Official Selections
Spring 2026
Official Selections List
Best Short Film
"What Light Remains" Remco Merbis
"Best Short Film"
A young man rehearsing a speech for his brother’s eighteenth birthday confronts the inherited silence of masculinity, until music drifting into an empty hall draws him toward an unexpected release.
"We Can Only Pray" Gill-Akeem Sawegnon
"Best Short Film"
Jonah, a dedicated priest, faces a crisis of faith when a new
parishioner, Sophie, stirs something within him that he cannot
control. As his thoughts become increasingly consumed by her,
Jonah wrestles with his duties, his desires, and the guilt that
follows. In the quiet confines of his church, he tries to maintain his
pious exterior, while battling dark urges that threaten to unravel
everything he’s worked for.
The story explores the tension between temptation, guilt, and
redemption in a man torn between his vows and his human desires.
"Ocean of Dreams" Vernor Schneider
"Best Short Film"
Ocean of Dreams is a short, dreamlike film that explores how our memories and emotions can blur together after an emotional breakup. In the world of the film, surreal moments drift in and out like dreams and nightmares, bending the rules of reality. Some scenes feel comforting, others unsettling, but each one reflects the way our minds try to make sense of what we’ve been through. Viewers are invited to bring their own experiences to these shifting images, allowing the film to become not just a story about loss, hurt, and healing, but a space where anyone can discover new ways of understanding their own dreams and the truths they reveal.
"THE GREENSTONE" Kevin Irvine
"Best Short Film"
A young boy goes against his mother's wishes and wanders into a magical forest where he meets strange woodland creatures and comes face to face with his own fears.
"Death by Sound" Dan Merens
"Best Short Film"
Ben (Nicholas Beers) arrives on the set of an independent detective film to shoot behind the scenes footage for an egotistical director (Trey Faunda) and a legendary sound recordist (Paul Laudicano), but things take a chaotic turn.
"Twice Upon a Time - Season 1" Doug MacDougall
"Best Short Film"
Set in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future, TWICE UPON A TIME is a sci-fi/fantasy webseries about a group of residents who find themselves in a mental asylum with no memory of how they got there. We soon come to realize that they are test subjects in an unsettling experiment. They eventually escape and must engage the services of a world-renowned time traveller to embark on a journey of self-discovery to find the truth before time runs out and a diabolical plot comes to fruition.
"A Girl Called Alice" Tristan Loraine
"Best Short Film"
In the middle of London's mobile phone theft epidemic; a young woman with the reputation of one of the most gifted phone thieves is challenged by a notorious street gang leader to see just how good she really is, but is it a wise choice?
"Shayla" Matthew Shawn Miller
"Best Short Film"
Shayla Cambray, a quiet and sensitive 16-year-old African American girl, struggles with daily bullying at school. Enduring physical and emotional harassment from Madison Gold and her friends Kaitlin and Brittany, Shayla suppresses her frustration until it begins to build inside her. At home, her grandfather, Floyd "Papa" Hardy, gives her a family heirloom- a charm once worn by her mother- and encourages her to use her emotions differently rather than letting others diminish her spirit.

The next day, after a humiliating encounter with Madison in the restroom, Shayla's emotions overwhelm her, and she finally asserts her identity, loudly declaring her name. In a surreal moment, a stream of water floats out of a bathroom stall and splashes the bullies.

Called to the principal's office, Shayla faces accusations from Madison and her friends. Principal Thomas, who repeatedly mistakes her name and dismisses her concerns, initially sides with the bullies. However, as Shayla clutches her charm, another strange event occurs: a blob of liquid rises into Principal Thomas's coffee, subtly influencing him. As a result, he unexpectedly suspends Madison, Kaitlin, and Brittany for the incident and demands they apologize to Shayla.

