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Winners

  • Longing for the Soul, A Quest for Rumi, a full-length documentary film, will take the viewers on a mesmerizing journey through the lands of ancient Persia, to modern days Afghanistan, Turkey and United States, to tell the story of a mystic man, Molana Jalal-El-Din Rumi, who’s message of love and peace has been passed on for centuries.

    Rumi, departed from the world in 1273, late in the day of December 17. To his followers, this date is known as Sheb-Urs or the Wedding Night. At his funeral, people of all religions gather to celebrate his passing to the realm of god. Rumi reveals mysteries of the universe, in language of poetry and mysticism unfolding in the realm of science in the 21st Century?

Director Biography – Aryana Farshad

Aryana independently produced 5 documentary films since year 2000. Her first major project “Mystic Iran: The Unseen World”, a full-length documentary was broadcast at international level and screened, awarded and praised at major spiritual events and film festivals and received “Audience Favorite Award.”

She is recipient of “ABU Award”, “Telly Award”, and ‘Davey Award” “Audience Favorite Award, London Independent Film Awards
Barcelona Planet Film Festival

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  • Austria, 1945. Together with her granddaughter Marie, Grandmother lives on a mountain farm. One day, of all things, two Russian deserters show up.
    Influenced by her prejudice of the violent enemy, Grandmother hides Marie before the unexpected arrivals reach the farm.
    Marie, on the other hand, is curious about the Russians. She sneaks up to them at night. In the process, she is discovered.
    It turns out that the soldiers are kind people who have been affected by the war in very different ways.

    • Director Biography – Simon Höbert

    Simon was born in July 1997 in the city of Salzburg, Austria. His passion for storytelling brought him to film. From 2017 to 2020, he studied Bachelor Media Technology (BSc) at the University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten, during which he also completed a semester abroad at the University of Applied Sciences in Oulu (FIN).
    Currently Simon is in the master program Multi Media Art (MA) at the FH Salzburg.

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  • This documentary focuses on Mr. Bhim Bahadur Thapa, his enduring legacy, and the mythical aspects of his life. It serves both as a biographical account and as an enduring piece of social commentary. He entered this world on 8 May 1920, dedicating his entire existence to the belief that people needed to awaken to effect positive changes in their lives. This profound conviction guided him throughout his life, leading him to paint and inscribe the word ‘Khoja/Search’ on pavements, walls, and stones across Nepal. On 2 June 2022, in Kathmandu, Mr. Thapa’s remarkable journey came to an end. He lived for an impressive 102 years and 25 days. It is estimated that he penned or inscribed ‘Khoja/Search’ more than 8 million times.

    Director Biography – Gopal Shivakoti

    Gopal Shivakoti is a documentary filmmaker from Nepal.
    He has been working in films and digital media since 2004. Primarily he is a visual editor who also does 2D animation, motion-graphics, and filming. He is a key resource person at “Young-Cuts! the filmmaking workshop” (in Kathmandu) for the past five years. His hobbies include Ethnology and documentary filming.
    He has shot and edited “In Search of the Searchman” – a short documentary about the 8 million (plus) graffiti “Khoja/Search” that has been written and inscribed all over Nepal,
    “When Shall I See My Daddy” – a short documentary about 14 years old boy whose father has gone to the USA and hasn’t returned to his home and family for ages.
    “Save Gangamaya” a documentary film about Satyagrahi Gangamaya Adhikari – who is on fast-unto-death for the attainment of justice for the 2004 murder of her innocent teenager son is his first feature-length documentary, It received an overwhelming response in the international film festival circuit. “War Crime”, “Pinky Gurung”, “We are with Dr. KC”, “Gai Jatra”, “Chain and Worship”, “Bicycle Hero” and “Bare Tree” are his recent films.

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  • Five women from the great city of CASABLANCA, a source of economic, social, and civilizational progress. There are five divorced women from different social strata, and are professionally active in various fields. These women try to rebuild their lives, in an unequal society, dominated by prejudices against divorced women, and ignorance of the rules of law governing the status of women.

    Director Biography – BENSOUDA MOHAMMED AHED

    Born in Morocco, and now resides in France. He holds a postgraduate diploma specializing in cinema, television and new media Master 2. He also has Bachelor’s degree in Cinematography from the Sorbonne University in Paris, a Diploma in directing from Cinetel Institute in Paris, and a Diploma in screenwriting from Cinecours institute in Canada. He has produced and directed more than twenty films for cinema and television. his achievements have received several awards around the world, he also received the Moroccan government’s exceptional award for his films about women

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  • OUTLINE: When a young boy goes missing in the town of Hope, his grandfather must grapple with their family history and navigate mysterious phenomena as he sets out on a quest of conscience to save his grandson from the shadows.

    SUMMARY: A perfect family getaway is suddenly upended when a policeman’s grandson disappears. Jack Rooney (Rick Edwards) has already lost a son. He’s not about to lose his grandson, too. Forced to reckon with family history, he sets out to rescue the boy from the shadows… a journey of conscience rippled by the voice of a visiting missing persons expert (Greg Sestero), whose haunting tales of the vanished illuminate the mysterious phenomena that seem to be in Jack’s way. In a town called Hope, can redemption be found?

    Director Biography – Justin MacGregor

    Justin MacGregor is a director, cinematographer, and producer, best known for his feature films BEST F(R)IENDS Volumes 1 + 2 — the cinematic reunion of cult legends Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero of THE ROOM fame, his first feature film THE GENERATIONS, and his commercial videography and music video work spanning the last decade. Working behind the camera is all he’s ever known. A keen student of cinema, Justin seeks out creative avenues lesser taken, always striving to promulgate new imagery and unexplored perspectives.

    Justin grew up in Canada’s beautiful Okanagan Valley. He is the co-founder of Roguescots, a commercial videography and narrative film production house, based in Vancouver, Canada, where he now resides.

