FOR LUCIE, 12min,. UK Directed by Amy Louise Pemberton When a devastating family secret comes to light, Nick and Liz must confront painful truths that will change their lives forever.
Heal avec Delphine, 30min., USA Directed by Delphine Breyne Heal avec Delphine is a deeply personal docuseries that follows individuals navigating life after cancer, trauma, alopecia, and other challenges. Each episode invites viewers into a powerful journey of reconnection and renewal—beginning with an intimate look at the person’s world, followed by a transformative beauty restoration at Delphine’s atelier, and ending with a meaningful surprise to mark their new beginning. Through heartfelt storytelling, emotional connection, and light-touch artistry, the series introduces a new era of beauty and healing, where feeling truly seen becomes the start of renewed self-confidence, emotional healing, and personal transformation.
The One in Red, 17min., USA Directed by Nicholas Muzzillo A Red Ronin, guided by his past to a place of great significance, is hunted by a Gray Ronin, but not for the reasons we think.
LOSS, 14min., Israel Directed by Sivan Levy Zakin Nine-year-old Goni has always run faster than the boys, always scored more goals. Until the day they decide she’s gotten too good at winning. The beating that follows is methodical, almost ceremonial – childhood cracking along lines that were always there.
pink marker, 4min., USA Directed by Bianca M Persicketti a reflection of my first, strongest relationship–my queer discovery– and it’s ending. simple as that. my way of shutting the book.
Promises, Promises, 15min., USA Directed by KC Simmons When a closeted Brooke meanders into a 1980’s underground party and meets wild-card Rio, the duo finds themselves in a week-long whirlwind relationship.
Stalling, 12min., USA Directed by Jasia Ka An unlikely queer love story unfolds when two women bond over a shared cheating ex, and they connect year after year in the same bar bathroom.
Lossnord, 3min., Norway Directed by Madelen Schønningsen A fallen viking warrior is saved from despair by a Nordic healer. Through recovery they grow closer, but the warrior is distracted, haunted by her violent past.
Differently Water, 8min., Italy Directed by Daniele Catini Two Arab women meet underwater to express their love. The sea becomes an accomplice to a secret in which their eyes reveal that desire hidden from a world that cannot understand
TELLING, 16min., USA Directed by Sean Dugan A previously estranged father and son spend a rare, unexpectedly fun weekend reconnecting — until something unspoken becomes spoken. Can their fragile bond survive the truth? And whose truth is it?
ISS TARAF, 9min., India Directed by Shrey Leena Shah Iss Taraf offers a glimpse into the quiet struggles and momentary victories of a trans man living in a cisnormative world, navigating the journey of acceptance in daily life.
Immersion, 93min., USA Directed by William RA Rush A woman in a new home must protect her family while contending with the unexpected inhabitants of her house.
My name is William R.A. Rush and I have submitted my film “Immersion” for your consideration. All of principal photography took place in Pennsylvania and roughly 99% of all footage seen was filmed in Berks County specifically.
The film deals with how people may realistically deal with a strange circumstance in their own home. The central issues are the importance of women believing women, and women trusting their instincts.
Our mission is diversity and representation in film, both in front of and behind the camera. This includes women, people of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, differently-abled people and people for whom English is a second language.
There are several LGBTQIA+ characters in the film, each of whom was portrayed by an LGBTQIA+ actor. Our crew is diverse in terms of sexuality and gender. Our top producer, editor, two associate producers, one of our intimacy coordinators, one of our fight coordinators, and several other individuals are women. Our casting director is a person of color and a member of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Our sets are always chosen for their accessibility so that no one is ever excluded from working on our films due to their background or physical limitations. The voices of traditionally-underrepresented people is essential to our filmmaking philosophy and our overall mission in film.
We hope this information is helpful to you in your consideration of our film, and we thank you for your evaluation of this work as you evaluate our submission.
JP Cenzo – What You Want (It’s Not Me) Official Story Video, 4min., USA Directed by Paul Cenzoprano JP Cenzo band music video about the birth, life and death of romance, and the perils of wearing a mask in a relationship
VICTORIA – We don’t get along (Crumbs of a Modern Tragedy), 6min., Bulgaria Directed by Victoria Karakoleva VICTORIA’s new music video reveals how social media’s beauty standards and the pressure for popularity create an illusion of perfection, emphasizing that true beauty comes from our unique differences.
Absolute Zero, 3min., USA Directed by William Morris Bruce Hornsby’s track “Absolute Zero” highlights this look into cold and the recesses of the waking mind.
