The script of the film is built around the story of a young girl Altyn, who came from the village to the city to study and immediately fell into a cycle of tests of life, but was able to overcome all the difficulties because of her strong inner will and faith. In the film we see a three-level visual space: the upper level - the majestic snow-covered alpine expanses (syrt), as if the embodiment of timeless beginning of life, where from ancient times Altyn’s ancestors were shepherds and kept yaks. The middle level, the countryside, is subject to the faster flow of time; and the lower level, the capital city with its bustle and vices, where Altyn arrives after school. The whole plot of the film revolves around the desperate circumstances in which Altyn finds herself: the betrayal of a boyfriend, an unexpected pregnancy, which is not welcomed by the moral norms of society. She is under constant pressure from her sister and her inner circle, who force her to have an abortion or illegally sell her child. But Altyn resolutely resists these encounters alien to her soul: stereotypes, manipulation, and a vicious lifestyle, the cult of consumption and money that has engulfed modern civilization. Through her behavior, she sets example of incorruptibility and a strong inner spiritual core.
The visual and moral symbol of the film is a small yellowish bird- a mountain wagtail. It runs through main storyline and flashbacks, accompanying the film's protagonist from her childhood to her first teenage love in the city, the upheavals, the separation, and finally her return to the snow-white peaks of Mongu-Ata.
Accordingly, the main plot and dramatic conflict knot occurs between the two sisters, Altyn and Saira.
The two sisters are psychologically antipodes: Saira, confident and daring, resolute and believing only in success and power, and Altyn, quiet and brooding, outwardly mild and even fragile, but inwardly resistant, brought up by the harsh pastoral life and the extreme climate of the mountain glaciers...
There are also two complementary themes in the film: on the one hand, the disappearance of traditional way of life and values of the Kyrgyz people embodied in the image of the yak shepherd, the old man Bayaly and his wife Sheker. Like the melting of the Mongu-Ata glacier as a result of an ecological catastrophe, Bayala and Sheker's generation is passing away. On the other hand, the theme of the ecological, natural, and moral catastrophe occurring in society as a result of the cult of money and consumption that has undermined modern civilization.
Thus, the film warns, in dramatic form, of the current cultural and spiritual crisis of the world and man, while affirming, nevertheless, the possibility of hope for renewal.

"Best Feature Film"

► Directed by: Begaly Nargozuev

• begaly5575@gmail.com
• Official Facebook

Every year starting October, the burning of stubble (crop residue) in northern India, particularly in the state of Punjab often gets touted as one of the major contributors to the pollution of Delhi, the country’s national capital.
Yet there is much more to stubble than the act of burning.
The film shifts the perspective from mainstream news to the vast agricultural expanse of Punjab – and to its farmers. It takes a small region as an example to reflect upon how the farmers are caught in a web of agricultural policies that have over the years, led to a steep decline in farming practices which have in turn adversely affected the land’s ecology and environment.
Against this backdrop, two characters appear who choose not to burn stubble – often at their own risk.
Theirs’s is the example that needs to be followed, but can farmers at large, compromise on their livelihood for the sake of the environment?

"Best ECO work"
"Best Short Documentary"

► Directed by: Shaz Syed

• 13.shaz@gmail.com

A young Black woman strolls through the city on her day off. Her thoughts often wander into the past. Here she finds herself in situations where she was racially harassed or insulted. But today she does not helplessly surrender to her memories - as a self-drawn comic heroine she fights back.

"Best Student Film"

► Directed by: Aliyah Patillo

• a.patillo@posteo.de

An atmospheric music video for Syd Barrett's Golden Hair from the album Madcap Laughs (1970).

"Best Music Video"

► Directed by: Jackson Martini

• holydiverq123@gmail.com
• Official Website

Eight months into the apocalypse, a mismatched group of teens battle the undead, growing up, and each other as they seek shelter in a community full of familiar faces and shifting dynamics.

"Best Horror"
"Best Young Director"

► Directed by: Ashley Wilson

• ashleyrwilson2@gmail.com

Rose got sad news and is trying to figure out what she should do next.

