Category: BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – ARFF PARIS 2026

(HONORABLE MENTION)

Original Film Title: Pedals and Prayers

Director’s Name: Viktor Zichó

Writer’s Name: Viktor Zichó, Merrick Adam Chase

Director of Photography: Merrick Adam Chase

Producer: Viktor Zichó, Merrick Adam Chase, Zsuzsa Zichó

Country of Origin: Hungary, United States

Country of Filming: Bhutan, Hungary

Language: English

Runtime: 48 minutes 35 seconds

Film Description:

The storied Himalayan nation of Bhutan is steeped in ancient mythology and timeless traditions. It is a land where the divine whispers on the wind through every valley and village, and roars atop every mountain. In Pedals and Prayers, two friends from the opposite side of the world embark on a world-first through-ride of the centuries-old, brutally rugged Trans-Bhutan Trail, by bicycle. Accompanied by a trusted Bhutanese professional mountain biker, they move through lands alive with culture, spirit, and humanity, learning firsthand about Bhutan’s bold approach to sustainability. Amid breathtaking landscapes and epic trails that unfold each day, they encounter new friendships, unexpected challenges, and experiences of deep personal transformation that will leave at least one of them changed forever.

(Envısıon Award Winner)

Original Film Title: MON ORIENTAL

Director’s Name: Khalid ZAOUCHE, Jawad ZAOUCHE

Writer’s Name: Khalid ZAOUCHE

Director of Photography: Jawad Zaouche

Producer: LE KIC Cabinet d’ingénierie artistique et culturelle

Country of Origin: France

Country of Filming: Morocco

Language: French

Runtime: 52 minutes

Film Description:

Mon Oriental is an intimate documentary directed by Khalid Zaouche and Jawad Zaouche, in collaboration with Léo Desnoyelles. The film follows a personal journey through the filmmaker’s childhood memories in Morocco’s Oriental region from Oujda to Saïdia, passing through Cap de l’Eau, Tafoughalt, and Figuig. Through authentic images and heartfelt testimonies, it explores themes of memory, roots, and connection to one’s homeland, while celebrating the cultural and human richness of this borderland.

(HONORABLE MENTION)

Original Film Title: Best Day Ever

Director’s Name: Ben Knight, Berne Broudy

Writer’s Name: Ben Knight, Berne Broudy

Director of Photography: Sam Davies, Javi Hernandez, Tyler Wilkinson-Ray, Scott Barber, Joey Schusler, Ben Knight

Producer: Berne Broudy

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 47 minutes 56 seconds

Film Description:

Best Day Ever follows the stories of adaptive mountain bikers Greg Durso and Allie Bianchi as they navigate the relentless challenges of their disabilities and embrace the tremendous support, friendship and joy they find in their rural Vermont riding community. Allie and Greg navigate disability and regain independence with humor, attitude, and grit on mountain bike trails that dismantle ableism, build community, and become a blueprint for trails anywhere.

(HONORABLE MENTION)

Original Film Title: Jaliya-A Storytelling of Jali Kunda

Director’s Name: Timothy Francisco Lima, Ebrima Mbye

Writer’s Name: Timothy Francisco Lima, Ebrima Mbye

Director of Photography: Arne Folsen

Producer: Timothy Francisco Lima, Ebrima Mbye

Country of Origin: Portugal

Country of Filming: Gambia

Language: English

Runtime: 26 minutes 20 seconds

Film Description:

Jaliya – A Storytelling of Jali Kunda is a short documentary that explores the music, stories, and traditions of the Jali (Griot) of The Gambia—storytellers, musicians, and historians. Created by Timothy Lima and Ebrima Mbye, the documentary follows the journey of this Gambian musician, who lives in Lisbon and returns to his homeland to reconnect with his roots and share the vibrant world of the Jali.
The son of the legendary kora master Alagi Mbye, serves as a guide through this rich cultural mosaic. Through intimate interviews, captivating kora performances, and the enchanting sounds of traditional music, the documentary reveals how the Jali preserve history and maintain the social and spiritual fabric of their communities.
More than just music, the Jaliya tradition is a way of life—a centuries-old storytelling practice, which dates back at least to the 13th century, that connects generations. As the modern world evolves, the documentary captures the delicate balance griots must strike between preserving their ancestral legacy and adapting to change.
Jaliya – A Storytelling of Jali Kunda is a moving celebration of the griot way of life, reminding us of the enduring power of music and storytelling to preserve culture, unite generations, and keep history alive in an ever-changing world.

