Thank you to all the filmmakers who participated in the October edition of the Lift-Off Sessions!
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!
Jury's Overall Winner
Calhoun
Directors: Laura Casa, Elsa Barrere, Luis Costa
Country of Origin: France
Genre: Animation, Short
Synopsis: In a lush world, a pure, innocent being comes to life and awakens to the reality around him. Intrigued by the unknown, he meets Firefly, a small, luminous and benevolent creature. His boundless curiosity guides him on a rewarding adventure.
As they progress and bond, they reach a climax. Contemplating a grandiose landscape, reality suddenly reveals itself, cruel but revealing. The majestic forest, which he had thought infinite in its grandeur, was but a frail patch, a fragile refuge for a nature long since extinguished on the outside.
Season Award #15 Shortlist
Audience Choice Winners
Realm of Reminiscence - Mien Ky Uc
Director/Writer: Phuc Quang Vu Dao
Country of Origin: Vietnam
Synopsis:
A reunion with old classmates after two decades triggers melancholy memories of a past love. Two decades on, the man is haunted by the ghosts of his unrequited love and a failed career, leaving him with a multitude of unanswered questions.
WE Central Stage: Slovakia
Director/Writer:Robin Jacquet
Country of Origin: Slovakia
Synopsis:
"Central Stage: Slovakia” offers some new perspectives on the contemporary Slovak theater scene through a compilation of interviews, rehearsals, theater performances and monologue extracts. By exploring the themes of identity and society, which resonate deeply with the country's current political and cultural challenges, it also attempts to answer the following question: how can you contribute to the cultural life of a state as old as you are?
Call Your Friends Tell Them You Love Them
Director/Writer/Producer:Michael K. Snyder
Producers: Cobey Cobb, Colin Conrad
Country of Origin: United States
Synopsis:
All of our joy lives in the ones we love.
Experimental short film about the connection between our youth, our present and the world around us. Exploring themes such as loss, nostalgia and despair, the short film is an inward look at grief and how we sometimes feel like ghosts floating through the world unnoticed.
EQUINO
Director/Writer/Producer: David Lopez Duran
Country of Origin: United States
Synopsis:
Ray Estrada, a father and husband, leaves his family in Northern, Mexico, to work in the United States, but stays for years, causing emotional abandonment and trauma for his wife, Renata, and daughter, Abigail. Abigail struggles with anxiety and depression but finds solace in equine therapy. Renata copes with her pain through alcohol, neglecting her daughter's needs and her own healing. Ray's brother, Ignacio, tries to keep the family together, but the wounds run deep. When Ray returns, he seeks to rebuild relationships and regain trust, but it's a difficult journey.
The Loser
Director/Writer/Producer: Daruosh Rouhi
Country of Origin: Iran, Islamic Republic of
Synopsis:
It's about two impoverished children competing to retrieve a piece of food from a garbage bin.
The little Dragon Lady
Directors/Writers/Producers: Laurence Fremont
Country of Origin: France
Synopsis:
Anna, young woman aged 30, will be at a birthday event like every saturday. On this day, nothing goes as planned and she will have to redouble her imagination to communicate her inner fire.
NO EXIT
Director/Writer/Producer: Mario Durán Araujo
Country of Origin: Mexico
Synopsis:
THERE´S NO EXIT FOR CARLOS, AN EXPERIENCED MARTIAL ARTIST WHO IS RACING AGAINST TIME TO SAVE HIS LIFE
SALT
Director/Writer/Animation: Kevin Tombs
Country of Origin: United States
Synopsis:
SALT is a hand-drawn animated film about a mysterious fisherman, alone on a beach. Far away, two voices discuss why he fishes there.
What A Lovely Audition
Director/Writer/Producer: Vinnie Langdon III
Country of Origin: New York
Synopsis:
When a Hollywood casting company comes to Staten Island in search of a new breakout star, they find more than they bargain for.
The Island Population 7
Director/Editor/Producer: Wafa Al-Gallas Gilpatrick
Country of Origin: United States
Synopsis:
The history of Ta-Ha-Do-Wa Camp for boys on Tanglewood Island/Washington state-USA in the past century told through the eyes of Coach Kimo Streeter .This is a feel good story of the early days of Coach Kimo as a kid, and one of the first boys camps in WA state. We get the chance to see the Vibrant Life of the camp through many old photos of children , counselors and to feel the spirit of a joyful journey .
Guru Within
Director/Producer: Melissa Arsan
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Every@ne are better than me
Director: Liliana Ferreira
Country of Origin: Portugal
Synopsis:
I did exactly the same pose, bought exactly the same clothes and the same shoes and, even so, they continue to be more beautiful and more valued than me... Is the problem with me?
Angel
Director/Writer: Noah Smith
Producer: Colleen Chen
Country of Origin: United States
Synopsis:
When Oliver discovers a phone in his new apartment that is a direct line to Jesse, the new friends form a bond that slowly turns to something more. They must navigate the challenges of love including a distance greater than anything on a map - when Jesse is living.
Noodles
Director/Writer/Producer: Kayleigh Pepper
Producer: Lewis Smithard
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Synopsis:
The world is a wasteland, and Nobody will always be found taking photographs. She documents all that she finds of what has happened to the world and takes them back to her favourite place, her darkroom to develop her findings. But something is coming for her, something that she knew was going to happen from the very start. She finds comfort eating her noodles, trying to deal with what has happened and what will soon happen to her.
The Play on The Roof
Director: KO WEN HOU
Country of Origin: Taiwan
Synopsis:
A pair of ambiguous lovers living in a rooftop illegal addition, with no substantial relationship, constantly dodge and chase each other in an effort to maintain the status quo. Like an unauthorized structure on the brink of demolition, their hideout seems like a secret base between skyscrapers, yet it is inherently fragile. Their love is entangled with the choices between life and survival. The illegality of their arrangement perfectly captures the essence of an unstable relationship.
5,6,7,8
Director/Writer/Producer: Benedetta Angeli
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Synopsis:
Isabella harbors a deep fear of the future and resorts to obsessive rituals to keep everything around her in perfect order.
However, when a simple job interview reveals her compulsions are working against her, she needs to decide whether to continue nurturing them or learn to accept uncertainty and imperfection.
Lift-Off Season Awards #15
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.