"Best Short Film"
"Best Actress"

► Directed by: Adam Chambers

• aline.humbert75@gmail.com

Pink City Film

"Best Experimental Film"
"Best Actress"

► Directed by: Mirijam Verena Verena Jeremic

• mirijamverena@googlemail.com
• Official Instagram

A rain droplet scared of having to fall from the sky, will be able to find the courage to face the void and get to know itself.

"Best Animation"

► Directed by: Claudio Quattrone

• cla_41@hotmail.it

A young Indian woman Sudesh, leaves her homeland in India to migrate to England, facing isolation and domestic violence, she manages to use her religious faith to try and survive.

"Best Short Film"

► Directed by: bal Kumar

• balkumar85@hotmail.com

"Brushed by Grace" tells the poignant journey of Paris, an artist rediscovering herself through loss and new beginnings, guided by the echoes of her grandmother's wisdom. The emotional beats and symbolic acts like throwing the engagement ring away to create a visually compelling narrative.

"Best Mobile Film"

► Directed by: Shanna Brooks

• zinpsubmission@gmail.com
• Official Website

Sergei Paradjanov (1924-1990), a brilliant filmmaker of Armenian origin, remains a legendary figure in the opposition to the Soviet regime which landed him in prison, notably for homosexuality, for years. A pilgrimage to his house in Yerevan by a French director of Russian origin who admires his work turns into a mystical experience in search of the spirit of the Master.

"Best Feature Documentary"

► Directed by: Jérôme AMIMER

• contactleitmotivprod@gmail.com

Two thousand cops challenge two hundred tree squatters in an ancient forest in the middle of Germany that is to make way for a nonsensical motorway. The political and legal struggle against the construction of this motorway has been going on for forty years, but now the state, on behalf of the federal government, has decided to wrestle it out - against all resistance. The drama around the eviction of the forest squatters from the environmentally sensitive Dannenröder Forest forms the common thread of a film about the dashed hopes of the younger generation for a better future. It revolves around their growing anger, the ignorance of politicians in the face of the greatest crisis ever upon mankind, and the seemingly indestructible strangehold of capital interests over supposed intentions to build a sustainable future.

"Best Feature Documentary"

► Directed by: Klaus Sparwasser

• klaus@southernxfilms.com
• Official Website

The age-old question, "why did the chicken cross the road?", can finally be put to rest. The concept for this animated short started back in 2009 with the audio recording of my daughter who was only 6 years old at the time. The audio files sat in a folder on a hard drive in a desk drawer for the next 13 years before it was rediscovered in 2022. I promised myself I would finally finish what I started.

"Best Animation"

► Directed by: Chris John Georgenes

• chris.georgenes@gmail.com
• Official Website

In a family torn by addiction, a timid teenager named Shane attempts to find and reunite with his older brother. When he gets to his destination, his entire reality is shattered by a mind-bending discovery.

"Best Short Film"

► Directed by: Devin Holloway

• devintyler331@hotmail.com
• Official Website

An AI based documentary film using real sound and footage from the NOVA festival on Oct 7th. Maya, hiding in a bush from the terrorists, finds her way out using her imagination.

"Best Short Documentary"

► Directed by: Elik Fromchenko

• elik@windmill.productions

Film titled: THE ORDER is a search for answers to questions about people and the world. It is the result of "conversations" with Artificial Intelligence (AI). Why shouldn't the "creator" ask the "creation" what he thinks about it?

"Best Experimental Film"

► Directed by: Wojciech Turek

• jur.torec@gmail.com

100 years later. With the continuous development of technology, we build a happy utopian paradise where everyone forgets their worries. All we need to do is follow the rules every day and we'll be endlessly happy. But is that really the truth? What is something more profound that is forgotten and erased? Some answers may be found in this short film.

"Best Experimental Film"

► Directed by: yunxuan Cao

• 18943082863@163.com

After the sudden death of their friend, Parker and Cam struggle to remain close in the aftermath. Cam resents Parker for being distant and apathetic, while Parker suppresses his feelings until they come out in the form of their friend's belongings.

