Dream States — the 18th edition of Artists’ Film International — commences on 3 March, with programming taking place around the world throughout 2025. At the intersection of personal consciousness and external realities, Dream States explores the emancipatory potential of dreams, altered states, and cinematic illusion.
Curated by Forma with 16 cultural institutions across four continents, AFI’25 features a Forma and Lahore Biennale co-commission by Turner Prize nominee Sin Wai Kin, new films by Heesoo Kwon, Babu Eshwar Prasad and Anette Gellein, and sees new and returning partnerships with Southwark Park Galleries, Istanbul Modern, Türkiye and MCAD Manila, Philippines.
Dream States foregrounds artists who disrupt linear time, blur fact and fiction, and navigate the boundaries between memory, myth, and fantasy to reimagine the world anew. Presented across exhibitions, festivals, and screenings, AFI’25 guides global audiences through mythic worlds, dystopian landscapes, fractured memories, and speculative possibilities.
Line-up includes: Sanja Anđelković, Anca Benera and Arnold Estefan, Babu Eshwar Prasad, Anette Gellein, Heesoo Kwon, Cocoy Lumbao, Isabelle Nouzha, Elinor O’Donovan, Ahmet Rüstem Ekici and Hakan Sorar, Sin Wai Kin, and Mykolas Valantinas, with more still to be announced.