All selected entrants will be notified in 7 working days after the late deadline for each quarter.

Submit and win with us!

Nominations Winter 2021

Nominated: Best Drone Short
WE ABOVE III
WE ABOVE III

Director: Kiril Shmidov

Editor, Sound Design: Alexandre Richard

Colorist: Charles Boileau

Country: Canada

Project Type:Short

Overview: Les Orphelins & 5S Content present a glimpse of a world at the dawn of a pandemic: from the somber desolation of Chernobyl's ruins to Tibet's untouched majestic mountains, Siberia's glacial grounds and Mongolia's snowy desert dunes.

Director Statement: “We Above III” is a thrilling flight over a world at the brink of a deadly virus which paints our pale blue dot as both elegant and derelict, grand and bleak, and one worth fighting for and preserving.

Nominated: Best Documentary Short
Tremors: Making Perfection

Director/Writer: Matthew Snead

Producers: Juan Leon

Country: United Kingdom

Project Type: Documentary, Short

Overview: In 1989, Universal Pictures greenlit a low budget monster movie. With a tiny budget, an untested director and rubber monsters. And shot outdoors in the freezing winds and baking sun of the desert. IT TANKED. That movie was called Tremors. 30 years later Universal have released the 7th movie in its franchise. WHY? TREMORS: MAKING PERFECTION explores the production, reception and enduring cult appeal of Tremors. We revisit the breath-taking locations for Tremors at the foot of Mount Whitney, California and lift the lid on the torturous production process, it’s dismal success at the box office and how through changing technology, and with a killer script at its core, it miraculously found its devoted and obsessive audience. With new and exclusive interviews with Kevin Bacon, Michael Gross and all the key creators technicians and execs involved in its production we uncover what the film ultimately means to the ‘Tremors family’, some 30 years later.

Nominated: Best Long Short
The Chernobyl Saga - Irish Butter Case of India

Director: Ajitesh Sharma

Writers: Ajitesh Sharma, Shashank Saxena, Gurjot Singh

Producer: Shilpa Sharma

Country: India

Project Type: Long Short

Overview: The Chernobyl Saga - Irish Butter Case of India is a documentary about a legal case filed in India. Being one of the very few films shot in Chernobyl, the interesting aspect of the film is that this Case was connected to Nuclear Incident at Chernobyl miles away from India. This is a documentary which breaks all genre stereotypes, by using various techniques of travelogue, narration, reconstruction and personal interaction. It tells us something not many people knew before watching it.

Director Statement: What connects Chernobyl and India? Why was Irish Butter banned in India? How Indian Scientists managed to prove everyone wrong? Answers to these and more in this unheard story from 90s

Nominated: Best Short
Outside The Box
Outside The Box

Director: Ross Mackenzie

Writers: Ross Mackenzie, Amelia Mackenzie

Producer: Billy Rees

Country: United Kingdom

Project Type: Drama, Comedy, Short

Overview: An office worker has an unforgettable day after discovering an intriguing box in the store cupboard.

Director Statement: Outside The Box was shot in the summer of 2019 with a small crew doing our absolute best to avoid people and traffic in order to get the perfect feel for the film. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it.




Nominated: Best Drama Short
Dunn
Dunn

Director/Writer: Isaac Harrison

Producers: Isaac Harrison, Abigail Harrison

Country: United States

Project Type: Thriller, Noir, Drama, Short

Overview: A detective follows a lead on a missing girl but begins to suspect that there is more to the case than what's on the surface.

Director Statement: 'Dunn' is a film about how truth will always find us, no matter what we tell ourselves.

Nominated: Best Short
Becoming Everything

Director: Dan Lowënstein

Writer: Steve Leeds

Producers: Steve Leeds, Dan Lowënstein, Emme Lentino

Country: United Kingdom

Project Type: Short

Overview: Battling with mental illness after losing his wife. This widowed father needs to become a Mother to their daughter. This story is hard hitting to highlight someone drowning in depression but there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.

Nominated: Best Microfilm
The Game
The Game

Director/Writer: Tim Moldenhauer

Producer: Kristall Tam

Country: United States

Project Type: Short

Overview: A mysterious SMS reveals that the boy waiting for the bus might not alone as he thought. Set in the 90s, this micro short film is featuring a ‘System G’ backpack and plays Hommage to various 90s movies.

