The following projects — including short films, TV and web series, and screenplays — are the finalists of the Octobermonthly round, competing across 62 categories.
These finalists were selected from an official selection pool with a 51.9% acceptance rate, drawn from submissions representing 32 countries and a combined runtime of 57:40:41, in addition to short script entries.
The nominees represent the top 29.6% of all submissions.
Unlisted categories had no submissions meeting the minimum score requirements.
Categories marked TBA had two or fewer projects qualifying for awards consideration. Winners in these categories will be announced alongside the rest of the award recipients.
Follow the links below to explore other sections:
Best Indie Short
Currents by Bailey Spore (USA)
Dizzy by Zac La Roc (USA)
Past Perfect by Maria Besedova (Russia)
The Prayer by Nivedita Pohankar (India)
Unfair Routes by Giorgos Logothetis (Greece)
Best Drama Short
Fragments of Us by Sushanth Nallapareddy (USA)
I Am by Ivan Stepanov (Cyprus)
My Father’s Wedding by Jay McGregor (Canada)
The Gift of Talisman by Weixing Chen (China)
The Witch Pricker and the Hare by Brynn Mitchell (USA)
Best Student Short
Ashes by Yu Zhou (China)
Malaal by Abhishek Tata and Chirag Patel (USA)
Mirror Of Time by Ciara Schaefer (Ireland)
Parhelio by Karla Vargas Gastélum (USA)
Sickness by Xueying Wang, Xinglan Wei, and Yanbing (China)
Best Documentary Short
27 Minutes by Alexander Sworik (Canada)
Crossing the Line by Liam Edward Gaffney (USA)
Saaya: Our Real Demons by Halimah Tariq (Pakistan)
The Magic of Movement by Tommy Duncan (USA)
Trauma: The New Epidemic by Matthew Jacobson and Backer Hamada (Ethiopia and USA)
Best Comedy Short
Best Friends For Death by Jason Gullifer and JJ Onyx (USA)
Faire Play by Charles Maxwell and Katy Smith (USA)
Let’s Be Pirates by Riley Walton Thomas (USA)
Mind, Please Sit! by Paulo Magalhães (Netherlands)
The Night Club by Caroline Klank (USA)
Best Dark Comedy Short
Battle Of Mole Hill by Joey Brooks (USA)
Dating Politics by Antonio De La Cruz (USA)
Deaf Wish by Leo Servant and Daniel Short (France)
Measured by Luis Oliveira (Switzerland)
Shining Armor by Natalie Ruxton (USA)
Best Action Short
TBA
Best Crime Short
TBA
Best Thriller Short
Echo by Victoria Long (Canada)
Obscura by Santha Rowles (USA)
Rachel’s Room by Matilde Ebeian (USA)
Best Mystery Short
TBA
Best Horror Short
Don’t Look by Danny Murphy (UK)
Dry Stone by Vitaly Flipgraf (USA)
Familiar by Julien Homère (France)
Help! by Don Ischa Zhijian Wei (Netherlands and Suriname)
The Painter by Birdie Gilreath (USA)
Best Sci-Fi Short
Echo by Victoria Long (Canada)
Echoes by Sean Nam (France)
Pro by Ray Peng (China)
Rebel Storm: A Star Wars Collateral Story by Marino Darés (Spain)
The Agency Code by Donavan Clark (USA)
Best Fantasy Short
TBA
Best Animation Short
AfterLife by Yimeng Wang (China and USA)
Him by Jim HuiHui (China)
Lantern Walker by Jason Joel Lethcoe (USA)
Ocher by Chee Ho (USA)
The Family Photo by John Norris Ray and Maria Victoria Sanchez (USA)
Best Children Short
TBA
Best Women Short
59 Carmine Street by Isabelle Leonard (USA)
Mother by Elizabeth J. Musgrave (USA)
Second Shift by Jackie Moore (USA)
So Long by Mingfeng Li and Hanzhong Zhang (USA)
The Witch Pricker and the Hare by Brynn Mitchell (USA)
Best LGBTQ Short
20:15 México DF by Alejandro Di Meglio (Argentina)
April 14, 1982 by John G Young (USA)
Period by Kat Olson (USA)
Best Microfilm
Come As You Are by Xiaolin Mai (USA)
Fragments of Tomorrow by T.J. Seiler (USA)
Happy Ending by Adrián Rivero (Spain)
Passenger by Carter Bowden (USA)
Returning to Olivia by Nikolas Nainoa Langer (USA)
Best Experimental Short
Celest by Anna Day (USA)
Encyclopedia Galactica by Kenneth Reynolds (USA)
Part of Four by Wei Yi (China)
Sheroism by Wei Yi (China)
Through the Looking Glass by Wei Yi (China)
Best Music Video
Drive You Like A Cadillac by Ryan Maw, Sacha Carlson, and Skyler Poiley (USA)
Strolling Down Brighton Pier by Kenny McCracken (UK and USA)
Wake Up by Joseph Larkin, Zak Dossi, and Tristan Kevitch (USA)
Best Screendance Short
TBA
Best Web Series/TV Pilot
TBA
Best Parody Short
TBA
Best Trailer/Teaser
TBA
Best Short Script
Echoes by Xiaoyi Li (China)
Enticed by Roxane Dupont and Azy Intara (USA)
R.E.M by John P Martinez (USA)
Silent Screams by Jiayi Ouyang (China)
The Seed Between Worlds And Stars by Celeste Escalera (USA)
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