AUDIENCE AWARDS:
Best Feature Film: Holiday Special

Best Short Film: THE NATURE OF DEATH
Best Story: THE LAST WISH
Best Direction: AL RAWDAH
Best Cinematography: Sitka’s Hidden Wonders
Best Visual Design: BELONG TO YOU
Best Micro-Short: DOBRINA
Best Sound & Music: SMOLDERING SMOLDERING

HOLIDAY SPECIAL, 91min., USA
Directed by Harry Roseman
Community, Celebration, Conversation, Chores; these are the key themes of this experimental documentary. Four days of shopping for Thanksgiving dinner as well as the meal itself are
the ostensible subject of this film. Community is reflected in the interaction with people while shopping as well as the camaraderie of the dinner quests. The quotidian nature of these tasks is subverted by the abstract camerawork and narrative structure, offering the viewer a new perspective on both. The vertical orientation of the film reaffirms looking ahead as we follow the trajectory and shape of the shopping cart moving down the narrow aisles, as well as following the gaze of the filmmaker as he walks forward.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-holiday-special

THE LAST WISH, 14min., Ukraine
Directed by Ilya Noyabrev
On the threshold of the Supreme Court, everyone anxiously awaits the Decision about their fate. And only one strives to return to where a part of their soul remains…

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-the-last-wish-film

AL RAWDAH, 7min., Saudi Arabia
Directed by Yasser Mohamed Abdelsalam
Al-Rawdah (الروضة) is a cinematic visual experience that invites viewers into the sacred serenity of Al-Rawdah Al-Sharifah, the revered space within the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah. With no dialogue, the film relies entirely on immersive visuals and an evocative score to reflect the deep spiritual essence of one of Islam’s holiest sites.

https://edge.aditude.io/safeframe/1-1-1/html/container.html

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-al-rawdah

Sitka’s Hidden Wonders, 43min., USA
Directed by Ben Hamilton
Sitka’s Hidden Wonders is a 40-minute theatrical nature film that blends sweeping cinematography with a deeply personal story of return. Told by award–winning wildlife filmmaker Ben Hamilton, the film explores what it means to truly see a place—through the hidden layers of one of Alaska’s wildest coastal ecosystems.

https://edge.aditude.io/safeframe/1-1-1/html/container.html

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-sitkas-hidden

https://instagram.com/sitkawonders

BELONG TO YOU, 6min., Iceland
Directed by Ísak Magnússon, Óliver Sólberg
Belong to you follows a swimming pool employee who thinks about his relationship with his coworker on a quiet night.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-belong-to-you

https://edge.aditude.io/safeframe/1-1-1/html/container.html

THE NATURE OF DEATH, 16min., USA
Directed by Sean Cruser
When an eccentric park ranger crosses paths with a grieving hiker, he offers his help in finding the perfect spot to scatter the hiker’s father’s ashes. As they venture deeper into the remote wilderness, the ranger’s true intentions begin to blur.

https://instagram.com/therealbeveridge

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-the-nature-of-death

https://edge.aditude.io/safeframe/1-1-1/html/container.html

DOBRINA, 5min., Germany
Directed by Hannes Rall
Lotte Reiniger meets Sergio Leone in this animated short, where desire burns as bright as the desert sun.

https://wildsound.vhx.tv/videos/audience-feedback-dobrina

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https://edge.aditude.io/safeframe/1-1-1/html/container.html

SMOLDERING SMOLDERING, 5min., Ukraine
Directed by Ilya Noyabrev
This song is about the faith of the Ukrainian people in victory and a bright future, and illustrates our present.

https://www.instagram.com/anna_khanina/

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-smoldering-smoldering