Director/Writer: Ellise Gwynn
Producers: Victoria Turton, Shadow Studios
Key Cast "Julia": Myfanwy Vaughan
Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Short, Student, Drama
Overview: November 1942. German occupation begins in Vichy France. Three Anglo French siblings’ differences are tested with an unexpected arrival in their family home.
Director Statement: I was always fascinated by WWII films. Perhaps because it wasn’t as long ago as we often think. My Grandmother would tell me stories of her life during the war. I found war films were a way to truly see into this history and a chance to try to understand those that lived it. What it was like on the front lines or life as a soldier. But I became fascinated thinking about family dynamics in these times. When you have lost so much and fear almost every moment - do you fight with all you've got, or hide away so you can protect all you have left? I began writing ‘All We Have’ and started to explore these impossible choices.
Director/Writer: Joy Shi
Producer: Joy Shi
Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Short, Student, Adventure, Fantasy
Overview: Alva is a wistful child struggling to keep her home together. After a mysterious encounter, she embarks on a mystical journey to find solace for her mother.
Director/Writer/Producer: Fleur Cartwright
Country: United Kingdom
Type: Natural History, Documentary, Wildlife Cinematography, Nature, Conservation
Overview: The role of volunteers in conservation often goes unnoticed, but this short documentary brings their vital work into focus. Inside the vivarium at Manchester Museum, volunteers work alongside scientists and curators to protect and care for rare and endangered amphibians, forming a deep connection with these often-overlooked, wonderfully quirky animals.
Director Statement: I first became interested in amphibian conservation while in Panama, where I learned about Manchester Museum’s collaboration with the Panama Wildlife Conservation Charity. I wanted to tell a story that centred both amphibians and people, showing how their work connects to the wider challenges of global conservation.
Director/Writer: Lucas Fassel
Producer: Sacha Mijatovic
Country: France
Genre: Animation, Short
Overview: In a ravaged world where nothing grows, a young landscaper strives to bring life back to the earth by creating a new plant, born from lightning and hope. From his laboratory to his garden, he defies death and lets nature bloom again from a dream turned into light.
Director/Writer: Jake Lee
Producer: Lilianne Coeverden
Country: United Kingdom
Type: Animation, Short
Overview: We all dream of love, but Kirstin’s dream of being with Dan, the most popular boy in school takes her to outer space and to a fairy tale castle. Her dream came true... or did it?
Director/Writer/Producer: Mustafa Abbas
Country: United Arab Emirates
Type: Crime, Drama, Short
Overview: A young man from a criminal family uncovers long buried secrets that force him to confront the realities of the world he grew up in, and the father who vanished without a trace.
Director/Writer: Ayoub AIT BIHI
Producer: Sara Hajji
Country: Morocco
Genre: Documentary, Short
Overview: YENNA – Bread Crust tells the true story of an illiterate Moroccan woman who, after her husband’s illness and her father’s death, learns pastry-making to support her family. Filmed by her own son, this intimate documentary follows her quiet struggle, dignity, and resilience. It’s a tribute to the invisible women of Morocco and beyond — those who endure, fight, and carry life with tenderness and strength.
Director Statement: YENNA – Bread Crust is the most personal film I have ever made. It is the story of my mother — an illiterate woman who never went to school, never sought recognition, and yet carried our entire family with silent strength. I chose to film her not out of sentimentality, but because I believe there is immense cinematic power in the dignity of ordinary lives. Her fight to survive — learning pastry-making to support us after my father’s illness, pushing forward even after the sudden death of her own father — reflects the daily struggle of countless Moroccan women who resist without applause or visibility. This film is both a gesture of gratitude and a political act. Gratitude, because I owe her everything. Political, because it gives a voice to women who are usually never seen on screen, even though they are the backbone of entire communities. Through a minimalist and tender approach, I wanted to let her presence speak for itself — without embellishment or overdramatization. I wanted to film the strength in her silence, the poetry in her gestures, the truth in her resilience. YENNA means “mother” in Tamazight. And this film, while deeply rooted in a personal story, is a universal homage to all the mothers who carry the world — quietly, invisibly, and with incredible grace.
Writers: Jeff Frey, Stephan Schonberg, Marilu Garbi
Country: United States
Project Type: Television Script, Situation Comedy
Overview: Soon after Jimmy loses his job and finalizes his divorce, he learns he has inherited a rundown bar in Southwest Florida from a father who abandoned him at birth. As the obstacles of selling a bar pile up, he slowly gets to know the father that was never there through the bars dysfunctional staff. And, slowly finds out the life he really never thought of was the one he needed the most.