(WINNER)

Original Film Title: Another Biscuit

Director’s Name: Lauren Lorenzo

Writer’s Name: Lauren Lorenzo

Director of Photography: Olymide Shoyinka

Producer: Lauren Lorenzo

Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Country of Filming: United Kingdom

Language: English

Runtime: 14 minutes 59 seconds

Film Description:

JP, a recently retired government-trained assassin, is enjoying a quiet life—until a covert call informs him he’s been “burned.” With his identity compromised and his sister unexpectedly visiting, JP must juggle eliminating threats while hiding the bloody evidence from the one person he actually cares about. The pressure leads him to make a disastrous mistake: killing an innocent man in an attempt to stay ahead of his hunters.

Amid the chaos, the truth of JP’s career and strange double life begins to surface—especially when we meet his unusual partner in crime: Mr. Widdles, a sharp-eyed Siamese cat with higher security clearance than JP himself. Together, the unlikely pair must navigate betrayal, guilt, and government secrets—without letting JP’s sister in on the world-ending mess he’s neck-deep in.

(FINALIST)

Original Film Title: The French Lesson

Director’s Name: Tim Lee Glover

Writer’s Name: Tim Lee Glover

Director of Photography: Chris Frieberg

Producer: David Marshall Silverman

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 7 minutes 19 seconds

Film Description:

When a middle aged man decides to learn a new language, he learns new things about himself.

(FINALIST)

Original Film Title: Measure of Life

Director’s Name: Berkay Sarıtaş

Writer’s Name: Berkay Sarıtaş

Director of Photography: Barış Işık

Producer: Nadim GÜÇ, Burcu Biricik, Umut Sarıboğa

Country of Origin: Türkiye

Country of Filming: Türkiye

Language: Turkish

Runtime: 11 minutes 50 seconds

Film Description:

Measure of Life is a quiet yet powerful short film set in a small tailor shop, where İpek, an experienced seamstress, meets Gülçin, a hopeful young woman preparing for her graduation. As İpek takes Gülçin’s measurements, a sincere bond forms through intimate conversation, shared warmth, and unspoken understanding between two generations of women.

What begins as an ordinary act of craftsmanship slowly turns into a night-long labor of care and responsibility. The next day, Gülçin never returns. A breaking news report reveals a tragic truth, transforming the finished dress into a silent witness of loss.

Through fabric, stitches, and absence, Measure of Life reflects on femicide, memory, and the invisible emotional labor women carry. Each dress becomes a testimony—every stitch a memory, every memory a muted scream.

(FINALIST)

Original Film Title: Undeletable

Director’s Name: Sang-hoon Lee

Writer’s Name: Sang-hoon Lee

Director of Photography: Sang-hoon Lee

Producer: Sang-hoon Lee

Country of Origin: South Korea

Country of Filming: South Korea

Language: Korean

Runtime: 5 minutes 33 seconds

Film Description:

By a quiet riverside in the late afternoon, a man with a camera approaches a woman sitting alone on a bench.
What begins as a polite conversation slowly turns unsettling as he takes photos—first of the scenery, then, without warning, of her face.

He dismisses the image as a harmless joke, casually mentioning deepfake and “just for fun.”
For him, it is something from the past—deleted, forgotten, no longer relevant.
But the woman knows that some memories cannot be erased, and that what is over for one person can still be painfully present for another.

As she quietly calls the police, a distant siren cuts through the calm.
Only then does the man’s certainty begin to crack, and the face he believed he had erased resurfaces in his mind.

Undeletable is a psychological thriller about violence disguised as coincidence,
and the responsibility hidden behind the word “fun,”
questioning whether memory is something we can delete—or something we are ultimately forced to confront.