Category: BEST DIRECTOR – 2025 ARFF BERLIN

(Finalist)

Original Film Title: The Last Wish

Director’s Name: Ilya Noyabrev

Writer’s Name: Semen Khanin

Producer: Semen Khanin

Country of Origin: Ukraine

Country of Filming: Ukraine

Language: Ukrainian

Runtime: 14 minutes 4 seconds

Film Description:

On the threshold of the Supreme Court, everyone anxiously awaits the Decision about their fate. And only one strives to return to where a part of their soul remains…

(Audience Award Winner)

Original Film Title: DETECTIVE HARPER

Director’s Name: Djason Demassey

Writer’s Name: Djason Demassey

Producer: Djason Demassey

Country of Origin: France

Country of Filming: France

Language: English

Runtime: 6 minutes

Film Description:

Five person trapped in a basement, one of them is the murderer. A comedy thriller.

(Winner)

Original Film Title: The Stork

Director’s Name: Stephen Gallacher

Writer’s Name: Ronan McCabe

Producer: Ronan McCabe, Rhydian Lewis

Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Country of Filming: United Kingdom

Language: English

Runtime: 8 minutes 17 seconds

Film Description:

The Stork is a character driven comedy that follows well intentioned, but clueless, parents of a queer woman wanting to start a family via artificial insemination using Norwegian semen ordered online – a popular method for queer couples. However, typically, the receipts of said semen tend to sign for their important delivery but on this occasion they’re not in but, (un)luckily, one set of parents are! On delivery, there is a slight altercation that results in the sample being destroyed leaving the delivery driver and parents in a bit of sticky (or rather NOT sticky) situation that needs to be rectified before their daughter returns home. All three characters are on very different pages regarding their plan of action and have very different perspectives when it comes to understanding the queer community – supportive but not necessarily accurate. Through miscommunication and audience the short pushes moral boundaries, questioning how far would a parent go to secure their child’s happiness. We follow the trio as they stumble their way through learning about their daughter’s journey (despite their ignorance) and its complexities – from a place of love. It’s an uplifting, family centred story showcasing the importance of unconditional love of queer people.

(Honorable Mention)

Original Film Title: Zone of Shards

Director’s Name: Dániel Bóta

Writer’s Name: Dániel BótaO

Producer: Dániel Bóta

Country of Origin: Hungary

Country of Filming: Hungary

Language: Hungarian

Runtime: 18 minutes 5 seconds

Film Description:

Zone of Shards (SzilánkZóna) is a historical short drama set in rural Hungary during the final days of World War II in the spring of 1945.

Inspired directly by the director’s grandfather’s personal memories, the film immerses viewers in a child’s experience of war through its distinct visual style, evocative sound design, and immersive 4:3 aspect ratio.

Seen through the eyes of 12-year-old Marci, the film quietly yet powerfully captures the surreal and fragmented reality of a world falling apart.

(Finalist)

Original Film Title: A saga

Director’s Name: DAYSE AMARAL DIAS

Writer’s Name: THIAGO FERNANDES, PAOLA SIVIERO

Producer: THIAGO FERNANDES, EMANUELLE ANNE

Country of Origin: Brazil

Country of Filming: Brazil

Language: Portuguese

Runtime: 28 minutes 56 seconds

Film Description:

Após uma enchente devastar a pequena cidade de Estrela do Sul, a jovem Maria Flor embarca em uma jornada mágica e desafiadora para salvar sua mãe doente. A única cura está em um remédio feito com raros ovos de vagalumes. Determinada, Maria Flor explora os recantos do município, onde encontra personagens inusitados: como o otimista carroceiro Felizardo, que lhe ensina sobre esperança, e o melancólico caminhoneiro Zé Firmino, que carrega histórias de saudade e perda.
Guiada pela bondosa madrinha Dona Nice, Maria Flor enfrenta perigos e mistérios, incluindo um encontro arrebatador com a enigmática Criatura, guardiã de um velho casarão, e o traiçoeiro Mané Zoim, que fará de tudo para impedir seu sucesso. Com coragem e amor, Maria Flor descobre que a verdadeira luz não vem apenas dos vagalumes, mas da força que existe dentro de si.
Uma saga encantadora sobre amor, sacrifício e os laços que nos mantêm firmes diante das adversidades.

(Finalist)

Original Film Title: THANK YOU ZINDAGI

Director’s Name: Dheeraj Bhatnagar

Writer’s Name: SARGAM BHATNAGAR

Producer: SUNIL KUMAR

Country of Origin: India

Country of Filming: India

Language: Hindi

Runtime: 31 minutes 54 seconds

Film Description:

For many people, life doesn’t end with death—it begins in different bodies. This is a story of a man, who collapses during rehearsal of a play based on Indian epic, Mahabharata. The man playing Karn is rushed to hospital where doctors discover that the man has a medical condition in which veins in his brain are entangled, blocking flow of blood. Doctors advise his parents not to disclose the condition to the man lest it should cause stress. The man, unaware about the prognosis, plants a jamun (black berry) tree on his parents’ anniversary and tells them that they will enjoy the juicy fruit together in a few years. Parents know that he may not be around to enjoy the fruits. The man eventually finds the hospital file and learns about his medical condition and about his life’s uncertainty. He records a video message in which he tells his parents to donate his organs when he’s gone. The man goes for the final show of his play but collapses again after playing his part. He is taken to hospital where doctors declare him brain dead. Just then, the message lands in the mobile phones of his parents and his friends from the theatre group. In the video message, he says, “I may not be around when you read this message…” The film ends with four people, who have got different organs from the man, in the man’s house. A girl plays the man’s signature tune on mouth organ – and the film ends.
The film is set in India where hundreds of people, who need organ transplant, lose out on life due to scarcity of organs. Many people know that organs of a brain-dead patient can be donated to save lives but families often don’t donate organs unless the person had himself pledged his organs before death. Because of this most of the transplants in the country are done with organs from living donors; the number of deceased donor transplants is abysmally low. The film aims to promote deceased organ donation to save lives.

(Honorable Mention)

Original Film Title: The Emerald Purse

Director’s Name: Kimberly Olsen

Writer’s Name: Kimberly Olsen

Producer: Kimberly Olsen, Grant De Sousa

Country of Origin: South Africa, United States

Country of Filming: South Africa

Language: English

Runtime: 20 minutes

Film Description:

When a successful photographer returns home for her estranged mother’s funeral, she stumbles upon an emerald-green purse containing clues that unravel her true identity, forcing her and her sister to redefine who they are.