min

  • Language

    English
    With English subtitles

  • Content warning

    Contains themes of suicide.

A young man grappling with melancholy is stunned to learn he is 62% wasp.

Party Animal

  • Director-screenwriter

    Ali Gill

  • UK 2025. 12min

  • Language

    English

A dispirited barber is tormented by the discovery that a beloved local politician is turning into a donkey.

End of Play

  • Director-screenwriter

    Edem Wornoo

  • UK 2025. 15min

  • Language

    English
    With English subtitles

  • Content warning

    Contains scenes of graphic violence or injury.

A man finds himself in a life-or-death race against the clock to overcome his creative block before his head explodes.

Whitch

  • Director-screenwriter

    Hoku Uchiyama

  • USA 2025. 5min

  • Language

    English

  • Certificate

    LFF18

  • Content warning

    Contains flashing images, scenes of animal slaughter, and nudity.

An elderly woman breaks into a house, acts strangely and begins a ritual that summons something dark into the living room.

How to book

Tickets start from £10 for all screenings and events in London, with concessions available for many screenings. Booking information and ticket prices.

If you’re aged 16 to 25, sign up for free to BFI 25 and Under for a chance to get £6 tickets to all screenings and events (subject to availability).

Missed out?

More tickets may become available for these screenings before and during the festival. Find out about extra ticket releases and standby queues.

Our programmers recommend...

Discovering Home

Whether trying to settle into a new country, seek familiarity while abroad or find escape from their houses, these shorts examine how our sense of home shapes our identities.

Read more about Discovering Home

Pulling the Rug Out

From heart-racing horror that will make you wince, to eerie stories that get under your skin, these short films are sure to leave you unsettled.

Read more about Pulling the Rug Out

Roots and Branches

The many facets of family and community come together in these shorts, examining the people we turn to when the traditional family isn’t there, and the power community can bring.

Read more about Roots and Branches