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  • Singer Isabelle Cyr takes a fascinating journey in France to meet her Acadian cousins, whose ancestors were deported from Canada. During the journey, where past and present mingle with personal discoveries, she composes a song on her identity and connections with the people.

    Director Biography – Phil Comeau

    Phil Comeau, an Acadian film director and scriptwriter, lives in Montreal and Moncton, Canada. His documentary and drama films have won over 580 festival awards worldwide. – His documentary features include The Secret Order, Zachary Richard Cajun Heart, Acadian Music Wave, The Nature of Frederic Back & Secretariat’s Jockey Ron Turcotte. – Filmmaker Phil Comeau has been awarded the Order of Canada and has recently been promoted to Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters of France for his contribution to culture and cinema.

    Director Statement

    Culture is identity and it’s what makes us unique. This film is about finding your roots.

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  • A young nurse must fight for her life when her house has been invaded by an unearthly intruder.

    Director Biography – Roshni “Rush” Bhatia

    Roshni Bhatia is a writer-director who grew up in Mumbai, India. A science fiction and horror fan inspired by the films of James Cameron, Jason Blum and the writings of Richard Matheson, she came to the United States in 2018 to study film. Her short films have been screened at film festivals around the world and she recently a short horror film, Plasmid, the story of a young woman trapped in her house by an alien presence. She’s currently writing her first feature.

    Director Statement

    Roshni Bhatia is a writer-director who grew up in Mumbai, India. A science fiction and horror fan inspired by the films of James Cameron, Jason Blum and the writings of Richard Matheson, Roshni sought inspiration from their masterpieces (both visually and narratively) and created an original concept titled, ‘Plasmid’. She came to the United States in 2018 to study film. Although the goal is to have Plasmid screened at quality film festivals, she hopes the audience can take away something inspiring from her movie. Her short films have been screened at film festivals around the world and she recently a short horror film, Plasmid, the story of a young woman trapped in her house by an alien presence. She’s currently writing her first feature.

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  • A terminal cancer diagnosis leads a miserable workaholic on a self-indulgent quest to win back his pregnant-and-estranged wife and connect with his unborn son through a self-funded, semi-autobiographical movie about the meaning of life.

    All seven episodes of the first season have been completed. Provided here is the pilot episode. The rest of Season 1 can be viewed on the website with the password: kg1 https://incompletenesstheseries.com/season-01

    Director Biography – David Ash

    Prior INCOMPLETENESS, Ash wrote and directed three critically-acclaimed, award-winning feature films, all of which played at local, national, and international film festivals. His most recent feature, TWIN CITIES, won five “Best of Fest” awards out of the nine festivals where it screened, including the “Grand Jury Prize” at the Amsterdam Film Festival. The film was distributed in fall, 2018, by Summer Hill Films on Amazon Prime. A more in-depth review of Ash’s filmmaking career can be found via this 7-minute profile from the Twin Cities PBS Emmy-winning series Minnesota Originals: https://www.tptoriginals.org/meet-this-film-director-disguised-as-a-finance-director/

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  • Fadhumo and Helen are two refugees who need sanctuary in Israel and Germany. Each in her own way copes with discrimination, foreignness, and a life without roots. Simultaneously they become close friends and social activists determined to help women like them and provide a better future for coming generations.
    Between Tel Aviv and Berlin they live under differing regimes – the “open door policy” on one hand; the “infiltrators’ exile” on the other. Their fate is identical: an unstable life controlled by government policy, exposed daily to human kindness and cruelty, hoping that despite everything, their dreams may still come true.
    Director Biography – Gili Danon, Efrat Shalom Danon

    Efrat Shalom Danon
    Efrat is an award-winning filmmaker who in her debut film “The Dreamers” has provided a unique glimpse to the women filmmakers in the closed Ultra-Orthodox community in Israel . “The Dreamers” premiere was at Docaviv film festival (The official competition).
    The film was broadcasted on Israeli television, was nominated to best debut Film at the Israeli Documentary film competition and participated in over 30 international festivals (FIPA, Syracuse, Toronto Jewish Festival etc.).

    Gili Danon
    Gili is a multidisciplinary creator – poet, playwright and video artist. His feature short films (Avalanche, The Anniversary) have been screened at festivals in Israel and abroad, and were broadcasted on Israeli television.
    He has edited several documentaries, that participated in film festivals in Israel and abroad, (FIPA, Docaviv, Toronto Jewish Festival etc.) and also edited several TV series.

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  • The Beast of Our Time is a fifty-years-in-the-making, unflinching inquiry into the relationship between climate change and grizzly bears, narrated by one of America’s most passionate storytellers, Jeff Bridges. Top scientists, advocates, authors, filmmakers, and poets band together to investigate, and find the fates of both grizzly bears and humans to be more interlinked than we ever suspected. Climate change has mingled our destinies.

    Join us on a journey into the heart of the American West, and its last remnants of a once-great nation of grizzly bears. We will visit with multiple generations of ranchers who have learned to co-exist in grizzly country, and hear predictions from leading scientists. Buffeted with stunning cinematic vignettes and pleas for the wild, the film is part documentary, part love story.

    The Beast of Our Time is both a dire warning and a compelling call to action that delves into the catastrophic effects of climate change on grizzly bear habitat. The story is rivaled by the striking cinematography that brings viewers right onto the landscape, walking side by side with this imperiled population of grizzly bears.

    Director Biography – Maaike Middleton

    Maaike Middleton is a wildlife filmmaker. She was born in The Netherlands and grew up in Montana. She has traveled the globe filming wildlife from pumas in Patagonia, the elusive Amur tiger in the Russian Far East and grizzlies in her backyard. Maaike is passionate about telling stories that make a difference and address issues that impact us all. When she is not setting camera traps to capture animal behavior she is watching film and helping with the section process for the Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam. She has worked on projects for Smithsonian, Nat Geo, Netflix, BBC, PBS and Arte.

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  • Mr. Emancipation is the story of Walter L Perry’s determination to put on a celebration that would transcend divisions of race and class. He staged an Emancipation Day festival that was where everyone wanted to be. Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr, Jesse Owens all headed there because, as civil rights activist Dick Gregory said “The largest Juneteenth celebration was not in America, it was in Windsor, Canada.”

