Winners 2025-09
Winners list and descriptions, August 2025
Akıl Tutulması-Mind Eclipse
Ramazan Yıldırım
Some musicians consider it part of their mastery to tighten the string toward the higher notes, making it sound tunes they cannot sing themselves. Some people are no different, testing the limits of those closest to them just to hear the tune in their minds. Yet true mastery lies in knowing when the string will break and avoiding such tension. Gürkan, a perfectionist himself, never managed to become the renowned writer he had always dreamed of. Now, he attempts to realize his dream through his daughters.
Beyond The Horizon
James Peter Rowat
Zoe Stephens travelled to Tonga for a 3 day trip. She became stranded for 531 days.
This true story documents thought provoking themes of human connection, love and tragedy.
Beyond The Horizon
Simone Bardi
From the depths of memory, a mysterious voice recounts the triumphs and growing shadows of the Po Delta, where a balance has been broken, perhaps forever. Amidst the mists of the past and the uncertainties of the present, the ecological resilience of a family of fishermen from the Sacca di Scardovari is revealed. The voice confesses to a decades-long deafness to the cries of the earth, and now the home is at risk of collapse. In the limbo of this cruel time, is it possible to rediscover harmony? The film invites viewers to lose themselves in the gaze of the Delta, to decipher its mysteries, and to question humanity’s fragile place in this treasure trove of life.
Fist Bump
Madeleine Farley
FIST BUMP is the story of Marcus Knight, an astounding success story: a talented and charismatic bi-racial young adult with autism and cerebral palsy who pursues his dream career of a life on Broadway. As a college freshman, he’s accused of sexual harassment from a friendly fist bump and selfies. He must fight to prove his innocence and piece together his shattered ambitions.
Gift A Feeling
Alex Fouquet
For Valentine’s Day, witness the blooming of a love story within the beautiful landscape of the French Alps.
Igor. L’eroe romantico del calcio
Luca Dal Canto
Il calcio degli anni 90 è il calcio dei campioni che spesso si avvicinano a mitici eroi greci o a carismatici personaggi byroniani volti verso il sublime, in soccorso dei più deboli.
L’ultimo eroe romantico di quel calcio è il passionale Igor Protti, l’unico giocatore che si è laureato 4 volte capo-cannoniere in A (con una squadra retrocessa), B e C, ovvero tutte le categorie professionistiche, e che è riuscito a farsi amare ovunque ha giocato, da Bari a Roma sponda Lazio, da Messina a Napoli, fino a Livorno, per il quale nel 1999 rinuncia a un ingaggio miliardario e al successo facile.
Il film racconta la sua affascinante figura, partendo dai successi sportivi per analizzarne allo stesso tempo l’aspetto umano e “romantico”, come simbolo di un calcio e di un’Italia che non esistono più. E inoltre, vista la vicenda umana e sportiva del campione, anche come simbolo e modello per le nuove generazioni.
…in search of Nihal Fernando
Martin Pieris
Life and times of a Sri Lankan Photographer and conservationist
Oops, Not Acapulco!
Kostiantyn Mishchenko
“Oops, Not Acapulco!” is a sun-drenched musical short about misdirection — geographic, emotional, and existential. The project was originally envisioned as a light-hearted travel clip: Acapulco, palm trees, and a classic Ricchi e Poveri song performed by the director’s wife. But life wrote another story. After her passing, the idea transformed. A new, original song emerged — playful, ironic, and gently sorrowful. It turns absence into melody, detours into rhythm, and memory into motion. This is a film about how things that never happened can still become art.
A song about what remains, even when no one sings it.
Rhythms of the Land
Jarrod Tully
An inspiring documentary film that follows Indigenous artists from communities across Canada. Each artist shares how their language lives in music, memory, and cultural rhythm. The film reveals how language connects us to the land, to each other, and to who we are
Romancing Sydney
Anmol Mishra
Elisa is young and sweet. Sachin is dreamy and naive. Will fate keep them together?
Zac and Alex fell in love amidst dance and gymnastics. But can someone truly be that sure?
