Category: ENVISION AWARDS – 2025 ARFF Paris

(FINALIST)

Original Film Title: Birth of a Pipe Organ

Director’s Name: Dana Plays

Writer’s Name: Dana Plays

Producer: Dana Plays

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 19 minutes 20 seconds

Film Description:

Exploring the world of the pipe organ, through a bio pic of the organ builder, Lynn A Dobson, and performance of virtuoso organist, Haig Mardirosian.

While watching the construction of his Opus 89 (a team project), organ builder Lynn A Dobson takes us through a journey not only his career and early affinity for the organ, but also through the history of the organ, and its inner mechanical workings and structure as a musical instrument driven by wind and pipes. We also learn about the architects he has worked with including Rafael Vinoly at the Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, and Rafael Moreno of the Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in Los Angeles, and about the transformation of the Washington National Cathedral, and St Thomas Church and their need for entirely new organs.

Filmmaker Dana Plays visited the organ shop, captured interview over dinner with Dobson (at the Wagon Wheel Restaurant in Lake City, Iowa), and followed the installation by climbing 50 scaffolds to get inside the organ, and birds eye views of wind chests, bourdon pipes, being installed, and more. The camera brings into view macro cinematography of all of the intricate parts of the organ, we see them being installed, while also explained. Interweaving through this narrative we hear the organ performances of Haig Mardirosian, (performed on Opus 89) of works of Franz Liszt, Edvard Grieg and Mozart, we hear what is being built.

(Envision Award Winner)

Original Film Title: Ghosted MD

Director’s Name: Jarett Bellucci

Writer’s Name: Nafsika Antypas

Producer: Nafsika Antypas, Ken Bogardt, Bill Civitella

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 38 minutes

Film Description:

Set against the vibrant backdrop of New York City, Ghosted MD follows Dr. Anastasia Dimas, a brilliant cardiologist who is dedicated to her patients but feels the weight of her own unresolved past. After a fateful encounter with the handsome Jason Walker leads to a tragic hit-and-run, Stacey is plunged into a gripping mystery when Jason slips into a coma and later appears to her as a ghost.

As Stacey grapples with her sanity and the reality of Jason’s ghostly presence, she uncovers unsettling truths about his life—truths that reveal he was connected to a dangerous world of crime. Determined to help him find justice, Stacey embarks on a thrilling investigation that takes her from seedy strip clubs to haunted mansions. Along the way, she must confront her own emotions, including her growing feelings for Jason.

With a unique blend of humor, heart, and supernatural elements, Ghosted MD explores themes of love, loss, and redemption. Each episode unravels the complexities of Stacey and Jason’s relationship, while the stakes rise as unseen threats loom ever closer. Can Stacey help Jason solve the mystery of his death before it’s too late, or will the forces working against them prevail?

Ghosted MD promises to captivate audiences with its compelling characters, thrilling plot twists, and a fresh take on the supernatural genre, making it a standout choice for the festival.

(FINALIST)

Original Film Title: BUZZED

Director’s Name: Franck Tabouring

Writer’s Name: Franck Tabouring

Producer: Mary Quigley

Country of Origin: Switzerland

Country of Filming: Switzerland

Language: English

Runtime: 12 minutes 12 seconds

Film Description:

A woman’s sleepless night is haunted by the relentless buzzing of a mosquito; a torment echoing the slow, suffocating decay of her relationship.

(HONORABLE MENTION)

Original Film Title: The Magic Mind

Director’s Name: Ahmed Mazen

Writer’s Name: Ahmed Mazen

Producer: Ahmed Mazen

Country of Origin: France

Country of Filming: France

Language: English

Runtime: 12 minutes 12 seconds

Film Description:

An organised librarian finds a mysterious book in his
bookstore that seems to have a life of its own, drawing
him into a dangerous game of cat and mouse as he races to catch it from causing chaos in his library.

(Envision Award Winner)

Original Film Title: Ice Breath

Director’s Name: Leonard Alecu

Writer’s Name: Leonard Alecu

Producer: Leonard Alecu

Country of Origin: Romania

Country of Filming: Greenland

Language: English

Runtime: 42 minutes 50 seconds

Film Description:

Between 2015 and 2024, Leonard Alecu filmed the melting icebergs off Greenland’s East coast. Sailing dangerously close to icebergs, Alecu handled his camera to record the ice masses yielding to the ruthless ocean. Filmed in black and white, Ice Breath is a cinematic poem whose only elusive actor is the filmmaker’s gaze. In 43 minutes, a sequence of flat pictures turn into dynamic tableaux, an existential journey from genesis to extinction. The hypnotic feature of the film is enhanced by the soundtrack Become Ocean, a haunting composition by John Luther Adams suggestive of a relentless tidal surge, of melting polar ice and rising sea levels. Become Ocean received critical acclaim, earning the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Music and the 2015 Grammy for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. More than an environmental documentary, Ice Breath and Become Ocean is an experimental fusion exploring the vast, inscrutable meanings of climate change.

(HONORABLE MENTION)

Original Film Title: Starborn

Director’s Name: Starry Venus

Writer’s Name: Starry Venus

Producer: Kira Mele

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 1 minute 40 seconds

Film Description:

A forgotten goddess wanders the desert only to realize we are never truly alone. We are the angels we seek.