A heartfelt and cinematic closing night that captures the beauty of resilience, creativity, and storytelling. Featuring diverse voices and striking visuals, Block Three closes the festival with power, humor, and humanity.

Total runtime: 2:20:41

Tickets for screenings and events range from $12 to $30, with 10% of all proceeds donated to NOCA (Nosara Community for the Arts) in support of local arts and future community film programs.

For tickets click here - Experience the rhythm of Nosara

Films:

Daddy Issues — Narrative Short (USA)

4:41 — Stephanie Chloe

Matt Campanella and Stephanie Chloé Hepner’s short comedy Daddy Issues features a particularly awkward encounter in circumstances which all the more difficult because the young dominant involved in the scene is on probation in a new job, trying hard to impress the boss. He’s spent a long time getting ready, making sure that his appearance is perfect, and it’s really just bad luck that things turn out as they do.

Daddy Issues raises questions about human interaction after a period of intimacy is over, and the intensity of the moment has given way to a longing to... forget!

Duality — Narrative Short (Costa Rica)

6:00 — Jana Saldaña

Peaceful moments shared between a daughter and her father are tainted by the complicated dynamics between men and women. Through a series of memories and quiet reflections, the young girl begins to recognize the dualities that exist in all aspects of life. She learns that no single experience can define a universal truth, life is inherently complex.

Fish Tank — Narrative Short (USA)

20:00 — Tristan Cohen

Taking place over the course of one night on New Year’s, we immerse ourselves into Henry’s world, his actions juxtaposed against his mother’s journal entries written about him throughout his childhood.

Beyond The Rush - Narrative Feature (USA)

1:50:00 — Robert Sayegh

Working undercover to expose a corrupt judge, an investigative journalist confronts his secret past while attempting to reconcile his mother's mental illness and must choose between addiction and obsession and the past, or love and redemption and the future.

Total runtime: 2:20:41

Tickets for screenings and events range from $12 to $30, with 10% of all proceeds donated to NOCA (Nosara Community for the Arts) in support of local arts and future community film programs.

For tickets click here - Experience the rhythm of Nosara

An exploration of identity, connection, and the courage to face life’s defining moments. From local voices to global perspectives, this block brings together stories that remind us how film can both reflect and transform the human experience.

Total runtime: 1 hr 53 min

Tickets for screenings and events range from $12 to $30, with 10% of all proceeds donated to NOCA (Nosara Community for the Arts) in support of local arts and future community film programs.

For tickets click here - Experience the rhythm of Nosara

Films:

Luz Nocturna — Narrative Short (Costa Rica)

14:39 — Kim Torres

Three siblings grapple with solitude as they learn of their mother's departure with no return. The forest, both companion and specter, weaves its ethereal presence—a haunting echo that lingers in the spaces between their shared moments.

Ordinary — Narrative Short (USA)

8:37 — Ralph Schulz

Inside the surreal world of a traveling circus, a melancholy clown and a bearded lady sit backstage, waiting for their cue to perform as “freaks.” In the quiet minutes before the show, a strange and tender conversation unfolds about dreams, identity, and the longing to be like the “ordinary” people in the audience. As they wrestle between self-acceptance and the ache to belong, their bond deepens into a fragile love that challenges what it means to be extraordinary.

Betty Bird Goes to War — Narrative Short (USA)

14:49 — Stephanie Chloe

Betty Bird is an artist confronting the internalized wounds of shame and self-blame that mar her life decades after the end of her violently abusive marriage. Through the mystical midnight hours, as she paints a portrait of a woman fighting desperately for her life, Betty has a painful but cathartic encounter with her younger self that, by morning, will transform both the painting and her sense of herself.

Betty Bird is a story of courage, resilience, and the healing power of art.

Why Won’t You Say It Back — Narrative Short (USA)

24:00 — Zach Greenberger

As Fay and Ozzy begin their relationship, Fay establishes a rule: Ozzy cannot fall in love with her. She says she struggles to understand the word "love" and finds that it mostly complicates things. When Ozzy inevitably confesses his feelings, they compromise: he can say it freely, but she never has to say it back...

We The Surfers — Documentary Feature (France)

51:00 — Arthur Bourbon

In a small village in Liberia, a West African country scarred by 20 years of civil war, local surfers are striving to change their destiny and that of their village through the creation of a surf club.

Total runtime: 1 hr 53 min

Tickets for screenings and events range from $12 to $30, with 10% of all proceeds donated to NOCA (Nosara Community for the Arts) in support of local arts and future community film programs.

For tickets click here - Experience the rhythm of Nosara

An inspiring conversation with Luna Lauren Vélez, Veronica Caicedo, and Stephanie Chloe about representation, resilience, and redefining women’s voices in cinema today.

Tickets: $5 - For tickets click here Nosara International Film Festival - Panel Discussion - Women in Film | Eventcombo
All proceeds donated to NOCA (Nosara Community for the Arts) to support a new community film program launching next year.

A night of bold storytelling and emotional depth. From intimate short films to boundary-pushing narratives, this opening screening block sets the tone for the festival’s celebration of creativity and courage in filmmaking.

