Living 1 new day, 52min., France Directed by Pierre Aragou A powerful documentary that raises the vital issue of raising awareness and understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Two life stories and a free voice on trauma and suicidal behaviour. Christophe, a police officer, and Sébastien, a soldier, give us their personal accounts, enlightened by psychiatrist Christophe Debien. They confide in us openly and generously, because their words hold the keys to remanence.
BEEKIND, 11min. Canada Directed by Olivia Bronwyn Follow Gregg Scott and the keepers of Circling Hawk Honey & Mead, as we’re taken under their wing to get an up-close look at the species so relied upon by our kind. Beekind gives insight on the nature of the honeybee as a member of the colony, their interactions and relationships to each other and to humans, as we look within, and take one big sustainable step back. We’re welcomed into Circling Hawk, the business and home of Gregg and Michelle Scott, our owners and operators, and caretakers of the 25 acres of land. Alongside their two protégé’s Julia and John, they take us on their journey as stewards, artists, and guides to the life they lead at the apiary. A life of peace, love, and earthly balance.
Surviving Alone: The Tale of Simone, 15min., UK Directed by Claire Tomlinson Simone is the last Greater Bamboo Lemur in Ranomafana, a protected rainforest in south-east Madagascar. After a happy start in life, surrounded by family, Simone finds herself alone, as members of her family disappear one by one. Three years on, and she’s still alone – a social animal, a primate, just like us; how has this isolation affected her mental state?
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Awesome festival, can’t wait to see what you do in the future and how you grow! Very honored to have won best story!!!! Wukong Couriers!!!
What a fun festival! The whole team is extremely communicative and such lovely people to talk to! They absolutely made me feel welcomed and valued. Their enthusiasm for my project, and film in general, is so refreshing and amazing! Thank you for welcoming myself and Battle of LA into your festival. I PROUDLY accept Best Short for Battle of LA. Thank you!
Thank you it was my first festival for this Films, Bloodhound and we won Best Action. Communication was great, can’t to discuss the film during the podcast. Thank you
I’ve loved my experience with this festival! The value is very good for the entry fee. I’ve already received an audience feedback video and had a blog interview posted, with a podcast interview happening this weekend as well. All these things will be very useful in promoting my short film, Caliburn. The only thing that was a bit confusing was the branding of the festival. It seemed like different names were used on different platforms. That didn’t really affect the value, I just wasn’t always certain how to promote it. I’d definitely recommend genre filmmakers give this festival a whirl. Thanks for the opportunity!
In 2020, the world seemed to be on the brink. A global pandemic raged, wildfires scorched the earth, and anxieties soared. Yet, amidst this turmoil, a spark of hope ignited: NASA astronauts returned to space aboard SpaceX’s CrewDragon, the first mission of its kind in nearly a decade. This inspiring event, against the backdrop of a world in crisis, gave birth to “Cosmic Rhapsody.”
Review by Julie C. Sheppard:
This stirring short, Cosmic Rhapsody: A Symphony for our Planet, gives the viewer a truncated yet eloquent look at the epic project of the same title, unveiled in May 2025.
The poignant voice of the narrator explaining the project is particularly melodic, passionately recounting notable challenges of humanity such as natural disasters and a global pandemic, and our incredible resilience and adaptability.
A combination of video depictions of disasters on Earth and striking outer space shots reveal a balance between terrestrial and extra terrestrial. In turn, this ties in well with the sci-fi storyline of the project that strives to connect life on Earth with the positive use of AI and its potential to help various forms of human life to survive and thrive, even outside of our planet.
The display of orchestral and choral performances of this project is simply breathtaking and shows that humans are indeed capable of incredible creativity — a capability that can take us to soaring heights.
In today’s world us humans have developed a complex social system of rules and expectations. Children are taught from the day they are born on how they are expected to behave. They are told what is right and wrong, what is possible and what not. That is, by the standards of the children’s parents and other people in their surroundings, in other words the society they grow up in.
These seemingly endless rules and regulations lead many of us humans to live a life encaged by society. We constantly worry about what other people think. In addition, we let the limitations of our brain capacity to predict the future decide that “it’ is impossible” or “this is not okay” or “that is not how it should be done”. The old Mesoamerican culture Toltecs referred to this problem as the ‘Mitote’ – or translated ‘the smokey mirror’.
