Showcase of the best FILMS in the world today.
Audience Award Winners:
Best Film: WAY HOME
Best Performances: THE STRUGGLE
Best Cinematography: A DROP IN THE BUCKET
Best Direction: +380 | Kyiv
Best Documentary: THE FULL CATASTROPHE
Best Experimental: INFINITE
Best Sound & Music: FEELING SPECIAL
Best Student Film: THE UNSEEN
Best Animation: SHROOM MATES
Watch the Audience Feedback Video for each film:
WAY HOME, 3min., Taiwan, Drama
Directed by PO-TA Chen
Taiwan is one of the few countries in the world that haven’t opened its border restrictions due to the outbreaks of Covid-19. In 2022, there was another wave of Covid hitting the country, therefore, there were lots of people flowing into the hospitals to get medical help. As the front-line medical personnel, she has to not only face the life and death issue but also witness the dark side of humanity. The homework is using a child’s point of view to record this historical moment and also expressing the sacrifices of the medical crew made during this critical time.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
THE UNSEEN, 3min., UK, Drama
Directed by Tom Major
In the UK, one person dies each day due to gambling. The Unseen is a short sub 3-minute film about living with a gambling addiction. The story is narrated by myself from a poem I wrote titled “A Wheel That Spins” – Based on my real-life experience.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
A DROP IN THE BUCKET, 5min., Columbia, Drama
Directed by Juan Zuloaga Eslait
A girl in high-school is cornered by classmates in order to have her be part of a “silly” game, one that quickly turns into a horrible tragedy.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
SHROOM MATES, 5min., UK, Animation
Directed by Rosie Windsor
Inside a hollow tree trunk two mushroom roommates decided to spice up their evening with some recreational drugs.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
THE FULL CATASTROPHE, 4min,. USA, Documentary
Directed by Yolanda Reid Chassiakos
Ethnic Cleansing in Smyrna, 1922: A Family’s Odyssey
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
FEELING SPECIAL, 5min,. USA, Animation
Directed by Carlos Hoffman
Animated film adaptation of the children’s book, Feeling Special, about a Turtle who believes that all his friends are special, but that he is just ordinary, and finally realizes that he is special too.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
THE STRUGGLE, 5min., USA, Comedy
Directed by Keith Armonaitis
Adulting is hard. Morning is harder.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
INFINITE, 4min., USA, Experimental
Directed by Peter Tedone
A stylized visual metaphor and experimental twist on the man-against-self story. An fantastical, neo-noir inspired allegory for the cycle of self-destruction we perpetuate through choices and behaviors we are unable or unwilling to give up–the behaviors that trap us in an endless cycle, a very real, highly pitched battle with no end, with the enemy who knows us best: ourselves.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
SPHERES, 5min., France
Directed by Anais Scheeck
An epic travels into a universe of geometric abstraction. From the gravitations of childhood to the ascents and abysses of adolescence, from the colors of the city to the mirages born from the meeting of the other, the movement will be the only tangible element of this initiatory journey.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
THE DENDROVERSE, 4min., Mumbai, Experimental
Directed by Deep Malhotra
Fear of heights, cockroaches or dark. Fear can differ; some fears are minor, while others can be big. And when you overcome them, you feel more substantial than you were as you understand they were only panic inside your head and nothing else. And you just needed a bit of courage to win over them. But what if some phobias are so real that they might kill you and the species if you don’t crush them? Maybe such fears are those you don’t mess with to save your life. This poetry can sometimes become a nightmare in reality. Is the option in our hands to choose?
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
ERROR, 4min., Iran, Fantasy
Directed by Ehsan Eslami
A teenage boy finds out that he can turn back time with a magic word.
He is elated and starts having fun with the magic word. Suddenly, it comes to his mind to test and see if he can survive from jumping off a tall building and prevent his death using this magic. To his surprise it works and he finds it amusing and decides to do it again and enjoy more but unfortunately, this time an “ERROR” happens. An Irrecoverable problem that could no longer be remedied and leads to his death.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
CORPSE, 4min., Iran, Thriller
Directed by Fatemeh khojasteh pour
A girl is sitting in the back seat of a car with her hands tied, the driver of the car is confused, while another car approaches ,the driver becomes more confused.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
+380 | Kyiv, Ukraine, 1min., USA, Documentary
Directed by Andrew Opryshko, Troy Bronson Bronson
“+380” is the story about a nameless mercenary spy who suffers from schizoaffective disorder. He roams the streets of Kyiv at night where he can release his demons surrounded by no one, only the rhythm of distant war missiles on the horizon; that until somebody dials the +380 (Ukraine’s country calling code).
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
Under 5 minute & Smartphone festival 