open and shut 2026

Directed by Thiess Girardet

“open and shut” is a short film about two sisters who find themselves stuck in old roles after their parents’ separation. Sascha and Liz are searching for closeness, but their efforts are repeatedly thwarted by arguments. In three repetitive cycles that grow longer with each iteration, they find themselves at the same threshold—a room cluttered with vases by their obsessive father—where new conflicts arise before each argument breaks off and starts all over again. In the end, two portraits remain: Sascha and Liz, who want to say something to each other but cannot. They are stuck. The film forms a duet with "TAKE CARE" (2025).