Director Statement: There was a lot of hands on work for this project, which was fun though. We had to modify an entire bus stop, including build-in custom lighting, building our own ad light box and aging down our own bench. Then weeks of sourcing actual 90s items, ranging from a walkmen with the original orange headphones, matching snacks to a nokia mobile phone. But all of these tiny details makes this micro film work, including some indirect references to some popular 90s movies :)

Nominated: Best Student Director
Little Gestures
Little Gestures

Director: Richard O'Hanlon , Daniel Brand-Sinyinza

Producers: Nickoel Izharudin, Dominic Strachan

Country: United Kingdom

Project Type: Animation, Student, Short

Overview: An elderly master artist finds his powers waning - and receives help from an unlikely source.

Director Statement: I wanted to create a short film about an artist whose work comes to life in an unexpected way. It is a story about life, and talent, and the imagination.




Nominated: Best Feature
"THEM"

Director/Writers: Ignacio Maiso

Producer: David Stock

Country: United Kingdom

Project Type: Sci-fi, Thriller, Feature

Overview: Humans cannot see them anymore. They control the world and everything that happens in it. Humans live in a comfortable dream that repeats itself. They control the dream. They were humans once too. Now they are something else. Some humans wake up, most never do. Once you wake up you are supposed to forget. Daniel is awoken to be told that things could be different. Daniel believes it. For a while at least.

Nominated: Best Short

Voices

Directors/Writer/Producer: George A. Johnson

Country: United States

Project Type: Comedy, Drama, Spiritual, Short

Overview: Surrounded by negative voices, Karina longs for the voice of someone who actually cares about her.

Nominated: Best Feature Screenplay / TV Script
SOS United States

Writer: Mark Lund

Country: United States

Project Type: Drama, Political Thriller, Action, Screenplay

Overview: A state visit by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom turns into a political crisis when the President of the United States learns that a nuclear bomb is on an ocean liner heading to Boston.

Writer Statement: I have always loved political thrillers, particularly those from the 1960s. When I started writing screenplays, I soon realized that no matter the genre or subject, they live in the world of political thrillers. In SOS United States my aim was to introduce two world leaders into a sea of personal and political conflict. What battles do they need to fight? What must they lose in order to prevail? My inspiration on setting and tone was drawn from Fail Safe (1964) and Seven Days in May (1964). In SOS I wanted to bring the audience directly into the rooms of power with our characters. How are two leaders of the free world dealing with the possible end of that world? Who are their supporters and detractors? I believe character motivations in political thrillers should be as complicated and involved as it is in real life. In this story, my goal was to to keep the audience guessing until the last pages when loyalty and character comes into question for all. I think that’s what makes for a solid political thriller—you don’t know who the enemy is until it’s almost too late.

Nominated: Best Documentary Short

Garage Romantic

Director: Dan Sadgrove

Cinematographer : Alexander Alexandrov

Producer: Daniel Sadgrove

Country: New Zealand

Project Type: Documentary, Short

Overview: A big dreamer from the small town of Togliatti, Russia ponders life while building a rocket powered sled made from discarded trash.

Director Statement: Garage Romantic came about when I saw some photos of Lyoha and his machine in a magazine in 2014. Curious by the insane contraption he was sitting on - a rocket powered sled - I tracked him down and asked if he'd like to make a film it. Turning up to Russia with a DP and no idea of what we were going to encounter, we met a man who dreams well beyond his means. Working out of an underground garage in the remote town of Togliatti, Lyoha is an ambitious character whose desire to fly overcomes any obstacle he encounters. What came of this is an inspiring story of self-belief in the face of adversity.




Nominated: Best Feature Screenplay / TV Script
S.T.A.R.
S.T.A.R.

Writer: Yael Deynes

Country: United States

Project Type: Screenplay

Nominated: Best Fantasy/Sci-Fi Short
The Creator
The Creator

Director/Writer/Producer: Sergiy Pudich

Director of Photography : Rouman Kang

Country: Ukraine

Project Type: Experimental, Short

Overview: The scientist creating and training androids to be perfect in different skills: fighting, athletics, dancing, and. - painting. All droids improving themselves day by day, but an artistic one is standing where she was - Will Creator erase his work or leave her a chance?