    A celebration of ending slavery sounds grim.

    What Walter Perry organized was the exact opposite of grim. Imagine a miles-long parade. The smell of soul food. Whirling carnival rides. There was live music, talent shows and even the Miss Sepia beauty pageant (the first international beauty pageant for Black women).

    From 1936 until 1967, that’s how Walter Perry celebrated freedom. Perry and his celebration got caught up in the overheated racial politics of the day, sabotage and race riots of 1967 in Detroit. His event never recovered that year and shortly after Walter Perry died…. but the spirit of Mister. Emanciaption still lives on.

    Director Biography – Preston Chase

    Preston William Chase is a seventh generation African Canadian and a descendant of William Parker. Parker escaped slavery in Maryland, and went on to play a key role in the Christiana Riots in Pennsylvania. It was his friend, the great Fredrick Douglass who convinced Parker to take refuge in Canada.

    Born to a single mother in the Black community of downtown Windsor, Ontario, Canada, Chase went on to become a high school teacher. He is also the family historian and a passionate advocate for greater awareness of a historic Black community, time has forgotten.

    It was a desire for everyone to know the story of his great great uncle Walter Perry that led Chase to pick up a camera and begin recording the stories about him from the elders in his community.

    Mister Emancipation: The Walter Perry story is the result of twenty years of research and five years of production.

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  • To their friends, Sarah and Sam seem like the perfect couple desperately in love. But when Sarah gets her big stage break as an aspiring actress, Sam begins to question whether he’s good enough for her, particularly as he’s stuck in a dead-end job.
    As their relationship unravels, and a mysterious woman threatens to further tear them apart, Sarah and Sam are forced to confront the anger and hurt that they have built between themselves, and once again believe in each other and their love in order to find their way “home”.
    Director Biography – Paul Andrew Kimball

    Paul Andrew Kimball has written, directed, and produced a wide variety of programming for television, including the television series Haunted, Maritime Museums, and Cinema 902. He adapted and produced the drama special Julius Caesar for Bravo in 2000, and produced the 2002 Canadian indie feature film Dying Fall.

    His feature films as a writer / director include The Cuckoo in the Clock (2013), Roundabout (2014), and Exit Thread (2016). Paul has also served as the Executive Producer on the feature films Aliens With Knives (2018), The Last Divide (2018), Creepy Crawling (2018), and Shadow In the Mirror (2019).

    In 2021 he is slated to produce the second season of the independent feature film anthology series Cinema 902, as well as the dramatic series The Last Divide.

    His most recent feature film, The Colour of Spring, was released in November 2020.

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  • When a trans sister, January Marie Lapuz, is brutally murdered in
    her own home, a community reacts and her friends and other trans women of colour come to share and voice their issues, concerns, and challenges. January was seen as a bright light in the lives of many. This is the story of January, a friend, a daughter, a person. This film will not only bring justice to January, but to all the women who have lost their lives. January had a beautiful soul, and now part of her soul rests in each and every one of us.
    Director Biography – Elina Gress, Lenee Son

    Photo: Lenee Son (left) and Elina Gress (right)

    BIOGRAPHY OF LENEE SON

    Lenée is a Khmer Krom settler who grew up in Surrey on unceded Kwantlen, Katzie, Semiahmoo, and Kwikwetlem territories. She has a Bachelors of Journalism and minor in Sociology from Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Her work as a freelance multimedia journalist has appeared in publications such as rabble.ca, Multimedia Photojournale, The Volcano, Westcoast Food, and Inside Vancouver. When she’s not working on multimedia projects, Lenee is committed to anti-poverty community organizing in Surrey and Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

    She/Her pronouns.

    BIOGRAPHY OF ELINA GRESS

    Elina is a freelance multimedia journalist, primarily photojournalist, in the search for a greater understanding of our world. She has a deep interest in the complexities of the human population. Telling people’s stories from their perspective and not her own. Telling stories that can change people’s hearts and minds through photography and documentary. That said, Elina has a passion for wildlife conservation and preservation; not to mention the determination to protecting our one and only home. Earth.

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  • A story of a young immigrant who knows no English, and his trials in….ordering breakfast at the local diner.

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    Pablo is a young immigrant, new to the United States, and
    speaks no English. When he first comes into a diner, not
    knowing how to order, he mimics another customer. Thus, a
    “coffee and a donut” becomes his regular order.

    Meanwhile, more appetizing meals pass in front of him, which he
    has to figure out how to order while in a busy environment that
    leaves him isolated.

    He befriends Camila, an assertive Latina-American, who takes him under her wing while he learns how to start off with the most important meal of the day.

    Director Biography – Cary Patrick Martin

    Cary Patrick Martin makes his directorial debut with Coffee and a Donut, with two more films currently in post production. Originally from Syracuse, NY, Cary has been working in the NYC theater/film scene for more than half his life, performing everything from improv to Shakespeare.

    Cary has been a student of Ela Thier at the Independent Film School, having also studied with Sande Shurin Acting Studio, and The American Globe Theater, among others. He toured extensively with National Theater of the Performing Arts, was a principle performer/combatant with the New York Renaissance Faire, and a company member of Mortal Folly Theatre. He has also produced charity cabarets to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

    When not creating, Cary enjoys long distance running, having completed numerous half and full marathons.

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  • Michael D’Asaro impacted thousands of lives around the world as a renowned saber fencer and coach by using fencing as a metaphor for life.

    Director Biography – Greg Lynch Jr, Doug Nichols

    Gregory Lynch Jr Bio

    Greg Lynch graduated in 1987 from San Francisco State with a B.A. in screen writing. He later complemented that with an additional certificate in writing from UCLA. With his degree in hand, Greg relocated to Los Angeles where he spent the next twenty two years building sets for the movie industry. He worked on everything from Tremors to Dreamgirls to The Amazing Spiderman.

