Category: Best Documentary – 2025 ARFF Barcelona

(FINALIST)

Original Film Title: JİNWAR (WOMEN’S VILLAGE)

Director’s Name: NADİA DERWİSH

Writer’s Name: NADİA DERWİSH

Producer: ROJAVA FİLM COMUNE

Country of Origin: Syrian Arab Republic

Country of Filming: Syrian Arab Republic

Language: Kurdish

Runtime: 41 minutes

Film Description:

Jinwar: a self-sufficient space for women’s free life. It is established with determination, courage, and hope.

(HONORABLE MENTION)

Original Film Title: MATER PROCIDA

Director’s Name: Giordana Moltedo

Writer’s Name: Costanza Boccardi, Giordana Moltedo

Producer: Clarissa Curti

Country of Origin: Italy

Country of Filming: Italy

Language: Italian

Runtime: 31 minutes

Film Description:

Mater Procida is a poetic journey driven by some Lena Loffredo’s poems. She is a primary school teacher in her eighties, who educated many generations of Procidans. The story of her life crosses with other women’s stories on the island. Such as Maria, known as Procida’s fisherwoman; Chiara who cultivates her land in the heart of Cottimo, the island’s inner part; Maddalena, guardian of the traditional Procidan art of the golden leaf placement, that makes unique the typical local costumes and Maria, her over ninety-years-old mother who has been working strand of raffia since she was a young girl, to make artesan baskets and fans which were sold all over the world. These women’s stories take the island to a dimension where nostalgy and loneliness melt with natural elements which make unique Procida, with its enveloping dawns and sunsets to enhance the wonderful colours of Corricella houses and the breath of the Chiaiolella sea.

Original Film Title: The Crossing

Director’s Name: Natasja van Wijk

Writer’s Name: Natasja van Wijk

Producer: Kasper van Beek

Country of Origin: Netherlands

Country of Filming: Netherlands

Language: Dutch

Runtime: 1 hour 17 minutes 47 seconds

Film Description:

The Crossing is a coming-of-age documentary about a group of Dutch teenagers who find themselves stranded on a ship in the Caribbean as the world explodes with the shocking news of the Covid pandemic. Their only hope of returning home to The Netherlands is to sail over the temperamental Atlantic Ocean too early in the season. What they discover during this crossing is far beyond child’s play and not for the fainthearted. They had no idea what they were in for. This was a trip that was about to push them beyond their limits.

On March 1st, 2020, a group of 25 Dutch teenagers between the ages of 15 and 16 travel to St.Martin to study and sail on the tall ship ‘De Wylde Swan’ for five weeks. The idea was for them to sail from island to island and fly back home from Cuba, but they were subject to change. As the entire world undergoes never-before-seen changes, these teenagers were forced to find strength and camaraderie amongst themselves to face all the obstacles about to be thrown their way. This took adaptability, flexibility and bravery, which not all adults showed during the last two years of the pandemic.

Experienced and world known professional sea sailors Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and John Kretschmer, who both sailed ‘to the moon and back’ in nautical miles, agree that being on the high seas for a few weeks does something to you. You are forced to look inward and face your demons, because you simply cannot avoid yourself anymore through all kinds of distractions, which are available in the ‘normal’ world. Being thrown back on yourself, while also dealing with a big challenge, changes you forever. This happens to adult sailors with many nautical miles in their legs, so probably to a greater extent among teenagers, who, precisely in their 16s and 17s, are discovering their identity and pondering the big questions of life. Added to this is the fact that this crossing was not planned, but because of the advancing pandemic, which was the only way to get back home. The decision had to be taken quickly, otherwise it would not even be possible to forage in time. Leaving in a hurry on this grueling journey, against the background of a changing world, in which it is not clear for weeks how things are really going with the home front, demands the utmost from the students

A crossing is not without dangers and is never without risk. Suffering from the cold, being seasick and always being hungry are the most manageable issues on board. It’s about persevering and finding the motivation in yourself to persevere psychologically and to bring it to a successful conclusion. Locking yourself in your cage and letting the five weeks on the high seas pass by, a well-known ‘freeze impulse’, is not an option, all hands are needed on deck and you have to find a strategy to cope.
The participants recorded their deepest feelings in their diaries and sail-mails, so reading them aloud in an intimate studio setting brings back exactly the emotions that were experienced at the time. They also shared their ‘snapchats’ and footage filmed on their mobile phones, which gives the documentary a true-to-life style.

It was not until the arrival in Harlingen on day 57 and the emotional reunion with family and friends that the group set foot to the changed world. Given this great adventure during the lockdown of the rest of the world, it is not surprising that the international press was present in the Frisian home port of the Wylde Swan. The whole world has sympathized with the young people on board. This documentary tells the true, personal story of their crossing. Not only the crossing of an ocean, but also the crossing from childhood to being a young adult, which happened more quickly for these youngsters.

