Thank you to all the filmmakers who participated in the 2026 Lift-Off Sessions Volume 6!

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.

Lift-Off Sessions is designed to be the entry into the Lift-Off Global Network. A platform for the avant-garde, 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!

Soldiers Of The Foreign Land

Director/Writer: Ahmad Shah
Writer: Hannah Newman
Producer: Azril Zaim Aziz
Country of Origin: Malaysia

Synopsis:
Somalia, 1994. A UN convoy is ambushed by Somali militia, forcing WO II Mohammad Baharom (Mad) and the remaining soldiers to fight for a way out. As they struggle to survive, Mad is confronted with questions of faith, loyalty, and the true values of Islam, where the fate of the survivors hangs in the balance.

Zombiephoria

Directors/Producers: Ferdy K, Tengku Abdul
Writer/Producer: Aria Bima
Country of Origin: Indonesia

Synopsis:
Four Civilians are trapped in a deserted mall when a Zombies outbreak occurs, and only a mysterious book can help them.survive.

Jesus against the legion of Evil (Inglês)

Director/Writer/Producer: Zoroastro de Lima Lucena
Country of Origin: Brazil

Synopsis:
The plot takes place in the year 2169 (at the Human Base on Mars), during the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of man's arrival on the Moon in 1969.
Two scientists are working on the "Field Accelerator" project, a quantum system to explore the possibilities of accessing the layers of time/space. The system will make it possible to manipulate time and access any date in the past and future.

Spain is not different

Director/Writer/Producer: Samuel Sebastian
Producers: Emma Sepúlveda, Lu Pérez Pastor
Country of Origin: Spain, United Kingdom

Synopsis:
The story of three homeless migrant women during the celebration of the Fallas in Valencia. Amidst the noise, color, and background music, the three women will try to help each other survive and overcome their communication challenges.

Insectoid Woman

Director/Writer: Yago Souza Silva
Country of Origin: Brazil

Synopsis:
Two men set out to write the screenplay that will save their artistic lives.

justice

Director/Writer/Producer: Brian Deatt
Country of Origin: Germany

Synopsis:
At the heart of „Gerechtigkeit“ lies the question of whether it would be morally and legally acceptable for a society to punish citizens who have committed criminal offences, who have deliberately and demonstrably caused physical harm to other people and who have been convicted by a court of law, not by imposing a fine or prison sentence, as is the case in conventional jurisprudence, but instead by inflicting physical harm on them that is identical to the harm they themselves caused.

Projet utopia

Director/Writer/Producer: cedric nicolas hancart
Country of Origin: Belgium

Synopsis:
In a post-apocalyptic world, a virus has transformed almost the entire human race into zombies. Jody, a former lab researcher, and her partner Enrique, a former sniper, team up to survive in this hell. Jody holds the key to all this chaos; will they overcome the difficulties and save the human race?

Sapling

Director/Writer: Connor Yarish
Country of Origin: Canada

Synopsis:
A young boy’s imagination takes root when he tries to fulfil his desire to live life as a tree.

Everybody Loves Gina: The Video Depot Story

Director/Producer: Roy Samuel Ferré
Country of Origin: United States

Synopsis:
Video Depot, the first and last video store in Santa Clarita, CA, is still in business because it’s wonderful owner’s Gina & John Lee have an incredible connection with their regular customers, who continue to support the store despite all odds, and hope that it will stay open.

Off Script

Directors/Writers/Producer: Daren Sullivan
Producer: Brenda Hassard
Country of Origin: Canada

UNMASKED

Director: Dimitris Galatas
Director/Writer: Fragkiskos Arapai
Country of Origin: Greece

Synopsis:
Sofia, a woman in her mid-20s battling depression, stumbles upon a peculiar mask on the roadside and brings it home. Soon, strange things begin to happen. An irresistible urge to put on the mask develops and the lines between what is real and not begin to blur.

CTRL+Z Stuck in the Edit

Director/Writer: Srdjan Mitrović Hitch
Country of Origin: Serbia

Synopsis:
In the world of film theory, the director is the supreme creator. However, for Bob, the protagonist of this one-minute meta-metaphysical nightmare, that hierarchy collapses with a single keystroke. While trying to enjoy a well-deserved moment of peace with a piece of cake, Bob realizes his reality doesn’t belong to him, but to an invisible Editor.

Still Here

Director/Writer/Producer: Shorna Abedin
Country of Origin: Bangladesh

Synopsis:
Still Here is a poetic short film that stands against suicide, despair, and the quiet urge to give up.
Rather than narrating a conventional story, the film observes emotional states—disconnection, exhaustion, loss, and survival—through fragments of everyday life and moments of inner collapse. Darkness appears not as drama, but as a lived reality. The return is not triumphant, but necessary.

Interrogation Room

Director/Scriptwriter: Giannis Kostopoulos
Country of Origin: Greece

Synopsis:
In a small provincial town, 18-year-old Aris goes to an old barbershop for his first shave, wanting to honor a silent family tradition that connects him to his deceased father.

What begins as a coming-of-age ritual gradually turns into a painful ordeal.

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.