Director Statement: This movie was done within 48 hours Project in China. We wanted to show how artists are suffering before they can do an Art. The Creator is a society that waits for quick results from the artist, but recognition can come only after it's already too late...

Nominated: Best Short Screenplay
Beholder
Beholder

Writer: Peter Hardy

Country: United States

Project Type: Short Script

Overview: Two people, longing for each other, never connecting.

Writer Statement: It's all in how we see ourselves and see others.

Nominated: Best Fantasy/Sci-Fi Short
ECHO

Director: Aitor de Miguel

Writer: Javier Trigales

Producer: Eye Slice

Country: Spain

Project Type: Drama, Sci-Fi, Short

Overview: In 1977, the Voyager probe leaves for the galaxy with a message in Spanish recorded in the RNE (Spanish National Radio Studio).

Director Statement: The upward movement of the creative tide sweeps away everyday worries and freezes time so that for a few moments we can enjoy an ecstasy very similar to love, freedom or beauty ... even if only in a fictitious way.




Nominated: Best Feature Screenplay / TV Script
Necropolis
Necropolis

Writer: Caledonia Hanson

Country: United States

Project Type: Drama, Crime, Television Script

Overview: Necropolis: A violent and seedy hell on earth, the part of the city everyone warns you about. When 18-year-old Eddie Soreno ventures into this insidious place to uncover the truth of his father's past, only his sister, Maria, holds hope that he will return alive. Against the clock, Maria goes in after him, willingly risking her life so that her brother won't suffer the same fate as their father.

Writer Biography: Caledonia Hanson is a disabled, up and coming screenwriter who studied film production at the Los Angeles Film School and was one of the top 4 winners of Cine Pitchfest in 2016 for their TV show Seeking Malice.

Nominated: Best Short Screenplay

New Moon 5280

Writer: Dean Harakas

Country: United States

Project Type: Thriller, Horror, Psychological Thriller, Dark Drama, Short Script

Overview: Ignoring warnings that Denver's 'New Moon Killer' may strike again, a driven writer goes on his nightly 3 a.m. 'creative inspiration' run through the city.

Nominated: Best Animation Short

Fowl Crossing

Director/Writer: Nancy Snipper

Animator: Eduardo Rivas

Country: Canada

Project Type: Animation, Short

Overview: When colorful birds from all over the world land at the border crossing of a fictitious country, they get hit with a slew of insults by the two nasty vulture guards, and are denied entry. Prejudice is in the air. A comedic parody on a serious subject.

Director Statement: TAPPING TANGO was my first venture into animation film. Typical to my personality, it's funny. I hope it brings laughter to all who watch it. Following ©Tapping Tango's success, my second animation short ©Fowl Crossing will soon be screening at a festival near you. This clever film merges characters of birds from different countries to a message about racism. Poignant yet funny, it's sure to be controversial yet entertaining. “I was determined to make a short about prejudice. The film is entertaining and funny, yet it deals with a very serious subject. I feel my film is very relevant to what the world is experiencing now. It’s not only anti-Trump but it’s anti all who rule with hatred in their hearts and power on their minds. Prejudice is systemic.”

Nominated: Best Animation Short

Doing the Robot
Doing the Robot

Director/Writer/Producer: Ravi Guru Singh

Animators: AfterDark Animation

Country: United States

Project Type: Animation, Short

Overview: A woman meets her robot for the first time.

Director Statement: I'm so excited to submit my first ever animated sketch, animated by Jenny and Joe at AfterDark Animation, written, produced, and directed by me.




Nominated: Best Feature

Questions and Comments
Questions and Comments

Director/Writer: Alexandra Alvarez

Producer: Matthew Rubino

Country: United States

Project Type: Dark Comedy, Drama, Feature

Overview: Hal, a reclusive hermit, pays tribute to his mother's death by calling various "Questions and Comments" hot-line to capitalize on their 100% customer satisfaction guarantee until the country's biggest food and beverage conglomerate, KNACK, hits him with a lawsuit. Armed with nothing but free food samples and the less than mediocre legal aide of his eccentric next-door neighbor Amelia, Hal must lead the battle against the corporate giants to retain his peaceful solitary existence.