    During that time Greg focused a lot of his artistic output on Photography. He obtained his first SLR at 16 and his passion for photography has only grown since then. He has done quite a bit of commercial work in the Martial Arts filming everything from exercise tutorials to Shaolin Monks climbing the holy paths in Dengfeng.

    Ten years ago he acquired his first video camera. He put that to use making short films and documenting marital arts tournaments. He produced hundreds of short films under the Badass Bunny Productions banner for Kung Fu Tai Chi Magazine. You can find these films populating their Youtube channel.

    Greg Lynch Jr produced, as well as many other jobs, the feature length documentary ‘The Last Captain’ about legendary Hungarian Olympic Sabre champion and coach, George Piller.

    Stro: The Michael D’Asaro Story is his feature directorial debut.

    Doug Nichols Bio

    After 25 years in Animation and Visual Effects working for studios like Pixar, Disney and Lucasfilm, filmmaker Doug Nichols embarked on an effort to preserve the history of his favorite sport – fencing. Creating the West Coast Fencing Archive, he began the exhaustive process of researching the people and personalities that exemplified this unique sport.

    Initially writing histories for web publication, the idea of translating some of these stories into film began to take shape in early 2016. To that end, Nichols produced and directed the feature Documentary The Last Captain about the life George Piller.

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    • International

    • When an adopted daughter shares with her father a fun fact about whales they come to realize that some math problems just can’t be solved.

    Director – D. Andrew Hartfield

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  • Various characters must overcome challenges as they journey through the forest of the subconscious

    Director – Peter Jonas

     

     

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  • All I Want For Christmas Is You – A Holiday Romance

    In the snowy magic of Lake Tahoe, rising singer Ashley Miles is finally healing after losing the love of her life to a winter storm. Just as she finds comfort in a new romance, Christmas delivers an unexpected miracle—her lost love returns, desperate to reunite.

    Now, torn between the past and a promising future, Ashley must follow her heart in a timeless tale of love, longing, and the magic of Christmas.

    If you can imagine “The Notebook” meeting “Before We Go,” that’s the kind of energy and emotion this film carries — tender, hopeful, and deeply resonant.

    Director Biography – Ashish Chanana

    Critically acclaimed, Director, Aashish Chanana works passionately and believes that powerful films and important stories can bring awareness in our world and contribute towards a positive change.
    His recent film AFREEN (on anti terrorism) which won him over 65 Best Film and Best Director Nominations and 4 National Awards.
    http://aashishchanana.com/

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  • We live in a hectic and chaotic world that relentlessly stresses our planet, humans and animals alike. joyful is a unique audio-visual exploration of finding joy in all the turmoil that surrounds us. This short film uses videos, timelapses, hyperlapses, drone shots, slow motion, astrophotography and satellite images from around the world with dramatic sound design and music overlay to depict life as we know it and simple moments of joy and calm that provides us respite in all the chaos…

    Life is short. Cherish every moment. Be joyful.

    Director Biography – Simantini Chakraborty

    Simantini is a documentary filmmaker who tells compelling stories about people, places, issues and events that truly matter using dramatic visual imagery, technology and sound design. Simantini has a unique background in filmmaking, photography, technology and world travel, which motivates her to explore universal aspects of human condition through film. joyful is Simantini’s debut film and has already won many awards in the US and around the world. The universal theme of the film continues to resonate strongly and emotionally with people from all cultures and backgrounds and the film has already screened in acclaimed film festivals in 17 countries across 5 continents within a few short months.

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  • A group of award-winning filmmakers have created a powerfully immersive film – The Original Badass. Fast-paced and visually-driven, the short documentary spans numerous decades of American innovation, food, music, technology, culture, social causes and sports, which are so innate to the American experience.

    Created to inspire hope, optimism, and bring people together in a nation deeply divided, the film is an urgent reminder that it is our collective responsibility to cherish and preserve the fragile American experiment…

    Director Biography – Simantini Chakraborty, Godfrey Reggio

    Simantini is a documentary filmmaker and a technologist. Her recent film joyful won 18 awards and has screened in 22 countries across 6 continents. joyful has won awards for Best Short Film, Best Editing, Audience Award, Best Cinematography and Best Inspirational Film. It has received international distribution across many channels including Virgin Atlantic fleet wide, SBS Australia, JLTV and many others, and will soon be available on streaming networks around the world.

    The film’s co-director is Godfrey Reggio. He is an acclaimed filmmaker best known for his groundbreaking trilogy of Qatsi films, with Koyaanisqatsi being the most well-known. Well-known composer Philip Glass collaborated with Godfrey on several films which emphasize the power of the moving image as a catalyst for social and cultural change. Godfrey’s latest film Once Within a Time, was produced by Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s 11, Ocean’s 13, Erin Brockovich and others). The film had its world premiere at Santa Fe International Film Festival in October 2022 and the festival awarded him the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. Godfrey was awarded the prestigious Dragon of Dragons award in February 2024 by Kraków Film Festival.

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  • On the edge of a serene lake in Fayoum, Egyptian artist Ziad Zaza sits with friends, quietly pining for a veiled girl who doesn’t notice him. Life buzzes around them kids play, laughter echoes, beauty unfolds yet something remains unreachable. Shot in the heart of rural Egypt, Beto2af Leih tells a story of emotional distance and cultural barriers, interwoven with imagery of children seeking joy and escape through nature. A music video that’s equal parts visual storytelling and lyrical reflection.

    Director Biography – Mostafa Radwan El kashef

    Mostafa El Kashef
    Throughout his illustrious journey on the global stage, Mostafa El Kashef a renowned visual
    artist, producer, and director of photography (DOP) has lent his creative prowess to 13
    cinematic masterpieces that garnered numerous accolades at several prestigious film
    festivals around the world.

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  • We are all connected in this infinite universe—like the colors of a rainbow: distinct and unique, yet intrinsically aligned.

    At the heart of this film is Dada—a cancer patient, photographer, and the narrator who weaves the stories together. He embarks on a journey to create a film that captures the tapestry of human experiences.

