The 2025 Shortlist

As it was, still is

Entered in Documentary category

In a steam-filled dye yard in Luton, a lone artisan continues a generations-old tradition, dyeing hats fit for royalty.

Showing on Sunday 28th September

Director: Rose Palmer, Harriet Shawcross
Producer: Rose Palmer, Harriet Shawcross

Duration: 8 minutes 03 seconds
Genre: Arts, history
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 31st December 2024
Production budget: £1,000   

Bonfire

Entered in Young Film-maker category

November 5th. Ethan, a young boy, expects to miss the Bonfire. Unbeknownst to him, tragedy is occurring, and this will be the night his life changes forever.

Showing on Sunday 28th September

Director: Jake Mark
Writer: Jake Mark
Producer: Jake Mark
Cast: Kaleb Walker, Maria Sykes, Jessica Faye

Duration: 6 minutes
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 10th January 2025
Production budget: £1,500   

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Connect 4

Entered in North West Filmmaker category

"It’s the final of the Connect 4 World Championships and the pressure has become too much for Frank. A nervous breakdown in a toilet cubicle sees his chances of defeating the 3-time Russian grandmaster diminish fast.<br><br>If he has any chance of taking down his rival, the tough love of his 3 childhood friends is going to have to revive him. Fast.<br><br>If the enormity of the occasion wasn’t enough to break him, then the demons from his Connect 4 consumed childhood might just do it.<br><br>His friends might not have it in them to rouse him, but perhaps there is one person who can. Frank’s childhood tormentor. Dad."

Showing on Saturday 27th September

Director: Matt Green
Writer: Matt Green
Producer: Marcus Johnson
Cast: Ronan Taylor, Liam Grunshaw, Louie Stowe, Ariana Parr, Kyle Briggs, Adam Hounsells

Duration: minutes
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Production budget: £5,000   

Daniel Bonner: Becoming Muay Thai World Champion

Entered in Documentary, North West Filmmaker category

This is a short docu-film following World title contender Dan Bonner as he prepares for the WBC Muay Thai world boxing title. A personal film following Dan and his trainer, coach, and family over the course of two months as they provide an insight into what it takes to be a fighter. This is a story about pure grit, focus, determination, discipline and sacrifice to become the WBC Champion of the World.

Showing on Sunday 28th September

Director: Paul Chadwick
Producer: Paul Chadwick, Mark Dickson
Cast: Daniel Bonner

Duration: 14 minutes 41 seconds
Genre: observational documentary, documentary, short documentary, sports documentary, factual, lifestyle, niche sports
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 20th September 2024

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G.S.W.

Entered in Drama category

A man is dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound when the paramedic treating him discovers he's the perpetrator of a school shooting at her child's primary school, which puts her in an impossible situation.

Showing on Saturday 27th September

Director: Jonny Durgan
Writer: Jonny Durgan
Producer: Harvey Ascott, Mark O'Sullivan
Cast: Genevieve O’Reilly, Kya Brame, Gemma Whelan, Duncan Meadows

Duration: 6 minutes 57 seconds
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 3rd July 2025
Production budget: £13,000   

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GOT GUTS

Entered in Comedy category

On the evening of a much anticipated first date, May is tormented by the symptoms of her IBS. As much as she soldiers on, her stomach is hell-bent on flushing her night down the toilet.

Showing on Saturday 27th September

Director: Georgia Leigh-Taylor
Writer: Georgia Leigh-Taylor
Producer: Georgia Leigh-Taylor, Luke Bather
Cast: Rachel Isbister, Alyssia Jarvis

Duration: 6 minutes 26 seconds
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 25th November 2024
Production budget: £100   

Gardening

Entered in Animation category

In the aftermath of sexual assault, a woman retreats into the garden of her mind. Searching for answers and struggling to do 'the right thing', she realises that she must regain her voice and find new paths to healing, before she and her garden are destroyed completely.

