Author: chicagofilmfestival

Showcase of the best FILMS in the world today.

Audience Award Winners:
Best Short Film: BRAISING
Best Direction: CHRISTMAS AT DOUG’S
Best Micro-Short: SELF-CARE IN SECONDS
Best Documentary: QUITTING DRUGS
Best Student: LEARNING TO FLY
Best Story: FINALE

See info for each film:

SELF-CARE IN SECONDS, 15 seconds
Directed by Curtis Johnson
The film tells the story of a character’s surprise visit from their future self, bringing a message of hope and redemption.

https://createsourcemedia.com/
https://www.instagram.com/createsourcemedia/

Watch NOW – the audience feedback video.

QUITTING DRUGS, 20min., USA
Directed by Ali Imran Ch, Fatima Mughal
Bumb Shah is a Pakistani rapper whose traumatic life experiences heavily influence his music. Like many artists, he began using drugs early in his career, hoping that they would fuel his creativity. Before long, he fell into a rabbit hole of addiction-centered depravity, something that was reflected in his music.

Watch NOW – the audience feedback video.

LEARNING TO FLY, 3min,. USA
Directed by Samuel Alexander Slowik
Learning to fly is a stop motion film by Sam Slowik featuring the adventure of Lego man and his rig friend, as they set out to learn how to fly.

https://www.youtube.com/@samalanderstudio

Watch NOW – the audience feedback video.

BRAISING, 19min., USA
Directed by Bryan Ribeiro
Conroy –a crestfallen, fast food cook who dreams of becoming a chef– finds community with a peculiar “charity” organization, all while he strives to deepen his connection with his widower father.

https://www.instagram.com/braisingfilm

Watch NOW – the audience feedback video.

FINALE, 10min,. USA
Directed by Ryan Park
“Finale” tells the story of Antonio, an aspiring actor from Mexico facing the immense challenges of breaking into the industry. On the day of a crucial audition, Antonio receives a devastating call from his sister in Mexico, informing him that their mother has been in a severe accident. Torn between his familial duty and his dreams, Antonio realizes he cannot do anything from afar and decides to proceed with the audition. This pivotal moment forces him to confront an opportunity that could either transform his life or add to his struggles.

https://www.instagram.com/finale.cinema/?hl=en

Watch NOW – the audience feedback video.

CHRISTMAS AT DOUG’S, 12min., Canada
Directed by Dean Harder
Doug hosts a Christmas party every year. These parties are usually lacklustre at best with regifting being the norm. Mike and Chelsea have reservations about attending again but follow their Holiday good deed to give Doug some Christmas spirit in his life. Once they arrive it’s clear that this will not be a normal Christmas party. It’s Christmas overload. All the guests receive amazing gifts which leads to a new set of tension and curiosity. Where did Doug get the means to pull off such an amazing Christmas Party?

http://schmickity.com/https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554613553745

Watch NOW – the audience feedback video.

Showcase of the best FILMS in the world today.

Audience Award Winners:
Best Feature Film: IMMERSION
Best Short Film: NOVA

Best Direction: MOISTURE
Best Performances: FEM/DOM – Empowered
Best Student Film: CHHAVA
Best Story: HOME
Best Experimental Film: TORII

See info for each film:

NOVA, 7min., USA
Directed by Noah Guardado
In the year 2468, Jackson, a seasoned bounty hunter, finds himself in dire straits when his partner mysteriously vanishes. Struggling with financial difficulties, Jackson reluctantly accepts a risky job offer to track down an elusive criminal. Set in a futuristic world with elements of sci-fi and cyberpunk, NOVA explores themes of identity and betrayal amidst a backdrop of advanced technology and quirky characters.

https://www.instagram.com/nova_themovie/

Watch NOW – the audience feedback video.

IMMERSION, 93min., USA
Directed by William R.A. Rush
A woman in a new home must protect her family while contending with the unexpected inhabitants of her house.

http://www.ogcinpro.com/https://www.instagram.com/originalcinematic

Watch NOW – the audience feedback video.

MOISTURE, 25min., Brazil
Directed by Duda Gorter
Brazil: In a gray city in the near future, religious sects and rats live on the prowl. It rains non-stop.

Watch NOW – the audience feedback video.

FEM/DOM – Empowered, 15min., USA
Directed by Mitchell Suikess
Violet is a resourceful, independent, and modern woman. By day, she works as a soft-spoken assistant for an abusive, and misogynistic boss, Mr. Mann. By night, Violet swaps her powerlessness for power, when she moonlights as a dominatrix in the Los Angeles underground. The almost schizophrenic nature of Violet’s life puts her on the path to facing her demons, and ultimately choosing the type woman she wants to be.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/FemDomFilm
https://instagram.com/donnaa_victorya

Watch NOW – the audience feedback video.

CHHAVA, 39min., India
Directed by Anurag Srijit, Arman Shaikh
Set in the storied Apshinge Military Village in Maharashtra, ‘Chhava’ offers an intimate glimpse into the lives of families bound by centuries of military service, from the reign of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to today. Crafted with care by first-time student filmmakers, the documentary weaves together personal sacrifices and enduring bravery, revealing the profound human spirit at the village’s heart.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32117939/
https://instagram.com/chhava.official

Watch NOW – the audience feedback video.

HOME, 16min., USA
Directed by Al Chang
Seo-won navigates a fragmented reality filled with emotional encounters and haunting memories, seeking solace and clarity in her search for home.

https://www.instagram.com/4lcfilm

Watch NOW – the audience feedback video.

TORII, 13min., Germany
Directed by Martin Gerigk
Torii ?? is a short film in the form of an audiovisual composition about the traditional Shinto gates of the same name in Japan. The film uses these gates which symbolically mark the transition from the mundane to the sacred as representatives of a personal synaesthetic and spiritual journey through five levels of consciousness, traveling from existentialism to metaphysics, abstraction, and the Shinto deities called Kami, culminating in a final transition that weaves together these diverse philosophical threads.

https://www.martin-gerigk.de/
https://www.facebook.com/martin.gerigk.79/

Watch NOW – the audience feedback video.

A woman plays a poker game for a second shot at life, but what are the stakes and what is the real prize?

CAST LIST:

Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
Mina: Hannah Ehman
Bannister: Geoff Mays

When a grieving teenage boy, sent to live with the father he’s never met, is haunted by memories and wrestling with his identity, it takes the magic of pebbles on water and the transformative power of kind friends to help him accept his past and welcome his future.

http://www.alandavidpritchard.com/
https://www.facebook.com/PoetryByAlanDavidPritchard/

CAST LIST:

Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
Aunt Wendy: Hannah Ehman
Chris: Geoff Mays

At the risk of losing his soul, a guilt ridden Deacon suffers the Devil’s wrath after he refuses to complete her final demand.

CAST LIST:

Narrator: Geoff Mays
Stanley: Steve Rizzo
Sister Luciana: Hannah Ehman
Julie Donaldson: Elizabeth Rose Morriss