Winners 2025-08

Winners list and descriptions, August 2025

Psyche

  • Description: This film is a reflection on the sources of inspiration for the Artist. There are people who create masterpieces in different areas of art. Where do they get their inspiration?
  • Country: Russian Federation
  • Authors: Liudmila Komrakova
  • Cast: Oleg Markov, Elizaveta Kuznetsova
  • Director: Liudmila Komrakova
  • Producers: Liudmila Komrakova
  • Duration: 00:11:52
  • https://www.instagram.com/komrakova.mila
  • https://filmfreeway.com/submissions/33529065

L’INVIDIA

  • Authors: Vittorio Mascolo, Lorenzo Fiume, Gino De Filippo, Giovanni Caiazza;
  • Name of Band/Artist: L’INVIDIA
  • Duration: 00:00:00
  • https://www.facebook.com/Linvidiaproject/,
  • https://www.instagram.com/l_invidia_official/?igshid=3et17mi35k8k

DYNAMICS

  • DYNAMICS (Frozen Movements) is an experimental, dreamy and surreal stop-motion film, created using everyday materials. The film offers a visual reflection on transformations that emerge through the intuitive blending of dissimilar elements. The result is a non-narrative art film where fantasy, form and texture merge into a sensory experience. This short animation invites viewers to surrender to a world where logic gives way to atmosphere and intuition. The hypnotic soundscape enhances the avant-garde character of the film and leaves plenty of room for personal interpretation.
  • Country: Netherlands
  • Authors: Teo Baehler
  • Director: Teo Baehler
  • Producers: Teo Baehler, Jeroen Tapper, Jeroen Dirrix
  • Duration: 00:14:00
  • http://www.teobaehler.com
  • https://www.instagram.com/teobaehler
  • https://filmfreeway.com/submissions/33535496

lover//girl

Two monikers. Two sonic worlds. One cinematic experience. “lover//girl” is an immersive audiovisual album and short film by composer, producer, and visual artist Mo Milan.This self-directed dual EP project explores identity, longing, and self-invention through eight genre-blurring tracks—“girl” by Cocoa Pastel and “lover” by Mo Milan—with nearly all music and visuals conceived and created by Milan. The film includes a featured music video directed by award-winning filmmaker Shahab Zargari and original artwork by celebrated artist Lance L. Smith.A hybrid of sound, story, and self—lover//girl invites audiences into a bold emotional terrain where music becomes memory and film becomes feeling.

  • Country: United States, United States
  • Director: Mo Milan
  • Producers: Mo Milan
  • Other Roles: Composer & Sound Engineer: Mo Milan; Director of Photography: Mo Milan; Editor: Mo Milan; Director (“Remind Me” Music Video): Shahab Zargari; Lead Singer & Composer (“Remind Me” Music Video): Mo Milan; Choreography & Dance (“Remind Me” Music Video): Ari Ramoz; Executive Producer (“Remind Me” Music Video): Heela Naqshband, Shahab Zargari; Director of Photography (“Remind Me” Music Video): Shahab Zargari; 1st Assistant Director (“Remind Me” Music Video): Aaron Mattern; 2nd Assistant Director (“Remind Me” Music Video): Kourtenaye Monroe; 1st Assistant Camera (“Remind Me” Music Video): Jeremy Perry; 2nd Assistant Camera (“Remind Me” Music Video): Vance Mellen; Production Design (“Remind Me” Music Video): Lance L. Smith; Makeup & Hair (“Remind Me” Music Video): Kimberly Martinez, Vienna Rivera; Producer (“Remind Me” Music Video): Son Le, Heela Naqshband, Jacob Gallegos, Lance L. Smith; Editor (“Remind Me” Music Video): Eddie Barba; Lighting Tech (“Remind Me” Music Video): cisco.wav; Behind the Scenes Team (“Remind Me” Music Video): Elsa Cantu, Jeremy Perry, Eddie Barba; Production Assistant (“Remind Me” Music Video): Ramses Cantu, Abdel Rahmanel, Charlie Gallegos, Michelle Calizo, Noel Calizo; Art Department (“Remind Me” Music Video): Lance L. Smith, Vance Mellen; Title Sequence Animation (“Remind Me” Music Video): Strange Worlds Ambience; Shot At (“Remind Me” Music Video): Red Wall Las Vegas Studio
  • Duration: 00:37:24
  • https://momilan.com/lover%2F%2Fgirl
  • https://youtu.be/q6VYvqH7eR4