    We meet Koko, an infant bursting with energy who grows into a curious toddler. Her working mother is her entire world. Koko’s innocence quietly echoes the fundamental laws of human emotion and interaction.

    Bobby, a trans woman, struggles against the weight of a conformist and normative society that fails to understand her identity. Aiban, a boxer and athlete from Northeast India (a Khasi tribal), dedicates his life to working with Adivasi (Tribal) children in remote tribal areas, determined to make a difference. And then there is Kapil, a gifted musician and composer, caught in the throes of procrastination and creative block—trapped within a mental mirage.

    Each of them faces their own existential dilemmas. Yet, as we follow their journeys, we come to realize that within our diverse realities lies a profound unity—one that transcends class, color, gender, and creed.

    This film was created on a modest budget of less than USD 24,000, driven by the constraints of limited resources, however, it makes up for in spirit. It is a product of collective belief, collaboration, and a deep commitment to pluralism and inclusivity.

    Rooted in the subaltern realities of India, this is truly a film of the people, by the people, and for the people.

    Director Biography – Anwesh

    A trained student of Performing Arts, he began his career designing and writing campaigns as well as composing jingles. Subsequently, he joined the Indian Civil Services and serves as a bureaucrat, while simultaneously pursuing his passion for street theatre, directing, and composing music videos and short films. Cinema has remained an inseparable part of his life, and this project marks his debut feature-length film.

    He firmly believes that cinema is one of the most powerful cultural mediums to reflect reality and to advocate for a pluralistic, diverse, and egalitarian society. Originating from Western Odisha, India, he has also been actively engaged as an activist, working towards improving maternal and child health and reducing mortality rates among tribal communities in Odisha and Jharkhand.

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  • In July 2021, we discovered hidden footage on a laptop purchased at a garage sale in New York. These videos depict the bitter rivalry between two wrestlers, Gia Savitz and Frankie Firestarter. One, an LGBTQ underdog, the other, a sinister bully.

    We decided to research the events surrounding their conflict as we believed an atrocity was committed. But we were not prepared for what we uncovered about Gia and Frankie during our investigation.

    This is their story.

    Director – J.V. Ambrose

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  • Deep inside us is more potential and strength than you ever known. Release it and you will see – everything can change in a moment. “Make Move” is a visual call to action — a story about overcoming doubt and unlocking your true inner power.

    Short film inspires us to keep going, never look back, and take that bold step toward who we are meant to be.

    One moment. One choice. One step.
    Make your move!

    Director Biography – Dmitry Koturanov

    Dmytro Koturanov is an accomplished Ukrainian cinematographer and director. He began his career in 2014, specializing in commercials and promos. Graduating from the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, he possesses a strong foundation in his craft.

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  • This is a film about an observer, and a story about the Paris pulse at the turn of the century in the 1920s , which experiences the explosion of new artistic styles and becomes the epicentre of modern art.
    At the same time, Paris is a meeting place of countless immigrants from other parts of Europe. They live through their hopes of artistic fame in search for their own place and self-recognition… from day to day, from hand to mouth.

    Among them is a very talented young man, Veno Pilon, who was already established and a recognised painter at home in Primorska region, in Italy at that time.

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  • Maximilien Abadie learns of his father Alex’s death under mysterious circumstances. Officially, it was ruled a car accident—one seemingly caused by Alex himself. But Alex was more than just a father, he was a relentless police officer, known for his discipline and ruthless efficiency. Working in the shadows under the alias “Red Bird”, he was a secret vigilante who took on the city’s most complex cases.

     

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  • Manuel Corona, after several casting calls, travels from the Canary Islands to Madrid to pursue his great professional goal: to be one of the leading roles in an opera at the Teatro Real. But when he arrives in the capital, the coronavirus crisis erupts, and everyone is confined to their homes due to a deadly pandemic, slowly turning his dream into a nightmare.
    “Corona” was filmed almost entirely by one-man-shot during quarantine imposed by the spanish government throughout the 2020 coronavirus crisis, in an exercise of what can be called “lockdown cinema”.

    Director Biography – Lolo Martín

    Lolo Martín is a Spanish actor, director, writer and producer. He started working in the film industry at the age of 18, in the television industry at the age of 20 and a little later in the theater industry. All his life he has been linked to art in all its forms. He directed his first play “La señorita Julia” at the age of 24 and founded his company “23 Razones Creaciones Artísticas” in 2010. Through this he has produced more than ten plays and some videos, both corporate and artistic. He won an award for his short story “128 azulejos” and has been nominated twice for best actor. All his info at www.lolomartin.com and www.23razones.com

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  • A man is walking down the street in the dark and dreaming, suddenly the wind blows.

    Director Biography – Hossein Moradizadeh

    Born in 1970
    Painter, photographer, filmmaker

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  • When a young shepherdess is kidnapped by a mysterious beast on the eve of her wedding, it is Red, a fierce mercenary, who is hired to find her and slay the creature. Yet, deep in the forest, a horrifying truth comes to light: the worst monsters don’t live in the woods.

    Director Biography – Benjamin Maublanc

    Benjamin Maublanc has been writing and directing for over ten years. Deeply influenced by the imaginary since childhood, it’s only natural that he thrives today as a writer and director in this genre. Having worked for four years as an on-set props master for fiction, he’s gained experience in set decoration and props, along with a passion for practical effects. With a handcrafted approach to filmmaking, he’s deeply committed to an artistic direction rich in texture and physically embodied, favoring the tangible and real over the overuse of digital techniques. This paradox between fantasy and realism is a core element of his works’ poetry, reflecting the unique identity of this young director.

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  • A normal trip home for two friends, Emmy and Lisa, turns into a nightmare when girls decided to take a shortcut through the forest. Ignoring radio warnings of danger in the area, they continue on their way. When suddenly their car breaks down and the girls are left in the forest, cut off from civilization.

