Category: GLOBE AWARD – 2025 ARFF AMSTERDAM

(Finalist)

Original Film Title: Reflections of Courage

Director’s Name: Janet Shay

Writer’s Name: Janet Shay

Producer: Janet Shay, Karl Jenner, Eddy Boas

Country of Origin: Australia

Country of Filming : Australia

Language: English

Runtime: 50 minutes

Film Description:

Reflections of Courage is a poignant 50-minute documentary chronicling the extraordinary journey of Eddy Boas and his family through the harrowing experiences of the Holocaust, their post-war struggles and their hopeful new beginnings in Australia. The film delves into their pre-war life in Holland, survival in Nazi concentration camps and the small acts of kindness that sustained them. It explores themes of resilience, identity and belonging, celebrating the human spirit’s capacity for renewal and the essence of being Australian—a nation of hope, diversity and new beginnings. This documentary is a powerful reminder of history’s impact and the enduring significance of compassion and humanity.

(Honorable Mention)

Original Film Title: Has Anyone Seen Bill?

Director’s Name: Bronwen J Carson

Writer’s Name: Bronwen J Carson

Producer: Bronwen J Carson, Guy Merritt, Mel Blackwell

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming : United States

Language: English

Runtime: 14 minutes 35 seconds

Film Description:

Has Anyone Seen Bill follows hard working, middle management Bill, a kind, 51-yr-old man whose obliviousness to the instability of employment in America sends him tumbling into homelessness after one bad decision.

Bill is a nice man who lives a solitary life after a rough divorce. He believes everything happens for a reason and that everything will work out…as long as you try, but as a sea of shiny new hires encroaches with a new self-organizing structure in the company he’s worked at for over a decade, Bill decides it’s time to pursue independent consulting.

Two months later, Bill’s prospects haven’t panned out and his rent and car payments have drained his bank account. Like 68% of working Americans, he had no savings.

As Bill tumbles through one-way socio-economic trap doors, his faith that things will turn around begins to falter. He moves out of the apartment he can no longer afford, and unable to meet the income requirements for another one, finds himself living in a local run-down motel. He takes any work he can get, mostly delivering meals and groceries.

His bank account overdrawn, he starts to sleep in his car, still believing he’ll be able to climb back out of the hard times. When his car is suddenly repossessed, he joins a small group of squatters and for a while has found a new kind of home with people who care about each other. But when a young squatter dies of pneumonia, the group splinters.

Bill is once more living a solitary life, now as one of over 35 million Americans living in profound, inescapable poverty.

Has Anyone Seen Bill delves into the complexities and misperceptions around housing insecurity, and how a perfect storm of inflation, job market viability, overpopulation, reprehensible wealth disparity, and affordable housing shortages has brought homelessness to the doorsteps of a staggering number of Americans.

(Winner)

Original Film Title: Gaza’s Silent Threat

Director’s Name: Maria Fernanda Lauret

Writer’s Name: Maria Fernanda Lauret

Producer: Maria Fernanda Lauret, Rawan Eleyan, Juan Haro

Country of Origin: Palestine, State of, United States

Country of Filming : Palestine, State of

Language: Arabic, English

Runtime: 32 minutes

Film Description:

“Gaza’s Silent Threat” evokes a powerful message of resilience and commitment to creating a better future. Doctor Younis, a devoted father and grandfather, embarks on the mission of a lifetime: returning from retirement to vaccinate over 600,000 children against polio in Gaza, in the midst of the war. Despite short pauses in fighting, Dr. Younis and his partners endured unrelenting logistical and security hurdles, and severely restricted access to health services and facilities. This is not just a film about the polio vaccination campaign, but one about the direct and indirect impacts of war on children’s health, and the lives of children and families living in the scarce context of conflict and emergencies.

(Finalist)

Original Film Title: BREAK THE SILENCE

Director’s Name: Dax Phelan

Writer’s Name: Dax Phelan

Producer: Dax Phelan, Eric M. Klein, Benjamin Cheek, Shyanne Aponte

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming : United States

Language: English

Runtime: 1 minute

Film Description:

“Break the Silence” is a 1-minute Public Service Announcement produced to encourage people, who are struggling with mental health, substance use, and more, to seek help by calling the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. [Note: Please view with proper speakers or headphones.]

(Finalist)

Original Film Title: International Day of Food Wastage Awareness by Global Tara Entertainment

Director’s Name: Ginita Sunaina

Writer’s Name: Ginita Sunaina

Producer: Ginita Sunaina

Country of Origin:

Country of Filming :

Language:

Runtime: 6 minutes 30 seconds

Film Description:

In a world where food is a precious resource, International Day of Food Wastage Awareness shines a spotlight on the thoughtless habits of food wastage through a relatable yet thought-provoking narrative. The film follows a young woman who casually orders an extravagant meal, leaves it untouched, and dismisses the concept of responsibility. However, her actions collide with the perspectives of two boys who witness the waste and decide to take matters into their own hands. As the story unfolds, the girl’s disregard is juxtaposed with the hunger and desperation of a beggar child, leading to an impactful realization. This short film delivers a powerful message about food wastage, responsibility, and the unseen struggles of those in need.

(Honorable Mention)

Original Film Title: ARK TAROKO

Director’s Name: CHEN-TANG LEE

Writer’s Name: CHEN-TANG LEE

Producer: SHOU-LI LIU

Country of Origin: Taiwan

Country of Filming : Taiwan

Language: Chinese

Runtime: 23 minutes 30 seconds

Film Description:

Taiwan, an island, stands as an ark in the vast ocean, and Taroko is an “island within the island,” an ark within the ark, carrying and protecting all forms of life. Ark Taroko captures, through imagery, the precious and unique landscapes and life forms within this ark of Taroko, narrating their stories.
The film consists of five parts: “The Natural Ark,” “Guarding the Relicts,” “In the Name of Taroko,” “New Opportunities in Adversity,” and “Echoes in the Gorge.”
In Taroko’s rugged environment, with its high mountains and deep valleys, life thrives from coast to peaks. Each life form adapts and evolves, transforming through environmental challenges to become more unique. Glacial relics, limestone flora, and other species have uniquely evolved here, and within these exceptional mountains and forests, distinctive human cultures have flourished.
“Taroko is an ark for species and people alike,” and Ark Taroko invites you to witness resilient and beautiful life surviving freely amidst these lofty mountains and deep gorges.