My Fishy Friends . Redux 2025

  • As a child, I never believed a person could become friends with wild lake fish. Now for the last 25 years I have been studying the wild fish in the lakes of Quebec. This is a documentary about this experience that also includes other historic perspectives regarding various water theories and other Historical Fish Gods on this planet dating back 4000 years. Such as Jesus was known as the Fish. It also contains some secrets about water and other interrelated stores by a variety of friends in the area.So, for these last ten years I stayed in one town and became really good friends with numerous Small Mouthed Bass, Sunfish and the Catfish. They come to me when I call them and allow me to hold them and they swim with me.This is something that few people have imagined to be possible.
  • All of this happened because of my partner Byron Ayanoglu, a swimming fanatic. So when he died our only children were these fish. Before his death he encouraged me to continue so… This movie is dedicated to him.
  • This is a documentary about this experience and it has been updated with new footage and music the summer of 2025. Including my first fish song at the one hour mark.
    A Documentary like this can change your perspective of our world.
  • Country: Canada
  • Authors: Algis Kemezys
  • Cast: Algis Kemezys
  • Director: Algis Kemezys
  • Producers: Algis Kemezys, Algis Kemezys, Algis Kemezys, Wendy Grean
  • Other Roles: Masterclass with Walter Lassaly: Algis Kemezys; Mimetoliths: Algis Kemezys; Shapeshifter: & Actor Kemezys
  • Duration: 01:30:00
  • https://www.algiskemezys.com
  • https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095010373845
  • https://youtu.be/D2DcnCpHrf0

SEREVA, A PAPUAN TALE

  • In the heart of Papua New Guinea, a young boy uncovers the roots of his tribe and dreams of building a canoe, a symbol of tradition, courage, and connection to the past.
  • Country: Italy
  • Authors: Paolo Sodi, Francesco Trecci
  • Cast: Alessio Musi, Matteo Cremolini, Marco Fanciullini
  • Director: Paolo Sodi
  • Producers: Roberto Dall’Angelo
  • Other Roles: N/A
  • Duration: 00:52:00
  • https://filmfreeway.com/submissions/33607360

Fear Not Fear Itself

  • Using musical poetry performed within typical American backdrops, “Fear Not Fear Itself” warns against the atypical rise of hate and authoritarianism in the United States.
  • Country: United States, United States
  • Authors: Dawn Westlake
  • Cast: Dawn Westlake
  • Director: Dawn Westlake
  • Producers: Dawn Westlake
  • Other Roles: Cinematographer – Editor – VFX: Pol Carrizo Vilarroig; Music: Jason Luckett; Animation: Marta Fabón Ortiga
  • Duration: 00:04:59
  • https://dawnwestlake.com/fear-not-fear-itself/
  • https://vimeo.com/1009472258

Langobardi – Grimoaldo, the first friulian king

The docufilm speak about Grimoaldo’s life, a noble descendant from the lineage of Alboino born in Cividale around year 600 a.D., who during a long life full of events will be able to become the first Lombard king of Friulian lineage. Through the story of the life of our Ancestors we will also have the opportunity to tell the historical events of the Peninsula and of the Friuli in the 7th century. The docufilm is structured in the form of a storytelling with a cinematographic style thanks to which the population will be able to assimilate historical and ethnographic notions concerning the Lombard memories present in our territories.

  • Country: Italy
  • Authors: Matteo Grudina
  • Director: Sandra Lopez Cabrera
  • Producers: Matteo Grudina
  • Duration: 00:52:00
  • http://www.invictilupi.org
  • https://www.facebook.com/InvictiLupi
  • https://www.instagram.com/invictilupi
  • https://youtu.be/JX5Hq1-Z6Aw?si=824yUf3pg7u1XdCQ

Naguala

“Naguala” delves deep into the rich Mexican traditions of nagualismo, loosely translated as shapeshifting, offering a captivating and immersive experience. This three-channel video and two-channel sound project explores the mystical realm of the naguala, where the boundaries between, animals, plants, earth, cosmos, reality and the supernatural dissolve and are reconfigured. The Naguala guide invites you to consider yourself beyond the human form, forever transforming, continually being woven into the fabric of life and death, the macro and the micro. The naguala asks, “Where are you outside of your skin?”

