Author: chicagofilmfestival

A showcase of the best new films from around the world today.

AUDIENCE AWARDS:
Best Short Film: MARYJANE IS ONE WORD
Best Micro-Short Film: THE VOICE OF TIME
Best Comedy Film: SPARE!
Best Animation: HOW WE HAMSTERS DIE
Best Music Video: SHAMDEMONIUM
Best Story: TRUCCO AND PARRUCCO
Best Performances: LAUREL MOON
Best Direction: WHAT’S WRONG WITH SAWYER SMITH?
Best Horror Film: DOTTED LINE
Best Documentary Film: The Making of Star Among the Cosmic Clouds : from Song to Symphony
Best Visual Design: WAITING FOR NIA

SPARE!, 34min., France
Directed by Jules Cales, Balthazar Ullmann
Phil and Barney, two not-so-smart henchmen of a Mafia organization, stumble across a mysterious box full of money while burying a corpse in the woods. Their night turns to chaos when they decide to spend lavishly this unexpected fortune.

https://instagram.com/spare.lefilm

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-spare

How We Hamsters Die, 6min., USA
Directed by Phoebe Burdick, Mio Gribskov
A comedic 2D animated short film that tells the absurdly tragic stories of hamsters from the after-life. Built upon interviews & true stories, the film aims to entertain while promoting responsible pet ownership and proper treatment of hamsters. Prepare to laugh, cry, and gasp in shock as this mixed-media, documentary-style film takes a look into how and why this colorful cast of pet hamsters died.

https://www.instagram.com/howwehamstersdie

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-how-we-hamsters-die

SHAMDEMONIUM, 6min., USA
Directed by Grace Ann Rathbun
SHAMDEMONIUM is a music video style narrative short film that follows young aspiring actor Barb as she leads up to her final moments alive and her time in the After Life.

https://instagram.com/graceannimation

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-shamdemonium

TRUCCO AND PARRUCCO, 17min., Argentina/Italy
Directed by Martín De León
Two Argentinian designers and lifelong friends, Sandra and Martina, are chosen at the last minute to travel to Milan during Fashion Week to present their collection in a competition for emerging Latin brands. Elated, they leave behind a Buenos Aires collapsed by floods, blackouts and a deep economic crisis, and set off for a city of dreams and catwalks.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-trucco-ans-parrucco

Laurel Moon, 20min., USA
Directed by Sarah Sherman
After sharing a walk home with an unexpected companion, a grieving mother leaves all she has left so she can finally live.

https://instagram.com/laurelmoonfilm

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-laurel-moon

What’s Wrong With Sawyer Smith?, 15min., USA
Directed by Mason Seeley, Jacob Canepa

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-whats-wrong-with-sawyer-smith

The Voice of Time, 5min., Italy
Directed by Carlo Guttadauro
The Voice of Time is a cinematic tale inspired by the essence of Opera, entrusted by the Consortium of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PDO to director Carlo Guttadauro and his studio Anam Cara Comunicazione, with the creative presence of Thomas Guttadauro.

https://instagram.com/anamcara.comunicazione/

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-the-voice-of-time

Dotted Line, 10min., USA
Directed by Michael Rognlie, EE Tallent
A reclusive woman is drawn into a waking nightmare when she is stalked by a deranged lunatic, who is convinced that she holds the key to his twisted redemption.

https://www.instagram.com/miromakesmovies

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-dotted-line

The Making of Star Among the Cosmic Clouds : from Song to Symphony, 11min., Sinapore
Directed by Susan May Lee Lim
Journey behind the curtain to witness the creation of “Star Among the Cosmic Clouds,” a powerful new song from the album ALAN: Cosmic Rhapsody. This documentary delves into the creative process, tracing the song’s origins from its soulful roots with composer Joi Barua to its grand transformation into an orchestral pop masterpiece.

https://www.instagram.com/cosmicrhap/

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-the-making-of-star-among-the-cosmic-clouds-chicago

