Author: chicagofilmfestival

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

Mariposa, 5min,. USA
Directed by Brook Vitovsky
Mariposa’s world begins to unravel around her when she finds a mysterious butterfly.

Interview Director/Writer Eve Ferretti (WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT CARMEN)
https://festivalreviews.org/2025/10/14/interview-director-writer-eve-ferretti-what-they-say-about-carmen/

What They Say About Carmen, 2min., Portugal
Directed by Eve Ferretti, Pedro Mota Teixeira
“What They Say About Carmen” brings to light the story of a 10-year-old girl who was born without arms, narrated by a voice that uses a “borrowed” discourse, typical of those who “say that…” This narrative, coming from someone who never knew Carmen, adopts a memorial tone that contrasts with the animated image, revealing the true essence of the protagonist. This confrontation between the visual narrative and the verbal discourse invites us to dive deeper into Carmen’s life.

Interview with Priscilla Zanni Bertran (CAST & BREW)
https://festivalreviews.org/2025/10/14/interview-with-priscilla-zanni-bertran-cast-brew/

Cast & Brew, 10min., Spain/USA
Directed by Priscilla Zanni Bertran
Cast & Brew is a comedy about an AD trying to manage a film set where coffee has been delayed, and the lead actor, Bruce, refuses to do any takes without his coffee first. Chaos erupts when Craft Services informs the AD and Producer about a worldwide collapse in the coffee supply chain.

Beg Yuh A Call, 8min., Jamaica
Directed by Mikey T Campbell
Omar is adjusting to life overseas. A call from back home changes everything.

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

AUDIENCE AWARDS:
Best Feature Film: IRABŪ of the Kudaka Island, Okinawa
Best Short Film: Beg Yuh A Call
Best Micro-Short: Cloistergeist
Best Direction: Cast & Brew
Best Student Film: Mariposa
Best Story: What They Say About Carmen

IRABŪ of the Kudaka Island, Okinawa, 102min., Japan
Directed by Kazuo Okada
　Kudaka Island in Okinawa is home to just over 200 people and holds a sacred cultural legacy centered on the grand IZAIHŌ festival, celebrated once every 12 years for more than six centuries. The island is renowned for its traditional production of IRABŪ, smoked Erabu sea kraits, revered as a divine gift from the gods and once presented at banquets for distinguished guests of the Ryukyu Kingdom.

https://tokyocinema.jp/irabu-E.html

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/intro-audience-feedback-irabu

Cloistergeist, 3min., France
Directed by Paige Hering
A monk’s quiet monastery life is upended by a playful ghost, and just when he’s about to exorcise the spirit, he discovers the ghost has a secret soft side.

https://www.instagram.com/cloistergeist.film/

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

Cast & Brew, 10min., Spain/USA
Directed by Priscilla Zanni Bertran
Cast & Brew is a comedy about an AD trying to manage a film set where coffee has been delayed, and the lead actor, Bruce, refuses to do any takes without his coffee first. Chaos erupts when Craft Services informs the AD and Producer about a worldwide collapse in the coffee supply chain. On the meantime, Bruce demands his detailed coffee order while the director pushes for rehearsals. The scene inside the film happens in a Western field where Bruce proposes to his girlfriend, Sara. He is grabbing her in his arms and as soon as she accepts his proposal, he lets her fall to the ground claiming he lacks the muscle strength without his coffee. The Producer then reveals the truth about the coffee crisis, leading to Bruce quitting the film. This sparks a huge chaotic montage ensues with crazy physical altercations.

https://www.instagram.com/priszanni/

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

Mariposa, 5min,. USA
Directed by Brook Vitovsky
Mariposa’s world begins to unravel around her when she finds a mysterious butterfly.