"Best Horror"
"Best Original Score"

► Directed by: Annaliese Schroeder

• alsch2017@gmail.com
• Official Instagram

"Master Puppeteer" unveils a poignant message of acceptance. It challenges viewers to embrace the beauty in imperfection and the freedom found in acknowledging the invisible hands guiding our paths. Join us in exploring the depths of rebellion, creativity, and the quest for self-acceptance through the eyes of those who dared to live against the grain.

"Best Short Film"
"Best Sound Design"
"Best Original Screenplay"

► Directed by: Garry Edward Newball Archbold

• gnewball11@gmail.com
• Official Website

“The Carrier” is told through the eyes of a baby waking up in the back seat of their family’s car, which is stuck in a traffic jam. In the front seat, the baby’s parents lament their decision to wait to evacuate the city – from what is not clear, but the duct-taped vents and windows of the car and the luggage strapped to the cars surrounding them seem to indicate that something serious is happening. As events outside the car escalate, the parents’ rising tension reaches a boiling point as they struggle to decide the best way to escape and to keep their baby safe from the dangers approaching them.

"Best 360 Film"
"Best Closing Credits"

► Directed by: Andrew Cochrane

• andy@theavclub.tv
• Official Instagram

On nearly every Monday the Toy Museum Nuremberg is closed, so the toys have a day off. In this music fan video, we follow the way of a teddy bear through the day until the visiting of his former owner at the cemetery, since the teddy was a donation.

"Best Mobile Film"

► Directed by: Paul Stefan Wolff

• paul-stefan.wolff@gmx.de

Based on a 1950s comic that has lapsed into the public domain, a conspiracy-theory-peddling radio host finds his studio under siege from flesh-eating aliens while live on air, threatening both his program and humanity's survival.

"Best Horror"

► Directed by: Leonard Charles Farr

• leonardcharlesfarr@gmail.com
• Official Website

A young woman discreetly ventures into an isolated place to find her boyfriend, but their meeting is quickly disrupted by the appearance of a wisp.

"Best Director"
"Best Cinematography"
"Best Actor"
"Best Actress"
"Best Original Screenplay"
"Best Sound Design"

► Directed by: Mickael Abbate

• lesfilmsmichelangelo@gmail.com
• Official Instagram

Life is like a pendulum swing between suffering and boredom.

"Best Experimental Film"

► Directed by: َAmir Ahmad Kheiri

• kheiriamirahmad@gmail.com

Zoé exists between starkly contrasting realms: the glittering facade of the virtual world and the raw, unfiltered reality. In the digital sphere, she shines as a celebrated influencer, while in the tangible world, she is an immigrant actress confronting the harsh truths of life and self. Zoé's journey through these opposing landscapes is a relentless pursuit of the elusive essence of true happiness

"Best Short Film"
"Best Director"
"Best Actress"
"Best Editing"
"Best Original Soundtrack"

► Directed by: Sisy M Gomez Peña

• sisyfilms@gmail.com
• Official Website

Achilles is driven by a relentless pursuit of monetary gain, unaware of the profound secrets that lie hidden within his own past. As his journey unfolds, he gradually unravels the tragic truths that have shaped his life, leading to a reckoning with identity, revenge, and the consequences of his choices.

"Best Short Film"

► Directed by: َChristos (Chris Prantza) Prantzalos

• chrisprantza2017@gmail.com
• Official Website

During a wave of chilling murders in Vienna, two seemingly different people develop an unlikely fascination for each other.

"Best Short Film"

► Directed by: Kevin Thaliyath

• kevinthaliyath@yahoo.com
• Official Instagram

A single mother is forced to confront her dark past, while raising her young Autistic son. Shot and Set in Glasgow during the pandemic. The director herself and her son play the lead roles.

"Best Covid-19 Film"

► Directed by: َEve Natasha Leonard-Walsh

• evelnrd@yahoo.com

A community comes together to express the many affectations of living with cancer and to herald the science that will one day find a cure.