With her confidence restored, Shayla walks through the school with newfound pride. On her way home, she experiences a small victory, such as confronting a disrespectful school resource officer. At home, Shayla joyfully embraces her true self, proclaiming her name to Papa with pride and conviction.
"Moon Safari" Hugo Amoedo Canal
"Best Short Film"
So I was home with my kid and, all of a sudden, I get a voice message from Raquel — I hadn’t heard from her in a long time — so I listened to it, and she tells me all these things and then she asks, do you remember moon safari? and I’m like, of course, of course I remember moon safari.
Official Selections List
Best Director
"A Girl Called Alice" Tristan Loraine
"Best Director"
In the middle of London's mobile phone theft epidemic; a young woman with the reputation of one of the most gifted phone thieves is challenged by a notorious street gang leader to see just how good she really is, but is it a wise choice?
"The Space Architect" by Rebecca Carpenter
"Best Director"
The Space Architect introduces us to the trailblazing architect Constance Adams, whose groundbreaking work at NASA reimagined how humans might live in outer space. After earning degrees from Harvard and Yale, Adams left behind a career designing skyscrapers to focus on spacecraft and prototypes for lunar and Martian habitats. At age 53, knowing she was dying of cancer, Adams enlisted the help of filmmaker Rebecca Carpenter to preserve her story. Filmed just four days before her death, The Space Architect captures Adams reflecting on her extraordinary career and her final, passionate focus towards Earth—where she hoped to apply her knowledge to address the urgent challenges of the climate crisis. At once heart-wrenching and hopeful, the film offers a moving meditation on a life driven by purpose and curiosity.
Official Selections List
Best Feature Film
"Magdalena's Land" by Uldis Cipsts
"Best Feature Film"
Forty years ago Magdalena and Mark created a world together. A fragile universe of photographs, paintings, and dreams. But when Magdalena’s imagination began to dissolve the boundary between reality and fantasy, their love collapsed under its own intensity. Magdalena chose survival over creation. She abandoned art, married, and lived a quiet life in a small Andalusian village where nothing ever truly changes. Mark ran in the opposite direction. As a war photographer he spent decades documenting destruction across the world, until beauty itself became impossible for him to see.
Now, forty years later, they meet again. She is a woman who imagines everything but creates nothing. He is a man who captures images of war but can no longer truly see the even the meaning. Their reunion slowly reawakens the world they once dreamed of building together. But the life they left behind resists their return. Children, memories, and the quiet gravity of time stand between them and the impossible freedom they once believed in. Yet somewhere between memory and imagination, the place they created together may still exist. A place called Magdalena’s Land.
"Like a Fortress" by Lou Colpé
"Best Feature Film"
I had left home in the summer, and by the time Bertrand died, it was autumn. The house as a magical fortress, a place to retreat, where you take stock of your treasures, your loot, everything that was lost in the battle. The shelter where you tend to your wounds, where you draw up strategies for what comes next.
Official Selections List
Best Actor
Official Selections List
Best Actress
"A Girl Called Alice" Tristan Loraine
"Best Actress — Tegan Grace Muggeridge"
In the middle of London's mobile phone theft epidemic; a young woman with the reputation of one of the most gifted phone thieves is challenged by a notorious street gang leader to see just how good she really is, but is it a wise choice?
Official Selections List
Best Supporting Actor
Official Selections List
Best Supporting Actress
Official Selections List
Best Editing
"A Girl Called Alice" Tristan Loraine
"Best Editing"
In the middle of London's mobile phone theft epidemic; a young woman with the reputation of one of the most gifted phone thieves is challenged by a notorious street gang leader to see just how good she really is, but is it a wise choice?
"The Space Architect" by Rebecca Carpenter
"Best Editing"
The Space Architect introduces us to the trailblazing architect Constance Adams, whose groundbreaking work at NASA reimagined how humans might live in outer space. After earning degrees from Harvard and Yale, Adams left behind a career designing skyscrapers to focus on spacecraft and prototypes for lunar and Martian habitats. At age 53, knowing she was dying of cancer, Adams enlisted the help of filmmaker Rebecca Carpenter to preserve her story. Filmed just four days before her death, The Space Architect captures Adams reflecting on her extraordinary career and her final, passionate focus towards Earth—where she hoped to apply her knowledge to address the urgent challenges of the climate crisis. At once heart-wrenching and hopeful, the film offers a moving meditation on a life driven by purpose and curiosity.