(FINALIST)

Original Film Title: Living UNDONE

Director’s Name: Amanda Kasmira Cryer

Writer’s Name: Amanda Kasmira Cryer, Roland Washington

Producer: Carole Joyce, Damon Russell, Brenden Hubbard

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 26 minutes 39 seconds

Film Description:

In “Living UN DONE,” a powerful short film that transcends political divides, the stories of individuals and their families reveals the harsh realities of a criminal justice system that stigmatizes rather than rehabilitates, urging society to confront its complicity and advocate for a future where healing, understanding, and second chances are possible for all.

(HONORABLE MENTION)

Original Film Title: FROM HERE/FROM THERE (De Aquí/De Allá)

Director’s Name: Marlene Gale Morris

Writer’s Name: Marlene Gale Morris

Producer: Jed Riffe, Nicole Solis-Sison

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 1 hour 4 minutes

Film Description:

When the Trump administration abruptly threatens to deport 700,000 fellow Dreamers – the charismatic attorney and DACA recipient Luis Cortes Romero fights back, co-piloting an A-Team of lawyers who takes their case all the way to the Supreme Court, making the Luis the first undocumented immigrant to argue before the nation’s highest court. Set for release amidst this volatile election year and ongoing DACA threats, From Here/From There (De Aquí/De Allá) is a timely documentary that highlights the urgent need for compassionate immigration reform.

(HONORABLE MENTION)

Original Film Title: Musical Moments

Director’s Name: Erik Dreng Jacobsen

Writer’s Name: Erik Dreng Jacobsen

Producer: Erik Dreng Jacobsen

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 19 minutes 49 seconds

Film Description:

I spent forty years in the recording studio as a song publisher and record producer. Before that, I played five-string banjo in a small bluegrass group. We toured coast to coast. It was fun, but after several years, I put the banjo down, and began working in the studio producing records. At first I recorded some of my compositions with my folk music friends, like Mama Cass, Denny Dougherty, Jerry Yester, and Zal Yanovsky. I discovered other great songwriters and began recording them. Artists like Tim Hardin, John Sebastian, Norman Greenbaum, and later Chris Isaak.
This is how I spent four decades! It was a journey with highs and lows, successes and failures. I got to know the artists, songwriters, and musicians, all with the talent and perseverance to live life making music. They all have my deep respect and admiration. It’s not easy.
I was lucky enough to be able to travel the world and film musicians everywhere I went, folkloric shows and street buskers alike. This film is a collection of live, on-location recordings I shot during my travels.

(FINALIST)

Original Film Title: The Great Hornbill

Director’s Name: Dr. Alongkot Chukaew

Writer’s Name: Hathaisathorn Ekrangsi

Producer: Dr.Alongkot Chukaew

Country of Origin: Thailand

Country of Filming: Thailand

Language: Thai

Runtime: 10 minutes

Film Description:

The news of the disappearance of a female hornbill at the Thai elephant Conservation Center, Khao Yai, made Punn ( Hathaisathorn Ekrangsi ) travel to find the official who was following the movements of the hornbill pair. Luckily, she met Dr.Alongkot, who had been following and photographing the movement of the pair for many years until one day the mother hornbill went missing. Punn tried to convey the whole story in the documentary, along with the search for the mother hornbill, until she found the movement that was the answer and it was a beautiful image when the father hornbill brought food to feed the mother hornbill the was in the nest cavity where it was assumed that it was probably the mother bird and the baby hornbill living together. She watched the whole event until one the two hornbills flew from the forest fence and took turns feeding the baby hornbill, which meant that the baby hornbill was still in the nest. And the whole event was recorded in this movie, The Great Hornbill.

(FINALIST)

Original Film Title: The Cup of Water

Director’s Name: Magofe Mahlaela

Writer’s Name: Palesa Movundlela, Magofe Gathering Mahlalela

Producer: MAGOFE GATHERING MAHLAELA, Tshililo Muzila

Country of Origin: South Africa

Country of Filming: South Africa

Language: English

Runtime: 14 minutes 10 seconds

Film Description:

A young traditional healer is forced to confront the tensions between ancient traditions and modern realities when she’s reprimanded for collecting water from a local wetland in Tzaneen, South Africa. As she struggles to reconcile her spiritual identity with environmental responsibilities, Magofe embarks on a journey of self-discovery, navigating the complexities of cultural heritage, community expectations, and personal conviction. Will she find a way to honor her ancestors and get the answers she seeks.

(FINALIST)

Original Film Title: LOOK UP—The Science of Cultural Evolution

Director’s Name: Nini Caroline Skarpaas Myhrvold, Espen Jan Folmo

Writer’s Name: Nini Caroline Skarpaas Myhrvold, Espen Jan Folmo

Producer: Nini Caroline Skarpaas Myhrvold, Espen Jan Folmo

Country of Origin: Norway

Country of Filming: Norway

Language: English

Runtime: 16 minutes 18 seconds

Film Description:

The Life of Stefan Wenta: Ballet Dancer

(FINALIST)

Original Film Title: Reverence

Director’s Name: Charles Evans, Jr

Writer’s Name: Charles Evans, Jr

Producer: Charles Evans, Jr

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 16 minutes 18 seconds

Film Description:

The Life of Stefan Wenta: Ballet Dancer