Showing on Saturday 27th September

Director: Sarah Beeby
Writer: Louisa Wood
Producer: Jo Lewis
Cast: Evanna Lynch, Chetna Pandya, Simon Mc Burney, Freddie Fox, Speech Debelle, Ellen Thomas

Duration: 13 minutes 54 seconds
Genre: Drama, Fantasy
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 6th March 2024
Production budget: £110,000   

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Ingest

Entered in Horror category

Whilst clearing through his dead Dad's apartment, David discovers an unmarked videotape. Which, upon playing, draws him to a sinister self-reflection.

Showing on Sunday 28th September

Director: Callum Wilkins
Writer: Callum Wilkins
Producer: Callum Wilkins, Matthew Reese, Elliot Lush, Bradley Yorke
Cast: William Osbeldiston-Hawkes

Duration: 6 minutes
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 19th November 2024
Production budget: £300   

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Life Isn't My Friend But We Get On

Entered in Comedy category

In a world where people's lives are personified, Gina's frustration with her own unbearable Life drives her to attempt the ultimate breakup...

Showing on Saturday 27th September

Director: Julie Magnaudet
Writer: Julie Magnaudet
Producer: Nathan M. Legger
Cast: Afsaneh Dehrouyeh, Busayo Ige

Duration: 9 minutes
Genre: Comedy
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 18th December 2024
Production budget: £1,500   

Memory Box

Entered in Young Film-maker category

After opening a box of toys and being plunged into his childhood memories, Caleb must come face-to-face with his child self and acknowledge his father’s shortcomings if he is to become a good dad himself.

Showing on Sunday 28th September

Director: Davide Alonge
Writer: Gonçalo Góis
Producer: Esther Elbornova
Cast: Sam Rowlands, Benji Trelogan, Gabriel Bird, Zoë Lerman, Jo Fergie, Hannah-Mae Engstrom

Duration: 10 minutes 17 seconds
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 29th April 2025
Production budget: £3,000   

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One Night Stand

Entered in Drama category

Set in an elite British Drama School, A desperate, out of his depth, wannabe actor, is used by his tutor for his own personal desires.

Showing on Saturday 27th September

Director: Michael J. Long
Writer: Michael J. Long
Producer: Tom Sidney, Michael J. Long
Cast: Tom Sidney, Lauren Darbyshire, Matt Holt

Duration: 14 minutes 42 seconds
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 20th January 2025

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Pegs & Bacon

Entered in North West Filmmaker category

"Pegs & Bacon is a heartwarming short documentary about May, an 84-year-old shopkeeper who has been the heart and soul of her small farm shop - nestled in a quiet Yorkshire village along the Pennine Way - for over fifty years. More than just a place to buy essentials, May's shop is a cornerstone of the community.<br><br>Whatever the Yorkshire weather might be doing, May's treasure trove offers a warm welcome and a real sense of belonging for the locals who depend on her. Driving along the narrow lanes in her trusty Subaru, delivering to her local community, still represents freedom to May, who has no plans to retire.<br><br>As the world changes around her, May remains a steadfast presence, a living legend behind the counter. Through intimate moments and the gentle rhythm of village life, Pegs & Bacon captures the essence of resilience, kindness, and the quiet power of human connection in an ever-evolving world."

Showing on Saturday 27th September

Director: Sarah Nicola Mason
Producer: Holly Tarquini

Duration: 9 minutes 18 seconds
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 21st February 2025
Production budget: £300   

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Remember

Entered in International category

Hasan has lost his family in a tragic accident. However, the deep-rooted fear of dying alone prevents him from accepting this reality. By denying their absence, he creates a world in his mind where he believes they will return one day. In time, this dream becomes the only reality for him, and Hasan starts to disconnect from the real world without realizing it.

Showing on Sunday 28th September

Director: Huseyin Kupeli
Writer: Huseyin Kupeli
Producer: Huseyin Kupeli
Cast: Metin Avci, Bora Arazli, Sinem Aral

Duration: 14 minutes 48 seconds
Country of filming: Turkey
Completion date: 17th July 2025

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Rock Paper Scissors Death

Entered in Horror, North West Filmmaker category

A man wakes up in a deadly game of Rock Paper Scissors. Again. He’s been here before, won before, and honestly? He’s over it. Tired of the endless life-or-death rounds, he just wants to lose this time and call it a day. But convincing his fellow players to let him lose isn’t as easy as it sounds, especially with an unseen psychopath pulling the strings and everyone else taking the game way too seriously. Can he trick reason with them and save their lives? Or will he be stuck in this deadly game of Rock Paper Scissors Death forever?

