Thank you to all the filmmakers who participated in the First-Time Filmmaker Sessions Volume 9!
The festival platformed hundreds of films, each project worthy of recognition and celebration. 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.
First-Time Filmmaker Sessions is designed to be the entry into the Lift-Off Global Network. A platform for the avant-garde, FT Sessions isn't about selecting the 'best' or most 'commercial' projects; it is about providing a screening opportunity for everyone, connecting these new and emerging voices with new audiences. An option we hope highlights and educates each month!
Jury's Overall Winner
The Silence That Follows
Director/Writer: Diogo Pinho
Producer: Marcus Rudnik
Country of Origin: Brazil
Synopsis:
Used to a life of privilege and success, Arthur finds himself unemployed and adrift. Unprepared for the harsh realities of his situation, he spirals into self-destruction, jeopardizing his job search and his marriage. A chance encounter on the road leads to a confrontation that will change his life forever.
Season Award #16 Shortlist
Audience Choice Winners
A Notification from the Sky
Director/Writer/Producer: Merve Soygazi
Country of Origin: Cyprus
Synopsis:
This book embodies an antidote to digital addiction. Poetry, as it once did in the streets, creates a human connection that contrasts sharply with the isolating cycle of endless scrolling. The character in the film receives the message — “We could both be glad, let’s look at the sky” — but chooses the screen again.
fuck instagram
Director/Writer: Bridgette Yun-Yi Yang
Producer: Yoko April Tamada
Country of Origin: United States
Synopsis:
Years after their falling out, two ex-best friends coincidentally get into the same Uber share.
Anthropocenic venus
Director/Writer/Producer: Laura Ferradas
Director: Rodrigo Nahuel Lopez
Country of Origin: Argentina
Synopsis:
This short film arises from the creative, playful and philosophical proposal of co-creating and recording an artistic performance on the question of time and about the gaze of the Venus of Willendorf as a material icon of the total feminine in time towards our present day. global. If Willendorf's paleolithic Venus figurine was incarnated in a real body today, what would happen?
Biryanee - Life's unpredictable Spices
Director/Writer: Prafulla Kharkar
Country of Origin: United States
Synopsis:
“Biryanee” is the journey of a heart that loses everything — battles the enemy within — attachment — and discovers that true love isn’t in holding on to what’s gone, but in becoming light for others lost in the same darkness. It’s a story based on true events where sometimes inspiration comes from the worst loss of the life to deliver a message of positivity.
First Date
Director/Writer: Luís Filipe Borges
Producers: Terry Costa,Luís Filipe Borges
Country of Origin: Portugal
Synopsis:
An American and a supposed Azorean meet for the first time on the island of Pico...what now, Cupid?
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Santiago and Melissa flirt on a dating app. She loves Romana Petri, the author of books set on the island of Pico. He desperately wants to meet her. “What if our first date was there? It's my home!” The young American accepts the offer. Now, the Lisbonite, who posed as an Azorean, has quite a dilemma to solve...
A COMUNIDADE ANARQUISTA DE EREBANGO
Director/Producer: Glauber Tiago Dal Paz
Country of Origin: Brazil
Synopsis:
A comunidade anarquista de Erebango foi formada por famílias russas oriundas da região da atual Ucrânia no início do século XX, e que se estabeleceram no Rio Grande do Sul.
The Feast of Saturn
Director/Writer/Producer: Thalys Henrique
Country of Origin: Brazil
Synopsis:
Like Saturn, who devoured his own children, Ícaro consumes everything he loves. Amid the ruins of a relationship between two young men, and set in the early years of the new millennium, "The Feast of Saturn" follows the silent decline of a boy who, in trying to protect himself from pain, ends up destroying everything around him.
Fayrouz
Director/Writer/Producer: hsein Naser kaddoura
Country of Origin: Lebanon
Synopsis:
Fayrouz, a woman in her thirties, is on a mission to seek justice for her sister, who was murdered by her husband. Feeling that the Lebanese legal system failed to deliver justice, she decides to take matters into her own hands. The story unfolds through scenes rich with symbolic imagery and layered meanings.
Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness 2024 Documentary
Director/Producer: Gigi Shum
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Synopsis:
The Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness raises funds in aid of Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity’s flagship scheme, A Bed Every Night. This film documents the full 24 hours during the event in 2024.
Obama's Escape
Directors/Producers: Douglas Coelli, Francisco Borges
Writers: Jaíne Zambanini, Ana Luiza
Producer: Lara Benetti
Country of Origin: Brazil
Synopsis:
Obama’s Escape is the story of an unexpected friendship between Clara, a driven young lawyer and an eccentric lady called Olga. The story of a generational encounter, the film explores the transformative power of friendship.
Oranges Road
Director/Writer/Producer: Sami Farah
Writer: kamal Fida
Producer: Dara Ibrahim
Country of Origin: Syrian Arab Republic
Synopsis:
The film follows the story of Zein, a young boy living in a village that relies entirely on the orange harvest as its main source of income. Amid the simplicity of life and the hardship of circumstances, Zein dreams of going on a school trip with his close friend, Lynn. However, his dream is disrupted when the orange season fails due to the ongoing war in the country, worsening his family's financial situation.
The Loud Silence
Director/Writer/Producer: Maya Walid El-Malah
Producer: Maya Walid El-Malah
Country of Origin: Egypt
Synopsis:
This short film explores a young man's journey through trauma and emotional recovery. Told through an experimental three-screen format, the story unfolds simultaneously in the past, present, and near future — revealing how time, memory, and healing coexist. Without dialogue, the film uses natural Egyptian landscapes and visual metaphors to guide the viewer through his inner transformation.
The night I left behind
Director/Writer: Luciano Besares Barra
Writer: Katalina Urrutia Lopez
Producers: Ignacio Cornejo, Bastián Osorio
Country of Origin: Chile
Synopsis:
One night, Kike arrives at his father's house at the Capitol, from Pichilemu and cannot find him. With an address where he might be, together with Mauro and Israel, two young men in a car he meets that night, they set out on a journey through the suburbs of Santiago de Chie
Stree Lingering
Director: Shatakshi Singh
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Synopsis:
Stree Lingering emerged from a personal yet widely relatable concern: how everyday women are often unseen or misrepresented in society. Drawing from lived experiences of body dysmorphia, shame, and internalized self-doubt, Shatakshi sought to create a film that honors women in their raw, unfiltered presence, beyond societal expectations.
Seller's Market
Director: Jack Boyce
Writer: Zach Perkins
Producer: Mike Scannell
Country of Origin: United States
Synopsis:
A last day in the life of a veteran, Fox , who isn't on his meds. Fox is being targeted not for any information he has but for his house.
Lift-Off Season Awards #16
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.