Nominated: Best Short

On Edge
On Edge

Director/Writer/Producer: Marzia Kamyabi

Country: Canada

Project Type: Short

Overview: A grandmother and grandson are reluctantly forced to spend an afternoon together. However, an act of nature brings them closer as a family.

Director Biography: We need more positive family stories.

Nominated: Best Drama Short, Best Director
Papa Was A Rolling Stone
Papa Was A Rolling Stone

Director/Producer: Keith Williams

Writers: Chevelle Hallback, Stephanie D. Sanders

Executive Producer: Chevelle Hallback

Country: United States

Project Type: Short

Overview: Tonyella father did not spend the time with her the way she feels a father should spend with his daugther. Now that Tonyella is a grown woman, she struggles mentally with a lot of unanswered question. Because of the unforgiveness in her heart towards her deceased father, it prevents her from getting ahead and moving forward in life.

Director Statement: Working with Chevelle Hallback has been an amazing journey and working with her on other projects, I knew she was a phenomenal actor. But I did not know she was gifted with hidden talent as a writer. "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" is her first film but definitely not her last. Working with Chevelle on her first film was a pleasure and I must say this is just the beginning. I will definitely be working with her again in the near future so please stay tuned.

Nominated: Best Student Director

I love Films
I love Films

Director/Writer: Enrico Borrometi

Producers: Enrico Borrometi, Isha Agarwal

Country: United Kingdom

Project Type: Short

Overview: A daughter tries to convince her mother to let her go to Film school. To do so, she shows in a unique way every step of the filmmaking process to her mom.

Director Statement: Everyone on earth has a fire that burns inside them and every flame burns for different things. Very few people on earth have a strong passion for Cinema and they cannot imagine themselves doing anything else. This short captures the first spark of that fire, showing an argument between Lucy, a young girl who wants to learn film making, and her mom, excited but worried for her daughter's future. Lucy might be a bit naive but her curiosity and will are so strong they are impossible to ignore. Lucy describes to her mother every step of the filmmaking process on set, showing both her knowledge and excitement. While she does so, their living room becomes an actual set so we, the audience, can actually see how everything is made. Lucy never breaks the fourth wall, she never speaks to us directly. It's almost as if we could see inside her head the scene as created by her imagination. It's a pleasant short film for both filmmakers and non-filmmakers. It shows not only how a movie gets made, but also why.




Nominated: Best Art/Experimental Short

Slow Dive

Director: Andrei Zaitcev

Writer/Composer: Juha Mäki-Patola

Country: Finland

Project Type: Experimental, Short

Overview: Existential video poem.

Nominated: Best Drama Short

FOLKTALE

Director: Ajitesh Sharma

Producer: Shilpa Sharma

Country: India

Project Type: Short

Overview: Folktale is the story of stories. Stories we all have heard when we were young... stories which are time immortal... stories which make us believe what we can be. Folktale is story of VEER, a 10 year young village lad. He is a true believer in all the stories his beloved DADA, a village old man, narrates to him and other children of the village. One day Veer sees that a young 9 year old Russian Girl MASHA, along with her family, is settling in the village. Masha, because of her white color, seems like a fairy from a fairytale to Veer. After several failed attempts to connect with Masha, Veer finally succeeds in convincing Masha to visit Dada. Dada narrates them a story of a warrior who sacrificed his most loved possession to save his community from an epidemic. Veer's village is going through a water crisis and absolutely no signs of any rains makes it tougher day by day. Veer opinionates that if someone can scale a nearby mountain, where supposedly god lives, the god would be pleased and could bring rains to the village. Together Veer and Masha start an extraordinary journey of scaling a tough mountain and this is when the real magic happens...

Nominated: Best Documentary Short

Waiting for Jean Paul
Waiting for Jean Paul

Director: Pater/Son

Producer: 2 Heures 56 Productions

Country: France

Project Type: Documentary, Short, History

Overview: Rocafort Castle was built in the heart of the French Alps in 1090 and destroyed in 1305. For seven centuries, no one looked after it, and the ruins of the building were eventually buried and forgotten. Until the year 2000… 700 years waiting for Jean Paul.

Director Statement: This film was very personnal to make and I hope you'll like it! "Waiting for Jean Paul" tells a story about a castle who waited 700 years to be reborn. One man is responsible for its resurrection: Jean Paul!

