© 2026 The Couch Critic
A ghost walks the land of the living in search of those they've lost.
Ping sits on his rooftop, looking out into the sea of cold light which emits a plumy glow. This darkness makes Ping’s heart still and mind blank. This existential pigeon digesting in quietness, longs to fly to greater heights, especially after an unforgettable dream.
After the end of a short relationship with her best friend, Clara, Sophie struggles to understand what went wrong and has to decide who to blame for all that happened.
Joe has to leave soon. Anxiously, he is trying to come to terms with his fate.
An ambitious actress and a disillusioned writer meet by chance, igniting a fragile romance that forces them to confront jealousy, insecurity, and the sacrifices love demands.
Sasha is overwhelmed by problems and melancholy. Inspired by memories of the past, she tries to escape everything, returning from Manchester to Kyiv to visit her mother and try to mend a long-lost relationship. However, things don’t unfold as she had hoped from the moment she steps through the door.
Keïta’s family and other witnesses to his remarkable career share their memories of the photographer and his studio, which he ran from 1948 to 1962. Against the backdrop of Bamako, whose citizens Keïta lovingly immortalized, the film grants rare insight into the artist’s practice and speaks to his photographs’ power as a record of the nation.
Once the proud symbol of the Baltic Sea, the Common Eider is now disappearing at an alarming rate. The Cry of the Eider follows a group of dedicated people fighting to save this iconic sea bird from the brink of collapse. Through breathtaking footage and powerful yet intimate human stories, the film uncovers the deeper forces driving the Eider’s decline — from environmental change to human impact — and asks what this tragedy reveals about the state of the Baltic Sea itself. This is not just the story of one species. The Eider’s fate mirrors the uncertain future of an entire ecosystem. As nature is reshaped by powerful global forces, can individual action still make a difference?
The Man Who Sold The World’s 5th short film. A personal homage to Haruki Murakami and Terrence Malick.
During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, two strangers connect through emails, sharing their experiences of isolation. Between empty streets and open windows, the town plots an encounter.
In the crowded silence of the Paris subway, two lonely souls keep crossing paths — without even realizing they’re already talking to each other.
A recovering addict’s life spirals out of control upon winning a mysterious box of cereal.
How many times can you have the same cup of coffee?
A masked figure breaks into a house one Christmas, only to encounter a creature
The personal story of one man’s relationship with dolphins; a relationship that has evolved over the last 20 years that Ken O’Sullivan has been a natural history film-maker, through countless hours he has spent in their presence, and in their world. It is also a broader examination of the human cultural relationship with dolphins. Few creatures stir our emotions and imagination in the way that dolphins do, and in the same way Ken’s relationship with them has become more nuanced and complex over the years, the film explores the shifting pubic attitudes towards them. We are no longer comfortable to keep these highly intelligent social animals confined in aquaria, or romanticise and simplify their complex lives, but where has our perception of dolphins settled and are we getting closer to understanding the true nature of these creatures? This film has been a true passion project for Ken, I hope you will find it beautiful, thought provoking and enlightening.
Sky Speak was created during an Open Air Arts residency at Travelers’ Rest State Park in Lolo, Montana. Using stop-motion animation and an accompanying soundtrack written and recorded in my home studio, the work explores a familiar narrative of habitat destruction caused by humans, followed by nature’s rebirth and regeneration after human absence.
Cumberland Island is one of the largest and most ecologically diverse barrier islands in the United States. Once owned by prominent American family, the Carnegies, much of the island came under the National Park Service in 1972, while some heirs retained lifetime rights to remain. Today, more than 60,000 people visit the island each year. Tourism sustains the nearby town of St. Mary’s, and the island’s feral horses have become a defining symbol of its history and appeal. But the presence of more than 140 non-native horses within a fragile ecosystem has sparked an ongoing debate about ecological balance, animal welfare, and preservation. In 2023, a federal court acknowledged the horses’ suffering and environmental impact, but declined to require intervention. The Horses of Cumberland Island is an observational documentary examining the tension between history, tourism, and ecology in a place where what we cherish and what the land can sustain are not always aligned.
Black Water is a poignant exploration of survival and resilience deep in the remote forest of the Congo Basin. This short film delves into the lives of a local community around Lake Mai Ndombe (Lake of ‘Black Water’) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This once bountiful body of water now teeters on the brink of collapse. Over the years, the lake’s vibrant fish population has dwindled, threatening the livelihoods of those who have relied on its resources for generations.
