Category: BEST SHORT FILM – WSXA PARIS 2026

(FINALIST)

Original Film Title: The Alchemy of Strangers

Director’s Name: Joshua Longfellow Wright

Writer’s Name: Joshua Longfellow Wright, Cat Masterson

Producer: Joshua Longfellow Wright

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 11 minutes 40 seconds

Film Description:

After an unexpected encounter with a mysterious stranger named Reaper, Tanya Tartarian – a weary, overlooked woman stuck in the grind of everyday life – is handed a choice that could rewrite her story. What begins with baby vomit on her shirt turns into an uneasy partnership, as Tanya’s wit, nerve, and quiet desperation are tested against Reaper’s ominous charm. In the shadow of a popular ice rink, a dangerous game of trust and transformation unfolds.

(FINALIST)

Original Film Title: THE TENDER ONES WILL TRIUMPH

Director’s Name: Francisco Bassignana

Writer’s Name: Walther Vera

Producer: Francisco Bassignana

Country of Origin: Poland

Country of Filming: Poland

Language: English, Polish, Ukrainian

Runtime: 14 minutes 47 seconds

Film Description:

A young Ukrainian girl live in Poland as immigrant. she received several calls from her mother but sfhe dont want to answer because she think that something bad is going on.

(FINALIST)

Original Film Title: Andersen Impasse

Director’s Name: Emir Batuş

Writer’s Name: Emir Batuş

Producer: Emir Batuş

Country of Origin: Türkiye

Country of Filming: Türkiye

Language: English

Runtime: 10 minutes 56 seconds

Film Description:

Has Andersen’s narrative world, which reverses the saying that fairy tales have happy endings, evolved into a happier reality 150 years after her death, or will such a longing always remain a dream?

(HONORABLE MENTION)

Original Film Title: A Film by Roland Wehap

Director’s Name: Roland Wehap

Writer’s Name: Roland Wehap

Producer: Roland Wehap

Country of Origin: Austria

Country of Filming: Austria

Language: English

Runtime: 29 minutes

Film Description:

The film “A Film by Roland Wehap” is a work by the filmmaker of the same name, Roland Wehap, who, as a “one-man show filmmaker,” challenges the concept itself by embarking on an extraordinary experiment: Is it possible to produce a short film with almost no budget entirely on your own?

In this ultimate “one-man show,” fiction and autobiographical elements merge into a biting satire about an uncompromising filmmaker. Driven by his relentless quest for fame, recognition, and the big breakthrough, he navigates the typical stages of a film career riddled with setbacks.

For a brief moment, however, he basks in the glamour of the world stage: he creates a film about his sleeping cat, establishes his own film festival after being rejected by all the others, and even gains international attention. But it quickly becomes evident that fame and honor don’t always translate into financial success.