    With hope fading and accusations flying in both ways, Lisa agrees to go searching for help. Meanwhile, Emma stays near the car and her waiting turns into a frightening nightmare as reality and fear comes in waves.

    Trapped between the fading light and the approaching darkness, the friends must confront the horror of the forest before becoming its next victims. In this unequal struggle for survival, they are left alone, and the chances tend to zero…

    Director Biography – Dmytro Koturanov

    Dmytro Koturanov is an accomplished Ukrainian cinematographer and director. He began his career in 2014, specializing in commercials and promos. Graduating from the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, he possesses a strong foundation in his craft.
    Throughout his journey, Dmytro has collaborated with notable figures in sports, music, and show business, capturing their essence through visually stunning work. In 2016, he co-launched the groundbreaking Ukrainian series “UNKNOWN” with Artem Pivovarov, exploring the realms of music and creativity.

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  • Beneath the rising tides, remnants whisper—not of what was, but of what may come.

    No words remain. Only textures of salt and sand, fragments of memory carved into the ocean floor.

    In this slow unraveling, the planet does not scream—it remembers.

    Somewhere between myth and future, a question surfaces: if we vanish, what will remain—and will anyone know we once sang to the sea?

    Director Biography – Chih Hao Shen

    Chih Hao Shen, an internationally awarded writer, director, and multidisciplinary creator from Taiwan, has received honors including Best Animated Short, Best Short Film, and Best Visual Effects.

    Through a distinctive blend of animation, documentary, and experimental film, his work contemplates themes of environmental stewardship, human rights, animal welfare, and education.

     

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  • A 16-year-old teenager, Vova, lives in Transnistria in the 1990s, an area affected by the Russian invasion and the aftermath of a civil war. Finding herself in an unpleasant situation, Vova asks for help from a local criminal named Gosha. He finds out that our protagonist is Moldovan by nationality and starts blackmailing Vova, forcing him to work for him. Unable to withstand gang pressure, Vova refuses to work for Gosha. He reveals the secret and Vova’s life turns into a real nightmare, having to hide from his peers to stay alive.

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    • Canadian

    • On a quiet morning Ray enters Jeff’s bar, intent on robbing the place…when it all ends, we don’t know who’s story to believe.

    Director – Brysen Mann
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  • What do Autistic people daydream about?
    This short documentary invites you into the vivid, thoughtful, and sometimes surprising inner worlds of twelve Autistic individuals as they share where their minds wander — to the past, the future, or the ideas that capture their attention.

    Director Biography – Leilani E Forby

    Formerly in the film industry, Leilani is now completing a PhD in cognitive science, with a focus on inattention and autism. Her research explores how mind wandering and attention differ in neurodiverse individuals, with the broader goal of informing policy and practice to improve education, employment, and community inclusion for Autistic people.

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  • Libelle, Nix’s mother, possessed exceptional abilities. She not only excelled in the fields of science and engineering, but also gained fame as a distinguished inventor and composer. Nevertheless, at a tender age, Nix, an aspiring musician and inventor in her own right, is now burdened with the responsibility of upholding this remarkable legacy.

    Director Biography – Karina Loerchner

    Born in Ontario, Canada, Karina has had a passion for music and the arts since she was a young child. She began singing in several choirs and small ensembles at the age of five, then moved on to study voice, violin, piano and dance.

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  • An adventurous little girl with an overactive imagination ventures into places she shouldn’t ought to be, and wreaks havoc on a poor unsuspecting dragon.

    Director Biography – Karina Loerchner

    Born in Ontario, Canada, Karina has had a passion for music and the arts since she was a young child. She began singing in several choirs and small ensembles at the age of five, then moved on to study voice, violin, piano and dance.

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  • After an encounter with a strange man, Nathan is cursed to vanish from everyone’s memory—his physical presence fading and his existence slipping away. With a literal timer counting down above his head, Nathan has until midnight to unravel the mystery of the curse, or risk being erased from reality forever.

    Director Biography – Saif Mir

    Saif Mir is an aspiring filmmaker studying at Queen’s University who has a strong passion for kinetic and stylistic editing. Even before making films, he has always had a strong affinity towards video editing. His own unique directing style relies heavily on merging the line between the absurd and reality in the hopes of crafting a style he can call his own.

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  • Flow is a nightmare fuel 2D animation, stop motion, and live action short film, about a skincare company and the horrifying truth of what goes into their products, the lengths consumers will go to meet societal standards of beauty. The film has underlying themes of consumerism and industry manipulation.

    Director Biography – Laila Blue

    Laila Blue is a Calgary-based filmmaker and storyteller, known for her roles in Cancer Szn and Slugger. FLOW, a mixed-media short that explores the horrors of the skincare industry and the lengths consumers go to for beauty. The film delves into themes of consumerism and industry manipulation, showcasing her bold and uniquely feminine storytelling perspective. FLOW is Laila’s directorial debut, created on a micro-budget of just $1,000 CAD, showcasing her resourceful approach to bold, thought-provoking storytelling.

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  • Disoriented by the sudden passing of his best friend, Beck must grapple with how to finish his teenage years alone and find resolve beyond grief.

    Director – Liv Quinn

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  • Marie, a woman in her forties, locks herself in a heavy and silent loneliness. Each day, her routine masks an inner storm that grows. Sometimes visions force themselves to her: a cabin lost in the woods, like an echo of her unhappiness. Prisoner of her thoughts, she’s seeking a way out, a light.

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  • For over 100 years, many of the Indigenous children of Canada were forcefully taken from their families and sent hundred or thousands of kilometers away to Residential Schools whose purpose was to take away their language and culture and replace it with that of the European colonizers, often using abuse and neglect to achieve this goal.
    The Red Deer Indian Industrial School which operated from 1889 to 1919 and was per population one of the most deadly Indigenous Residential Schools in Canada’s history. This film focuses on honouring the memory of the students who survived as well as those that died at the school whose bodies where never returned to their families. It also focuses on how this has affected generations of First Nations, Inuit and Metis through intergenerational trauma, but also how to move towards a brighter future of cultural revitalization and reconciliation through the eyes of the Indigenous filmmakers on their journey of discovery.