Nominated: Best Feature Screenplay / TV Script
Five Orcs
Five Orcs

Writer: Kevin Ryan

Country: Ireland

Project Type: Screenplay




Nominated: Best Feature
Good Old Friends

Directors: Peter Kondra, Mikael Schallock

Writer: Peter Kondra

Producers: Mikael Schallock, Peter Kondra

Country: Germany

Project Type: Drama, Comedy, Feature

Overview: Mike, Pete and Marc are three good old friends who reunite in Berlin five years after graduating from college. It soon becomes apparent how much their lives have changed. They proceed to celebrate like they used to during their studies. The ridiculous quantities of alcohol and various drugs ultimately derail the festivities. A harmless prank backfires and ends in tragedy. The aftermath puts what's left of their friendship to the test.

Director Statement: "Good Old Friends" is a dark comedy with elements of a drama or a classic tragedy. The film is meant to entertain and in some moments doesn't take itself too seriously. It is meant to make you think about your own circle of friends. Despite its location in Berlin, the film is a homage to the American film of the 80s and 90s, which was formative for us as filmmakers. Visually and stylistically, the film borrows from the early works of Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs) and Nicolas Winding Refn (Pusher). Movie-goers who enjoyed films such as "Hangover", "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "Very Bad Things", will find 'Good Old Friends' a worthwhile indie gem. Last, but not least, the feature film is dedicated to the director and actor Ulli Lommel, who served as our mentor and was known for films like "The Boogeyman" and "Tenderness of the Wolves" as well as his countless collaborations with Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Andy Warhol.

Nominated: Best Feature Documentary
Cryptopia: Bitcoin, Blockchains and the Future of the Internet

Directors: Torsten Hoffmann, Michael Watchulonis

Writer/Producer: Torsten Hoffmann

Country: Australia

Project Type: Documentary, Feature

Overview: Bitcoin has been called one of the most disruptive technologies of our times, threatening banks by building an alternative and decentralized currency system. Its “blockchain” could provide a blueprint for a better Internet - challenging the dominating technology giants. Despite this potential, Bitcoin is undergoing severe price volatility and the community is facing a bitter internal ‘civil war’. Moreover, much of the media coverage is often misinformed or misleading and the general public is still confused about the technology and its larger implications. Can this technology, designed to operate independent of trust and within a decentralized network, really provide a robust alternative? Can it and the people behind it be trusted to secure elections, prevent financial meltdowns and keep our private information safe? Or are cryptocurrencies just as unfairly distributed, easily manipulated and dangerous as our current systems? Join award-winning filmmaker Torsten Hoffmann four years after his first Bitcoin documentary on his journey to find the answers to these important questions that may redefine the future of the Internet (web3.0). He meets with the big brains and big egos of this new industry. Some of the hackers, hipsters and hustlers that Torsten met 5 years ago have broken their promises; can we trust them to build a trustless new cyber utopia?

Director Statement: “#CryptopiaFilm: Bitcoin, Blockchains and the Future of the Internet” explores this story in-depth. We benefited from the relationships we built with the thought leaders, hustlers, billionaires and journalists in this young industry since 2014. For example, as only film crew we were given unprecedented access to a decommissioned military bunker in a secret location in Switzerland, where allegedly 10% of all Bitcoins worth billions of dollars are secured. We were also able to get access to the co-inventor of the Internet who draws parallels and set the historical context for this new technology.

Nominated: Best Short Screenplay
HOMECOMING
HOMECOMING

Writer: Olayitan Williams

Country: United Kingdom

Project Type: Short Screenplay

Overview: A young man tries to keep a secret from his traditional African family during the Christmas holidays.

Nominated: Best Thriller/Horror Short
Chateau Sauvignon: terroir
Chateau Sauvignon: terroir

Director/Writer: D.M. Night Maire

Producers: D.M. Night Maire, Rob Eletto, Jayesh Hariharan, Carlos Valdivia

Country: United States

Project Type: Horror, Short

Overview: 'Chateau Sauvignon: terroir' follows the isolated adolescent son of a storied vintner family who finds himself torn between obeying his father’s callous restrictions and preventing his ailing mother from deteriorating further. When a doting woman and her indifferent son arrive seeking a tasting and tour of the winery, Nicolas sees an opportunity to help care for his mother, as well as prove his worth to his choleric father. However, his wayward plan quickly takes a turn for the worse, and his missteps puts his family’s secretive murderous ways in peril of being unearthed.