Official Selections List
Best Cinematography
Official Selections List
Best Animation
"Collateral Damage" Kynthia Piakis, Faith Teo
"Best Animation"
"Collateral Damage" is a heart-wrenching tribute to the countless children who have fallen victim to the horrors of war—both past, present, and future. This work stands as a powerful reminder of the lives lost, the innocence destroyed, and the moral consequences that ripple across the world. Every war, in its most tragic sense, is a war against children. By reflecting on their suffering, we collectively mourn the devastating impact of conflict on the most vulnerable members of our society.
"Anna" Emlyn Boyle
"Best Animation"
A young woman is compelled by strange forces, in a rural setting.
"Duster" Mariela Rubio Díaz, Maria Domingo Navarro
"Best Animation"
Valentina, a cheerful but somewhat distracted girl, prepares to visit her grandmother with the purpose of making an orange cake. With the map her mother gives her, she embarks on a challenging journey through the forest where she encounters various creatures that try to divert her attention and lead her away from her goal. Fortunately, she has the help of her loyal friend: a fox who guides and protects her from all the dangers hidden in the forest.
"Disturbia" Mira Yankova
"Best Animation"
Before our very eyes a strange human-bird hybrid undergoes constant transformation to cope with the omnipresent tensions of economical, ideological, military, and climatic threats.
Official Selections List
Best Original Screenplay
"Butterfly" by Andy Davie
"Best Original Screenplay"
While recuperating from a horrific sexual assault by her boss, Lauren Conway exacts a truly painful and exquisite revenge.
"Keep the Wolves Away" by Israel Branch
"Best Original Screenplay"
Trevor Letterman, a young and headstrong cowboy, must navigate a brutal frontier where betrayal and death are around every corner. As he confronts the harsh realities of life and the choices of those he trusts, Trevor is forced to face his own fears and weaknesses. Through loss, hardship, and acts of courage, he embarks on a journey of redemption — discovering what it truly means to become a man in a world that offers no second chances.
"The Procedure" by Vital Butinar
"Best Original Screenplay"
In a dystopian future where the wealthy exploit a futuristic medical procedure to live longer, a desperate father with a sick son gets help from a conflicted doctor to expose the corporate scandal and the system designed to keep the truth hidden.
"The San Quentin News" by Thomas William Bolema
"Best Original Screenplay"
True story about a prison teacher who navigates the treacherous San Quentin environment risking his career to establish an award-winning inmate newspaper.
"FORTY" by Elijah N Hawston
"Best Original Screenplay"
FORTY is a psychological domestic drama that unfolds over the course of a single birthday while gradually revealing the hidden reality of a troubled marriage. Inspired by true events.
Official Selections List
Best Original Score
"Lessons from 100: Reflections in My Centennial Year" by Matthew Floyd
"Best Original Score"
“Lessons from 100” is a poignant study of Jack Weber, shot in real time in 2024, during the year he turned 100 years old. It is also a generational story because the film was created by his grandson, filmmaker Matthew Floyd. The juxtaposition of grandfather and grandson heightens the poignancy of the film. The result is a deeply personal yet universal story, as a member of the Greatest Generation talks to the Millennial Generation, and through telling his life story, reveals lessons we can all take to heart, on how to achieve not just a long life, but a meaningful life.
Official Selections List
Additional Categories
"One Queer Day in Hackney" by Andrew Woodyatt
"Best Feature Documentary"
A community made film to capture one ordinary queer day in Hackney, East London from early morning waking up through the day to evening and nightlife and bedtime, observed and narrated by a non binary visiting space alien drag queen
"Tide" by Laura Murphy
"Best Experimental Film"
Tide contrasts the pace of industry with human movement, and the soft yielding nature of the body with the hard edges of manmade objects.
"The Truth: 2014" by Réka Harsányi
"Best Short Documentary"
The Ukraine War Didn’t Start in 2022 — It Started in 2014.
Mainstream headlines often say the Russia-Ukraine War began in 2022. But that narrative is dangerously misleading.