Showing on Sunday 28th September

Director: Dayle Saunders
Writer: Andrew Walker
Producer: Dayle Saunders
Cast: Jay McMahon, Lottie Osborn, Michael Saynor

Duration: 4 minutes 25 seconds
Genre: Horror, Comedy, Gore
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 10th December 2024
Production budget: £500   

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Rocket Fuel

Entered in Comedy category

"Set on a Bradford estate, Lenny and Mullet find an abandoned car and turn it into a DIY spaceship.<br><br>A kitchen-sink science-fiction comedy about estate childhoods, big dreams, and escaping without going anywhere. "

Showing on Saturday 27th September

Director: Jordon Scott Kennedy
Writer: Jordon Scott Kennedy
Producer: Casey Shaw
Cast: Elif Riley, Logan Ludbrook, Shaun Thomas, Danny Cunningham

Duration: 14 minutes 45 seconds
Genre: Comedy, Sci-Fi, Coming of Age, Social Realism, Kitchen Sink, drama, Children's
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 20th May 2025

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Side by Side

Entered in International category

Side by Side

Showing on Sunday 28th September

Director: Amir Raisian
Writer: Amir Raisian
Producer: Amir Raisian
Cast: Ramin Rastad

Duration: 11 minutes 55 seconds
Country of filming: Iran, Islamic Republic of
Completion date: 15th August 2024
Production budget: $10,000 USD   

Sleepyhead

Entered in Drama category

17-year-old Rae is chronically ill, and chronically awesome. She spends her days fantasising about all the things she’d rather be doing in bed (like Timothee Chalamet, for example…) and how she might orchestrate the untimely deaths of her incompetent doctors. When her best friends turn out to be massive arseholes and her mum struggles to believe her, Rae has to summon enough persistence to get a wheelchair so she can get the hell out of her suffocating bedroom. Sleepyhead is an honest dark comedy that captures the uniquely complex reality of becoming disabled.

Showing on Saturday 27th September

Director: Milly Garnier
Writer: Charlotte Paradise
Producer: Millie Marsh
Cast: Olivia Marcus, Debbie Chazen, Joséphine-Fransilja Brookman, Lou Lou Aherne, Campbell Wallace

Duration: 10 minutes 10 seconds
Genre: Drama, Comedy Drama, Dark Comedy
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 28th September 2023

Softy

Entered in North West Filmmaker category

Desperate for change, 13-year-old Camran takes extreme measures to secure a better future for himself and his dad.

Showing on Saturday 27th September

Director: Joshua Reeves
Writer: Joshua Reeves
Producer: Chris Lane, Tyrone Wright
Cast: Ashley Walters, Jackie Knowles, Joseph Obasohan, Indiya Rowe, Brook Debio, Kelise Gordon-Harrison

Duration: 13 minutes 16 seconds
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 17th January 2025
Production budget: £50,000   

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Sucker

Entered in Horror category

Juni, a cannibal, lures men and women to her home with the promise of a good time without them realising they're her next meal. But what happens when she encounters one of her own?

Showing on Sunday 28th September

Director: Fae Al-Kalamchi
Writer: Fae Al-Kalamchi
Producer: Louis Neethling
Cast: Tianah Hodding

Duration: 12 minutes 23 seconds
Genre: Gore, Deaf, Deaf Culture, Deaf Film, Comedy, Horror
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 19th March 2025

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The 12 Inch Pianist

Entered in Animation category

A bar joke goes awry, unraveling into a surreal tale that explores the acceptance of self, others, and queer identity.

Showing on Saturday 27th September

Director: Lucas Ansel

Duration: 7 minutes 28 seconds
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Fantasy
Country of filming: United States, United States
Completion date: 1st March 2025
Production budget: $5,000 USD   

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The Man That I Wave At

Entered in Comedy category

A man has an existential crisis trying to work out who the mysterious man is that he waves at.