  • Country: Canada
  • Director: Claudia Minerva Medina
  • Producers: Claudia Minerva Medina
  • Other Roles: N/A
  • Duration: 00:15:00
  • https://youtu.be/C7AedXn91oM?si=R_q638WjIcrqIBlG

Stop Taking Pictures

Inspired by the surreal works of Lynch, Cronenberg, Lanthimos, and others, Arlin Godwin’s 5th short film, STOP TAKING PICTURES, follows a photographer who becomes increasingly alarmed when his dead wife begins showing up in photos shot at the subway station where she died.

CAST & CREW
Directed by Arlin Godwin & Produced by Trevor Taylor – Starring Joseph Groth & Lina Romero – Featuring Chrisse Soukai, Andrew Stone & Simon Jackson

  • Country: United States, United States
  • Authors: Arlin Godwin, Trevor Taylor
  • Cast: Joseph Groth, Lina Romero, Andrew Stone, Chrisse Soukai, Simon Jackson
  • Director: Arlin Godwin
  • Producers: Arlin Godwin, Trevor Taylor
  • Duration: 00:14:33
  • https://stoptakingpictures.com/
  • https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574977478921
  • https://www.instagram.com/arlingodwin/?hl=en
  • https://filmfreeway.com/submissions/33735937

METAMORFOSI – Metamorphosis

ENG: Flavia is tired of suffering over the wrong relationships. On her friend’s advice, she dives into the world of dating apps and meets Alex: charming, mysterious, impossible to figure out. An unusual date, a night together… and then something changes. Strange symptoms, fear, and a medical check-up that reveals a terrible discovery.

ITA: Flavia è stanca di soffrire per amori sbagliati. Su consiglio dell’amica, si lancia nel mondo delle app di incontri e conosce Alex: affascinante, misterioso, impossibile da decifrare. Un appuntamento atipico, una notte insieme… e poi qualcosa cambia. Strani sintomi, paura e una visita medica che le rivela una terribile scoperta.

  • Country: Italy
  • Authors: Angelo Piccione, Lietta Vitale
  • Cast: Annamaria La Rosa, Anita Lucenti, Lorenzo Carducci,
  • Director: Angelo Piccione
  • Producers: Angelo Piccione, Chiara Ragno
  • Duration: 00:13:47
  • https://vimeo.com/1094754262?share=copy

SIRINGE

ENG: A little bird dreams of being a girl, unaware that people build cages around themselves. A girl dreams of being a little bird to escape the prison she has built for herself. The two dreams become the same nightmare from which only awakening can lead them back to freedom.

ITA: Un uccellino sogna di essere una ragazza ignorando che le persone costruiscono gabbie intorno a sé. Una ragazza sogna di essere un uccellino per fuggire dalla prigione che si è costruita. I due sogni diventano un solo incubo da cui risvegliarsi per tornare liberi.

  • Country: Italy
  • Authors: Dainele Perillo, Laura Bianca, Gaia Clemensi,
  • Cast: Hui Chun Lee
  • Director: Daniele Perillo
  • Producers: ROAD TO PICTURES FILM, ACCADEMIA DEL CINEMA RENOIR
  • Duration: 00:06:30
  • https://vimeo.com/1087722007?share=copy

The Last Call

Un allenatore professionista si risveglia in una stanza chiusa a chiave cercando di capire cosa gli è successo e come può fuggire, con solo l’aiuto di un cellulare morente e di telefonate criptiche dal suo rapitore.

S. PER. AN. ZE. – Un futuro a 5G

Four boys, Stefano, Perla, Anna and Zeno, express in their coded language their doubts about their own future and that of the society in which they live. Their smartphones, which generated their problems by sending some SMS, will mysteriously transform into means of reunion, reconciliation and a path towards a living hope of their professional and human lives.

  • Country: Italy
  • Authors: Giancarlo Mici, Elena Tasso
  • Cast: Paola Pitagora, Giuseppe Pambieri, Alessandro Marzia, Noemi Petrangeli, Valentina Giagnacovo, Federico Sardi de Letto, Pierre Bresolin, Giancarlo Mici
  • Director: Giancarlo Mici
  • Producers: Maria Paola Migliassi, Giancarlo Mici
  • Other Roles: Composer: Icli Zitella; Editor: Nicola De Santis; Photography Director: Nicola De Santis
  • Duration: 00:17:20
  • https://www.speranzeunfuturoa5g.it
  • https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61568295054647
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OyRiXIwEoE

Puccini 4.0

A strange individual resembling Maestro Giacomo Puccini is wandering around the very places he frequented in life. Our protagonist, accidentally bumping into him, decides to investigate to find out who he really is.

