We sincerely congratulate each director whose work was selected. Thank you for the effort you put into your creations. Let's wait no longer and present the most outstanding works of the festival.
Best Non-Dialogue Film
by Angelos Alfatzis
"In a haunting journey through a surreal landscape, a man's recurring dream becomes a relentless cycle
of guilt and self-destruction.
""Untitled IV"" is a mesmerizing 15-minute film that experiments with narrative structures, seamlessly
combining elements of psychological horror, thrilling suspense, and a haunting exploration of the human
psyche. Viewers are transported into a surreal world of foggy mountaintops, eerie caves, abandoned
Byzantine churches, and rundown houses, enveloped in a dark and foreboding atmosphere heightened by
nocturnal setting that leaves elements shrouded in darkness. This adds an extra layer of suspense and
unease, leaving viewers feeling like they are wandering through a never-ending nightmare.
The film follows a man as he relives a recurring dream, with false awakenings adding an eerieness to the
atmosphere and a layer of complexity to the narrative. He descends a dark path into the unknown,
encountering ghostly children among ruins, each encounter more frightening than the last. The dream
compels the man to kill the children, exposing his self-destructive impulses or a desire to punish
himself for past misdeeds.
Throughout each repetition of the dream, the man becomes closer to committing this act of violence,
becoming increasingly fixated on killing the children, until in the final iteration, he does so, and we
see he has been holding a bloody sledgehammer all along. However, the dream starts again, suggesting
that he will be trapped in this cycle of guilt and trauma forever.
The lighting that illuminates the protagonist from above and the camera style, which resembles the
perspective of third-person video games, creates a unique and immersive visual quality, giving the film
an unsettling and ominous atmosphere. With no dialogue, the film's visuals and soundscape create a
spellbinding experience for the viewer."
Best Color Editing; Best Producer
by Johan Oudshoorn
SEE is about a boy who doesn’t feel well in the dirty and poluted world around him. He decides to jump on his bike. His journey ends up in France, just like Vincent van Gogh. Where he starts seeing the true colors of Earth and starts painting on his iPad.
Best Experimental
by Alessandro Amaducci
The goal of the film is to inspire people to take action for our planet and also to rediscover the true colors of Earth.
Best Short Narrative Film
by Péter Karácsony
A journalist takes a drone footage of a castle, which is under construction, when something unexpected happens.
Best Young Actor/Actress
by Indranil Ghosh
The story revolves around fifty-year old Dawa who lives in his own world. His village is situated in the lap of the Himalaya. His infatuation is Siniolchu, the slender peak. If it shines he feels happy; if it is clouded he feels gloom. He considers his chickens as his near and dear ones. He talks with them and shares with Siniolchu. Villagers think he is imbecile. His only friend is a five-year old girl Maya and her puppy Bro. Their world is free from violation of anything on earth; it is bonded by compassion and love. Suddenly Bird Flu breaks out. Mere touch may cause death to a person drives the entire village panicked. Instructed by the village headman ravage goes on to throw them out of the village, virtually leading to death. Only Maya and Dawa try hard to save them. This leads to further catastrophe.
Best Composer
by Jordan Paul Rousseau
Jordan Paul Rousseau Author
Best First-Time Director
by Selim Haase
This intimate documentary is set somewhere in the Atlas Mountains, Morocco. In the village where my French father fell in love with the land, where he met my mother and where he found his final resting place. In "Aït Ishaq", I travel back to this place to speak to people who knew my father in order to find answers to the questions I can no longer ask him.
Best Actor/Actress
by Juan Arce, Francisco Gallo
Two distant siblings, two different worlds. A journey of familial reconnection, positivity, and valuing the different ways of seeing the world. Mariana is a fiercely independent, twentysomething young woman with Down's syndrome who loves ballet, art, and living her best life. When invited to participate in a publicly funded dance exhibition in the city of Merida, Yucatan, she visits uptight, estranged brother Arturo with her free-spirited ballet teacher in tow to ask for some assistance getting there. Arturo, initially put out and resistant to doing anything much to help that would distract him from his own life and high-strung fiancée, can't help but to be swept up by his sister's profound dignity, sincerity for the world in general, and true passion for dance.
Music Videos
by Jad Rahmé
An emotionally charged music video explores the relentless tug of war between love and toxicity in a couple's turbulent relationship, demonstrating the heart-wrenching paradox of their bond.
Best Feature Narrative Film
by Justin MacGregor
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.