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

Beg Yuh A Call, 8min., Jamaica
Directed by Mikey T Campbell
Omar is adjusting to life overseas. A call from back home changes everything.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-beg-yuh-a-call

What They Say About Carmen, 2min., Portugal
Directed by Eve Ferretti, Pedro Mota Teixeira
“What They Say About Carmen” brings to light the story of a 10-year-old girl who was born without arms, narrated by a voice that uses a “borrowed” discourse, typical of those who “say that…” This narrative, coming from someone who never knew Carmen, adopts a memorial tone that contrasts with the animated image, revealing the true essence of the protagonist. This confrontation between the visual narrative and the verbal discourse invites us to dive deeper into Carmen’s life.

https://spiceshipstudios.com/project/index.php?p=14

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-what-they-say-about-carmen

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

AUDIENCE AWARDS:

Best Short Film: SILENT PLAN
Best Experimental Film: YELLOW DRESS
Best Micro-Short: GRAVITY BOUND
Best Performances: STIGMA
Best Story: BREAKROOM
Best Direction: BLANCA
Best Visual Design: I WISH I WERE PRETTY
Best Student Film: THREE S3CONDS

Yellow Dress, 4min., UK
Directed by Raph Isadora Seymour
What is she doing? Trying to make a garden? Trying to make something…and who or what is trying to stop her? Crude stop-motion makes startling and poetic images and tells a story of resilience and the desire for happiness for both the hero and the villain of the piece.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-yellow-dress

Gravity Bound, 3min., USA
Directed by Frankie Lasley
The Man on the Moon is bound to the moon by his job; controlling the tides on Earth with a magical box of gravity. His quiet days are spent longing after a Shooting Star, who is bound to forever orbit him from a distance.

https://www.instagram.com/gravityboundfilm

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-gravity-bound

STIGMA, 30min., Tunisia
Directed by Dali Mansour
During the Covid-19 lockdown, “Stigma” explores the emotional impact on Bochra, a young woman living alone in France. Through webcam exchanges with her parents in Tunisia, Bochra struggles with painful memories and a dark past. Confronted with solitude in her Parisian apartment, she faces shadows of her past, gradually revealing a deeply buried trauma. The film delves into themes of resilience, the importance of family bonds, and the quest for self in an isolated world, leading to a poignant revelation.

https://www.instagram.com/stigmashortfilm/

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

BREAKROOM, 15min., USA
Directed by Ian Wang
A offbeat genre-bending comedy where mundane office tensions often unravel into something far more unsettling.

https://www.instagram.com/redlotusentertainment/

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

BLANCA, 7min., USA
Directed by Carlos Grana
During a coup in 1948, Peru’s First Lady must drive her maid and wounded chauffeur to the hospital down a treacherous road in the Andes.

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

I Wish I Were Pretty, 20min., USA
Directed by Hanah Chang
Areum (which means ‘beautiful’ in Korean) is fixated on her physical appearance. She is convinced her monolidded eyes are why she is ‘unpretty,’ especially in comparison with her longtime best friend, Jane (as in plain Jane), who has double-lidded eyes and is so beautiful that she could be mistaken for a K-Pop idol. Areum tries to work through her insecurities with her therapist, Helen. But when a man humiliates Areum in front of Jane, Areum has to decide whether to finally face a long-festering sore spot and see her own value or let her friendship with Jane deteriorate.

https://www.instagram.com/iwishiwere_pretty/

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-i-wish-i-were-pretty

Three S3conds, 16min., USA
Directed by Diana Shield
Arlo, a 17 year old boy struggles to open up and express himself to his counselor. He is haunted by his past actions due to his inability to control his rage and anger issues.

https://www.instagram.com/galacticbutterflyfilms

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-three-seconds

SILENT PLAN, 13min., Turkey
Directed by Omer Yildirim
A groundbreaking new technology offers hope to the deaf: the ability to hear sounds once again. Four young individuals, chosen to be part of this revolutionary step, eagerly await the moment they will finally hear the voices of their loved ones—voices they have been recording for years. But just days before the official launch, they are quietly removed from the project. No explanation is given; their dreams are taken from them.