  • Country: Italy
  • Authors: Pierpaolo Poggi
  • Cast: Ester Del Dotto
  • Director: Riccardo Dalle Luche
  • Producers: APS Apuania Film Commission
  • Duration: 00:19:51
  • https://youtu.be/lKe4mo1M_As?si=tPgXEn9YWkRMYul1

Sorry, She Can’t Help Herself

Amidst the clutter and chaos of her new American home, Somayeh, a young Iranian mother battling postpartum depression and paranoia, struggles to preserve her identity while facing the rigors of immigration, an unsupportive spouse, and judgment from visitors, revealing the intricate challenges of adapting to a life far from home.

  • Country: United States, United States
  • Authors: Roqiye Tavakoli, Yasamin Rizan
  • Cast: Sara Farzadfard, Mada Davi, Neda Asadi, Ida Akhondi, Anna Akhondi, Sidney Lawrence Brown
  • Director: Roqiye Tavakoli
  • Producers: Morteza Rafiei, Hadi Akhondi
  • Duration: 00:12:21
  • https://roqiyetavakoli.com/new-project
  • https://filmfreeway.com/submissions/33818613

Leontari

The railroad network of the Greek Peloponnese has long been dormant. Its tracks are overgrown and its stations abandoned. But the architect and development planner Irini Frezadou has made a promise: The trains will run again, through Leontari station.

  • Country: Switzerland
  • Authors: Maurice Konstantin Dietziker, Kilian Frei
  • Cast: Irini Frezadou, Babis Antoniadis
  • Director: Maurice Konstantin Dietziker
  • Producers: Volko Kamensky
  • Other Roles: Camera/Colorgrading: Kilian Frei; Sound(design): Nora Grütter
  • Duration: 00:13:48
  • https://vimeo.com/user32913139
  • https://www.instagram.com/ecirua.mov/
  • https://filmfreeway.com/submissions/33820446

The Deliverance

The Deliverance is an intimate documentary confession about life after an abusive relationship. Through old photographs, personal drawings, self-filmed footage, and poetic visual metaphors, the director reveals her fragile inner world — the fear of intimacy, distorted self-image, recurring nightmares, and the lingering vulnerability that abuse leaves behind.
The film blends raw personal archive with staged scenes, where roses and peonies burn as symbols of pain and emotional cleansing.
It’s a story about how abuse can continue long after the relationship ends, poisoning everyday life. But within this honest expression lies a quiet resilience — the filmmaker believes that healing is possible.

  • Country: Russian Federation
  • Authors: Tatiana Volkova
  • Director: Tatiana Volkova
  • Duration: 00:13:17

Gentle as Moss on Stone

‘Gentle as Moss on Stone’ is a poetic meditation on resilience, memory, and the quiet wisdom of nature. At the foot of a moss-covered hill he can no longer climb, a retired bryologist weaves tales of imaginary mosses for his young granddaughter. Each moss holds a secret remedy – coded strengths to help her navigate the challenges of life, long after he is gone. The fears in the film were collected during workshops with neurodiverse young people – each animated moss serves as a remedy for one of their anxieties. Through this process, the film becomes a bridge between science and emotion, where the imagined flora embody deeply personal aspirations for comfort and resilience. Blending realism with fantasy, ‘Gentle as Moss on Stone’ explores the unseen connections between human emotions and the natural world. As scientific research begins to reveal the medicinal and therapeutic properties of moss, the film invites audiences to consider their fragile strength.

  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Authors: Paul Smith, Vicky Isley
  • Cast: Clive Hopwood, Phil Rowe, Mabli Gwen Harries
  • Director: Vicky Isley, Paul Smith, boredomresearch
  • Producers: N/A
  • Other Roles: Music: Artem Litovchenko; Commissioners: Natural Resources Wales; Funder: Heritage Fund, Arts Council of Wales
  • Duration: 00:11:00
  • http://boredomresearch.net/wp/portfolio/gentle-moss-stone/
  • https://facebook.com/boredomresearch
  • https://instagram.com/boredomresearch
  • https://vimeo.com/1061708555