Category: Best Student Film – 2025 WSXA Paris

(HONORABLE MENTION)

Original Film Title: Lost Haven

Director’s Name: Marisol Diaz

Writer’s Name: Marisol Diaz

Producer: Marisol Diaz

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 13 minutes 52 seconds

Film Description:

Lost Haven is a short film produced by Marisol Díaz-Gordon as she looks back at her father’s traumatic death due to COVID-19 at the beginning of Spring 2020 in New York.

Díaz-Gordon, with the use of black and white photography, openly presents moments of intimacy and venerability in her father’s home as she journeys to connect with what was there.

The short film captures her family’s messages to viewers on Facebook live during the Funeral viewing. Through video, voice-over and song, this short film touches on the agony of human loss.

(FINALIST)

Original Film Title: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (La insoportable levedad del ser)

Director’s Name: Marta Fidalgo

Writer’s Name: Marta Fidalgo

Producer: Marta Fidalgo

Country of Origin: Spain

Country of Filming: Spain

Language: Spanish

Runtime: 1 minute 17 seconds

Film Description:

THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING (URL English Version https://youtu.be/0nKk5IukIks or https://vimeo.com/1044576455) is an academic work of the School of Architecture of the Francisco de Vitoria University in Madrid, consisting of a video of less than 2 minutes recorded with a mobile phone.

It shows the reflection on the existential dilemma of the opposites included in the novel ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’ by Milan Kundera, ‘lightness and heavyness’, represented with two locations whose remodelling has improved the quality of life and brought social welfare.

The heavyness-Urban environment: ‘Plaza de España de Madrid’, a square whose remodelling has facilitated the pedestrian connection between green areas of the city.

The Lightness-Rural environment: ‘Campo de Golf Pozuelo’, an old rubbish dump converted by a citizens’ association into a 9-hole federated golf course, free and self-managed.

(FINALIST)

Original Film Title: Between Thoughts

Director’s Name: Audrey Whiteford-Woods

Writer’s Name: Audrey Whiteford-Woods

Producer: Audrey Whiteford-Woods

Country of Origin: France

Country of Filming: France

Language: English

Runtime: 3 minutes 9 seconds

Film Description:

Anna struggles with leaving the house due to her racing mind.

(FINALIST)

Original Film Title: Drawn Together Torn Apart

Director’s Name: Kaden Cooper

Writer’s Name: Kaden Cooper

Producer: Elle Seguin

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 2 minutes 13 seconds

Film Description:

In this whimsical tale, a young artist’s fantasy becomes reality when he awakens to find the girl from his sketch has come to life. As he marvels at this miraculous creation, a sudden gust of wind snatches away the drawing, causing his dream girl to vanish as quickly as she appeared. They are drawn together and torn apart.

(HONORABLE MENTION)

Original Film Title: Remembering Colin Stall

Director’s Name: Peter G Levine

Writer’s Name: Peter G Levine

Producer: Peter G Levine, Indeana Underhill

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 20 minutes 41 seconds

Film Description:

A young man’s decision to run away from home gets him wrapped up in the nefarious ritual of an elderly couple grieving their dead son.

(WINNER)

Original Film Title: Sloppy Joe

Director’s Name: Justin Buss

Writer’s Name: Justin Buss

Producer: Justin Buss, Idaho Film Collection

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 14 minutes 9 seconds

Film Description:

A personal chef strives to reignite joy in his dissatisfied client.