Thank you to all the filmmakers who participated in the 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!
Jury's Overall Winner
About Sarah
Director/Writer/Producer: S.A.D Alaka
Country of Origin: Nigeria
Synopsis:
A pretentious thesis on love
Season Award #16 Shortlist
Audience Choice Winners
Afro Hunt
Director/Writer/Producer: Adrian Ortiz
Director: Enrique Gonzalez Greenman
Country of Origin: Mexico, United States
Synopsis:
Two roommates attempt to track down an international drug dealer.
TIRO CERTO
Director/Writer: Roger Davill
Producer: Flavio Marroso, Rogerio Vidal, Cláudio Mascarenhas
Country of Origin: Brazil
Synopsis:
A SNIPER WITH A HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS FIGHT TO RETURN TO HIS PROFESSIONAL SELF-CONFIDENCE AND THAT OF HIS COLLEAGUES AND HAS INTEGRATED THE INTELLIGENCE OF THE POLICE.
AYIKA THE MOVIE
Director/Producer: RENATA FREIRE RE
Writer: José Jorge Aparecido Barreto
Country of Origin: Brazil
Synopsis:
This is the story of three sisters: Maya, Mayte, and Melissa. There is tension between the two older sisters regarding the youngest, Melissa. Melissa, being the youngest and always spoiled by their parents, causes some jealousy in the older sisters. To make matters worse, Melissa shares all her sisters' secrets with their mother, frequently getting the older sisters into trouble. One day, Maya and Mayte are returning home from school and stumble upon a discard pile on the street. Among the abandoned items, they find a doll and remember that their younger sister is terrified of dolls due to watching the movie "Annabelle." They then devise a plan involving this doll to scare Melissa. However, the plan backfires, resulting in chaos and tension on both sides. This story is filled with suspense, emotion, and thrilling adventures in "Wicked Sisters."
OS DOIS LADOS DA VIDA
Director/Writer/Producer: Gil Smith
Country of Origin: Brazil
Synopsis:
Jhon Smith lived for years in the underworld of crime, being the invisible hand of death. As a professional assassin, he never knew another reality beyond violence. But when he decides to leave that path, he meets Maria, a woman who shows him a side of life he never imagined: love, peace, and a future full of hope.
Everything seems perfect until his old boss, unable to accept his departure, decides to take away what Jhon loves most. Maria becomes the target of a cruel plan, not out of revenge, but to force him back. Now, Jhon must choose between the two sides of life: to hold onto the promise of a better future or to plunge back into darkness to settle the score.
Scarf
Director: Mohsin Rabiei
Writer: Aykut Çavdar
Producers: Bekir ayar, Deniz Şaman
Country of Origin: Turkey
Synopsis:
Kadir, a teenager who is just learning about life; He is about to connect with a scarf to the truths he should never know about his oppressive father.
Mehmet is a family man who lives a double life and also has a second persona named Mami. Mehmet, who is extremely oppressive and conservative at home, lives the feeling of dancing that he has had since his youth in a different life, away from his family and the environment he lives in, as a choreographer, under the character of Mami. Mehmet has a scarf from his youth and has lost it.
Counter Shot
Director/Writer: James Michael Slaymaker
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Synopsis:
Former soldier and war photographer Paul confronts his tumultuous past with childhood sweetheart Amy, with whom he cut off contact after deserting the army during the war in Afghanistan.
To live is to feel
Director/Writer: Leticia Fernández Fresno
Producer: Pablo Angel Ruiz Sánchez
Country of Origin: Spain
Synopsis:
A young woman escapes the pressures of city life to reconnect with herself through the five senses therapy. In a quiet rural town, she rediscovers peace, tradition, and the joy of living fully—through taste, touch, sound, smell, and sight.
Hoop dreams
Director/Producer: Tomislav Dmejhal
Writer: Renato Štedul
Country of Origin: Croatia
Synopsis:
Marko, a young man born in Croatia of Nigerian descent, grew up with one dream – to play for the first team of "Pelikan", a local basketball club. Since childhood, he has been dedicated to sports, persistent in training and inspired by the successes of his sporting role models. Every day, he struggles with high expectations and a strict, unyielding coach who demands perfection from his players. But Marko does not give up. His fight is not just for a place on the team – it is a search for belonging, identity and a dream that transcends borders.
Taste of Home
Director/Writer: Dhisga Amandatya
Writer: Ricky Zakaria Fajri
Producer:Dafrosa Gita
Country of Origin: Indonesia
Synopsis:
After Warno's death, Sinta (25 years old), his adopted daughter, hoped to continue the legendary noodle shop, but Aryo (35 years old), Warno's biological son, appeared demanding inheritance rights. Sinta tries to maintain the shop for sustainability and loyal employees. And economic conditions make Aryo want to sell the inheritance of Warno's shop and house.
Sinta tries to cook Javanese noodles, but her failure makes her give up and ask Aryo to sell the shop and house. However, an envelope from Warno changed everything. Aryo saw Sinta's business and economic difficulties and gave her the noodle recipe he inherited from his father. This brings them together. Aryo brings his family to live in Warno's house, helping Sinta continue the legendary noodle shop with the love and continuity that Warno longs for.
Trash
Director/Writer/Producer: Shawn Lamont Smith
Producer: Zebulun Alford
Country of Origin: United States
Synopsis:
Two brothers are given the hardest task a human could do. They have to find a way to take out the trash.
Reaping
Director/Writer/Producer: Karolina Bogus
Country of Origin: Poland
Synopsis:
Andrew and Joseph are elderly brothers who face the hardships of rural life together. Everything changes when Joseph announces that he wants to die.
Desert
Director/Writer: Anderson Cosme
Producer: Bruna Ribeiro
Country of Origin: Brazil
Synopsis:
An experiment in affective relationships that can either fill the void or cast us into the desert of time, driven by familiar decisions and emotions.
One Day
Director: David Layman
Country of Origin: United States
Synopsis:
One Day is a hand-painted animated music video that follows a fading street preacher through a dark, neon-lit city as he confronts lost love, mortality, and the last remnants of meaning. Rendered in a gritty, vintage animation style with heavy textures and pulp-inspired atmosphere, the film walks the line between resignation and resilience. The visuals echo the song’s haunting lyrics—intimate, defiant, and emotionally raw. This is not a story of hope, but of survival: a final walk through memory before the streetlight burns out.
Lethera
Director/Writer: Mustafa TURAY
Producer: Jokondfilms Mustafa KARADENİZ
Country of Origin: Turkey
Synopsis:
Lethera is a psychological drama that deals with loneliness and the conflict of consciousness. The film deals with the inner struggle of a woman who talks to a man she created in her own mind, trying to hold on to his existence but also having to distance herself from him. While the cellar symbolizes the character's mental prison, the man is a concrete reflection of the woman's inner reckoning. While the woman wants to protect her own light, she is forced to confront this illusion that turns into darkness.
The Sinless Person
Director/Writer/Producer: 세현 박, 윤재 서
Country of Origin: Republic of Korea
Synopsis:
Sia, an old friend of Dohyun who recently transferred to his school, begins to develop feelings for him. Having recently lost her sight, she grows increasingly dependent on Dohyun, and he helps her—reluctantly. But as he gets closer to Sia, the play he’s been preparing with Seungchan—and his friendship with Seungchan—start to fall apart. Despair is contagious
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.