Small children are curios, creative and adventurous. When eating, children will eat with their hands until we teach them how to eat with fork and knife, or with chopsticks. So depending on which part of the world you were born in, you will think differently on how you should act when you eat. But what if you feel more comfortable with using a spoon upside down to eat? Is that a problem? Yes, because it does not fit into our society, but technically if that is the most convenient way for you to eat, why should you not do it? Who does it hurt if you eat like that?
These social constructs were developed in part to make living together as humans as unproblematic as possible. At the same time people of higher status to use them differentiate themselves from those of lower status. These seemingly endless rules and regulations lead many of us humans to live a life encaged by society. We constantly worry about what other people think. In addition, we let the limitations of our brain capacity to predict the future decide that “it’ is impossible” or “this is not okay” or “that is not how it should be done”.
The old Mesoamerican culture Toltecs referred to this problem as the ‘Mitote’ – or translated smoke mirror. They were known for their philosophy, artistry and religious beliefs. In Toltec philosophy all humans live in their own dream, not just when they are sleeping but also when they are awake. This refers to how the society we live in dictates how our mindset should see the world. We will always see the world subjectively, since we are subjects – human – not objects. From a negative perspective that means our mind creates endless unnecessary limitations on the possibilities of life.
In an old Toltec saying there was a man who dreamt that he was in space. In space the stars created light and he himself reflected that light. He then realized that all humans are mirrors, since they reflect the light that comes from the stars in our universe. This means that we are all the same but the problem is many of us cannot see it because of the fog in our mind. This fog represents the limiting misconceptions that we have about the world, which prevents us from seeing it in its full beauty and reaching our true potentials.
The uncertainty stemming from this subjectively distorted view of the world in the human mind is the Mitote, the foggy mirror. We all are Mitote. But once we realize the basis of our society’s subjective world view, we can change our mindset by actively training against the misassumptions in our brains. The Toltecs believed we can change the way we perceive our life and thus how we feel, how we act and how our own future will unfold. Through this piece I want to showcase how our emotional state of mind reflects on the outside world and the people around us, and that we can change it at any given time.
BEEKIND, 11min. Canada Directed by Olivia Bronwyn Follow Gregg Scott and the keepers of Circling Hawk Honey & Mead, as we’re taken under their wing to get an up-close look at the species so relied upon by our kind. Beekind gives insight on the nature of the honeybee as a member of the colony, their interactions and relationships to each other and to humans, as we look within, and take one big sustainable step back. We’re welcomed into Circling Hawk, the business and home of Gregg and Michelle Scott, our owners and operators, and caretakers of the 25 acres of land. Alongside their two protégé’s Julia and John, they take us on their journey as stewards, artists, and guides to the life they lead at the apiary. A life of peace, love, and earthly balance.
Surviving Alone: The Tale of Simone, 15min., UK Directed by Claire Tomlinson Simone is the last Greater Bamboo Lemur in Ranomafana, a protected rainforest in south-east Madagascar. After a happy start in life, surrounded by family, Simone finds herself alone, as members of her family disappear one by one. Three years on, and she’s still alone – a social animal, a primate, just like us; how has this isolation affected her mental state?
NOTHING BUT BLUE, 16min., Germany Directed by Sebastian Bechtel NOTHING BUT BLUE is a 16-minute short film about German Olympic surfer Tim Elter – and his uncompromising passion for one of the most extreme and primal forms of surfing: tube riding.
Lovebirds, 4min., USA Directed by Maria Corso Betty and Ray, a wild couple on the run, live fast and love hard while staying one step ahead of the law. With their lives on the line and a clean getaway just out of reach, they attempt one more job — one which may cost them more than they can afford.
Snapshots, 84min., Spain Directed by Miguel Ángel Mengó Snapshots reflects twelve dialogues without beginning or end, held between twenty-four characters, inhabitants of the outskirts of a city, at some point in their lives, always marked by incommunication and time lost in the era of access to information and immediacy.
I have to really thank the actors for my reading, nothing short of terrific as they were, nothing short of incredibly smart, attractive, and perceptive as they were. They brought the script to life. – F. Maffai
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