The following projects — including short films, TV and web series, and screenplays — are the finalists of the October monthly round, competing across 62 categories.
These finalists were selected from an official selection pool with a 49.1% acceptance rate, drawn from submissions representing 20 countries and a combined runtime of 42:03:25, in addition to short screenplay entries.
The nominees represent the top 30.4% of all submissions.
Unlisted categories had no submissions meeting the minimum score threshold.
Categories marked TBA had two or fewer projects qualifying for awards consideration. Winners in these categories will be announced together with the rest of the award recipients.
Follow the links below to explore other sections:
Best Indie Short
Brown Bread by Shaunagh Connaire (Ireland)
Last Chance by Philip Bache (USA)
Manam by Murugan Jaganathan (India)
Our Last Drive by Jacob Jørgensen (Denmark)
Unimaginable by Colleen Kresoja (USA)
Best Drama Short
Drowning by Reiff Gaskell (UK)
Full Time by Sonya Kanevskaya (UK)
In Memory of by Lawrence Mirisch (USA)
Nhang by Kevin Bui and Ysabeaux Ng (USA)
The Night That Became Morning by Pierluigi Gigi Malavasi (USA)
Best Student Short
Confined by Liza Surguladze (USA)
Don’t Forget Me by Nicole Ke (USA)
Mi Hija by Francesca Gamba (USA)
Silas Graves by Jiri Balcar (USA)
Someday, Somewhere by Quinn Ortega O’Neill (USA)
Best Documentary Short
Aging into the Future by Dune Strickland and Yumo Lu (USA)
Doña Justa – The Forests Are for All of Us by José Chalit Hernandez (USA)
Hey Gavin by Sheri Winkelmann (USA)
The Vanishing Song by Ruby Yang, Myles Storey (Hong Kong/Malaysia)
Wolves Six by Erika Jones (UK)
Best Comedy Short
Bright Smile by Kelly Kauter (USA)
Ghosting by Henry Voge (USA)
Heated by Douglas Cox (USA)
Best Romantic Comedy Short
TBA
Best Dark Comedy Short
Ghosted by Benjamin Vigil (USA)
Hard Times by Aaron James Bragone (USA)
Marionberries by EJ Binns (USA)
Best Action Short
TBA
Best Crime Short
TBA
Best Thriller Short
Look Out for Me by Sara Masry (UK)
The Influence by Sam Menell (USA)
What’s Still Mine by Salman Siddique (UK)
Best Mystery Short
TBA
Best Horror Short
Absorber by Noah Conopask (USA)
Deadication by Charles Hornsby (USA)
Vetala by Ajit Mann (UK)
Best Sci-Fi Short
I Love You Grace Hopper by Louis David Legge (USA)
Sliver by Chaya Doswell (USA)
Someday, Somewhere by Quinn Ortega O’Neill (USA)
Best Fantasy Short
TBA
Best Animation Short
Broad Bruno by Kerry Sun and Jane Jiang (China/USA)
Home Sweet Home by Evfrosiniya Oskolkova and Samantha Arribas (USA)
Land of No Man by Olivia Lin and Muling Tzai (USA)
ShowStopper by Amit Naftali and Smitha Hamsala (USA)
White Devil by Walter Rastelli (Italy)
Best Children Short
TBA
Best Women Short
Forever Mama by Maryam Alkhaja (USA)
Honey by a Thread by Kylie Cunningham (USA)
Look Out for Me by Sara Masry (UK)
Pretty, Perfect & Polished by Emily Shea (USA)
The In Between by Ella Braff (USA)
Best LGBTQ Short
Etincelo & Graviflux by Bilou (Belgium)
Forbidden Love by Danny Szam (UK)
Heaven Sent by Nils Mourato (USA)
Smoker by Ollie Alexander (Canada)
The Unfortunate Side Effects of Drinking with a Crippling Want by Steven Soria (USA)
Best Microfilm
A Stroke Gone Astray by Junyao Liu (China)
BFFs by Devin Saddler and Devon Winston (USA)
Boxing by Sam Rix (UK)
Paper Airplane by Yalun Liu (China)
To Build a Home by Louis Mellinand (USA)
Best Experimental Short
Dream Nocturne by Shuangci Jin (USA)
Karmash by Aleem Bukhari (Pakistan)
Redesigned by Paul Jonas Kinnunen (Finland)
Best Music Video
TBA
Best Web Series/TV Pilot
TBA
Best Web and New Media
Bait & Switch by Steven Hillen (USA)
Localhost by Mark Soares (USA)
One Day on Earth by George Felner (UK)
The Relic by Thalia Schuetz (USA)
Walkers Destruction by William M Mesa (USA)
Best Parody Short
TBA
Best Trailer/Teaser
TBA
Best Short Script
One Thousand and Two Nights by Yi Yang (USA)
The Pieces of Me by Karmen Audino (United Arab Emirates)
The Trade by Amberley Dawn (UK)
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