UK Shorts

Gold Award – The Ballad of Pale Blue Dot

The Ballad of Pale Blue Dot

Directed by: Duncan Rudd

Starting at the atomic scale, we discover how earth was formed, its mis-spent youth, its adventures in parenting and its feelings towards us.

 

Honorable Mention – Solstice

Gold

Solstice

Directed by: Luke Angus

A lonely Inuit must endure the endless summer daylight to be reunited with his lost love.

Gold

Honorable Mention – Two Black Boys in Paradise

Gold

Two Black Boys in Paradise

Directed by: Baz Sells

A movingly tender animation, based on Dean Atta’s eponymous poem, sees two boys (Edan, 19 and Dula, 18) on a journey of self-acceptance and love.

International Shorts

Gold Award – You Play Too Much

You Play Too Much

Directed by: Rob Shaw, US

Lil’ Robbie (Fred Armisen) , an elementary school kid growing up in 1980’s Philadelphia has to navigate being a nerdy outsider in a tough environment.

 

Gold

Honorable Mention – Flower Bot

Flower Bot

Directed by: Celio Dubus, Margaux Hallot, Tiphaine Houdeau, Loïs Pastor, Marie Piazza, Clémence Thomire, Ludovic Vasse, Aurélia Zerhouni – France

In a scorching hot desert, Betty, a young robot still grieving her kind, discovers a miraculous flower. 

Experimental

Gold Award – Chrysalis

Chrysalis

Directed by: Andy Lomas, UK

A video for Max Cooper’s concert at the Royal Albert Hall created using computational simulation of biological processes.

Honorable Mention – Total Pixel Space

Total Pixel Space

Directed by: Jacob Adler, US

Total Pixel Space contains every possible digital image, including films of your entire life, every life you never lived.

VFX Shorts

Gold Award – Dream Brew

Dream Brew

Directed by: Ben Bayliss, Anthony Hampshire, Joel Dutton, UK

The project is designed to be used as an uncommissioned advertisement for the company “Dreambrew” – an iced coffee brand.

 

Honorable Mention – Buzz Stop

Buzz Stop

Directed by: Rehan Khan, Charlotte Foster, UK

This micro-short VFX film follows commuters around Entomopia – a city in which public transport systems are all giant insects.

AI Assisted

Gold Award – The Tale of the Peony

The Tale of the Peony

Directed by: Yuqing Liu, Jintao Sun, China

The Tale of the Peony is an AI-generated experimental short film inspired by the life of the late Tang dynasty poet Yu Xuanji.

 

Honorable Mention – Georges

Georges

Directed by: Alphonse Marcel, France

At the dawn of the 20th century, a filmmaker named Georges sets out to create a motion picture depicting a journey to the Moon.

New Talent

Gold Award – Insider

Insider

Directed by: Longyin Zhou – China, Japan

A treasure hunt through memory and self leads the panda to embrace the long-forgotten version of himself.

Honorable Mention – Selamat Jalan (Bon Voyage)

Selamat Jalan (Bon Voyage)

Directed by: Keisha Philia Ibrahim, Himanshu Gorantala, UK

First-time in a foreign country, a newly formed couple embarks on an exciting, adventurous, and heartfelt train journey throughout the United Kingdom.