Director Statement: This short doubles as both a directorial calling card and a proof of concept in terms of plot, character and visual aesthetic for a larger feature project. Rather than follow a group of victims into a winery from hell, the hook of this slasher story is in keeping the lens on the executioners, Nicolas and his family. Think “Frontier(s)” (2007) meets “We Are What We Are” (2013). Similarly to Haneke’s psychological thrillers, this story seeks to explore the unease of human monsters, but adds a heavy dose of visceral Cronenbergian body horror.




Nominated: Best Comedy, Best Actor/Actress
7 SUSPECTS

Director/Writer: Will Masheter

Key Cast “GIOVANNI, GLORIA, CHAD, HOWARD, GABRIEL, IVAN, PADDY”: Will Masheter

Producer: Colette Brown

Country: United States

Project Type: Short

Overview: When 7 quirky characters get arrested and interviewed on suspicion of murder, who do you think is likely to have done it?

Director Biography: 7 SUSPECTS was written and initially intended to be a one-man showreel piece. The idea was to shoot it at home over an extended period of time, but that soon changed... It ended up being shot over an 18 hour night shoot, with a 6 person team powering through the night.

Nominated: Best Comedy Short

HypocriCity

Director/Writer: Sean Muir

Producer: Blake Muir

Country: Australia

Project Type: Student, Short

Overview: A germaphobe, an ignorant boss, lazy employees, and a sneezer. Is this job really worth it? CHARLIE is a bright, young candidate for the position of director at the local news station. One thing stands in the way, his interview with the station manager, JOE. Meanwhile, two station editors, DEVON and LANDRY are working the bear minimum as they complain about management.

Director Statement: You may not be able to change a situation, but through humour, you can change your attitude about a situation. The experiences we go through, good or bad, are an opportunity to learn and better ourselves. And to look back on a bad experience with laughter is the ultimate growth. While writing HypocriCity, I drew from moments in my life and mixed them with some ridiculous characters. I was inspired to write comedy because I saw the challenge in it. It’s a genre not often attempted in the short form and a style of filmmaking I never thought to pursue. But with the amazing cast and crew I had the privilege to work with, my confidence in HypocriCity grew and I knew we would achieve something great together. That something great can be as simple and as rewarding as making someone smile. The goal in all forms of storytelling is to entertain. This is the mindset everyone working on this production has and I am forever grateful for their efforts and contributions.

Nominated: Best Thriller/Horror

The First Boy

Director/Writer: Zak Bandit

Producer: Ryan Mullins

Country: United States

Project Type: Horror, thriller, Short

Overview: He was so perfect. He was just what I wanted, what I needed. I had finally found him. I knew at that exact moment my life would never be the same again. The One. The First Boy I would ever kill.

Nominated: Best Feature Documentary

EUtopia
EUtopia

Director/Writer/Producer: Bryan Carter

Country: Belgium

Project Type: Feature Documentary

Overview: Two Polish workers die in the fire of a transport company near Brussels. Who is to blame? By unravelling the layers of responsibility, this film exposes the dark reality of the trucking industry and its dividing effects on European politics.

Director Statement: In the last 20 years, Western European transport companies have used different schemes in order to outsource their activities to Eastern Europe in a quest for cheap labour. It’s commonly called ‘social dumping’. But contrary to widespread beliefs, it didn’t start with the 2004 enlargement to countries of the former Soviet Union. It’s mainly the unintended consequence of a unique project that began on the ashes of World War II and progressively morphed into a single market. Showcasing archive images from 1950 to the 1990s, this film highlights how this collective endeavour, which we now call the European Union, guarantees the freedom to provide services, like transport, but falls short of resolving wage and social inequalities between its Member states. In reality, one person’s competitive advantage is another person’s unfair competition. Ultimately, this contradiction creates legal loopholes, inflames debates in the European Parliament, pits truck drivers against one another and fuels the rhetoric of nationalists across Europe.