Showing on Saturday 27th September

Director: Ben Stephen Hyland
Writer: Ben Stephen Hyland
Producer: Guy William Sime Lindley, Jade Nicole Way, Lydia Kay
Cast: Sam Pamphilon, Marek Larwood, Rebecca Shorrocks

Duration: 10 minutes 38 seconds
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 23rd May 2025
Production budget: £7,000   

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This Werewolf Complex

Entered in Documentary category

A moving image and sound portrait of the aura; seizures in focused parts of the brain that result in sensory, physical and emotional disturbances, sometimes acting as warnings for convulsive seizures that may occur. Told through the voices of individuals who experience this phenomena, the film provides an intimate discussion on the different forms of aura experienced, the social stigma around these and the potential positive impact it can make on artistic expression.

Showing on Sunday 28th September

Director: Heather E Andrews
Producer: Heather E Andrews, Anna Hunter, Fraser Morton

Duration: 15 minutes
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 10th September 2024
Production budget: £2,000   

Tig!

Entered in North West Filmmaker category

Jessie and Simon are not the best of friends, but when their primary school is invaded by aliens they must put aside their differences and work together to save the day.

Showing on Saturday 27th September

Director: Chris Wright, Will Shelmerdine
Writer: Loomy Amar, Sol Woodstock, Poppy Ormesher, Nareen Lakshmanan, John Metcalfe, Edith Myall, Eva Hopkins Dow, Jacob Pyne, Tyler Yeates, Ian Martin
Producer: Will Shelmerdine, Chris Wright, Adam Newton
Cast: Felicity Jones, Henry Matthews

Duration: 14 minutes 56 seconds
Genre: Sci-fi, Comedy, Horror
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 3rd June 2024
Production budget: £2,500   

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Wavelength

Entered in Animation category

"Two people tune into each other across the noise of the world. When the signal fades, what remains?<br><br>A story of connection built not on certainty, but on echoes, pauses, and the quiet rhythm of shared moments. A relationship told through the subtle shifts of presence and absence, of intimacy and distance, and the traces we learn to hear when someone is gone."

Showing on Saturday 27th September

Director:
Writer: Benjamin Verrall
Producer: Kate Auster, Ruth Marshall

Duration: 3 minutes 42 seconds
Genre: Drama
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 30th May 2025
Production budget: £10,000   

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Ya Hanouni

Entered in Young Film-maker category

While the Mom and the Dad try to put their baby to sleep, a competition arises between them: who will manage to get the baby to say the first word?

Showing on Sunday 28th September

Director: Lyna Tadount, Sofian Chouaib
Writer: Lyna Tadount, Sofian Chouaib
Cast: Norlhoda Dali, Omar Salem

Duration: 3 minutes
Country of filming: Not Specified
Completion date: 1st August 2024

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Yam and Egg

Entered in International category

On the anniversary of his sister's death during a police protest, Gbenga, a Nigerian immigrant living in London, battles survivor's guilt.

Showing on Sunday 28th September

Director: Emily Nkanga
Writer: Olawale Adetula
Producer: Olawale Adetula, Andre Wooz
Cast: Tomisin Ajani, Treasure Obasi-Johnson

Duration: 13 minutes 46 seconds
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 8th September 2024
Production budget: £30,000   

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unWRECKed

Entered in International category

"unWRECKed is a story of change, resilience, and creating beauty from destruction.<br><br>Blending underwater imagery with personal narrative, this artistic meditation explores the journey of transformation, and reinvention by drawing a parallel between the transformation of underwater wrecks and overcoming adversity in life.<br><br>The story is rooted in the filmmaker's personal journey - from a traumatic corporate experience to finding peace in freediving and nature. Through the lens of water, movement and vibrant marine life, unWRECKed invites the audience to consider their connection with the nature, self, and community, and view adversity as an opportunity for reinvention and creation."

Showing on Sunday 28th September

Director: Bingqian Gao
Writer: Nate Leazer
Producer: Bingqian Gao
Cast: Bingqian Gao

Duration: 3 minutes
Genre: short shorts, underwater, experimental
Country of filming: Dominica, Greece, Indonesia
Completion date: 17th April 2025

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