Total runtime: 1 hr 54 min

Tickets for screenings and events range from $12 to $30, with 10% of all proceeds donated to NOCA (Nosara Community for the Arts) in support of local arts and future community film programs.

For tickets click here - Experience the rhythm of Nosara

Films:

The Nameless Call — Narrative Short (Italy)

5:20 — Simone Menin, Fabio Retano, Giuseppe Lombardi

We sometimes make the mistake of believing that we have seen it all now. However, an epic adventure a year ago has destroyed this assumption, and some other things we claimed to have known. This film attempts to tell the journey of that (re-)discovery. Alongside pals from Vroomie, Wow Tapes team traveled on a bus throughout Costa Rica’s untouched gems of rainforests, beaches, volcanoes, waterfalls - all of which are home to a diversity of natural wildlife. Like any other paradise, we are left in awe with the alluring beauty of its nature, people and culture. But Costa Rica awashed upon us another kind of profound magic, one that perplexed us, at the same time brought us a sense of oneness. (Deep inside, we recognize that this experience can never be justified, but the mystery still beckons to be told.) The Nameless Call is an ode to the awakening of the mostly forgotten but perpetually calling sacred relationship between nature and humans.

Saved by Grace — Documentary Short (Costa Rica / Israel)

12:00 — Orion Eshel + Zack Raffin

When wildfires tore through Los Angeles, one 1970s VW bus, Azul, stood untouched amid the devastation. Its image went viral, becoming a symbol of hope for a community in ruins. Why does some life survive while other life is consumed? Why is one home burned and another spared? Saved By Grace follows Megan and Palisades community members Jimmy Ganzer, Erica Simpson, and David Barton as they navigate the immediate aftermath of the fire. A love letter to a community, a eulogy to what is lost, and a testament to the resilience of nature.

Why Did You Come Back Every Summer — Narrative Short (Spain)

18:30 — Juli Suarez

Based on the worldwide bestseller of the same name written by Belén López Peiró, the short film shows Lucía (alter ego of the author of the book), a 22-year-old student, who reveals the abuse she suffered as a child. A trip to the town of her childhood will be the beginning of a process of resilience, but the silence and family hypocrisy she will encounter will be her greatest obstacle.

Diamante Azul — Short Music Video (Costa Rica)

03:26 — Yamile Garcia

Diamante Azul represents the premenstrual phase of the feminine cycle — a time of raw emotion, intuition, and truth. The film was shot in Nosara, Costa Rica, and created by Costa Rican dancer, singer, and songwriter Yamile García.

Through movement, music, and symbolism, the film embodies the wild woman archetype — the one who feels deeply and speaks her truth without asking for forgiveness or permission.

The piece was conceived after a Vipassana meditation retreat in the mountains of Heredia, Costa Rica: ten days of complete silence and one hundred hours of meditation. During this experience, Yamile faced a profound inner awakening — realizing how often she had surrendered her spiritual power, and reclaiming it through the sacred act of self-expression.

Diamante Azul tells the story of this reclamation. Each image and symbol mirrors the inner journey of a woman remembering her sovereignty — her “blue diamond” — and returning home to her body, her land, and her truth.

Clown Song — Narrative Short (Canada, US, UK)

7:00 — Brady Dowad

A man’s already bleak life becomes a horror circus when his mom sleeps with an actual clown.

A/Way — Narrative/Documentary Feature (USA)

1:07:00 — Derek Garcia

After suffering a profound loss, a travel journalist is sent on assignment to Martinique, which sparks a candid reflection on her unsettled life. Blending the lines between documentary and narrative, A/way focuses on the stories of the people Anna profiles in Martinique (played by non-actors), which pushes her to examine her path forward coming to terms with her grief. This film is a unique take on one's place in life. Is this all there is, or is there another way?

Total runtime: 1 hr 54 min

Tickets for screenings and events range from $12 to $30, with 10% of all proceeds donated to NOCA (Nosara Community for the Arts) in support of local arts and future community film programs.

For tickets click here - Experience the rhythm of Nosara

Join filmmakers Tristan Cohen, Orion Eshel, Derek Garcia, Zach Greenberger and Ralph Calle-Schulz for a lively discussion on the independent film industry including the challenges, the breakthroughs, and the stories behind the screens.

Tickets: $5 - For tickets click here Nosara International Film Festival - Panel Discussion - Filmmakers Roundtable | Eventcombo
All proceeds donated to NOCA (Nosara Community for the Arts) to support a new community film program launching next year.

Opening Night Party

Wednesday, December 3, 2025
7:00 PM – Late

Kick off the Nosara International Film Festival with an unforgettable night under the stars!

Enjoy live DJ sets, a red carpet entrance, and the chance to meet and mingle with filmmakers and special guests.

Tickets: $20 (includes one drink) For tickets click here Experience the rhythm of Nosara
At the door: $25
Location: Encuentro, El Pueblo, Nosara

Celebrate the start of NIFF 2025.
Good music, great company, and cinematic magic in the heart of Nosara.