"Best Dance Video", "Best Experimental Film"

► Directed by: Ian Sciacaluga

• iansciaca@gmail.com
• Watch on Vimeo

An experiential psychological drama which follows an astute girl Manu and her beyond reasoning connection with her therapist Neelima. In covid lockdown, confinement of walls forces Neelima to face existential crisis within and without and Manu who has a history of mental illness now pushed to face her innermost demons. Do they succumb to their demons or do they find something else together? ‘Asmin (In It Now)’ is a mini-feature length film which explores the value of real human connections amidst the various layers of walls, imposed confinement (due to a virus) and digital separation is only a symbolism perhaps to show how we are evolving to be but inside we all seek and need real humanness, human touch, human presence.

"Best Feature Film", "Best Director", "Best Actress"

► Directed by: Roopa Rao

• roopabharadwaj@gmail.com

A coming-of-age short surrealist drama about a girl stuck between order and passion.
In a pure, ideal world full of rules, one schoolgirl is tempted to get a forbidden kiss and then faces the consequences of her behaviour.

"Best Short Film", "Best Director", "Best Composer", "Best Original Screenplay"

► Directed by: Charlotte Vacková

• charlotte.vackova@gmail.com
• Official Website

"Best Feature Documentary", "Best Director Debut", "Best Editing", "Best Cinematography", "Best Color Editing"

► Directed by: َCatarina Accioly

• steliosproducoes@gmail.com
• Watch on Vimeo

A gambler enters into a Russian gang war

"Best Short Film"
"Best Thriller"

► Directed by: Edward Bryson

• edwardbryson969@gmail.com

In 1923, Columbia was the seat of higher education in Missouri. But after a white girl was raped, the town lost its mind AND its innocence when thousands of people lynched an innocent black man before trial. Could the town regain its reputation by convicting the ringleaders?

"Best Feature Screenplay"

► Written by: َDoug Hunt, Joe Rufo

• josephjrufo@gmail.com
• Official Website

Meteorite transform a teen into something more in a quest to save the French Queen and determine the new king of France..

"Best Feature Screenplay"

► Written by: Reid J. Barwick

• reidwick@aol.com

Logline:
A young woman discovers a developer is plotting to take her home and disrupt her mystic legacy and inheritance.

Synopsis:
A young woman and her father of Norwegian descendants hold a particular dominion over a private lake and land parcel in Northern Michigan. Four other families of Scandinavian own the surrounding parcels which are tied to a compact agreed by their ancestors to keep the land primal and limited access and outside developments.
This is disrupted when a local aggressive and ambitious real estate developer and his new client decide that father and daughter are impediments to breaking the compact and their vision for the surrounding land a lake.
The young woman has developed at reputation as the best fishing guide in the area in the short time since she has returned from a previous life. She is introduced to her mystic past and heredity during a moonlight fishing event where a water spirit toys with her and her kayak on the lake. She is forced out of the kayak before the spirit forces the it crashes on some rocks. Discovered by her father in the morning, he realizes his own story with the spirit as a warning of something unsettling is happening in their universe.

"Best Feature Screenplay"

► Written by: َReid J Barwick

• reid54wick@gmail.com

Dramatic fiction about how we as human beings make our decisions in whatever situation we are exposed to in our daily lives and what happens within each person when he makes a decision about something.

"Best Short Film"
"Best Drama"
"Best Director"
"Best Editing"

► Directed by: Mahmoud Farid

• mffilmmaker.22@gmail.com
• Official Instagram

"Between Frames" is a university project exploring the theme: "We see what we do not see." The film visualises the inner, unseen sides of individuals, portraying life as a theatre where our faces are the stage and emotions are the actors. Through the metaphor of masks, the film reveals how we conceal and reveal our true selves daily. It delves into the hidden emotional experiences behind our outward performances, offering a profound glimpse into the depths & complexity of human identity.

"Best Student Film"

► Directed by: َMahsa Zarififar

• mahsazarififar@gmail.com
• Official Website

A skeptical doctor's life takes a hilarious turn when he's tasked with unraveling the mysteries of the universe. Embarking beyond the confines of science with a crew of outsiders, he discovers that the key to unlocking enlightenment lies in embracing the unknown.