Maryjane Is One Word, 13min., USA
Directed by John Liang
A young adopted woman meets her biological mother for the first time.

https://www.instagram.com/lonelydevilfilms

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-maryjane-is-one-word

Waiting For Nia, 16min., USA
Directed by Maurice Simmons
Nia Kim, a 16-year-old girl, is rushed to Brookshire Hospital after a severe car accident. Her divorced parents, Justin and Tanya Kim, anxiously await news of her condition. As they confront their past issues and fears, they find moments of revolution, connection and understanding.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-waiting-for-nia

The Bait is a visceral survival thriller based on a true story. It follows João, a disillusioned real estate executive suffocating under the weight of his domineering family’s expectations. When his carefree friend Patrick invites him on a windsurfing trip to Búzios, João seizes the chance to reconnect with the ocean—and with himself. But a sudden shark attack leaves him critically injured, stranded miles from shore and fighting for his life.

CAST LIST:

Narrator: Val Cole

Oswaldhino: Shawn Devlin

Joao: Sean Ballantyne

A showcase of the best new films from around the world today.

AUDIENCE AWARDS:
Best Feature Film: ROTTEN APPLE
Best Short Film: ALWAYS AND FOREVER
Best Story: CARDBOARD
Best Documentary: HOW WE ROLL

HOW WE ROLL, 16min,. USA
Directed by Anthony Ciancio
What started as a little idea becomes a local phenomenon. Meet the passionate folks who have reinvigorated this ancient game as a means of escape and finding common ground in their community. Meet The Elmwood Park Bocce League.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-how-we-roll

Always and Forever, 22min., USA
Directed by Johnny Thames
An obsessive, controlling teenager kidnaps her boyfriend to play a bizarre, self destructive game. But things become complicated when the boy demands a stop. The film comments on how trauma if not confronted and resolved will lead to co-dependent and potentially destructive results, while providing enough empathy toward accountability.

https://www.instagram.com/alwaysnforever_film

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-always-and-forever

CARDBOARD, 23min., USA
Directed by Diana Densmore
A neglected young girl builds a cardboard time machine and runs away to the future only to find her adult self in the throes of depression, as the two connect they remind each other of the joy of loving oneself.

https://www.instagram.com/flusshausfilms

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-cardboard

ROTTEN APPLE, 81min., USA
Directed by Justin Hunt
A truly groundbreaking docu-drama, ‘Rotten Apple’ is an alarming exposé on the dark epidemic of grooming and sexual assault in public schools and the eminent ripple effect.

https://instagram.com/whitewhalepictures

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-rotten-apples

A showcase of the best ANIMATION films in the world today.

AUDIENCE WINNERS:
Best Animated Short Film: Dynamics
Best Genre Animation Film: Troop 13
Best Micro-Short Film: Patchwork
Best Music Video: Onion Dog
Best Visual Design: The Town Without Laws
Best Story: Gnomes of New York
Best Direction: Mare in the Grass

dystopia, 9min., Switzerland
Directed by bellopropello –
Soap bubbles infiltrate a robotic armaments factory.
Subversiveness versus logical reasoning.
Who will get the upper hand?

https://instagram.com/bellopropello

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-dystopia

What we imagined, 3min., USA
Directed by Shubhavi Arya
In a magical park, two children meet across a divide — one fast like a cheetah, the other once feared. Through questions, sketches, and a desktop of dreams, they invite us into a story of transformation, truth, and imagination. Their message is simple but powerful:

https://www.whatweimagined.mykidsstudio.com/

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-what-we-imagined-wildsound

Cosmic Handshake (Official Video), 8min. USA
Directed by Steven Wright Clarkson
This video is about unity. As a christian, I know I can learn something from just about everyone. Opening your heart to other countries and their people and customs undoubtedly bridges the barriers that this world needs so very much. No matter what religion, color, creed, race, sexual orientation, etc., we are all children of God. He loves each and every one of us immensely. He wants to form a strong relationship with every creation including us. Peace and Christ’s love to each of you, Steven

