Category: Best Student Film – 2024 WSXA PARIS

Original Film Title: Arachné

Director’s Name: Clara ZÄNGERLIN

Writer’s Name: Clara ZÄNGERLIN

Producer: Emile Cohl School

Country of Origin: France

Country of Filming: France

Language: French

Runtime: 3 minutes 56 seconds

Film Description:

Arachné is a famous weaver. One evening, as she thinks of a negative review of her work, her questions and anxieties appear in the form of a double spider that she fights throughout the night.

Original Film Title: LES AIGLES NE VOLENT PAS

Director’s Name: Robin FURSTENBERGER

Writer’s Name: Claïsse Mercier

Producer: Robin FURSTENBERGER

Country of Origin: France

Country of Filming: France

Language: French

Runtime: 12 minutes 21 seconds

Film Description:

The Eagles don’t fly, is a moving short film about the encounter between a French soldier in the Second World War and a child with a vivid imagination. In this story, the harshness and coldness of war are revealed through André, the soldier, while the child’s seeming innocence reveals unexpected depths.

This short film highlights the juxtaposition between the brutal reality of war, embodied by André, and the child’s whimsical perception. Through this touching encounter, the film explores the nuances of childlike innocence, revealing that it can sometimes mask a complex and profound understanding of reality.

“Les Aigles ne Volent pas” offers a poignant reflection on human interaction, the perception of reality and the consequences of war on the individual mind. This short film invites viewers to consider war through the prism of the child’s imagination, offering a unique and moving perspective on a subject that is often difficult to tackle.

Original Film Title: Gabriel Lynch: Where I’m Going Next

Director’s Name: Brayden Pope

Writer’s Name: Brayden Pope

Producer: Brayden Pope

Country of Origin: Australia

Country of Filming: Australia

Language: English

Runtime: 9 minutes 46 seconds

Film Description:

Gabriel Lynch is a singer-songwriter from Melbourne who has seen all the ups and downs of the music industry while trying to navigate his way through the Australian independent music scene. This is his story.

Original Film Title: Project Postero

Director’s Name: Lola J V Garratt

Writer’s Name: Siqi Wang

Producer: Siqi Wang

Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Country of Filming: United Kingdom

Language: English

Runtime: 10 minutes 22 seconds

Film Description:

Following a fragile victory against a pandemic zombie outbreak, Postero Laboratories claimed mandated licenses to experiment with the core properties of the Z-Virus on voluntary human subjects. To those with debilitating ailments, and terminal diagnoses, they promise healing and “eternal life”.

Original Film Title: A Balancing Act

Director’s Name: Matthew Thai Cheung

Writer’s Name: Matthew Thai Cheung

Producer:Matthew Thai Cheung

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: France

Language: French

Runtime: 10 minutes 10 seconds

Film Description:

As highliner, Nathan Paulin, prepares for his next show in the French Alps, he must learn to not only balance on the line, but also his family and work.

Original Film Title: Malas Hierbas

Director’s Name: Aleix Arazo, Eugenio Cuesta, Mahi García García, Sandra Martos, Cristina Merino, Ricard Molist, Didac Pardo

Writer’s Name: Cristina Merino, Ricard Molist

Producer: –

Country of Origin: Spain

Country of Filming: Spain

Language: Spanish

Runtime: 4 minutes 16 seconds

Film Description:

A badass granny rages a bloody war against the living dead, while her innocent grandchildren sleep peacefully unaware.

Original Film Title: 百川朝海

Director’s Name: Pengyu Yan, Hongdi Xiao

Writer’s Name: Yi Tian

Producer: Mengze Xia

Country of Origin: China

Country of Filming: China

Language: Chinese

Runtime: 24 minutes 20 seconds

Film Description:

Luo Min’s husband Wu Zheng passed away in a car accident, making it difficult to sustain the clothing store they jointly operate. After his divorce, Zhou Yong, who is responsible for clothing sales, returned to his hometown to relax and want to keep Luo Min’s shop and maintain his job. The two of them went down to the seaside at Zhao Yuqin’s request to scatter Wu Zheng’s ashes into the sea, fulfilling Wu Zheng’s last wish. Luo Min thought that she could gain a new life after her husband’s death, but found herself forgetting that although her husband died, she was still bound by morality and unable to embrace the true love of Zhou Yong in the past before her. Zhou Yong loved the woman in front of him, but he also loved his daughter and eventually returned to the big city.

Original Film Title: ONLY THE WIND KNOWS

Director’s Name: HUANG ZIYING

Writer’s Name: HUANG ZIYING

Producer: ZHANG ZHUOLIN

Country of Origin: Korea, Republic of

Country of Filming: Korea, Republic of

Language: Chinese, Korean

Runtime: 15 minutes 3 seconds

Film Description:

Original Film Title: 发光的鸟

Director’s Name: Zimeng Li, Ruixi Zhou

Writer’s Name: Zimeng Li, Ruixi Zhou

Producer: Peiyao Du

Country of Origin: China

Country of Filming: China

Language: Chinese

Runtime: 40 minutes 42 seconds

Film Description:

The luminous bird weaves together the three parts of this lyrical short film. In “Free Life,” it is a legend connecting life and death. In “Autumn Equinox,” it is a book of poetry penned in love. In “Cyan,” it is a band captured in a fleeting moment. Rather than rely on clichés, the film evokes subtle images that let the viewer find their own meaning. Across each story, the luminous bird underscores love’s power to unlock the soul. When the journey ends, we’re left to discover our own luminous bird waiting inside.

Original Film Title: Cold Comeuppance

Director’s Name: Victor Canil

Writer’s Name: Victor Canil

Producer: Angus Baird

Country of Origin: Australia

Country of Filming: Australia

Language: English

Runtime: 4 minutes 55 seconds

Film Description:

Ronald is a strung out worker disillusioned with life who takes it out on those around him, but when faced with a strange phenomenon, how will he react?