Asake’s SIn, 15min,. Nigeria Directed by Olumide Kuti When Asake’s breaks a generational warning, nothing prepares her for the waterloo of curse that will come her way, jeopardising all she has.
LOVE AND LIGHTERS, 94min., Russia Directed by Mikhail Medalin Senya asks Gufi to lend him money to pay back a debt, and convinces him to go meet with local crime boss Dandelion. But trying to help a friend turns into a nightmare: Dandelion gets wounded, his men and the police start surveillance, and then the criminal boss escapes. Now, Gufi, Senya, and Kristina have to choose — run or try to cut a deal. But things get worse: Kristina’s in danger, Senya won’t help save her, and Gufi has to go it alone. In the final showdown with armed Dandelion, everyone’s fate hangs in the balance.
A showcase of the best HORROR films in the world today!
AUDIENCE AWARDS: Best Short Film: THE SPECTER OF CHRISTMAS Best Story: SUBMERGED Best Performances: SHADOW OF THE IMPOSTER Best Direction: REPETITION Best Experimental: FLESH WISH Best Micro-Short: BREACH Best Visual Design: Folie Glacée
THE SPECTER OF CHRISTMAS, 11min., USA Directed by Joel Harlow Official selection of Fantasia 2025 and voted Best Short FIlm at IFS/LA FilmFest 2025 The Specter of Christmas marks the fourth film in the “Old Time Radio” short film series. This time, a holiday adventure loosely based on “T’was the Night Before Christmas” narrated by Paul Giamatti.
SUBMERGED, 14min., Brazil Directed by Heloísa Cardoso A young woman waits for her lover for a secret trip. However, he does not show up and does not respond to her messages. That’s when strange and inexplicable events begin to happen in her house. She asks for help from her lover, who ignores her. Realizing that she is hopelessly alone, she gives up waiting for salvation and surrenders to her own shadow.
SHADOW OF THE IMPOSTER, 5min., UK Directed by Ortino Yang Shadow of the Impostor is a surreal psychological short film that follows Aiden, a struggling actor on the verge of a breakdown as he prepares for a major audition. Battling self-doubt, rejection, and the dehumanizing nature of the industry, Aiden begins to experience a mental split—his shadow detaches from him, reflecting his inner turmoil and fractured identity. As reality blurs with hallucination, Aiden’s confrontation with this shadow self culminates in a defiant act of rebellion during the audition, symbolizing his reclaiming of agency in a world that tries to erase him.
REPETITION, 5min., Italy Directed by Michele Lazzaro In the middle of the night, over a desolate bridge, a woman is chased by a man. Everything suggests that she is the prey, but in reality she is the hunter: a beautiful vampire who endlessly repeats her trap with the help of her accomplices.
Folie Glacée, 11min., Canada Directed by Louis Rémillard Eli et Vincent se commandent une collation à la crèmerie locale sans s’attendre aux horreurs qui ruineront leurs rendez-vous en amoureux.
FLESH WISH, 4min., UK Directed by Timothy Benjamin Slessor An experimental horror inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, David Cronenberg and Clive Barker, this music video / short details in an abstract way the summoning of demons through a ritual performed behind the locked doors of a 1970s terraced house. Images are a combination of 8mm cinefilm, analog stills and materal initially generated with the use of a variety of AI platforms before they were brought into After Effects were they were everything was heavily manipulated, with many layers of texture, noise and grain added, lighting added or altered, images distorted and blended together and so on. The actual editing was arduous, often frame-by-frame (everything was done by hand) with images further distorted and manipulated with a variety of blending modes. It was a one-man job and that one man was very, very tired by the end of it!
A showcase of the best Female Films from around the world today!
AUDIENCE AWARD WINNERS: Best Feature Film: Greytown Girl Best Short Film: Menopause Menopaws Best Performances: Sentient Best Story: iHostage Best Direction: Living an American Dream Best Micro-Short: Born
SENTIENT, 33min., Australia Directed by Kayley Atkinson Ella and her friends take a weekend getaway to rural Australia to disconnect from their devices and reconnect with one another. However, an evil presence has other plans for them.
Menopause Menopaws, 14min., USA Directed by Akiko Matsumoto This short comedic film about menopause uses humor as a powerful tool to break down walls and spark honest conversations. While menopause can be overwhelming—hot flashes, mood swings, sleep issues—it also has moments of unexpected hilarity. By leaning into the comedy, the film shines a light on the realities of this transition, helping women feel seen, less alone, and hopefully sharing a few well-earned laughs along the way.
iHostage, 14min., Australia Directed by Rosemary Reid Abducted from her idyllic paradise and drugged, Ranger Jane Winter must escape her bonds or risk being caught in a predator’s unforgiving web forever.
LIVING AN AMERICAN DREAM, 45min., USA Directed by Clare McKay Two Haitian brothers, along with family and friends, discuss their experiences growing up adopted in a ranching lifestyle and how rodeo plays a part. A story of faith, passion, drive and following your dreams no matter where you’re from or plan to go.
BORN, 3min., Australia Directed by Yixin Sun This 2D experimental animation depicts a planet with reproductive functions, exploring the transformations associated with pregnancy and childbirth. By portraying these changes on both a psychological and physical level, the animation aims to highlight the impact of reproductive trauma and advocate for greater societal awareness and compassionate care.
A showcase of the best fantasy/sci-fi shorts from around the world today.
AUDIENCE AWARDS: Best Feature Film: STAYCATION Best Short Film: Focal Point Best Direction: Sumarsólstöður Best Story: The Krystal Game Best Peformances: Can’t Stop, A Star Trek Fan Production Best Micro-Short: The Grey Owl
Staycation, 93min., USA Directed by Russell Emanuel How is the world affected by a catastrophic event? Everyday people live through a government mandated quarantine during a global pandemic while desperate scientists race to find a cure before it’s too late.
