Thank you to all the filmmakers who participated in the Lift-Off Sessions Volume 8!
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
Soul of the city
Director/Writer: Felicia Mokgara
Producer: Andrina Moodley
Country of Origin: South Africa
Synopsis:
Soul of the City weaves together visual poetry and raw social observation.
When a cobbler dares to speak up against crime, he pays with his life. Yet his story continues—through another cobbler who quietly witnesses the city’s truths while stitching soles and lives back together. This film asks: If you were him, would you speak up?
Season Award #16 Shortlist
Audience Choice Winners
Amongst the Crowd
Directors/Producers: Adrian Ennis, Liam Corcoran
Country of Origin: United States
Synopsis:
A documentary on what it means to belong in America in 2020 through a diverse set of subjects across the country.
Devremülk/Timeshare
Director/Writer: Ufuk Aksoy
Country of Origin: Turkey
Synopsis:
A young woman, going through a rough period, heads out to her friend's summer house to pull herself together. The season is winter and she does not come across anyone until her fourth day on the island.
Apartment 296
Director/Writer/Producer: Tyger Sharee
Country of Origin: United States
Synopsis:
A young woman moves to a new town with her boyfriend, and begins to suspect that someone is watching her from inside their apartment
Datura (about green blindness)
Director/Writer/Producer: Laura Soledad Ferradas
Director: Rodrigo Nahuel Lopez
Country of Origin: Argentina
Synopsis:
"Datura ..." is a video performance that critically and reflectively examines our relationship with the urban plant environment. The piece aims to provoke viewers about "plant blindness," a tendency to ignore the presence and value of plants in our daily lives.
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.
Walk with Shila
Pencil: Anthony R Manzo
Bass Guitar: Brian Klem
Country of Origin: United States
Synopsis:
Experimental journey prompting an abstract figure drawing to walk with artificial intelligence.
The Code
Director/Writer/Producer: Gilles Schijvens
Writer:Kristof Timmermans
Country of Origin: Belgium
Synopsis:
When a corrupt prosecutor suspects that a young informant under his wing is withholding crucial information, he takes matters into his own hands.
How far are you willing to go for the truth - when you’re not clean yourself?
Life
Director/Writer/Producer: Harry Waldman
Country of Origin: United States
Synopsis:
A day of life.
STRUCK
Director: Aurora Fearnley
Writer: Isley Lynn
Producer: Justin Edgar
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Synopsis:
On the sand dunes of her local beach a female jogger returns to the scene of a crime looking for closure.
Zapatitos
Director: Erick Steve Vilchis Chávez
Writer: Richy Plascencia
Producer: Paulina Luna
Country of Origin: Mexico
Synopsis:
A father and widower suffers the greatest emotional pain of life outside a church, offering for sale the most significant thing he has left of his son.
Burger Boi
Director/Writer/Producer: Christopher Hubbard
Writer/Producer: Sean Paul Sharkie
Producer: Queen Margret University
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Synopsis:
An online influencer struggles with the fame he has found.
Last Course, Unfinished
Director/Writer/Producer: Aakrit Prakash
Producers: Mohammad Abdallah,Abdulraheem Abualhay ja'a
Country of Origin: Jordan
Synopsis:
In the high-pressure world of a professional kitchen, young chef Eli is pushed to his limits by the cruel and demanding head chef Marco. Tasked with creating a flawless dish under a brutal deadline, Eli’s desperate quest for validation is met with silence, leading him to a heartbreaking conclusion.
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.