Vietnamese short film 'Giấc Mơ Là Ốc Sên' (The Dream is a Snail) is set to screen in the 2026 Short Cuts programme at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in Canada in September. — Photo courtesy of CJ CGV Vietnam

HCM CITY— Giấc Mơ Là Ốc Sên (The Dream is a Snail), a Vietnamese short film directed by Nguyễn Thiên Ân, is set to screen in the 2026 Short Cuts programme at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in Canada in September.

According to TIFF, this year’s selection includes 45 short films from 30 countries across seven curated programmes, spanning live-action narrative, documentary, animation and hybrid filmmaking.

The Dream is a Snail is listed in Strange Cuts, a sub-programme of Short Cuts featuring six films ranging from satirical horror to mind-bending animation to innovative thrillers.

As part of the Short Cuts programme, the film and other productions are eligible for the jury-selected Short Cuts Awards: Best International Short Film, Best Canadian Short Film and Best Animated Short Film.

Films winning Best International Short Film or Best Canadian Short Film may be eligible to qualify for consideration for the Academy Awards in the short-film categories.

The Dream is a Snail centres on Huy, a desperate background actor who is hired as a human model for an anti-ageing workshop involving snails. What begins as an absurd assignment gradually develops into the quiet anxieties of young people seeking meaning in modern life.

The 15-minute film was developed through the 2025 CJ Short Film Project under the mentorship of director Phan Đăng Di. It was one of five projects selected for production support through the programme.

The work premiered at the 79th Cannes Film Festival in May, where it competed for the Short Film Palme d'Or, one of the festival’s most prestigious awards for short-form filmmaking.

Jeong Jiyoung, CEO of CJ CGV Vietnam, said: “We are so proud that the productions developed through the CJ Short Film Project have consistently achieved success at prestigious international film festivals.

"The success of Giấc Mơ Là Ốc Sên reaffirms the programme’s mission to discover and nurture talent, creating a solid launchpad for young Vietnamese filmmakers to step onto the global stage.”

The CJ Short Film Project was initiated by the CJ Cultural Foundation and CJ CGV Vietnam in 2018.

The programme has provided production funding for 30 short films, supported 32 young directors, and sent numerous outstanding works to more than 60 prestigious international film festivals. — VNS