Happy Birthday, Dorif
T.J. Williams
Director, Writer // T.J. Williams
Writers//Cara McFarlane, Alec Schulman
Producer//BEN DILLION De Rozario
Country of origin // United States
Season Award #17 Nomination // Best Short Narrative, Best Art Direction
Synopsis //Greg, a struggling pianist, brings his nurse coworker to his grandmother Doris’ 70th birthday party, hoping she’ll accept in-home care while he leaves on tour. When he panics and pretends they’re dating, the lie sparks a poignant confrontation about grief, independence, and letting go.
Season Awards #17 Shortlist:
Best Short Narrative, Best Art Direction
Director, Writer, Producer //Aristides Mantilla
Producer// Paola Mantilla
Country of origin // Mexico
Season Award #17 Nomination // Best Director
Synopsis //On a Day of the Dead night, Jesús, a 10-year-old Mexican kid, longs to meet his paternal grandfather, Rubén, whom he never met. Convinced that Rubén will visit him that night, Jesus waits anxiously by the altar, but he falls asleep. To his surprise, he is awakened by the figure of his grandfather, who takes him on an emotional night journey where they get to know each other. Jesus finally met his paternal grandfather and Rubén was able to send a last message to his son Mateo, asking for forgiveness. By communicating the message the next morning, Jesus finally convinces his parents of the reality of his encounter with Rubén, confirming the existence of visits from the afterlife on the Day of the Dead, leading them to believe in the colorful Mexican tradition of Day of the Dead and to find reconciliation and healing in the family.
Season Awards #17 Shortlist:
Best Director
Director, Writer // Ari Shapiro
Producer// Crystal Navellier
Country of origin // United States
Season Award #17 Nomination //Best First-Time Filmmaker, Best Cinematography
Synopsis //A struggling couple invites their friends to a double-date weekend at an isolated cabin, but their plans for relaxation are thrown into chaos when their friend shows up without his girlfriend.
Season Awards #17 Shortlist:
Best First-Time Filmmaker, Best Cinematography
Director// Kilian Pettit
Writer// Sarah Hosford
Producer//Ysabel Pheifer
Country of Origin// Ireland, United Kingdom
Season Award #17 Nomination // Best Actor (Sarah Hosford)
Synopsis //
Drawing from her own experiences of body dysmorphia and gym culture, Sarah Hosford’s screenplay is a deeply personal reflection on her own hidden battles. Through the lead character of Orla, an Irish nurse living in London, this film explores society’s obsession with perfection.
Fed an unhealthy diet of portion control and training regimes, Orla becomes more and more consumed by the social media algorithm. Cutting out carbs and isolating herself from friends and family back home, can Orla’s relentless pursuit of physical perfection ultimately fill the void in her life?
Season Awards #17 Shortlist:
Best Actor (Sarah Hosford)
Directors, Writers // Arnold Ghazaryan, Siranush Vardanyan
Producer// Maria Matinyan
Country of origin // United States
Season Award #17 Nomination // Best Short Documentary
Synopsis //AYG [Dawn] follows teenagers Arman and Nver—childhood friends from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) whose lives were forever changed by war and forced displacement.
As they rebuild their futures in unfamiliar villages across Armenia, their friendship remains a powerful source of strength and connection, despite distance, loss, and uncertainty.
Season Awards #17 Shortlist:
Best Short Documentary
Director//Phoebe Chou
Producer: Hollyn Urrabazo
Country of origin //United States
Season Award #17 Nomination // Best Animation
Synopsis // Guardian’s Lament is a 3D animated short film about a dilapidated Robot who resides within a magical forest. Content in his solitude, the ancient guardian undergoes a meticulous routine tending to the Forest Heart: the embodiment of the forest’s wellbeing and the Robot’s life source. When his peaceful sanctuary is breached by a restless Creature, chaos and destruction follow suit. Will the two manage to set aside their differences and work together to save the forest they call home?
Season Awards #17 Shortlist:
Best Animation
Director, Writer//Daniel Alpernia
Writer// Mitzi Smishkewych Kosovske
Producers// Laia Jornet, Wilmer Correa
Country of origin // France
Season Award #17 Nomination // Best Music Video
Synopsis //“LEGACY” is a poetic reflection on exile, resilience, and human connection. Directed by Daniel Alpernia, the film follows souls in motion—displaced yet determined—seeking light through struggle. With powerful visuals and a transcendent soundscape, it honors those who carry their past forward in hope of a better tomorrow.
Season Awards #17 Shortlist:
Best Music Video
Scallywags
Jason McCullough
Writer //Jason McCullough
Country of Origin//United States
Season Award #17 Nomination // Best Music Video
Synopsis //A young girl must confront a cursed island’s ancient evil and her own fears of loss when a manipulative queen forces her and her father on one final, deadly quest to the legendary Lost Isles.
Season Awards #17 Shortlist:
Best Music Video
Director,Writer, Producer//Kenneth White
Country of origin // United States
Season Award #17 Nomination // Best Feature Narrative
Synopsis //After the death of her fiancée, a young woman retreats to a remote Montana fire lookout to grieve, but when reciting their vows summons the ghost of her beloved, she must learn to let go of the past before being drawn so deeply into its shadow that she’s unable to return.
Season Awards #17 Shortlist:
Best Feature Narrative
Director//Katie Jacobs
Producers// Henry Hayes, Annabelle Attanasio
Country of origin // United States
Season Award #17 Nomination // Best Feature Documentary
Synopsis //In 1959, painter Lois Dodd found herself newly divorced, unemployed, and a single mother in New York City. Having recently graduated from Cooper Union and needing an affordable apartment for herself and her son Eli, Lois rented the third floor of a small commercial building, with a sewing factory on the second floor, and a drug dealer on the first. But like many lofts on the Bowery, it had enough room for her and Eli – and most importantly, for her to paint. A few years later, the drug dealer left, and printmaker Eleanor Magid moved into the first floor with her daughter Gabriel. And when Lois’s classmate divorced his wife, sculptor Louise Kruger, she and her young sons Josh and Caleb took over the second floor.
Season Awards #17 Shortlist:
Best Feature Documentary