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-cosmic-handshake

Prayer of the Sea, 6min., Germany
Directed by Martin Gerigk
A composer recounts a dream from his youth that inspired the slow movement of his first string quartet, Prayer of the Sea. The dream, depicting a peaceful dissolution into the sea and wind, symbolized his future death. Decades later, rediscovering a drawing from the quartet’s premiere – perfectly capturing the dream’s essence – revived its emotions. Now older, he reflects on the dream’s message: a serene acceptance of life’s inevitable end.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-prayer-of-the-sea

Cats Cradle, 10min., Canada
Directed by Allyson Lorraine Glenn
Cats Cradle is inspired by the Greek myth Ariadne and her journey from Crete to Naxos. Like The Fates, she is associated with the symbol of the thread, which she uses to help Theseus kill the Minotaur. Central to Ariadne’s story is her deification, her transcendence from mortal to divine through a union with Dionysus. By revisiting this ancient myth, Cats Cradle invites viewers to reflect on how they navigate their own inner labyrinths of identity and transformation.

http://allyson.glenn@usask.ca/

https://www.instagram.com/allysonglennart/

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-cats-cradle

The Town Without Laws, 3min., USA
Directed by Kiarra Angelique Moore
A rag tag trio of criminals are tasked by the devil, to hunt down an outlaw trying to outrun his debt.

https://www.instagram.com/nightielightie/

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-the-town-without-laws

Mare in the Grass, 3min,. USA
Directed by Beza Solomon
Bryce, the coolest kid at Destiny Middle, is bound to win the school talent show. Mary, Mikey, and Stephen won’t stand by and let this happen.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-marie-in-the-grass

Gnomes of New York, 4min., USA
Directed by Shane Willett
New York is a busy city, everyone is always coming and going and never stopping. What if you stopped and took time to watch the city, carefully, around a secret world exists. Gnomes, they keep the city alive and thriving. Without them, New York would not be the same. [Process consisted of filming the entire project on a digital camera and creating plates to add in CGI]

https://www.instagram.com/ai_car_pool/

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-gnomes-of-new-york

TROOP 13, 4min., USA
Directed by Alice Elizabeth Trisha Vogel
Troop 13 is a short horror stop motion comedy about a troop of campers who are out in the woods. The fire begins to die and one by one the campers go off to find wood and earn their fire-wood gathering patch but once they set off none return. The troop leader then goes off to get firewood on his own, and just when he thought he was safe he is met with the same fate as the campers.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-troop-13

Onion Dog, 7min., USA
Directed by Michelle Pozen
The story of an ordinary American dog.
Struggling to find his place in the modern world, he points his beak toward the Old West in search of purpose and meaning.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-onion-dog

PATCHWORK, 2min., USA
Directed by Karsyn Fletcher
A determined sprite builds a scarecrow to save her pumpkin, but when it grows too big, she must adapt in the face of change.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-patchwork

DYNAMICS, 14min., Netherlands
Directed by Teo Baehler,
DYNAMICS (Frozen Movements) is an experimental, dreamy and surreal stop-motion film, created using everyday materials. The film offers a visual reflection on transformations that emerge through the intuitive blending of dissimilar elements. The result is a non-narrative art film where fantasy, form and texture merge into a sensory experience.

https://www.instagram.com/teobaehler

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-dynamics

Voice over by Val Cole

Standing Crooked Logline: A boy born with club feet in Troubles-era Belfast survives a traumatic childhood and 42 surgeries, discovering that while the body may falter, the right words can teach a man how to stand.

Voice Over: Val Cole

A showcase of the best new films from around the world today.

