Posted by Indie Short Fest celebrates the three Award of Excellence recipients from the September 2025 edition—films that impressed the jury with their originality, emotional depth, and command of craft. From haunting psychological drama to heartfelt social realism and sharp social satire, these three titles exemplify the range and vitality of contemporary short filmmaking.
Lottie by Bella Rieth (USA)
Set in 1973 New England, Lottie follows a restless fifteen-year-old girl, portrayed with striking vulnerability by Megan Oysen, as she fixates on an older pizza-delivery boy who briefly makes her feel seen. During a family vacation meant to bring healing, her parents’ attempts to protect her only deepen her descent into emotional isolation. What begins as a portrait of teenage longing becomes a haunting study of fear, fragility, and identity.
Director Bella Rieth reimagines the psychological tension of The Yellow Wallpaper through the eyes of a girl caught between innocence and awakening. “At its core, Lottie questions the powerlessness of fear—how, in trying to protect someone from losing themselves, we might unintentionally push them further into madness,” Rieth explains.
Visually, the film blends nostalgic realism with dreamlike unease. Voyeuristic wides suggest emotional distance, while handheld Super 8 footage and a delicate voiceover immerse the viewer in Lottie’s fractured perception. The result is both intimate and disquieting—a memory unraveling before our eyes.
Rieth’s approach—anchored in subtle performances, immersive sound design, and shifting perspectives—creates a sensory experience that lingers long after the final frame. Her direction captures the fragile boundary between love and control, reminding us how easily protection can turn to confinement.
A director and producer drawn to stories about identity, memory, and psychological unraveling, Bella Rieth has written and directed more than fifteen short films and is the founder and CEO of Kunsthouse Productions. She is currently developing her debut feature, South of the Border.
Patakha by Rohit Relan (USA)
Set in rural India, Patakha follows Radha, an eleven-year-old girl who loses her school bag on her first day of work at a firecracker factory. Her determined journey to retrieve it becomes a quietly powerful metaphor for innocence, resilience, and the hope for a future that circumstance has taken away.
The film’s emotional core rests on the remarkable performance of Ashi Sharma, who brings both defiance and vulnerability to Radha’s fight for dignity and self-worth.
Directed by Rohit Relan, Patakha transforms a simple premise into a moving reflection on class, identity, and the courage to dream beyond one’s limits. “Radha’s journey mirrors my own struggle to break free from expectations,” Relan explains. “Her refusal to let go of her dreams, despite relentless societal pressure, reflects the courage I needed to carve my own path.”
Shot with unvarnished realism and luminous restraint, the film uses handheld camerawork and natural light to anchor Radha’s story in authenticity. Each frame captures the texture of her world—the dust, the noise, the quiet endurance—while drawing us into the inner resolve of a child who refuses to surrender to fate.
Relan’s direction balances social commentary with deep human empathy. By framing hardship through Radha’s eyes, Patakha exposes the quiet weight of conformity while celebrating the fragile flame of hope. It’s a film that finds beauty in persistence and power in simplicity.
A Mumbai-born filmmaker based in Los Angeles, Rohit Relan is a graduate of the AFI Directing Class of 2024. His work explores identity, culture, and self-discovery, often focusing on individuals who find light in despair. A Bridge-Larson Foundation Scholar and 2025 Storylines Lab fellow at Cine Qua Non Labs, Relan continues to bring authentic South Asian perspectives to global audiences, sparking conversation and inspiring change.
Stimulants & Empathogens by Mateusz Pacewicz (Poland)
In Stimulants & Empathogens, Antek (18), a closeted teenager from a wealthy family, invites Kuba (18), a working-class drug dealer he secretly longs for, to his villa under the pretense of another drug transaction. Unbeknownst to Antek, Kuba has been ordered by his father and brother to uncover whether Antek has been reselling their product at school. What begins as a romantic comedy of errors transforms into a sharp social satire before arriving at a disarmingly emotional conclusion—where acceptance, authenticity, and truth collide.
A writer celebrated for Corpus Christi (Oscar nominee for Best International Feature) and The Hater (Tribeca Best International Film winner), Mateusz Pacewicz delivers here a film that is as witty as it is devastating. “Antek’s tragical conflict is a choice between acceptance and authenticity,” says Pacewicz. “Paradoxically, it’s his unsustainable lies that finally force him to tell the truth.”
The cast brings striking nuance and restraint to the film’s emotional undercurrents, led by Michał Murawski as Antek and Gracjan Kosyl as Kuba. Veteran actor Andrzej Konopka, one of Poland’s most respected screen and stage performers (Corpus Christi, Cold War, The Queen of Silence), lends quiet power and complexity to the role of the patriarch—embodying the moral rigidity and generational weight the film seeks to challenge. The ensemble, including Anita Sokołowska and Grzegorz Małecki, deepens the film’s psychological and social dimension.
Visually, the film contrasts Antek’s privileged world of cello rehearsals and manicured luxury with Kuba’s raw, pulsating universe of drill rap and street survival. This collision of aesthetics mirrors the class divide at the film’s heart, while the shifting tone—from farce to heartbreak—gives Stimulants & Empathogens its Molieresque edge.
Marked by incisive writing, layered performances, and confident direction, Stimulants & Empathogens is a darkly humorous and profoundly human exploration of repression, class, and desire in modern Poland. With this work, Mateusz Pacewicz confirms himself not only as one of Poland’s most accomplished screenwriters but also as a director of rare sensitivity and vision.
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