Blood and Water [short]

A short film about identity, family, and the weight of secrets. A wealthy woman discovers her twin sister is pregnant and makes a drastic choice: they switch lives to preserve the family's fragile balance. It's a premise that could feel melodramatic in less careful hands, but director Salma Amer finds something quieter and more unsettling in the premise.

Salma Amer is an Egyptian-American filmmaker working in narrative and documentary. She wrote, directed, and produced this piece alongside producer Ashraf Amer and Mohit Soni. The cast includes Sierra Tothero, Lauren Tothero, and Jonathan Regier.

This screening is part of the New York Shorts International Film Festival 2026, which means you're catching it in a curated context — a room full of people who showed up specifically to see short work. Cinema Village is a small, intimate theater in the Village with good sightlines and a real sense of occasion. The film runs 24 minutes, so you're in and out, but the kind of in-and-out that sticks with you.