AUDIENCE AWARDS:
Best Short Film: NEXT UP
Best Visual Design: EMMA
Best Performances: TREU (FAITHFUL)
Best Music Video: TIMELESS: A SYMPHONY IN MOTION
Best Direction: NIGHT SHIFT AT NED’S
Best Documentary: CHICAGO CRIME
Best Student Film: PESTICIDE
Best Cinematography: INVINCIBLES
Best Sound & Music: THE TENDER ONES WILL TRIUMPH

Emma, 11min., Canada
Directed by Robert Bockstael
Two women, associated through addiction are spiraling downwards. In a rare moment of clarity, nearing the end of their salvageable lives, Emma remembers a long-forgotten ‘secret stash’ of money she and her grandmother kept for an emergency. Embarking on a quest for this treasure – this perceived salvation – they find instead an offer of redemption.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-emma

Treu (Faithful), 15min., Germany
Directed by Hansjoerg Thurn
A woman wakes up in a bed she doesn’t know and seems to be trapped by a man twice her age. She tries to escape, but after a wild getaway, she saves herself back in the same house she escaped from. An older version of her speaks to her from a computer. Only then does she realize that she is suffering from Alzheimer’s and is actually the same age as the man who is her husband. She remembers the early years of their relationship, when they were both famous actors on stage. TREU depicts the disorientation of a woman with dementia and the mental imprisonment of her caring partner. This short film focuses on the suffering of the husband (Anthony Arndt) and his wife (Annika Kuhl) in a tense atmosphere. The film has already won awards at many festivals. This short film is also going on a charity tour of international cinemas.

https://www.instagram.com/anthonyarndt_actor/

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-faithful

Timeless : A Symphony in Motion, 5min., UK
Directed by Susan Mey Lee Lim, Christina Teenz Tan, Samudra Kajal Saikia
“Timeless : A Symphony in Motion”” is a captivating music video that seamlessly blends a live recording of the titular song with poignant animated overlays, creating a visual and auditory experience that resonates deeply with audiences. Filmed at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in April 2025, the video features the 82-member Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the extraordinary vocals of Tom Ball, a star from America’s Got Talent.

https://www.instagram.com/fantasyofcompanionship/

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-timeless

NEXT UP, 30min., UK
Directed by Marion H von Loewenstern
Juliette Mandeville and Tilly Anders, two actresses follow a call for an audition to London. Juliette is already a successful and well-known actress who, however, due to her age, is no longer offered good film roles. Tilly Anders on the other hand, is at the beginning of her career, she is very young, inexperienced and full of self-doubt. The director is a shady character driven by selfishness. Juliettes audition doesn’t go well . Tilly is overcome nervousness and flees from the theatre before it’s her turn. How will the two women deal with it and will their lives take a turn? In the style of a surreal dramedy, the story gives a socially critical insight into the entertainment industry, with its possible obstacles and difficulties.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-next-up

Night Shift at Ned’s, 25min., USA
Directed by Hagen Mattingly
A seasoned waitress starts a new job at an overnight diner in the deep south, and learns new meaning to the term “customers from Hell.”

https://www.instagram.com/night_shift_at_neds

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-night-shift-at-neds

Chicago Crime, 19min., USA
Directed by Marcus DiPaola
Marcus DiPaola and Jermaine Kelly chase crime across Chicago, finding shocking differences between how police act in minority neighborhoods versus wealthy neighborhoods.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-chicago-crimes

Pesticide, 7min,. USA
Directed by Justin Graham
An exterminator duels both late night insects and an overbearing car salesman.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-pesticide

Invincibles, 25min., France
Directed by Shane Rosilio
This film is a dinner party behind closed doors. Hannah is hosting a dinner party at her house with her grandmother, her old school teacher, one of her classmates, and her brother, who lives with her. The classmate seems unaware of what he’s doing there, the school teacher tries to be as discreet as possible, and the brother keeps coughing. The atmosphere at dinner is heavy, as if everyone is superfluous, and the room is increasingly filled with unease…

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-invincibles

THE TENDER ONES WILL TRIUMPH, 15min., Poland
Directed by Francisco Bassignana
A young Ukrainian girl live in Poland as immigrant. she received several calls from her mother but she doesn’t want to answer because she think that something bad is going on.

https://wildsound.vhx.tv/videos/audience-feedback-the-tender-ones