    Director Biography – Penny Gullion

    Penny J Gullion is a Nehiyâw-Iskwew raised in Wabasca (Bigstone Cree Nation) in Treaty 8 Territory, Alberta. A dancer since adolescence, she always held a passion for the arts. She moved to Edmonton to attend high school at Victoria School of the Arts and her passion for storytelling flourished. Penny is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film Production at the University of British Colombia.

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  • A corresponding-style film to the friendships that I have lost over the years as an immigrant from Hong Kong.

    Director Biography – Anthony Lee

    Hong Konger, filmmaker. Lives and works in Vancouver.

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  • OUTLINE: When a young boy goes missing in the town of Hope, his grandfather must grapple with their family history and navigate mysterious phenomena as he sets out on a quest of conscience to save his grandson from the shadows.

    SUMMARY: A perfect family getaway is suddenly upended when a policeman’s grandson disappears. Jack Rooney (Rick Edwards) has already lost a son. He’s not about to lose his grandson, too. Forced to reckon with family history, he sets out to rescue the boy from the shadows… a journey of conscience rippled by the voice of a visiting missing persons expert (Greg Sestero), whose haunting tales of the vanished illuminate the mysterious phenomena that seem to be in Jack’s way. In a town called Hope, can redemption be found?

    Director Biography – Justin MacGregor

    Justin MacGregor is a director, cinematographer, and producer, best known for his feature films BEST F(R)IENDS Volumes 1 + 2 — the cinematic reunion of cult legends Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero of THE ROOM fame, his first feature film THE GENERATIONS, and his commercial videography and music video work spanning the last decade. Working behind the camera is all he’s ever known. A keen student of cinema, Justin seeks out creative avenues lesser taken, always striving to promulgate new imagery and unexplored perspectives.

    Justin grew up in Canada’s beautiful Okanagan Valley. He is the co-founder of Roguescots, a commercial videography and narrative film production house, based in Vancouver, Canada, where he now resides.

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  • Singer Isabelle Cyr takes a fascinating journey in France to meet her Acadian cousins, whose ancestors were deported from Canada. During the journey, where past and present mingle with personal discoveries, she composes a song on her identity and connections with the people.

    Director Biography – Phil Comeau

    Phil Comeau, an Acadian film director and scriptwriter, lives in Montreal and Moncton, Canada. His documentary and drama films have won over 580 festival awards worldwide. – His documentary features include The Secret Order, Zachary Richard Cajun Heart, Acadian Music Wave, The Nature of Frederic Back & Secretariat’s Jockey Ron Turcotte. – Filmmaker Phil Comeau has been awarded the Order of Canada and has recently been promoted to Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters of France for his contribution to culture and cinema.

    Director Statement

    Culture is identity and it’s what makes us unique. This film is about finding your roots.

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  • Set in a world running parallel to our own pandemic-gripped reality, ISOLATION dips into the life of John (Alexander Johnson), a young man sequestered in his high-rise apartment, waiting in tandem with a paused outside world swept up in illness. Even locked doors in the sky can be knocked upon, however, and when his past comes knocking, his isolation is rocked.

    Director Biography – Justin MacGregor

    Justin MacGregor is a director, cinematographer, and producer, best known for his feature films BEST F(R)IENDS Volumes 1 + 2 — the cinematic reunion of cult legends Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero of THE ROOM fame, his first feature film THE GENERATIONS, and his commercial videography and music video work spanning the last decade. Working behind the camera is all he’s ever known. A keen student of cinema, Justin seeks out creative avenues lesser taken, always striving to promulgate new imagery and unexplored perspectives.

    Justin grew up in Canada’s beautiful Okanagan Valley. He is the co-founder of Roguescots, a commercial videography and narrative film production house, based in Vancouver, Canada.

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  • There once was a lady from the sea, born from the corals and the currents, the tides and the waves. These are the lessons that she taught me.

    Director Biography – Emmett Sparling

    Emmett Sparling has been creating films for the past few years on his travels. He is constantly inspired by nature and the power of the ocean.

    Director Statement

    This is the first short film I’ve made in quite a while and I’m super excited to share it. Chelsea and I spent 17 days in French Polynesia filming this video. The first half of the trip felt like an uphill battle. Everything we tried shooting didn’t feel “right” and we were feeling pretty uninspired, even in one of the most beautiful places on earth.
    In a wave of creativity and energized focus, Chelsea and I came up with the concept for ‘Lady of the Sea’ and excitedly wrote the beginnings of the narrative down in my journal.
    The moment Chelsea got in the water wearing the dress, we knew this would be a pretty unique project.

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  • A man looking to buy a snake gets far more than he bargained for as he is drawn into a mysterious woman’s home of exotic reptiles. “Thena loves her precious reptiles, and closely questions any who come to buy one. The worthy may gain a reptile, but those who are not may lose their lives!”
    “You don’t bait a spider in her web, or a lion in her den. Dare you meet Thena in the Reptile House?”
    “No fake snakes!”
    Director Biography – Tristan Risk

    Onscreen sorceress, Tristan Risk, known for her offbeat acting roles in genre film and outlandish stage performances, is a sophomore filmmaker. Having already penned and directed one short film, Parlour Tricks, she returns behind the camera to show her teeth and tricks, to showcase her love for neo-giallo colours, femme fatales, and her reptile collection. Tristan Risk is known for preferring the company of reptiles to people.

