Category: BEST DIRECTOR – WSXA AMSTERDAM 2026

Original Film Title: Thinking of You

Director’s Name: Soni Bhalla

Writer’s Name: Soni Bhalla

Producer: Gaurav Kumar, Jason Arber

Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Country of Filming: United Kingdom

Language: English

Runtime: 8 minutes 8 seconds

Film Description:

An intimate and emotionally resonant story that follows Mia through love, loss, and a life-changing night, capturing resilience, trust, and the quiet strength found in vulnerability and hope.

Original Film Title: Labyrinth of Shadows

Director’s Name: Robert Kowalewski

Writer’s Name: Frederik Weber

Producer: Frederik Weber

Country of Origin: Germany

Country of Filming: Germany

Language: German

Runtime: 24 minutes 2 seconds

Film Description:

An interrogation. One suspect. A psychiatrist on the brink of madness.
When Dr. Thomas Weber is asked to uncover the truth in a mysterious case, his own reality begins to unravel. What is deception, and what is memory?
A gripping psychological thriller about fear, the mind, and the boundaries between illusion and reality.

Original Film Title: BAAB

Director’s Name: Nayla Al Khaja

Writer’s Name: Nayla Al Khaja, Masoud Amralla Al Ali

Producer: Nayla Al Khaja, Jude Stephen Walko, Sultan Saeed Al Darmaki

Country of Origin: United Arab Emirates

Country of Filming: United Arab Emirates

Language: Arabic

Runtime: 1 hour 37 minutes

Film Description:

BAAB is a dark fantasy that unfolds through the fractured mind of a woman reeling from the sudden death of her twin sister. Plagued by the eerie hum of tinnitus in her left ear, she is drawn into a surreal world where grief takes on physical form. As she descends through three visceral stages, depression, anger, and bargaining, her reality begins to distort, blurring the line between the living and the dead. Set in an isolated Emirati landscape steeped in myth and memory, BAAB explores the intimate violence of grief and the unspoken bond between twins. What begins as a psychological unraveling soon reveals something more otherworldly, a doorway (“BAAB” in Arabic) that may lead to closure… or something far more sinister.

Original Film Title: Marvel’s Avengers Bonus Feature Part 1

Director’s Name: Chris Brian

Writer’s Name: Chris Brian

Producer: Chris Brian

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 11 minutes

Film Description:

A reluctant hero is thrust into an unexpected journey that challenges everything they believe. Along the way, they face powerful enemies, form unlikely alliances, and uncover hidden truths about themselves and the world around them. As the stakes rise, they must decide what they’re willing to sacrifice to overcome the final obstacle—and whether victory is worth the cost.

Original Film Title: EMPATHY REHEARSALS

Director’s Name: Jacopo Cullin

Writer’s Name: Jacopo Cullin

Producer: Antro Film

Country of Origin: Italy

Country of Filming: Italy

Language: Italian

Runtime: 20 minutes

Film Description:

Tommy is the school bully, convinced that strength and fear are the only ways to earn respect.After yet another act of aggression, the principal forces him to attend a theater workshop.There, he meets classmates he once ignored and, through acting exercises, is pushed to step into their shoes.Facing those he hurt and confronting his own vulnerabilities gradually changes how he sees himself and others.Through struggle and discovery, Tommy takes his first uncertain steps toward empathy.

Original Film Title: Zombie Winos

Director’s Name: Nicholas VanderBorgh, Richard Drutman

Writer’s Name: Nicholas VanderBorgh

Producer: Nicholas VanderBorgh

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 6 minutes 25 seconds

Film Description:

During a zombie apocalypse a wine connoisseur discovers a love of alcohol can be greater then a love to eat humans.