Showcase of the best FILMS in the world today.
Audience Award Winners:
Best Feature Film: ONE SECOND AT A TIME: BATTLING THE MONSTER OF ADDICTION
Best Short Form Short Film: SALTY LIVES
Best Long Form Short Film: HATE CAN KILL
Best Cinematography: UNCANNY VALLEY: SAUVAGE
Best Direction: BEAT
Best Sound & Music: SHEEP OVER VENICE PASTURES
Best Nature Film: TALES OF THE BOILING RIVER
Best Human Interest Film: NOTHING ELSE MATTERS
Best Political Film: MADLY IN DISSENT
Best Society Film: INVISIBLE CORPS
Best Story: FROM MY EYES
Watch the Audience Feedback Video for each film:
MADLY IN DISSENT, 86min., Czech Republic
Directed by Kirill Sakharnov
On August 25, 1968 Victor Fainberg joined seven other Soviet citizens in the legendary Red Square Demonstration to protest the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia. For his five minutes of freedom on the Red Square, Fainberg paid with five and a half years of solitary confinement and torture in a Soviet psychiatric prison. Diagnosed with “sluggish schizophrenia”, he experienced the most invasive form of Soviet repressions: punitive psychiatry. Disarmed by Fainberg’s combativity inside the “mental hospital”, his main psychiatrist started to play a double game to help his “patient” from the loneliness of his cell lead a global campaign against the political misuse of psychiatry. Pressured from the outside, Soviet authorities had no choice but release him: Fainberg was welcome in France as a political refugee where he successfully campaigned for the liberation of Eastern European dissidents and fought – along with leading French intellectuals – for the life and dignity of civilians in war zones (Chechnya, Bosnia, Ukraine). Victor Fainberg passed away in France in early 2023.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
SALTY LIVES, 4min., Uzbekistan
Directed by Rustam Meliev
The project aims to draw global attention to the impact of climate change on the women of the Aral Sea region, one of the most vulnerable areas affected by climate change. The former fourth-largest lake in the world, located in Uzbekistan, dried up in the 1980s and 1990s. This environmental catastrophe has affected the lives of millions, but the Karakalpak people have been affected more than others. Women in Karakalpakstan suffer from salt and pesticides that are released into the air from the former lakebed. The project wants to bring the world’s attention to their plight.
http://araldream.com/https://instagram.com/thearaldream
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
INVISIBLE CORPS, 57min., USA
Directed by Chris Schueler
Who protects the health of the citizens of the United States? This program explains the evolution of the Public Health Service and the PHS Commissioned Corps. Although invisible, they touch millions of lives every day: from fluoridated water to an America free of malaria. Narrated by Ali MacGraw, the program examines the importance of public health and how the USPHS Commissioned Corps role in health care, research and disaster relief keeps our country safe and healthy.
http://www.invisiblecorps.com/
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
HATE CAN KILL, 30min., Canada
Directed by Imtiaz Popat
Hate Can Kill is a documentary by Imtiaz Popat that looks at the community response to the murder of Nirmal Singh Gill, a caretaker at the Guru Nanak Gurudwara in Surrey BC by five white supremacist skinheads in 1998
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064075958428
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
SHEEP OVER VENICE PASTURES, 12min., USA
Directed by Alyse Arteaga
Lena Adams, aka “Sheepish Skater,” has been in Venice transitional housing for over five years. During this time, Lena rolls through the streets of Los Angeles in her truck, looking for people and a place to call home. Here, Lena finds her tribe of skaters who teach her to embrace her sheepishness and look for support.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
TALES OF THE BOILING RIVER, 16min., USA
Directed by Vitaliy Perunov
This is a story about the legends of the boiling river. According to legend the river is located in the heart of the amazon rain forest and is said to have spiritual and healing properties.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
UNCANNY VALLEY: SAUVAGE, 21min., USA
Directed by Anthony A DiMaria
Uncanny Valley is a series focusing on the culinary scene in Phoenix, Arizona. Sauvage is the second episode in the series, introducing the audience to owner and natural wine connoisseur, Chris Lingua. Learn about natural wine – what it is and how it is made – and discover the challenges and inspiration behind Chris’ journey of bringing natural wine to the city of Phoenix through creating the only all natural wine bar in the state: Sauvage.
https://instagram.com/uncannyvalleyseries
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
NOTHING ELSE MATTERS 22min., USA
Directed by Alexandra Nolen
In May of 2022 at just 34 years old, Patrick Behan, the head boys’ basketball coach at St. John’s College High School in Washington DC, was diagnosed with ALS. He was given just a year to live. While adjusting to the diagnosis and the devastating effects that comes with it, basketball has become a form of medicine for Patrick, as he looks to win his first championship in the most competitive high school basketball league in the country.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
BEAT, 23min., UK
Directed by Christopher Karallis
Beat looks into the world of Saul Eisenberg, musician and performer who turns the discarded junk of our city into instruments that make unique and beautiful sounds.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
FROM MY EYES, 98min., USA
Directed by Darrick Landreneau
When a freshman embarks on a journey to film everyday of college, he discovers that growing up might be harder than he ever imagined.
https://instagram.com/frommyeyes/
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
ONE SECOND AT A TIME: BATTLING THE MONSTER OF ADDICTION, 87min., USA
Directed by Tim Searfoss
A powerful documentary about a father and the resilience of his daughter Christine Ortoll as she confronts mental illness, addiction, and the transformative power of support. Through her personal journals and the unwavering dedication of her loved ones, witness a journey of hope and the creation of a meaningful legacy by her father.
https://www.onesecondatatime.com/
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
Documentary Film Festival. Los Angeles & Toronto 