Nominated: Best Documentary Short
Before I Die

Director/Writer/Producer: Nakul Dev

Country: India

Project Type: Documentary, Short

Overview: “Before I die” is a non-fiction about an Environmentalist who, from his childhood days, was fascinated by the beautiful landscape of Nature. The healthier Environment that he had seen during childhood was now taken over by the human harshness. The surge in the Environmental Pollution made him feel distraught and it ached deep inside. This very Ache led him to conceive the Movement, “Remove Litter, Plant Flowers”, 13 years back. “Before I die” is a Journey from the conception of this Movement, to its implementation, to its expansion despite ruthless challenges. It shows a permanent Solution to a crucial Problem affecting our Planet and survival and well-being of its inhabitants.

Director Statement: It took a lot to make this Film. From frequent visits to the village in winters, to shooting in bone chilling mornings and harsh winter nights, all this required lot of dedication and willpower. Sirsa is known to be one of the coldest places in North India and most of the Film was shot in winters. While shooting for this Film, we faced many technical and logistic challenges like low visibility for the camera and harsh winters, synchronization of sound as most of the movie was shot in natural surroundings. Some scenes had to be shot in the Studio due to harsh challenges of the weather. The early morning shoots despite being tough, did have a welcoming feeling of serenity accompanied with sounds of birds chirping around. As I write this, I am swept away at the thought of power of Perseverance and Community support. The entire cast and crew has worked untiringly to bring this Film to Life. We hope that this film resonates with everyone and connects us to the Environment at a much deeper level.

Nominated: Best Long Short
The Fuse

Director/Writer: Sasha Santiago

Producers: Sasha Santiago, Katie Gibbons

Country: United States

Project Type: Experimental, Short

Overview: The Fuse is a series that follows a group of Seattle-based female ex-military services members seeking reputable careers as military contractors (AKA: Mercenaries) in the private sector. When their first mission goes awry, the MERCs are wrongfully accused of terrorist activities and become wanted fugitives with a bounty on their heads.

Director Statement: I'm a big believer that film is one of the ultimate community organizers. Both making it and watching it. We're all reading how the industry is resetting in a big way because of Covid. I wanted to make a TV pilot with a strong female ensemble that was about our current time and deliver it with as little latency as possible. I was imagining how cool would it be to blur the line between fiction and non-fiction, produce a dramatized series based on true events, And turn around a final cut within a season.The Fuse was written, cast, and directed by Sasha Santiago, though none of it would have been possible if newcomer Katie Gibbons hadn't jumped on board as one of the first lead actors as well as Sasha's all-hands-on-deck producing partner. Together, Sasha and Katie led a motley crew of actors (see pictures) all the way from the Seattle metro area to south Puget Sound. We raised no money for this pilot, nor did we have a budget. Over the course of 5 days in August, our team trepidatiously made a guerilla film in a COVID world, and managed to get enough solid, clean footage out of it to get this project completed!

Nominated: Best Animation Short
Ivet and Michuco

Director/Writer/Producer: Juan Ignacio Meneu Oset

Country: Spain

Project Type: Animation, Short

Overview: Ivet is a 6-year-old girl, so she thing is already very old, or so she thinks at least. Ivet is dreamy and has an extraordinary imagination. She is always inventing new worlds and characters. She has a cat - well, it's stuffed puppet - and she calls her Michuco. Since she has no siblings, at home she always plays alone and fantasizes uncontrollably, causing complicated situations on more than one occasion.

Director Statement: This short film has been made during my doctoral studies at the Unversitat Politècnica de València

Nominated: Best Mobile Short
MOM
MOM

Director: Polina Ami Kosele

Writers: Polina Ami Kosele, Polina Viljun

Producer: Alyona Kosele

Country: United Kingdom

Project Type: Short

Overview: 'MOM' is a compelling short drama, following Denis, a 26-year-old graduate student at Moscow Medical University. He is a diligent and benevolent man, a volunteer at a local hospital during a pandemic. In a long-awaited call with his mother, who lives in Riga (Latvia), Denis assures her that the working conditions are safe and the staff is under control, but he knows that there is still cause for concern. After the chat, he receives results from the laboratory, informing that he has tested positive for the virus. Denis is broken, for a few seconds he turns into a helpless little boy, powerless against a pandemic, experiencing strong mental torment, despair and fear. A monologue in his head cries out for help to his mother, as he realizes that this may have been their last conversation.

