Open-air film screenings by the sea. Sounds like a perfect summer evening and that is exactly what is coming to Limassol this Friday as the International Short Film Festival of Cyprus and the Rialto Theatre present an outdoor cinema experience.

While the festival prepares for its 16th edition this autumn, it makes the most of Limassol’s summer season by organising a film night to revisit some of the films from last year’s selection. Five films from Finland, Cyprus, the Netherlands, France and Lebanon return for one evening at the Molos Amphitheatre in Limassol. The films each leave their mark, at times comic and poetic, other times unsettling.

Starting at 8.30pm, the screenings are free to attend and are best suited for audiences above 18 years old. On the evening’s agenda, organised in collaboration with the Limassol Municipality is the film Fish River Anthology (Finland), a 10-minute story which begins at the fish counter of a supermarket about to close. A handful of customers stand in the queue and wait and the wait becomes an occasion for existential reflection and a spontaneous song. Veera Lamminpää combines live action and animation in a film that wins audiences over with its humour and humanity.

Andrea’s Sheittanis’ film Nikos’ Long Walk (Cyprus) will also be screened, telling the story of two men with nothing in common who decide to climb a mountain together to shout. The Cypriot director explores friendship, despair and the human need for release through a road trip that becomes something far greater than it first appears.

What If They Bomb Here Tonight?

Unreal Estate Agent (The Netherlands) is about Jos, who is desperately searching for a home. During a house visit, the unexpected happens: the estate agent is accidentally killed. From that point on, there is no way back, only forward. Bodhi Le Belle constructs a suspenseful dark comedy that sharply skewers the madness of the property market.

In the film Little Monsters (France), Erwan has only one thing on his mind: get to school and tell Agathe he loves her. The problem? He shares his medical transport van with David, who has plans of his own. This is a tender and comic film about rivalry, difference and the small heroic acts of everyday life.

The last film in the programme is What If They Bomb Here Tonight? (Lebanon), a story about a couple lying awake with their children nearby, listening to the news and contemplating whether to stay or leave Beirut. Samir Syriani shot this film with his own wife, in a personal and deeply moving document about life under threat and the impossible choice between roots and survival.

The ISFFC Summer Screenings

Short film screenings from the previous edition of the International Short Film Festival of Cyprus. July 10. Molos Promenade, Limassol. 8.30pm. Free admission. www.isffc.com.cy/post/the-isffc-summer-screenings