Category: WSXA PARIS 2026

(FINALIST)

Original Film Title: RENDER

Director’s Name: James Dobbins-Jones

Writer’s Name: James Dobbins-Jones

Producer: James Dobbins-Jones

Country of Origin: Australia

Country of Filming: Australia

Language: English

Runtime: 54 minutes 20 seconds

Film Description:

When Luke runs out of weed he comes across a new drug from his dealer Called RENDER. While Luke takes this new drug he starts experiecning visuals he has never seen before, going into abnormal trips while having dreams of a prosititute who he regularly see’s in real life. As he continues to take this new drug his experiences go from euporhic to nightmarish. Luke starts to lose himself as his addiction worsens with this drug known as RENDER.

(FINALIST)

Original Film Title: The Day of the Twigfid

Director’s Name: Tom Whiteley

Writer’s Name: Tom Whiteley

Producer: Tom Whiteley

Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Country of Filming: United Kingdom

Language: English

Runtime: 1 minute 27 seconds

Film Description:

There’s something in the woods…

(FINALIST)

Original Film Title: Jesus’s Last Supper In America

Director’s Name: Kevin M Jones

Writer’s Name: Kevin M Jones

Producer: Kevin M Jones

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 2 minutes

Film Description:

This is a short, animated film that imagines what would happen if Jesus came back today and visited the United States. It is based on the contradiction that is being debated in modern Christianity in this country, where many of the current laws being pushed by conservative Christians seem go against Jesus’s actual philosophy and teachings.

(FINALIST)

Original Film Title: Mortal Muddled Sage

Director’s Name: Gao Shumin

Writer’s Name: Gao Shumin

Producer: Gao Shumin

Country of Origin:

Country of Filming:

Language:

Runtime: 9 minutes 18 seconds

Film Description:

This story tells of Yuanman, who was born simple-minded yet strikingly handsome. From a young age, he was bullied relentlessly in his village, with his mother as his only warm haven. Then came a sudden turn in late autumn — his mother, worn down by years of toil, fell ill and passed away. On her deathbed, she saw the portrait of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven that Yuanman had picked up, and entrusted him to the Great Sage’s care. She sewed for him a crimson robe and a golden headpiece, and carved a wooden staff like the Monkey King’s, praying that the Great Sage would protect her son from humiliation and harm for the rest of his life.

After his mother’s death, Yuanman wandered alone, begging for food, only to be set upon and beaten again. When he returned home, he saw the Great Sage costume his mother had left behind. He put it on and went begging along the streets — and unexpectedly, it earned him kindness from the world. Every day after begging, he would visit his parents’ grave to pay respects. One day, he fell asleep in front of the grave and, in a dream, received enlightenment from a celestial female official. Only then did he remember that he had once been a divine being in the upper realm. To protect the peace of this land, he chose to be reborn as a mortal. In traditional Chinese culture, a person is composed of three hun (spiritual souls governing intellect, morality, and consciousness) and seven po (corporeal spirits governing bodily functions, instincts, and emotions). He willingly sacrificed one of his three hun and two of seven po, thereby being reborn as a simpleton, living hidden among mortals to vanquish demons and evil.

When he woke, his eyes had lost their dullness and gained clarity and resolve — yet he still kept his simple, foolish appearance. Draped in the crimson robe and gripping the golden staff, by day he plays a stumbling beggar, watching over the mortal world’s bustling life; by night he becomes a nameless hero, guarding the peace of the land. With nothing but his lone courage, he keeps the village in quiet, enduring harmony.

(FINALIST)

Original Film Title: Beyond the Pane

Director’s Name: Shahab Zargari

Writer’s Name: Ekam Singh

Producer: Shahab Zargari, Jacob Gallegos, Mo Milan

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 3 minutes 24 seconds

Film Description:

David is enjoying a calm day at home reading and relaxing until he spots something unusual outside his window: a suspicious stranger hanging out on the corner in front of his house. Who is this hooligan, and what is he doing here? David intends to find out.

This film and its characters are a metaphor for the endless cycle of child abuse where most children who are abused tend to grow up and abuse their own children.

“One-third of child victims grow up to continue a pattern of seriously inept, neglectful, or abusive rearing as parents. One-third do not. The other one-third remain vulnerable to the effects of social stress on the likelihood of their becoming abusive parents.”