Timeless : A Symphony in Motion, 5min., UK Directed by Susan Mey Lee Lim, Christina Teenz Tan, Samudra Kajal Saikia “Timeless : A Symphony in Motion”” is a captivating music video that seamlessly blends a live recording of the titular song with poignant animated overlays, creating a visual and auditory experience that resonates deeply with audiences. Filmed at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in April 2025, the video features the 82-member Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the extraordinary vocals of Tom Ball, a star from America’s Got Talent.
Even After (Prelude), 4min., USA Directed by Anthony Leckie An ancient realm awakens. Somewhere between the living and the dead, a long forgotten forest begins to blossom.
Cosmic Rhapsody : A Symphony for our Planet, 5min., USA Directed by susan Mey Lee Lim, Manu Martin, Christina Teenz Tan 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.”
Glistening Benevolence, 6min., UK Directed by Matt Cargill Sly & The Family Drone Unleash ‘Glistening Benevolence’: Take the trip into slime-drenched folk horror and the cosmic unknown. . .
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.
Da Terra, 30min., Portugal Directed by Miguel Chichorro Emília Pedro e Fernanda Jorge revisit childhood memories to identify over 70 land parcels inherited from their father. As physical traces fade, memory and oral tradition become the only way to ‘see’ what is no longer visible. The film captures the emotional and cultural depth of the minifúndio system, revealing how memory sustains identity, heritage, and community in rural areas.
The Shadows Left Behind, 13min., Pakistan Directed by Aun Ul Haider Two twelve-year-old friends, Ali and Noor, share an unbreakable bond. Noor, an Afghan refugee, faces sudden deportation. Torn between loyalty and fear, Ali promises to see him off. But what remains is a farewell that echoes in silence, and a friendship lost to the shadows left behind.
Fragments / Palestine, 16min., Germany Directed by Samu Morys Cornelissen Through a montage of sound and pictures, “Fragments / Palestine” explores the silence of German media during the genocide in Gaza.
Hempman vs. the State, 28min., Finland Directed by Sampsa Huttunen Hempman vs. the State is a story of a man who wants to cultivate cannabis openly and without asking for permissions. Authorities are not in favour of his endeavour, and although the fields are blooming, many obstacles stand in the way of the harvest.
Da Terra, 30min., Portugal Directed by Miguel Chichorro Emília Pedro e Fernanda Jorge revisit childhood memories to identify over 70 land parcels inherited from their father. As physical traces fade, memory and oral tradition become the only way to ‘see’ what is no longer visible. The film captures the emotional and cultural depth of the minifúndio system, revealing how memory sustains identity, heritage, and community in rural areas.
The Shadows Left Behind, 13min., Pakistan Directed by Aun Ul Haider Two twelve-year-old friends, Ali and Noor, share an unbreakable bond. Noor, an Afghan refugee, faces sudden deportation. Torn between loyalty and fear, Ali promises to see him off. But what remains is a farewell that echoes in silence, and a friendship lost to the shadows left behind.
Fragments / Palestine, 16min., Germany Directed by Samu Morys Cornelissen Through a montage of sound and pictures, “Fragments / Palestine” explores the silence of German media during the genocide in Gaza.
Hempman vs. the State, 28min., Finland Directed by Sampsa Huttunen Hempman vs. the State is a story of a man who wants to cultivate cannabis openly and without asking for permissions. Authorities are not in favour of his endeavour, and although the fields are blooming, many obstacles stand in the way of the harvest.
STAG, 20min,. USA Directed by Nick Giannetto A queer son and his conservative father venture into the Sierra Nevadas for a hunting trip heavy with silence, grief, and unspoken truths. In the stillness of nature, their clash over identity and tradition becomes a test of love, acceptance, and whether connection can survive the distance between them.
TROY! The Original Lady Boy, 32min,. USA Directed by Christina Linhardt Take a peek inside the gritty, glitzy life of the one-and-only honky-tonk Queen, Troy Walker, considered to be the first “lady boy”. From his life of drugs and drag on the Sunset strip in the 1960s, to his infamous 1970s run at North Hollywood’s World Famous Palomino, not only did the ultra-flamboyant singer survive, but is now preparing to celebrate his 80th birthday.
Rick Nelson: Guntersville, 60min., USA Directed by Kenny Scott Guffey This poignant documentary goes beyond the myth to explore iconic musician Rick Nelson’s final performance, from the people who were there when he rocked the stage that one last time.
Director Statement A longtime Rick Nelson fan, in the summer of 2024 I visited the small town of Guntersville, Alabama. It occurred to me that not only are the locations and individuals still surviving, but details surrounding Rick’s final performance were scarce and treated as a footnote or afterthought, rather than the incredibly impactful moment in Rick’s history that it had been. I conceived the idea on the dock at Guntersville Lake, and now, we bring you the story. We hope it leaves a lasting impression.
Festival Reviews 