BEST FILM
Heap | Canada | 2022 | 13’
Director: Kyle Marchen
Writer: Ben O’Neil
Producer: Van Wickiam
Cast: Louisa Zhu, Scott McCulloch
Synopsis: A dark comedy thriller about a woman forced to lead a sinister double life after discovering a “utopian” society in the building next door.
BEST DIRECTOR
Heap | Canada | 2022 | 13’
Director: Kyle Marchen
Writer: Ben O’Neil
Producer: Van Wickiam
Cast: Louisa Zhu, Scott McCulloch
Synopsis: A dark comedy thriller about a woman forced to lead a sinister double life after discovering a “utopian” society in the building next door.
BEST SCREENPLAY
Heap | Canada | 2022 | 13’
Writer: Ben O’Neil
Director: Kyle Marchen
Producer: Van Wickiam
Cast: Louisa Zhu, Scott McCulloch
Synopsis: A dark comedy thriller about a woman forced to lead a sinister double life after discovering a “utopian” society in the building next door.
BEST LEADING ACTRESS
Heap | Canada | 2022 | 13’
Actress: Louisa Zhu
Writer: Ben O’Neil
Director: Kyle Marchen
Producer: Van Wickiam
Cast: Louisa Zhu, Scott McCulloch
Synopsis: A dark comedy thriller about a woman forced to lead a sinister double life after discovering a “utopian” society in the building next door.
BEST LEADING ACTOR
Zof | Croatia | 2022 | 16’
Actor: Leo Mirković Zof
Director: Rino Barbir
Writer: Rino Barbir
Producer: Ivan Perić, Tonći Gaćina
Cast: Leo Mirković Zof, Nenad Petrović, Jelena Živković
Synopsis: Zof’s pathological jealousy leads him to irrational actions and psychotic states. After his girlfriend leaves him, Zof feels closest to his female Stafford dog Lota with whom he spends most of his time. His relationship with the dog reflects his behaviour towards people close to him.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Prayer For The Sleeping Child | Dominican Republic | 2019 | 11’
Cinematographer: Katherine Diaz
Director: Leo Pichardo
Writer: Leo Pichardo
Producers: Jeremy Garcia, Katherine Diaz, Leo Pichardo
Cast: Luis López, Andrea del Rey, Kaitlin Bruno
Synopsis: A man’s journey as he reconciles with the memory of his lost lover.
BEST EDITING
Zof | Croatia | 2022 | 16’
Editor: Marko Fercović
Director: Rino Barbir
Writer: Rino Barbir
Producer: Ivan Perić, Tonći Gaćina
Cast: Leo Mirković Zof, Nenad Petrović, Jelena Živković
Synopsis: Zof’s pathological jealousy leads him to irrational actions and psychotic states. After his girlfriend leaves him, Zof feels closest to his female Stafford dog Lota with whom he spends most of his time. His relationship with the dog reflects his behaviour towards people close to him.
BEST NARRATIVE
ISTINA (Truth) | Germany | 2022 | 29’
Writer: Tamara Denić
Producer: Christian Siée
Cast: NIKA ROZMAN, Milica Vuksanovic, Zeljko Marović, Elizabeta Djorevska, Jelena Bosanac, Idil Üner, Matthias Ludwig
Synopsis: A committed photo journalist is threatened in Serbia, whereupon she flees to Germany with her daughter. But then she also experiences increasing hostility and violence in her new home due to her work…
BEST DRAMA
Have a nice Apocalypse! | Hungary | 2023 | 27’
Director: Dávid Géczy
Writer: István Nyíri Kovács
Producers: János Wiedermann, Edvárd Gyarmati, Margit Verébné Fuhrman
Cast: Andor Lukáts
Synopsis: Old man Márton lives in a charming village in the hills, but he doesn’t get along well with his fellow villagers. After an accident in the nearby power-plant, he is left on his own in the village, and has to adapt to this new situation. When the villagers return, he may has changed and ready to connect, but are the others accept him?
BEST COMEDY
Flash Drive | Russian Federation | 2023 | 13’
Writers: Andrey Serov, Anton Mischenko, Alexandr Potehin
Producer: Anton Mischenko
Cast: Eugeniy Bandurin, Roman Lide, Oleg Soloduhin, Alexey Bardash
Synopsis: Three gangsters come to a man to take a flash drive with a lot of crypto. Pretty deep criminal comedy.
BEST FANTASY/SCI-FI
Primacy | Spain | 2022 | 20’
Director: Jos Man
Writer: Javier J Valencia
Producers: Jos Man, Cesar Rodriguez, Robert Ors, Carles Iturbe
Cast: David Chevers, Molly Malcolm
Synopsis: Robert Preston and Julia Desmond struggle against Arion’s logic, the Artificial Intelligence in charge of the most advance military computer system, developed to help them achieve their targets following the most efficient way.