    Tristan Risk is an actor, writer/director, and a provocative burlesque/circus performer. She is perhaps best known for acting in unique genre feature films such as: Aliens Stole my Body (2020), Rabid (2019), Amazon Hot Box (2018), Odissea della Morte (2018), Harvest Lake (2017), Ayla (2017), Frankenstein Created Bikers (2016), The Editor (2014), and American Mary (2012). She has performed around the world with Caravan of Curiosities and her TCS Reptiles. She has recently moved into writing and directing with her short films Parlour Tricks and most recently Reptile House (2020), which features many of the TCS Reptiles and world class prosthetic practical effects..

    https://m.imdb.com/name/nm2021381

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  • Mr. Emancipation is the story of Walter L Perry’s determination to put on a celebration that would transcend divisions of race and class. He staged an Emancipation Day festival that was where everyone wanted to be. Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr, Jesse Owens all headed there because, as civil rights activist Dick Gregory said “The largest Juneteenth celebration was not in America, it was in Windsor, Canada.”

    A celebration of ending slavery sounds grim.

    What Walter Perry organized was the exact opposite of grim. Imagine a miles-long parade. The smell of soul food. Whirling carnival rides. There was live music, talent shows and even the Miss Sepia beauty pageant (the first international beauty pageant for Black women).

    From 1936 until 1967, that’s how Walter Perry celebrated freedom. Perry and his celebration got caught up in the overheated racial politics of the day, sabotage and race riots of 1967 in Detroit. His event never recovered that year and shortly after Walter Perry died…. but the spirit of Mister. Emanciaption still lives on.

    Director Biography – Preston Chase

    Preston William Chase is a seventh generation African Canadian and a descendant of William Parker. Parker escaped slavery in Maryland, and went on to play a key role in the Christiana Riots in Pennsylvania. It was his friend, the great Fredrick Douglass who convinced Parker to take refuge in Canada.

    Born to a single mother in the Black community of downtown Windsor, Ontario, Canada, Chase went on to become a high school teacher. He is also the family historian and a passionate advocate for greater awareness of a historic Black community, time has forgotten.

    It was a desire for everyone to know the story of his great great uncle Walter Perry that led Chase to pick up a camera and begin recording the stories about him from the elders in his community.

    Mister Emancipation: The Walter Perry story is the result of twenty years of research and five years of production.

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    • Recent

    • A girl plants a sapling in her garden. But as the years pass, the tree feels lonely because the girl has forgotten it, and it emerges from the soil and leaves the girl. Until the girl goes back to the tree.

    Director Biography – majid farzolahi

    Majid Farzolahi is the director of the short films the Morgue, parallel, tokyo, the girl and the street, Army men, the Strange and ecstasy. His films have participated in several international festivals and won several awards and participated in the final stage of the festival.

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  • When an adopted daughter shares with her father a fun fact about whales they come to realize that some math problems just can’t be solved.

    Director – D. Andrew Hartfield

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  • Various characters must overcome challenges as they journey through the forest of the subconscious

    Director – Peter Jonas

     

     

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  • All I Want For Christmas Is You – A Holiday Romance

    In the snowy magic of Lake Tahoe, rising singer Ashley Miles is finally healing after losing the love of her life to a winter storm. Just as she finds comfort in a new romance, Christmas delivers an unexpected miracle—her lost love returns, desperate to reunite.

    Now, torn between the past and a promising future, Ashley must follow her heart in a timeless tale of love, longing, and the magic of Christmas.

    If you can imagine “The Notebook” meeting “Before We Go,” that’s the kind of energy and emotion this film carries — tender, hopeful, and deeply resonant.

    Director Biography – Ashish Chanana

    Critically acclaimed, Director, Aashish Chanana works passionately and believes that powerful films and important stories can bring awareness in our world and contribute towards a positive change.
    His recent film AFREEN (on anti terrorism) which won him over 65 Best Film and Best Director Nominations and 4 National Awards.
    http://aashishchanana.com/

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  • We live in a hectic and chaotic world that relentlessly stresses our planet, humans and animals alike. joyful is a unique audio-visual exploration of finding joy in all the turmoil that surrounds us. This short film uses videos, timelapses, hyperlapses, drone shots, slow motion, astrophotography and satellite images from around the world with dramatic sound design and music overlay to depict life as we know it and simple moments of joy and calm that provides us respite in all the chaos…

    Life is short. Cherish every moment. Be joyful.

    Director Biography – Simantini Chakraborty

    Simantini is a documentary filmmaker who tells compelling stories about people, places, issues and events that truly matter using dramatic visual imagery, technology and sound design. Simantini has a unique background in filmmaking, photography, technology and world travel, which motivates her to explore universal aspects of human condition through film. joyful is Simantini’s debut film and has already won many awards in the US and around the world. The universal theme of the film continues to resonate strongly and emotionally with people from all cultures and backgrounds and the film has already screened in acclaimed film festivals in 17 countries across 5 continents within a few short months.

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  • A group of award-winning filmmakers have created a powerfully immersive film – The Original Badass. Fast-paced and visually-driven, the short documentary spans numerous decades of American innovation, food, music, technology, culture, social causes and sports, which are so innate to the American experience.

    Created to inspire hope, optimism, and bring people together in a nation deeply divided, the film is an urgent reminder that it is our collective responsibility to cherish and preserve the fragile American experiment…

    Director Biography – Simantini Chakraborty, Godfrey Reggio

    Simantini is a documentary filmmaker and a technologist. Her recent film joyful won 18 awards and has screened in 22 countries across 6 continents. joyful has won awards for Best Short Film, Best Editing, Audience Award, Best Cinematography and Best Inspirational Film. It has received international distribution across many channels including Virgin Atlantic fleet wide, SBS Australia, JLTV and many others, and will soon be available on streaming networks around the world.

    The film’s co-director is Godfrey Reggio. He is an acclaimed filmmaker best known for his groundbreaking trilogy of Qatsi films, with Koyaanisqatsi being the most well-known. Well-known composer Philip Glass collaborated with Godfrey on several films which emphasize the power of the moving image as a catalyst for social and cultural change. Godfrey’s latest film Once Within a Time, was produced by Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s 11, Ocean’s 13, Erin Brockovich and others). The film had its world premiere at Santa Fe International Film Festival in October 2022 and the festival awarded him the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. Godfrey was awarded the prestigious Dragon of Dragons award in February 2024 by Kraków Film Festival.

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