Thank you to all the filmmakers who participated in the 2026 July Lift-Off Showcase!

We want to extend a giant thank you to everyone who took part and a special congratulations to all the incredible talent that went into making these projects.

Ostrich

Director: Katherine Shannon
Writer/Producer: Georgie Ray
Producer: Andy Jones
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Genre: Shorts
Synopsis:
mily, engulfed in a quarter‑life crisis, is consumed and blinded by her own spiralling avoidance of reality.
A wet‑wipe boyfriend, nightmare customers, constant comparison, and embarrassing auditions push her to breaking point. Pulling her head out of the sand and riding the rollercoaster of a healing journey, she quite literally sheds her feathers. It's a dark comic trip into the absurd.

Through Emily’s direct address to camera, the film builds a connection with the audience, inviting us to laugh, relate, and make you think about shedding your own feathers.
Tonally, it sits somewhere between Fleabag’s confessional intimacy and Black Swan’s metaphorical unravelling.

Join the Club

Director/Writer/Producer: Ryan JJ Lubbock
Producer: Annabel Vago
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Genre: Shorts
Synopsis:
Five years post Uni and feeling unsuccessful in life, James visits his old Uni mates and realises through unconventional means, that maybe life's not so bad.

Just Call Her

Director/Writer/Producer: Theadora Tolkin
Producers: Lynnette Myers, Katharine Ludicrum
Country of Origin: United States
Genre: Romance, Drama, Music, Parenting

Synopsis:
JUST CALL HER is a romantic drama about "the one that got away". After the death of her bandmate and husband, former rock star Marcella is adrift: struggling to keep their musical legacy alive, and raising their teenage daughter alone. When a voice from the past comes calling, Marcella remembers a fateful day fifteen years earlier that could have changed everything.

Final Performance of The Year

Director/Writer/Producer: Gary Apple
Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Synopsis:
On the final day of a difficult year, The Sun struggles to find a way to bring hope to the world.

Sheee

Director/Writer: Vivek Srikumar
Producer: Kerrie Costello
Country of Origin: Ireland

Synopsis:
Sheee is a haunting Irish folklore drama that blurs the line between myth and reality.
When Sean, a man searching for meaning, joins Kumar, a folklore enthusiast obsessed with local legends, their curiosity leads them deep into the woods- in search of Dubheasa, a woman once believed to be cursed and who disappeared centuries ago.

What begins as a curious night of exploration turns into a journey across time- where love, guilt, and myth intertwine.

Maybe another time

Director/Writer/Producer: love thakur
Country of Origin: India

Synopsis:
A science-fiction drama that explores the mysterious concept of tachyons, hypothetical particles believed to travel faster than light. When the protagonist receives unusual information connected to an unfortunate event, he is forced to confront time, destiny, and the consequences of choice.

The Curse of the Bambino

Director/Writer/Producer: Alan Trinca
Writer/Producer: Natasha Ivkovic
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Genre: Horror, Comedy, Sports

Synopsis:
When an overworked lawyer pulls an all-nighter at her boss’s house, she’s interrupted by a foul-mouthed baseball fan who’s just clawed his way out of the grave—refusing to rest until his team wins the 2004 World Series.

Everything I Hate About Us

Director/Producer: Sia Rybak
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Genre: Shorts

Synopsis:
A young playwright is moving out of the home that used to house her relationship with an actor. Before driving away, she remembers leaving her diary somewhere in the house. Making her way back in, she is faced with the physical manifestations of moments in her relationship. With her journeying deeper, her memories distort, as she is forced to face what her relationship truly was. A horrifying monstrosity.

Hope

Director/Writer: Ragnar Griffiths
Writer: Brandon Stockwell
Producer: Catherine Dolley
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama, Post-Apocalyptic

Synopsis:
In post-apocalyptic Britain, a father must trek the treacherous, abandoned landscape just to see his daughter again.

The Lift-Off Season Awards is an annual event that celebrates the very best of indie film. Following each Lift-Off film festival, films that have excelled in their respective category are short listed for a Season Awards Nomination.  At the end of the year, once all the 12 city-based festival have taken place, the shortlisted nominated films are reviewed again by the jury and Official Nominations are designated.  Click here for more information about the Lift-Off Season Awards.