"Best Feature Screenplay"

► Written by: Jenny Bess

• jbmcknight95@gmail.com

Isabelle is a violinist-beekeeper in the Ouessant island. She protect her bees and she inspire her daughter with stories and legend about honey bees....

"Best Animation"

► Directed by: َERWAN LE GAL

• legalerwan@gmail.com
• Official Website

The Esteemed Priority is a short, animated film using silhouette puppets on a journey that shows the true meaning of love.
Treatment:
The Esteemed Priority is a short stop motion animated film using silhouettes paper cut puppets in the classic tradition of the filmmaker Lotte Reiniger. It’s a story as old as time but just as timely. In today’s world where the chaos of hate, prejudice, and racism is everywhere we ask the questions, “what is love? Is what we call love, really love? How do you know? Is there a means to measure or determine if we truly love something or someone?” Yes, there is a way, and this makes love – the priority of highest esteem. A man went on a journey….

"Best Black & White Film"

► Directed by: Al Bohl

• al@albohl.com
• Official Website

A young woman discovers that her trip into the night changes radically when she almost hits a drifter with her car.

"Best Short Screenplay"

► Written by: َRaymond Zachariasse

• rzachariasse@hotmail.com
• Official Website

An Experimental film with A non linear take on Hero's journey concept in combination with Rashomon effect. The CEO of an Aerospace company investigates the case of a missing laptop from his office that contains highly confidential information. As 9 employees are interrogated, the truth unravels to reveal a surprising twist.

"Best Experimental Film"

► Directed by: Jagadeesh Kanna Gopikrishna

• jaggu.ceo@vaayusastra.com
• Official Website

Cheri-lee is inconsolable when her Granny Daisy dies.
As Daisy ascends, she sees Cheri-lee’s grief, and returns
as a little white egg that transforms into a butterfly.
A metamorphosis that mirrors Cheri-lee’s stages of grief

"Best Symbolic Film"

► Directed by: َDiek Grobler

• biancajulietteo@gmail.com

Mike's dream of finding love comes true when he meets Cindy, changing his life forever.

"Best Romance"
"Best Short Film"

► Directed by: Michael Parks

• warewolfhouse043@gmail.com
• Official Website

Through the investigation of the murder of three Afghan women in Evros, the film also investigates the changes of land use, the militarization of the space, the river and the economy on the occasion of the refugee through testimonies of people who live and work there. These stories are tied around the transformation of the silkworm into a butterfly

"Best Feature Documentary"

► Directed by: َGEORGIOS KERAMIDIOTIS

• georgekeramidiotis@yahoo.gr

Faced with the silence of holy nature, miscellaneous thoughts melt away. Mind kills breath. That is the 'Touching' we have lost. Touching runs along the water.
The mother, who lost her only son, starts her day with climbing. A haenyeo(woman diver) in her 70s says that going underwater are daily life and the way to heaven. Their lives flow through the water. Following the flow, there are mountains in the sea and the sea flows in the mountains. After all, we know that there are no boundaries in the world.

"Best Feature Documentary"
"Best Director"

► Directed by: Jaeun(Jay) Chin

• document9433@naver.com

At the turning of the century, single mother Luzinete, a cocaine addict and dealer in Salvador, Brazil finds out she is also HIV positive. Through a keyhole we are then invited to enter her world and more precisely, to follow her last living hours filled with substance abuse, solitude and deceit. The story glimpses at the unbroken bond between Nete, our main character and her sister Cee and the love she shares with her only son Raphael.
Sent to prison a couple of times Nete’s world is colourful but equally deceiving, slippery and dangerous. Despite her constant attempts to better herself, her friendship choices were not the wisest.

"Best Drama"
"Best Director"

► Directed by: َCarla Di Bonito

• cdibonito@hotmail.co.uk

Mysterious figures dance within a shrouded, watery world of textures. Hidden images reverberate with accompanying sounds of glass harmonica.

"Best Experimental Filmr"

► Directed by: Steve Socki

• ssocki@cdm.depaul.edu