Independent Shorts Awards

Screenwriter faces his inner demons as he comes face to face with the characters he creates. He sinks deeper into the darkness of his mind before he realizes his own mistakes in his life.
Directed by C.J. Guerrero (USA)

Image standing beneath one of worlds greatest icons, the Canadian Rocky Mountains. I set out on an epic adventure to capture them in all their glory using a full frame 6K cinema camera. I wanted to encounter the towering mountains, the diverse range of wildlife and landscape, but had no idea what lay ahead of me. I quickly found myself trying to stay a head of the worst wild fire season on record as it came at me from all directions. The rain helped to temper these burning infernos, while at the same time, making it even more difficult to film. The distinction between rain and smoke became a real challenge.

If the forest fires and difficult terrain weren’t enough, when the camera arrived on location, part of the card reader was missing. Talk about difficult. This meant I had thirty minutes of storage for my whole shoot over seven days. My shot list literally went out the window and I had to very creatively come up with a new plan.

It truly was a test of fundamental film making, taking me back to the early days of my career. This was a lesson I needed I suppose, as it helped sharpen my skills. But the most important aspect of this journey was the gift of appreciation. It served as a reminder of just how precious these forests should be to us and I am so happy I can share them with everyone. 
Directed by John Banovich (Canada)

A cyborg woman risks everything to rescue her daughter – her clone – from a dystopian industrial facility. A metacinematic study in both sci-fi and the essay film, dealing with themes of identity, immigration, and the nature of cinema itself.
Directed by Marit Mei-tsan Stafstrom (USA)

On a seemingly regular morning, two lovers immersed in a clandestine life are at a crossroads.
Directed by Josh Romyn (Canada)

A small group of people are determined to protect their way of life. They know they are exposed to the worst stalking, because their enemy is nature dressed in Satanism and witchcraft. They will have to face that darkness only with the help of their faith, and fight against the unknown until their last breath.
Directed by Pol Barrós (Spain)

A race car driver with degenerating eyesight prepares for what may be his final race.
Directed by Wylie Rush (USA)

After a long journey through the desert, a young woman finds herself suddenly alone, and in the enemy’s sights.
Directed by Max Kleinman (USA)

Audrey, a young Hispanic woman living in what’s left of the American south, spends every day of her life fighting for her family. Her sister, Leah, is now only a remnant of what she used to be, and her grandmother, Sophia, wants nothing more than for her granddaughter to move on and try to have a better life.

But, Audrey can’t and won’t imagine any other life for herself. She is focused solely on caring for the only people she has left in the world, whether it’s by hunting for food, hauling water, chopping wood — or making difficult decisions.

In the end, Audrey is left with only one option to truly care for her family — and she has to take it.
Directed by Jason Winn (USA

A solitary soldier wanders aimlessly in a barren desert in search of his existence.
Directed by Robert Mann (USA)

Angelena Bonet is a warrior in the fight to end violence against women. With a fierce commitment to helping victims heal, and take back their life, she brings to bear a multitude of talents, wisdom and personal experience. Violence and tragedy are not strangers to Angelena. In 2007, the love of her life and her fiancé suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. In 2012, Angelena was the victim of a violent crime in her homeland. Only from the depths of her despair and darkest days has she truly found her voice and the courage to share about her experiences and to speak out about issues generally swept under the carpet by society. Angelena has multiple outlets for her commitment to supporting non-violence and health recovery. She sends a powerful message of self-love and healing and is proud to share her biopic documentary “Angelena: Change The World”, which she dedicates to her late fiancé and soul mate, Erick Deeby.
Directed by Angelena Bonet (Australia)

A mother’s love is endless.
Directed by Art Ornelas (USA)

An armed guy enters a rich man mansion looking for his bag. Inside the house, he’ll be surprised by what he founds.
Directed by Rodrigo Urriolagoitia (Bolivia)

A Neo-Faustian journey. A young boy sits transfixed before a TV Screen; Saturday Morning Western. The boy now a man, cowboy, minstrel, loner, roams a terrain, part antiquity and part modernity, searching for something. Approaching the mythic ideal, mocked by the devil.
Where have all the cowboys gone?
Is there room for this mythical figure within the modern sphere?
Directed by Drayden DeCosta (Canada)

This film was produced by young Japanese and Myanmar creators in Yangon. They challenged the very new concept in Myanmar, comedy-drama based on cooking battle. It is also a revenge story. Its important theme is Myanmar traditional catfish noodle “mohingar.” Young chef fights using his handmaid mohingar to revenge himself for his father’s death on big evil society which is ruling mohingar market in Myanmar by its automated technology.
Directed by Yuki Kitazumi and Aung Thu Rein (Myanmar)