Tan Ce Ding
A young scam call operator is thrust into a moral dilemma as she navigates a life-changing situation.
Margareth Villers
Correctness-loving Eve and careless Leida are colleagues and opposites, working every day side by side at a small town library. During a casual word game between the two, prideful Leida's factually wrong answer about Numbats' habitat upsets Eve. Unfortunately for her, the book that could end the debate is missing. Unanswered calls to the book borrower and Leida's smirks set her off on a hunt for the book. An absurd adventure to prove her co-worker wrong begins and takes unusual turns until the very end.
Elliott Gonzo & Elliot Warren
In east London, Danny, a man juggling fatherhood and addiction, is unexpectedly left to look after his daughter Jess for the night. Danny makes a risky decision to involve her in a dangerous job for a much-needed paycheck.
WINNER: Katie Blair
Imogene is a single, free-spirited New Yorker in her 40s. Unprompted, her absurdly traditional family thrusts a pregnancy on her. But all that can be expected from Imogene is the unexpected.
Jason Hogan
Emily, a homeless ballet dancer, undertakes a potentially life-changing audition. In the audition room, she is identified as the girl wearing the number twenty. She is graceful and poised, yet in the outside world, she struggles to find somewhere to sleep, let alone focus on her art. Twenty is the story of the girl behind the number.
Florian Nick
In Iceland, thousands of highly trained volunteers dedicate themselves to rescuing people in danger, responding to around 1,500 callouts every year. They are normal people with jobs and families, ready to operate day and night. No call for help goes unanswered. Beyond Hope portrays the heroic work of the Icelandic Association for Search & Rescue and explores the physical and emotional challenges of its members.
Jean Chapiro
Since 1964, almost 250,000 people have disappeared in Mexico and over 100,000 have not been found, with thousands of people across the country still looking for their loved ones. Three years after her daughter Rubi went missing in Orizaba, Veracruz, Araceli Salcedo decided to start a collective in her own community, which today counts 350 members - 90% of them being mothers - and which has to this day successfully found several people alive, returned bodies, and spotted clandestine graves. However, most of these women have not found their children. One of the coping and healing mechanisms that Araceli created for the mothers in her collective are muñecos sanadores ('healing dolls'), representing each of their children and serving as a tool to help them navigate the void that their loved ones left behind.
Jordan Matthew Horowitz
Jack and Sam is a poignant documentary about two Holocaust survivors miraculously reunited after 80 years. Now in their late 90s, they are spending the precious time they have left rekindling their friendship and educating others about the dangers of hatred. Mixing documentary, archival, and breathtaking animation, this heartwarming story explores the enduring power of connection and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable adversity.
WINNER: Olawunmi Hassan & Adaobi Samson
Ìrún Dídì showcases hair plaiting as a profound art form, with each plait being crafted with love and artistic expression. Delving into the connection between hair plaiting and self-love, the film showcases the stories woven into each braid, reflecting personal narratives, social status, and ancestral ties, highlighting how this craft is passed down through generations, preserving cultural identity. From traditional Yoruba techniques to modern interpretations, Ìrún Dídì traces the evolution of this timeless art, as it becomes a sacred ritual of self-care and empowerment.
Kayla Robinson
In the era of critical race theory being challenged, books banned and history watered down, it’s important, more now than ever, that the responsibility of teaching Black History go beyond the educational institution. My mother, Karen Hinton Robinson, is a shining example of this. A historian and skilled quilter, she has used her talents to create beautiful works of art to educate for decades.
Annie Roth
In a small rural town in Pennsylvania, the refuge of a rare salamander and the only source of clean drinking water for 700 people is threatened by the installation of a fracking waste injection well, prompting community members to band together and mount an epic fight for the rights of their people and nature.
Palmer Morse
Shayla, a passionate Unangax̂ scientist, delves into vital research concerning toxic shellfish—a staple Indigenous food for the Unangan people, and her unwavering dedication to preserving her ancestral traditions, culture, and the health of her community. As she investigates the complex interplay of climate change, toxins, and traditional knowledge, Usugilix Awakun illuminates the profound connection between the Unangax̂ people and their environment, showcasing the resilience and resourcefulness of a culture in the face of unprecedented challenges.
WINNER: Solmund MacPherson
Wildmen of the Greater Toronto Area follows a group of Toronto citizens fed up with the rising cost of living who are renouncing their personhood en masse to legally become animals, forming a society of "Wildmen" in the city's vast ravine network.
Curtis Essel
Spanning Wales, Uganda and Germany, The Permaculturist sees vegan chef, permaculture enthusiast, and content creator Gaz Oakley meet permaculture expert Bemeriki Dusabe, a Congolese refugee who has been living in a settlement in Uganda for the last 16 years, where he has set up a foundation teaching others how to grow their food — a testament to the incredible strength of the human spirit in the face of adversity.
Myles Storey
Amongst the hustle and bustle of Kuala Lumpur lies an isolated forest which is home to gibbons, one of our closest living relatives. Gibbons live in small family groups and mated pairs sing duets every morning in a coordinated fashion, but this isolated forest only has one song. Finding Solo follows the search for Solo, a white-handed gibbon believed to be the last of his kind in this patch of forest, discovering in the process the uniqueness of this species and witnessing the direct impact of human development on their lives.