Sumarsólstöður, 30min., France Directed by Amélie Ravalec In a world where art and reality collide, Miho’s vivid dreams reveal the cosmic force of the Architecture, uniting her with artists across the globe in a desperate battle to heal the universe.
The Krystal Gene, 13min., USA Directed by Stuart Michael Daly, Jobe Wolf In 2024, A troubled young mother (Sophia) and her psychic son (Jacob) are desperately on the run from a super soldier unit, known as ‘Black Sun’. Such an elite and ancient order will stop at nothing in abducting her son for weaponizing his DNA to gene splice slave humans for a WW3 draft.
Focal Point, 27min., USA Directed by Raphael Buisson In a dystopian future, a grieving scientist discovers Earth exists within a single neuron. He launches a desperate quest across space and time to find his son.
Can’t Stop, A Star Trek Fan Production, 24min., Czech Republic Directed by Radek Belina The starship USS Greenwich Village, commanded by Captain Glenn Dirk, is sent to the Deneb system, historically known as the site of Captain Picard’s first contact with the mysterious and powerful being Q. The crew expects a peaceful scientific mission, full of exploration, discovery, and data collection. Newly appointed First Officer Felipe Scott, descendant of the famous Montgomery Scott, brings a fresh approach to planning and enthusiasm for space exploration.
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.
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…
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
For me, what is important is to bring the inner life of these characters – their strengths, contradictions, anguish and triumph – alive. I was very shy about acting. I thought you had to be confident. I was confident with my friends, but I would never think of acting in front of anyone else.
I wish I had some dirt on Danny DeVito, but he is honestly the nicest, sweetest man I’ve ever met in my life. I love him, I love being around him. He’s become like a part of our family. His wife and kids are amazing. Like, he’s the happiest man I’ve ever known. He doesn’t really have much to be sad about.
I’m just a giant fan of Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron Cohen. They make me laugh so hard, I make hideous noises and that’s a good sign. I also love Michael Cera, I think that kid is hilarious. And Annette Bening. She’s one of my heroes. I think she’s amazing because she’s hysterically funny without trying too hard.
I feel happy to be the only girl on the show. We get along really well, we’re all really good friends now, I don’t feel left out. I think that they were surprised that a girl could hang out and have fun with them, and I was like, “Really? You guys don’t know any funny women? That’s too bad.
I wasn’t in a hurry to take everything that came along. It’s pretty important to me to be proud of the work I do. I didn’t want to just be cute and on TV. I wanted to be funny.
I’m an actor and, each time out, I’m trying to convince the audience that I’m this character. Every little thing that people know about you as a person impedes your ability to achieve that kind of terrific suspension of disbelief that happens when an audience goes with an actor and character [he’s] playing.
The more you can create that magic bubble, that suspension of disbelief, for a while, the better.
It’s a nice position to be in; I’m lucky. At the same time, all the excitement of that has been put into stark perspective … In some ways, the highs of it have been blunted, which in a way, is a gift.
First of all, you never make all things for all people and can’t always pander to the broadest denominator. I keep an eye toward doing the themes that interest me. Do they move me? Interest me? Make me think? When I run across something that is provocative in an unsettling way, it appeals to me.
People wrestle sometimes making movies, and I think that conflict is a very essential thing. I think a lot of very happy productions have produced a lot of very banal movies.
I’m not interested in making movies for everybody. I like making movies for myself and my friends and people with my sensibility.
I always felt that acting was an escape, like having the secret key to every door and permission to go into any realm and soak it up. I enjoy that free pass.
I learned early that you’d better know what you’re talking about. You’d better realize that certain issues are going to be so hot – no matter what reason, what logic you apply to it – you’re going to be met with an opposition just because their viewpoint is different, and there’s no way they’re going to accept your reasoning. Furthermore, they’re going to attack you because you will be portrayed as not being credible: “You’re an actor. What do you know?”
You should prepare when you go to a public event to be public. That’s when I will sign autographs. But not when you’re going about your normal business.
I have to be human, of course, to be flattered by attention from the public. How could you not be? But it gets pretty intense when people are going after your clothes, and mobbing you in the streets, and you have to hide. That’s kind of amusing, and kind of mind-boggling when it happens – you kind of go with it and have fun with it. Then it gets tiring, and then it gets worse when you realize you’re being robbed of a vital part of your life, which is your privacy. And you also know what’s coming your way is artificial, because those people are reacting to something they saw on the screen, not you as a person.
[on his relationship with Paul Newman] When we made the movies nobody used the word “chemistry”. Nobody used the word “bonding”. It was just: “Get up there and do your job!”
It still amazes me when I look at some of the films I’ve been a part of, and some of the people I’ve gotten to meet and work with. I also look back sometimes and realize that I was lucky to have lived through them and even to have survived them, at times.
[Interview, August 2007] We (Winona Ryder) don’t speak on a regular basis, but I love her. I’ve never gotten over the crush I had on her then. She is still the woman of my dreams.
(1994 quote on fame) There’s no question that I love it. There’re so many perks to it, it’s unreal. I thought I’d get over being insecure if I became famous, but it hasn’t happened. It just gets worse, really. You get more and more on edge, more nervous. These are all the things I’m dealing with. You think if you get famous, fear will go away and problems will go away. But they don’t.
I’m not a religious person by any means. But I certainly believe in some kind of a higher power and something looking out for me. I’ve definitely had angels that have either guided me or helped me through moments in my life, without a doubt.
If you can help guide somebody through a challenging moment because you’ve been there, that ends up becoming a great gift. I’ve been taking my time now between projects looking for stuff that has a little bit more substance, that isn’t surface. Some of the films that I’ve done in the past really were surface.
Festival Reviews 