OFFICIAL SELECTION LIST - August 2025
Documentary
NOT ENOUGH CONTENDERS
Animation
(random order)
1. Unicorn (d. Sophiah-Rose Bergeron) - Student - 1 min, Canada, 2025
2. Dream Defenders (d. Nicole Nowel) - 4 min, United States, 2025
Experimental
NOT ENOUGH CONTENDERS
Music Video
(random order)
1. Why Me (d. Xinran Gu) - Student - 3 min, United States, 2024
2. The Blossom and the Mountain (d. Kathleen Stevenson) - 5 min, United Kingdom, 2025
3. 2 can play (Ava Della Pietra - official music video) (d. Azzie Scott) - 2 min, United States, 2025
4. Marionette (Ava Della Pietra - official music video) (d. Nathan Levine-Heaney) - 2 min, United States, 2025
5. Jimmy Goldmouth-Game Changer (d. Dimitris Chrisostomidis) - 5 min, Greece, 2025
Screenplays
(finalists)
1. The Tree With No Heart (w. Aaron Huckleberry)
2. MOMENTS RECALLED BEFORE THEY'RE LOST (w. Christopher Loveland)
3. Shadows of Deceit (w. Anthony Harvey)
4. Two Old Libbies 2 (w. Rain Story)
5. PEEPING MAUREEN (w. Samantha Shaber)
6. ON THE ROCKS (w. Kat Geborys)
September 2025 Winners. Screening: December 16th, 2025
BEST OF THE FEST
Unsung (d. Alison McDonnell) - 23 min, United Kingdom, 2025
2nd BEST OF THE FEST
Chop Chop! (d. Ievgen Koshyn) - 12 min, United Kingdom, 2025
3rd BEST OF THE FEST
Nepenthe (d. Harvey Harrison-Doyle) - 30 min, United Kingdom, 2025
BEST STUDENT FILM
The Why (d. Ciara Evans) - Student - 9 min, United States, 2025
AUDIENCE AWARD
The Blossom and the Mountain (d. Kathleen Stevenson) - 5 min, United Kingdom, 2025 - 118 votes
--------------------------------------------------------
Best Documentary
NOT ENOUGH CONTENDERS
Best Animation
Dream Defenders (d. Nicole Nowel) - 4 min, United States, 2025
NOMINEES:
Unicorn (d. Sophiah-Rose Bergeron) - Student - 1 min, Canada, 2025
Best Experimental
NOT ENOUGH CONTENDERS
Best Music Video
Marionette (Ava Della Pietra - official music video) (d. Nathan Levine-Heaney) - 2 min, United States, 2025
NOMINEES:
The Blossom and the Mountain (d. Kathleen Stevenson) - 5 min, United Kingdom, 2025
Jimmy Goldmouth-Game Changer (d. Dimitris Chrisostomidis) - 5 min, Greece, 2025
--------------------------------------------------------
Best Director
Alison McDonnell - Unsung - 23 min, United Kingdom, 2025
NOMINEES:
Ievgen Koshyn - Chop Chop! - 12 min, United Kingdom, 2025
Harvey Harrison-Doyle - Nepenthe (d. Harvey Harrison-Doyle) - 30 min, United Kingdom, 2025
Best Screenplay
Amir Masoud Soheili - Chop Chop! - 12 min, United Kingdom, 2025
NOMINEES:
Max Roberts - Sketches - 11 min, United Kingdom, 2024
Alison McDonnell - Unsung - 23 min, United Kingdom, 2025
Best Actor
Kareem Nasif - Chop Chop! - 12 min, United Kingdom, 2025
NOMINEES:
Gerain Arias - The Why - Student - 9 min, United States, 2025
Freddie McDonnell - Unsung - 23 min, United Kingdom, 2025
Best Actress
Catherine Cockerham - Nepenthe - 30 min, United Kingdom, 2025
NOMINEES:
Emma Sofia Griffin - Last Night - Student - 7 min, China, 2024
Sara Oliva - The Why - Student - 9 min, United States, 2025
Best Editing
Sebastian Hayes - Unsung - 23 min, United Kingdom, 2025
NOMINEES:
Ted Clarke, Ollie Killip - All Eyes On You - 22 min, United Kingdom, 2025
Malek Ben Khaled - Chop Chop! - 12 min, United Kingdom, 2025
Best Cinematography
Ben Hardy - Unsung - 23 min, United Kingdom, 2025
NOMINEES:
Antonio Pozojevic - Chop Chop! - 12 min, United Kingdom, 2025
Cody Griggs - The Why - Student - 9 min, United States, 2025
Best Original Score
Dante Paz - Dream Defenders - 4 min, United States, 2025
NOMINEES:
Michael Llewelyn Barker - Unsung - 23 min, United Kingdom, 2025
Kristina Hutchinson - Sketches - 11 min, United Kingdom, 2024
Screenplays
1st Place
ON THE ROCKS (w. Kat Geborys)
2nd Place
The Tree With No Heart (w. Aaron Huckleberry)
3rd Place
Shadows of Deceit (w. Anthony Harvey)
Fiction
(random order)
1. Chop Chop! (d. Ievgen Koshyn) - 12 min, United Kingdom, 2025
2. Nepenthe (d. Harvey Harrison-Doyle) - 30 min, United Kingdom, 2025
3. Unsung (d. Alison McDonnell) - 23 min, United Kingdom, 2025
4. Sketches (d. Max Roberts) - 11 min, United Kingdom, 2024
5. The Why (d. Ciara Evans) - Student - 9 min, United States, 2025
6. All Eyes On You (d. Ted Clarke) - 22 min, United Kingdom, 2025
7. Last Night (d. Xinran Gu) - Student - 7 min, China, 2024
8. Before the Next Step (d. Zheng Zou) - 5 min, China, 2025