This documentary challenges the dominant Western framing and sets the record straight: the war began in 2014 with Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of conflict in Donbas. For nearly a decade before the 2022 full-scale invasion, Ukrainians were already fighting—and dying—in defense of their sovereignty.

By ignoring the war’s true origins, media outlets erase years of suffering and sacrifice. This film revisits the historical record, highlights how the press once got it right, and explores why so many now choose the cleaner, but false, 2022 timeline. The cost of this distortion is more than academic—it shapes policy, public perception, and justice itself.

Through archival footage, expert analysis, and testimony from those on the ground, this film insists on one truth: Ukraine’s war began in 2014. Honoring that fact means honoring those who gave everything long before the world paid attention.
"The Bird Never Lands" by Réka Harsányi
"Best AI Film"
A dream-like narrative in infinite layers where time unravels and meaning is concealed in fragments. A silent bird guides a lone traveler through changing rooms, recurring symbols, and impossible landscapes. Every image takes us further inward — not towards escape, but towards memory. A hypnotic meditation on identity, loss, and the question we cannot answer.
"Ex utero" by Lili Forestier
"Best Feature Documentary"
Ex Utero navigates between a certain history of gynaecology and contemporary testimonies.

Facing us, responding to centuries of practice, women and identify as testify to one thing in common: having been confronted one day with gynaecological abuse.
"Intrusion" by Jonah Brainard
"Best Composer", "Best Closing Credits"
When a paramedic must get home to save his wife, unexpected twists cause him to question reality.
"Fabio's Journey" by Simon Schlömer
"Best Poster"
Amid a dangerous power shift within an Italian crime family in Germany, Fabio finds himself caught between loyalty and his past—and must decide who he truly is.
"Ghost Empire § Mauritius-Chagos" by Susan Thomson
"Best Feature Documentary"
Ghost Empire § Mauritius-Chagos (2025) is a hybrid documentary film which explores layers of colonialism. For LGBTQ+ people in formerly colonised countries, the ghostly presence of the British Empire is often all too real. Susan Thomson’s award-winning Ghost Empire project series explores the legacy of British colonialism on LGBTQ+ rights around the world. The Chagos Islands were illegally detached from Mauritius during the granting of independence, and in the film the criminalisation of queer lives and constitutional challenges to the law, collide with climate change and indigenous people’s fight to return to their homeland, in a dreamy, experimental yet hard-hitting documentary. The film acts as a living newspaper, featuring Chagossian Voices who have recently been in the headlines regarding the UK-Mauritius deal.
"Money or your life" by Agnès Roux
"Best Experimental Film"
Between land, sea and sky, I follow the water, an offering in my hands...

In this psycho-geographical movement at the border of the natural world and that of men, I seek to experience, to metaphorically resonate with this adage from the Middle Ages, between threat and protection.

In this performed film, I question the significant function of my plastic elements* in this experience of reality. Between the theatrical instinct of the imagination and the animal instinct of adaptation, I strive to find a fair balance between the authentic character of my performance and the simulacrum of my dramaturgical writing. The sound work is based on this same postulate but it also represents the intangible dimension of this experience that the video tool cannot capture.
"Lessons from 100: Reflections in My Centennial Year" by Matthew Floyd
"Best Feature Documentary"
“Lessons from 100” is a poignant study of Jack Weber, shot in real time in 2024, during the year he turned 100 years old. It is also a generational story because the film was created by his grandson, filmmaker Matthew Floyd. The juxtaposition of grandfather and grandson heightens the poignancy of the film. The result is a deeply personal yet universal story, as a member of the Greatest Generation talks to the Millennial Generation, and through telling his life story, reveals lessons we can all take to heart, on how to achieve not just a long life, but a meaningful life.
"Kev" by Mike Bennion
"Best Short Documentary"
Short film about Kev. 
He talks about his experience of being blind and the people and things that matter to him.
"A Girl Called Alice" by Tristan Loraine
"Best Sound Design", "Best Cinematography"
In the middle of London's mobile phone theft epidemic; a young woman with the reputation of one of the most gifted phone thieves is challenged by a notorious street gang leader to see just how good she really is, but is it a wise choice?
"Marked for SNUFF" by Pavel Karusev
"Best AI Film"
The '70s. While on a black ops mission in Latin America, two GIs broke ranks to pursue a lucrative score. The plan went sideways, and they went their separate ways. But the wounds of war never truly heal; these old buddies will meet again, this time in the concrete jungle. And this time, one of them will be motivated not by greed, but by something else...
"Magnitude & Bond" by Joel Carr
"Best Short Documentary"
Against the current of doubt and limitation, this short documentary follows a blind man who refuses to let loss of sight define the boundaries of his life. Through intimate moments of training, competition, and quiet resilience, the film chronicles his journey into the demanding world of triathlons. Guided by trust, discipline, and an unbreakable will, he swims, bikes, and runs alongside sighted athletes, confronting physical exhaustion and social expectations alike. More than a story about sport, the documentary is a portrait of independence, courage, and the power of redefining what it means to see one’s potential.
"The Space Architect" by Rebecca Carpenter
"Best Short Documentary"
The Space Architect introduces us to the trailblazing architect Constance Adams, whose groundbreaking work at NASA reimagined how humans might live in outer space. After earning degrees from Harvard and Yale, Adams left behind a career designing skyscrapers to focus on spacecraft and prototypes for lunar and Martian habitats. At age 53, knowing she was dying of cancer, Adams enlisted the help of filmmaker Rebecca Carpenter to preserve her story. Filmed just four days before her death, The Space Architect captures Adams reflecting on her extraordinary career and her final, passionate focus towards Earth—where she hoped to apply her knowledge to address the urgent challenges of the climate crisis. At once heart-wrenching and hopeful, the film offers a moving meditation on a life driven by purpose and curiosity.
"D'ombre et de lumière" Fabien Loïacono
"Best AI Film"
An old man, a dark room, a phone.

Brutally attacked at home, he regains consciousness in an unknown location. On the line, the police are trying to trace him. But is he even still somewhere he can be found?
This site was made on Tilda — a website builder that helps to create a website without any code
Create a website