Director Statement: As the director, this film carries personal importance and connection to me. My brother is in the epicenter of the pandemic, New York City. A few years back, he used to work as a receptionist at a hospital, and call my mother every week reassuring her he was doing well. In reality, he was struggling financially, but didn’t want us to worry. This had a big impact on me when I found out the truth, and in todays circumstances, it made me wonder how medics cope with all the horrors they endure at work. Unfortunately, not all stories have happy endings, I discovered that many doctors went as far as to commit suicide upon testing positive for COVID-19, because they became helpless in their one and only purpose in life, to save people.




Nominated: Best Art/Experimental Short
Mortify

Director: Clay Banks

Writers: Lauren Schoepfer, Steven Coleman

Producers: Celine Rosalie Zoppe, Khalen Mullen

Country: United States

Project Type: Short

Overview: Marla, a scientist, explores the maze of her own mind and fights to contain the evil inside her. But will she succeed?

Nominated: Best Comedy Short
Who needs the guy
Who needs the guy

Director/Writer: Alan Claridge

Producers: Alan Claridge, Peter flaherty

Country: Australia

Project Type: Short

Overview: Family man who thinks is a handyman attempt to install a satellite dish with his mate from the pub.

Nominated: Best Director
I Learned It From You

Director/Writer/Producer: Kevin Douglas Wright

Country: United States

Project Type: Documentary, Short

Overview: In this fast-paced racism documentary series, emotional stories from real-life people, powerful Action Steps, and intriguing guided questions, help us discover better ways to understand racism, anti-racism, diversity, inclusion, black lives matter, and all lives matter. This crash course in racism is based on both the original, feature-length documentary and the book 'I Learned It From You'. This is Season 1 - Episode 1 where Kevin Douglas Wright interviews Maggie Elliot, Steven Noah Sims, and Gloria J. Battle. This series is a proven way to help all of us establish or re-establish common ground with others in order to move forward without taking any detours to debate, confirm, or deny anything. Tomorrow or the next day, we all will interact with people who are not like ourselves—white, black, interracial, a person of color or someone who is Jewish, Hispanic, Latino, Asian, Native American, lesbian, gay, physically challenged, or mentally challenged. The question is: What will ‘you' teach them?

Nominated: Best Art/Experimental Short
The Skys - Communication

Directors: Jonas Čiurlionis, Indrė Juškutė (assistant)

Writer: Jonas Čiurlionis

Producer: Božena Buinicka

Country: Lithuania

Project Type: Short, Music Video

Overview: This music video tells the story of universal human need for communication. Communication itself has various forms. It transforms people. Lack of communication can cause problems, even depression. Communication can start wars and make peace. It can be both good and bad. It builds human relationships as well as destroys them. Communication helps people and spreads viruses. This music video reveals all kinds of communication while main heroes turn into communicative automatic minds and viruses.

Director Statement: Create Art neither for fame nor for money!




Nominated: Best Director
GOAT Love
GOAT Love

Director: Stephanie Quist

Writers: Eric L Hansen, Stephanie Quist, Joe Casterline, Caitlin Rose

Producers: Eric L Hansen, Stephanie Quist

Country: United States

Project Type: Short

Overview: Bored IRL, Caitlin longs to be with her GOAT love fantasy aboard his motorized sailing yacht, the Newport. She’s his BAE, but can true love bridge the chasm that separates their two worlds?

Nominated: Best Drone Short
Everett
Everett

Director: Julien HUDYM

Country: France

Project Type: Experimental, Short

Overview: Everett is a short non-narrative drone film about two parallel worlds, which takes place in France. Hugh Everett was an American physicist who first proposed the many-worlds interpretation (MWI) of quantum physics. During this year I spend some time on the french's roads and I try to catch those spectacular and diverse landscapes that France can offer. Sea, Mountains, Countryside, Castles, History and nature mix together. Between North and South, East And West multiple worlds seem to live harmoniously in one country. Everett tries to transcribe this multitude which forms one. You just have to look up to see this infinity that is offered to us.

Director Statement: After Würm, I have this idea to make a second drone movie about France, my country home. But I wanted to find another perspective, and not make the same movie. Crazy about symmetry and Science Fiction, the drone offer me a new point of view and the idea of mirroring germinated.