Independent Shorts Awards

In the cold, lost in the forest on a snowy mountain, three resistance fighters witness a life-changing event.
Directed by Hugo Diego Garcia (France)

“Hiraeth” is a short film whose story revolves around a refugee of war. This humanizing story briefly reveals some of the inner complexities of living outside one’s home country and highlights the struggle many refugees face when trying to make decisions in the best interest of their family. Hiraeth, true to its definition, is about more than mere homesickness; it’s about a deep connection one feels to their homeland and a longing to return to a place which is impossible to return to.
Directed by Teeshay (USA)

A young woman finds herself in a post-apocalyptic world completely alone. She spends her days barricaded in her apartment wondering about what is left in the outside world. When food, water, and sanity run dry, she is forced to venture out into the unknown.
Directed by Allysa Cole (USA)

A story of two writers… two generations. Kamalesh Roy, a writer who has seen his golden days, but has not written anything in the last 10 years. Natasha Sen, a young writer who interns and look up to Kamalesh Roy. The story mainly deals with the question, Who can claim the right to a story? The ‘one who experiences it’ or ‘the one who pens it down?’
Directed by Kankana Chakraborty (India)

Tohoku is rich in the scenery change by the four seasons in Japan. The contrast of the color of each season is unique to the snowy country. It is also known as “Shikisai”, and I have imaged colorful landscapes and seasonal festivals in Tohoku.
Directed by Kenichi Sasaki (Japan)

François, a young student, is arrested in the street by a stranger saying he needs medicine. François decides to give him a twenty-euro bill… but he is very far from suspecting the consequences of his gesture.
Directed by Guillaume Courty (France)

Zola is under pressure. Because of her high expectations of life, the young woman from Ghana is plagued by constant doubt and distrust of the outside world. One evening in a bar she suffers a panic attack and the only person who is there to help is her adopted sister…
Directed by Vivian Bausch (Austria)

Two young women who, following several traumatic life events, fall into two different parallel worlds. They meet first in their minds, then in reality, helping each other to find themselves again.
Directed by Margaux Fazio and Alexandra Nydegger (Switzerland)

This is a new spirit. Using your energy to connect people, learn and earn. This what Krishna baba always said. Not even started my trip to India and I met this incredible person on the airplane. He took me to an adventure full of good learning, health, and positiveness. Then I continue my trip. Approached to so many different kinds of people. Shaping my identity through this special way of life.
Directed by Moran Moradi (Israel)

They met, only to part. They parted, but did they meet again? A rendition of Sana and Samar’s story as they negotiate their lives and loves in a quest to find the true love of their lives.
Directed by Swagata Naik (India)

The film is about little children who stumble upon deadly terrorists while they are playing. Jay a teenage music lover who is their acquaintance is the only person they trust. So with his help and with their shear strength, passion and courage they are able to get the criminals arrested along with ammunition, bombs etc. In doing so, They rise much above their level in saving their town as well as thousands of people from a deadly disaster.
Directed by Misha Goswami Khosla (India)

Danila (Danny, a Russian immigrant, 47) hijacks a taxi cab on a Saturday night and rushes through Manhattan. Danny is furious – his young beautiful wife hasn’t come home yet again, Danny is convinced she is cheating. Unable to contain his fury and frustration anymore he drives the stolen taxicab prowling the notable spots of the city, including tourist magnets, in search for his chippy wife. All the while Danny is on the cell phone, engaged in a conversation with a friend – (Erik, an immigration lawyer, 40). The latter handled Danny’s case to obtain a green card and both men became friends. Erik acts as a personal psychoanalyst, a shoulder to cry on, as a friend, who listens to the emotional flood erupting from the cell phone and tries to calm Danny down. Erik seems to be aware of the problem and it is obvious the situation has been discussed between the two on a number of occasions in the past. This time everything seemingly played out following the old scenario and was moving towards a peaceful resolution. Erik nearly managed to calm down Danny and convince him to go home and wait for his wife there when, unexpectedly, Danny turns up, in the middle of a night, driving a stolen taxi, right at Erik’s doorstep.
Directed by Michael Vaynberg (USA)

Cities and countries in the world are acting to prevent the trillion liters of wastewater we discard annually to increase the temperature of our oceans.
Directed by Dom Cutrupi (Canada)