Thank you to all the filmmakers who participated in the 2025 September 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.
September Showcase 2025
Doggerland: The Dead & The Lonely
Director/Writer/Producer: Adam McHattie
Writer/Producer: Matz Martyn
Producers: Simon Ian Wright/David Darko
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Genre: Horror, Drama
Synopsis: Set in the wake of a viral outbreak that has ravaged the world, a failing survivalist, thinking he's the last human alive meets another who forces him to confront his grief and achieve his greatest goal... Not just to survive but to live.
Together they journey across the perilous and desolate Essex wasteland to find the fabled colony of Doggerland; The last remnant of a human society that hasn't fallen into barbarism.
A dramedy about the impossible; making a friend in the apocalypse.
Mara
Director/Writer/Producer: Ben Harl
Country of Origin: United States
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Synopsis: After years spent recovering from a botched exorcism, Jake prepares to reintegrate into society. However, the mounting pressures of everyday existence trigger a harrowing regression back into madness.
Hot Fascist Jizz
Director/Writer: Jayme Kusyk
Producer: Leah Bleich
Country of Origin: United States
Genre: Short Narrative
Synopsis: A woman asks to use her friend's husband's sperm to make a baby -- even though he's a racist cop.
Livvie Grace's Bad B*tch Bucket List
Director/Producer: Alex Smithline
Writer: Lexi Godfrey
Producers: Wesley Diaz, Will DeVito, Upasna Barath
Country of Origin: United States
Synopsis: A woman stuck in the monotony of adulthood finds her teenage bucket list and, guided by a manifestation of her rebellious younger self, embarks on a wild journey to complete it—risking everything she knows along the way.
Say It
Director/Writer: Farrel Ewanena
Producer: Matthew Ravenhill
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Genre: Short, Drama
Synopsis: When a headstrong student gets trapped in a school bathroom with his racist bully, he must force a confession out of him before they’re found, or his final chance at justice will be lost.
16th Annual Lift-Off Season Awards
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.