George works in Lili’s antique shop and has a secret that could shock everyone…
Through a saga intertwined with dance pieces, six individuals embrace their emotions in Sydney.
Life, Love and Dance in Sydney!
SUL VIVO – Sore Point
Francesco Finarolli
ENG: A young home nurse, who has been treating a burn victim for some time and with whom he has become friends, accidentally discovers, during a very hot summer day, that he takes pleasure in hurting him.
ITA: Un giovane infermiere domiciliare, che sta seguendo da diverso tempo un utente ustionato con cui ha stretto un legame d’amicizia, scopre accidentalmente, durante una canicolare giornata d’estate, di provare piacere nell’infliggergli dolore.
The Family Photo
John Norris Ray, Maria Victoria Sanchez
What happened after an Earth astronaut left a family photo on the moon fifty-plus years ago? This animated short explores the butterfly effect of such an action. How will it affect us all?A symbolic return to the earth, through soil, where we all come from.
Written and Interpreted by: Ray Formilli
Directed by: Luca Valentino Paluello
Co-written by: Alessandro Vanossi
Drone Operator: Andre Gorla
Narrator Human: Maga
Narrator Earth: AI Melissa
Set Assistant: Andrea Groppi
Terra Battuta
Luca Valentino Paluello
What happened after an Earth astronaut left a family photo on the moon fifty-plus years ago? This animated short explores the butterfly effect of such an action. How will it affect us all?
The Nemesis
Zin Atas
In a remote North Carolina monastery, Father Thomas, a retiring priest obsessed with recent Byzantine discoveries in Istanbul, summons Adriel, a scarred young priest from Istanbul, to translate government letters. Grace, Thomas’s curious daughter, grows intrigued by Adriel. Drawn together by a philosophical game of perfection, they explore ideals of flawlessness, uncovering hidden talents and a deep spiritual love that unites their imperfect souls.
The Return of the Fireflies: World Premiere
Daan Roosegaarde
Amid the motorbikes, neon cafés, and restless energy of Bali, a quiet revolution glows in the shadows. For three years, Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde and local Balinese collaborators have worked to bring back a species that had almost disappeared: the firefly. In Indonesia, these small beacons are more than creatures; they are threads of cultural memory, woven into stories, songs, and nights beneath the stars. This film is an intimate, luminous love story between people and nature. Each flicker in the dark is a signal, a call to a mate, a whisper of longing, a brief reunion in the night. Yet their fading glow carries a warning: we may be the last generation to witness this living light. Shot under red light invisible to fireflies, the film enters their world without disturbance, offering a rare, unguarded view of their silent courtship. More than a document, it is a poetic call to action, imagining a kind of eco-tourism where human presence restores rather than erodes, and where the balance between people and the natural world can be rebuilt, spark by spark.
The River of Life & Death
Paddy Hackett
“The River of Life & Death” follows the story of Tarzan, a rugged wildlife tracker, as he ventures deep into the heart of Borneo in search of the last known population of pygmy elephants. Accompanied only by his cameraman on a handmade bamboo raft, the journey plunges them into a world of dense jungle, crocodile-infested rivers, and the constant threat of police interference. Along the way, the film captures intimate glimpses of local culture and rich ecological systems, offering a raw, urgent plea for environmental conservation in one of the planet’s last wild frontiers.
The way of the orchid
Jean-Baptiste Le Hen
In a society where pollinating drones have replaced insects and AI has replaced human relationships, 14-year-old Violette, mute for a year, is wanted for environmental activism. She flees with her father Sylvain to a neighboring country where, it seems, people live with concern for the well-being and protection of living things. While Sylvain is astonished to discover the application of these principles in his new job, Violette has no idea that her refuge has been discovered…
WEAK13 – UNPOPULAR
Nick J Townsend
Claymation music video for British band WEAK13. Written, animated and directed by Nick J Townsend
What we liked of Lofoten
Matteo Masini
Matteo has always been inspired by the sea and by the mountains. And the presence of one next to the other is not common. So he travels all the way north to Lofoten with his bike and he brings together with him his two friends, Chiara and Momo, and he keeps thinking about the things he like: the sea, the mountains, and …