willow world (2026)

color | 16mm | 1:33:1 | 11 min | sound

content note: descriptions of child abuse and sexual assault.

Twin large green weeping willow trees with long, drooping branches under a blue sky with some clouds, seen from a low angle near the ground.

filmmaker juliet belisario revisits her childhood, interweaving 16mm vignettes and her old child services documents, uncovering the truth she couldn't voice as a child.

  • nffty, 2026 (programmer’s pick)

A woman with dark hair sitting on a bed covered with papers, wearing a white long-sleeve shirt and green pants, holding a sheet on paper up. Posters cover the wall behind her.

“direct, immediate reflection of childhood trauma that shows a young woman come into her own and reclaim her narrative. i was moved by the director's visual perspective of childhood and her use of landscape imagery to create a portrait of time.”

- romina estrada, nffty programmer

A shadow-y figure standing on a beach at sunset, looking across the water with the sun reflecting off the ocean.

director/writer/starring: juliet belisario

producer/editor: jazleen kaur alagh

director of photography/colorist/titles: jodi gapan

sound recordist/sound designer: fozail azizian

Cluster of pink fluffy flowers with green stems in a garden setting.

willow world is currently on the festival circuit.

email at julietbelisarioo@gmail.com for programming/screener inquiries.

A woman with curly hair standing on a beach at sunset or dusk, with waves and an industrial harbor in the background.