Category: BEST MUSIC VIDEO – 2025 ARFF AMSTERDAM

(Finalist)

Original Film Title: Wicked Ways

Director’s Name: Jesse Wardak

Writer’s Name: Gamble Alexander

Producer: Jesse Wardak, Gamble Alexander

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming : United States

Language: English

Runtime: 4 minutes 11 seconds

Film Description:

“Wicked Ways,” written by rising songwriter Gamble Alexander, is a raw and driving bluegrass anthem featuring some of the genre’s biggest names. With high-lonesome harmonies, lightning-fast banjo, and lyrics that carry a modern feel, this track walks the line between redemption and rebellion. Backed by a powerhouse band of bluegrass legends, “Wicked Ways” is proof that tradition still has teeth – and it bites back hard.

(Finalist)

Original Film Title: Wings Of An Angel

Director’s Name: Thomas Vogt, Oliver Charles, Loic Jouenne

Writer’s Name: Thomas Vogt, Oliver Charles

Producer: Thomas Vogt, Oliver Charles

Country of Origin: France

Country of Filming : Spain

Language: English

Runtime: 4 minutes 12 seconds

Film Description:

Sound Of Society is proud to present Wings Of An Angel. An entity that once silently followed now rises against the main character. Is it an enemy… or a mirror of his own reality ?

(Winner)

Original Film Title: He’s coming, my sweetheart

Director’s Name: Alexey Belkin, Vsevolod Aljokhin

Writer’s Name: Alexey Belkin, Vsevolod Aljokhin

Producer: Alexey Belkin, Vsevolod Aljokhin

Country of Origin: Russian Federation

Country of Filming : Russian Federation

Language: Russian

Runtime: 6 minutes 51 seconds

Film Description:

An adult man is walking around a small town. Along the way, he tries to have fun, but faces refusals and failures: he wants to drink – the kvass runs out, he plays checkers in the street and loses shamefully, the girl he liked at the dance leaves him for another, and tickets for a concert of an interesting band are sold out. Frustrated, he goes to his lair, where he takes a mysterious cube and secretly enters the concert. A firebird flies out of the cube, surprises and delights the audience, and then flies away into the night. After the concert, the satisfied man tries to leave by taxi, but the taxi leaves without him.

(Honorable Mention)

Original Film Title: Core

Director’s Name: Rodrigo V. Bustamante

Writer’s Name: Ignacio Tomillo, Nazaré de la Fuente

Producer: Ignacio Tomillo, Rodrigo V. Bustamante

Country of Origin: Netherlands

Country of Filming : Germany

Language:

Runtime: 3 minutes 25 seconds

Film Description:

“Core is what makes you, what lies in your inner self, everything you grew up with, your roots, your culture, your beliefs.

Core is the source and the journey.”

(Finalist)

Original Film Title: Magic and Madness

Director’s Name: Nathan Tecson

Writer’s Name: Dan Franklin, Stephanie Wall

Producer: Dan Franklin, Stephanie Wall

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming : United States

Language: English

Runtime: 6 minutes 18 seconds

Film Description:

Magic and Madness is a country power ballad that tells the story of two people finding love while carrying the weight of past emotional wounds. As a survivor struggles to believe she’s worthy of something real, her partner patiently stands beside her, offering hope where there was once only fear. It’s a vulnerable portrait of how love can heal even the deepest scars.

(Honorable Mention)

Original Film Title: 《ALASONG》

Director’s Name: Yun Yan ZENG

Writer’s Name:

Producer:

Country of Origin: China

Country of Filming : China

Language:

Runtime: 3 minutes 36 seconds

Film Description:

This time, I followed the Wa singer Nicheng back to his hometown ‘ALASONG’ in Yunnan, China, and found a pleasant and wonderful national aesthetics. We see that singers who are dedicated to creating new ethnic music can truly return to their hometowns and pay attention to the women in their families. They realize the greatness of their mothers from the pain of their wives giving birth, just like 8 billion humans on Earth were born from women. The melody of ‘ALASONG’ is simple, but the emotions are pure, abandoning the exaggerated grand narrative and focusing instead on the tenacious female vitality like wildflowers growing from the crevices of the rocks. The family network centered around the mother formed a loving big family. Through labor and love, they gave Ni Cheng a childhood of love and happiness, allowing him to grow up strong on the land of ALASONG!

(Finalist)

Original Film Title: Soldati di Carta

Director’s Name: Roberto Di Matteo

Writer’s Name: Claudio Brado Buttaro

Producer:

Country of Origin: Italy

Country of Filming : Italy

Language: Italian

Runtime: 4 minutes 3 seconds

Film Description:

The second video clip by Claudio “Brado” Buttaro who tells, with images of real conflicts, what war is and how important it is to fight it with peace.

(Honorable Mention)

Original Film Title: Absence of Doubts

Director’s Name: Liza Mora, Dana Danylova

Writer’s Name: Maria Kornelia Sarka

Producer: Lechoslaw Ryszard Gawronski

Country of Origin: Poland

Country of Filming : Poland

Language: English

Runtime: 3 minutes 29 seconds

Film Description:

“Absence of Doubts” is a meditative visual journey exploring the timeless connection between love and existence. Through dreamlike imagery, the clip reflects on longing, transformation, and the eternal cycles of life and affection – where love, unburdened by doubt, becomes a force that transcends space and time.

(Finalist)

Original Film Title: Your Story

Director’s Name: Sharon Elishar

Writer’s Name: Harold Linde

Producer: Carolina Cabezas

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming : United States

Language: English

Runtime: 3 minutes 6 seconds

Film Description:

“Your Story” by Rubi Ate the Fig is a deeply emotional and cinematic journey of struggle, resilience, and redemption. Through haunting melodies and evocative lyrics, the song tells the tale of someone confronting the shadows of addiction, navigating the turmoil of loss and longing, and ultimately finding the strength to break free.

Set against the backdrop of Rubi Ate the Fig’s signature desert rock mysticism, “Your Story” is a powerful reminder that the past does not define us—our strength, our choices, and our will to rise again do.

(Honorable Mention)

Original Film Title: Bright Star

Director’s Name: Finn Boylan

Writer’s Name: Emer Kenny

Producer: Emer Kenny

Country of Origin: Ireland

Country of Filming : Ireland

Language: English

Runtime: 3 minutes 28 seconds

Film Description:

Emer wrote ‘Bright Star’ inspired by the stories of Ukrainian women who fled the war in Ukraine and are now living in Ireland. Iryna, Yara and Maryna, who feature as audience members in the video, shared their stories with Emer. Also featured are contemporary dancer Polina Skarha and harpist Rosie Murphy. The video includes footage from Ukraine , filmed by Finn Boylan, who is a documentary film maker in areas of conflict globally. The music was developed during Emer’s artist residency in an Táin Arts Centre , Dundalk, Ireland.