https://instagram.com/bayomer

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

AUDIENCE AWARDS:

Best Feature Film: TRAIL MIX
Best Performances: SMALL TOWN GIRLS
Best Comedy Film: HAMMERSTONE MEETS WOOFSTOCK
Best Story: ROUTINE
Best Direction: SUPER VILLAIN COFFEE
Best Student Film: THE CALLBACK
Best Micro-Short: COSMIC RHAPSODY: A JOURNEY OF HOPE

Trail Mix, 50min,. USA
Directed by Glenn Robert Sweitzer
Trail Mix follows a 2,000-mile journey from Georgia to Maine, uncovering the personal struggles and healing of hikers seeking solace, purpose, and transformation. Directed by Glenn Sweitzer, the film reveals how nature becomes a powerful path back to wholeness.

http://trailmix.film/https://instagram.com/trailmix_film

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-trail-mix

SMALL TOWN GIRLS, 4min., USA
Directed by Layal Hamdeh
Feeling confined by their small empty town and unambitious locals, Jasmine and Sarah entertain the idea of moving away to New York.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-small-town-girls

Hammerstone Meets Woofstock, 20min., Canada
Directed by Josh Holliday
A film that straddles the line between narrative and documentary, landing squarely on comedy. Steve Hammerstone is a small town radio host and big time buffoon, who’s sent to explore Woofstock: North America’s largest festival for dogs.

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

Routine, 5min., Canada
Directed by Abo Fall
Meet Benedicte, a happy young woman living in a beautiful, heavenly garden where she doesn’t have a single worry in the world. She loves to wander around, lay on the grass and simply live in the moment.

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

Super Villain Coffee, 15min., USA
Directed by Leonard Frank Smith
“Supervillain Coffee” is a satirical comedy about Maximum “Chaos” Maxwell, a once-feared supervillain now slinging espresso in a hip downtown coffee shop. Max trades doomsday devices for latte art, grumbling about his past while perfecting milk foam with the precision of a mad scientist. His sidekick in this caffeine-fueled redemption arc is Travis “The Trendsetter” Thompson, ex-villain obsessed with livestreaming his barista life for TikTok clout—complete with hashtags like #VillainToVanilla. The shop’s a circus of chaos and coffee until Captain Righteous, Max’s old heroic nemesis, struts in to rub salt in the wound with smug jabs and a lactose-laden latte order that backfires hilariously. Between plunging toilets and dodging Travis’s phone, Max wrestles with his villainous past and barista present—until a rare moment of wisdom from Travis hints at deeper redemption, only for Max to shrug it off with a grunt. It’s a wild brew of absurdity, heart, and sharp laughs—a tale of evil gone mild, one overpriced coffee at a time.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-super-villian-coffee

THE CALLBACK, 10min., Canada
ISAAC is one of several actors auditioning for the lead in the globally renowned action franchise: MAX STORM. Every actor has been invited into the audition room, which is empty aside from a table with a black covering. Suddenly, they’re greeted by the voice of director DEAN WEST over the intercom. “Do whatever it takes to secure the role.” The tablecloth comes off, revealing a massive collection of deadly melee weapons. Everyone is skeptical, but distrust is already growing. When one of the actors sets his sights on Isaac, snatches an imposing knife off the table, and begins to close in, Isaac is forced to fight to survive.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-the-callback

Cosmic Rhapsody – A Journey of Hope, 3min. Singapore
Directed by Susan Mey Lee Lim, Christina Teenz Tan
In 2020, the world seemed to be on the brink. A global pandemic raged, wildfires scorched the earth, and anxieties soared. Yet, amidst this turmoil, a spark of hope ignited: NASA astronauts returned to space aboard SpaceX’s CrewDragon, the first mission of its kind in nearly a decade. This inspiring event, against the backdrop of a world in crisis, gave birth to “Cosmic Rhapsody.”

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

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