BEST STUDENT
FURRIE | France | 2022 | 09’
Director: Lucie Grannec
Cast: Frédéric Mocellin
Synopsis: A dolphin in free relationship with fifteen inflatable animals, a fox crazy in love with a cereal mascot, a band of animals adept at firearms… Different portraits, existing, of members of the Furry community, lovers and enthusiasts of anthropomorphic animals.
BEST YOUNG DIRECTOR
THE FALOOP | Israel | 2023 | 19’
Director: Lotan Serur
Writers: Lotan Serur, Adar Levi
Producer: Lotan Serur
Cast: Alon Lior, Gil Zagory
Synopsis: Yonatan risks everything to fulfill his messianic vision, clashing with his older brother and confronting the harsh realities of crossing borders.
BEST ANIMATION
Lepidoptera | United Kingdom | 2023 | 05’
Director: Elizabeth Fijalkowski
Synopsis: An eerie horror-esque tale about an old man’s consuming obsession with finding an elusive moth that haunts his memories and dreams.
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Soul of Storm | China | 2022 | 30’
Director: Dike Su
Writer: Dike Su
Producers: Dike Su, ChenTao Wang
Synopsis: Soul of Storm, a nature documentary that observe the intense weather and its consequences from a first-person perspective. The perspective of the whole film comes from the first viewpoint of the director as a Storm chaser. He follows a group of weather chaser to travel around China, chasing different storms and trying to understand the relationship between storms and human society. Ultimately, “Soul of Storm” will be our thoughts on “Heaven and Earth”, “climate change and people”.
BEST EXPERIMENTAL
Salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears | United Kingdom | 2023 | 14’
Director: Nastja Säde Rönkkö
Writer: Nastja Säde Rönkkö
Cast: Jessica Luostarinen, Emma James, Phoebe Russell
Synopsis: From the personification of a tear drop, a drop of Golden blood and a droplet of sweat, emerges a tragic tale of lost love and its chaotic emotional fallout. The HD-video (13:59) is driven by Nastja Säde Rönkkö’s poetic text: intimate verse with an ambiguity that delivers a metanarrative for lost and found identity, a scarred planet and our ever-changing world.
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
Malina Scar – Tough Bitch | Russian Federation | 2023 | 03’
Director: Maksim Semenov
Writers: Malina Scar Medvedkova, Maksim Semenov
Producer: Malina Scar Medvedkova
Cast: Malina Scar Medvedkova, Nikita Maltsev, Ivan Oranskiy, Nikita Hruschev, Leonid Leonidovich, Dmitriy, Vitaliy Krasnokutskiy, Raisa Ivanovna Grachyova
Synopsis: 90s Russia, slavstyle vampires. Hiding from despair and sullenness of criminal post-perestroika atmosphere, group of young vampires wastes their endless life partying at the babushka vampire’s apartment “khruschyovka”, and sipping only available vampiric booze – Bloodka. When it’s gone, their decide to rob “new russian” gangsters
BEST MINI SHORT
NO BALL GAMES | United Kingdom | 2023 | 03’
Director: Sam Brewster
Writer: Sam Brewster
Producers: Lily Bowerkail, Faye Butler
Cast: Beth Moroney
Synopsis: Compassion casts you out. In this cyclical fever dream, a woman struggles to win over the crowd.
BEST NO/LOW BUDGET
RUNNING WATER | 2023 | 19’
Director: Joshua Mueller
Writer: Joshua Mueller
Cast: Eva Grund, Harald Etheber
Synopsis: Linda finds herself sitting in a strange room together with a man she doesn´t know. she must fight her way out of there before they come to get her.
BEST AMATEUR
Arcade | United States | 08’
Director: Erica Travia
Writer: Sabria Smith
Cast: Gabe Richardson, Brandon Menke, Mackenzie Shaye
Synopsis: Arcade is a gripping 2D animated short film that delves into the heavy theme of anxiety and panic experienced by a college student named Milo. The film follows Milo as he is relentlessly pursued by a manifestation of his anxiety known as Annie. Annie’s torment becomes so intense that Milo is unable to sleep, eat, or even use the bathroom. However, Milo eventually finds comfort in the arcade, only to discover that he can’t escape his fears so easily. Annie takes over the arcade and turns it into a psychedelic nightmare. Will Milo ever be able to break free from this madness?
BEST SPORT
Cloro | Italy | 2021 | 14’
Director: Matteo Tarditi
Writers: Matteo Tarditi, Sofia Falchetto
Producers: Sofia Falchetto, Matteo Tarditi
Cast: Widly Nocenti, Gabriele Bocchio, Davide Laiacona
Synopsis: Michael, a boy unaware of his talent for swimming, is noticed by an ambitious coach who offers him to join his team. Michael will therefore have to choose whether to exit his comfort zone accepting the proposal or to keep his passion to himself.
