Independent Shorts Awards

For It Is Written

Sweden,1891. Beatrice lives alone on the family farm where she is constantly abused by Joel from the nearby village. One day, Olof – Beatrice’s brother – returns after a long stay in America. Haunted by his experiences in the Indian Wars, Olof is out for blood when he finds out what has transpired while he was away.
Directed by Daniel Ståhl (Sweden)

The Obituarist

A millennial journalist still lives at home while working as an obituary writer, a job she loves – until she makes a massive error that forces her to deal with the repercussions while also facing the fact that she’s working in a dying art form.
Directed by Shannan Leigh Reeve (USA)

Aunty Ji

Parveen is a lonely Parsi widow while Geetika is an acid attack survivor, they both belong to entirely different worlds, but destiny brings them together to make them realize that they share a lot more than what meets the eye.
Directed by Adeeb Rais (India)

God is Horny

Katrin Butt shows paar, people, a performance, players a Szene as a non, she says she wants to sleep with God. Then you can see Katrin Butt sleeping with God.
Directed by Katrin Butt (Austria)

Born To Die

In the not too distant future, The Bournemount corporation, a technologically formidable corporation, creates a powerful but unreliable experiment. And so, they decide to destroy it. However, assistant scientist, Colin Kampf, believes that this is wrong and steals it. Bournemount notices and sends everyone out after him to retrieve what is rightfully theirs.
Directed by Thomas McQuillan (UK)

Whispers

An incredibly handsome and charming individual gets misquoted as a Messiah.
Written by Tom Hackett (Canada)

Gold From the Sky

2067AD, a global group of young​ astronomers discover an impending​ catastrophic event and ​suddenly find themselves at odds with the Global Order as they attempt to save the world.
Directed by Jason De Ford (USA)

Rwanda, an African Metamorphosis

The film showcases the vision of a small African country to focus on developing a knowledge-based economy linking technology with culture to drive a vibrant economy with inclusive prosperity for all. Rwanda’s economic emergence in the aftermath of the genocide has been extraordinary, and it is now recognized as a model for economic development across the continent.
This short film highlights success stories in Rwanda, with a focus on the nation’s rising class of entrepreneurs who are developing new kinds of business models in diverse sectors, including renewable energy, drones, fashion, and transportation.
Directed by Omino Gardezi (USA)

RIFT

Growing up isn’t always easy. What scared this little boy? Woke him up in the middle of the night? Made it hard for him to breath and his heart skip a beat? What made his nightmare never-ending? What made him fall into the deep abyss in his dream? The nightmare scared him, but after waking up he discovered that his parents had disappeared. What happened to them? Is he next?
There are no major scenes in the film and not many characters. There is only a big house and a lonely child. The confined space pushes the poor child to have a split personality. During this dark night without his parents at home, we are left only with its unforgettable scenes and a shadow of loneliness. What caused the rift between parent and child? Was it the child’s alienation from his parents or their lewd behavior?
Directed by Yuanyuan Sun (China)

Inertia

At the height of John ‘Gravitas’ Clearwater’s MotoGP career, an accident ended it all. At the age of 40, John decides that it’s now or never for his MotoGP dream, much to the chagrin of his wife, Jean.
Directed by Patrick Gatling (Australia)