Results Season 10 | Cinema Of The World

WINNERS & NOMINEES
Season 10

2023

Cinema of the World International Film Festival

While big movie studios are hunting for new stories, many of us are just hunting for jobs. If you have a movie idea in mind that no one has made, why not be the one to write it into reality?

- Quentin Tarantino

“If it can be written or thought, it can be filmed.”

~ Stanley Kubrick

WINNER - BEST WRITER

Recognizing outstanding storytelling and the ability to craft compelling narratives

Best Writer

Dance in the Wind

An animation about a 'thread' who saves a man from capital punishment by doing something extraordinary.

Solmaz Etemad

Writer of "Dance in the Wind"

Pull The Plug

Pull the Plug takes place in a not-too-distant future and centers on Bianca, the daughter of a powerful business magnate with investments in futuristic technology. When she realizes how many years have been wasted on trying to please her father, she comes up with a final solution.

Julieta Randall

Writer of "Pull the Plug"

Catharsis 1

In a dystopian future, technology has grown and spread in scattered spurs, hyper-accentuating divisions among socio-economic classes, regional boarders, cultures and human values.

In this grim reality, underground illegal tech can grant you many wishes, but there's always a catch. In some parts of the world now deemed as "fifth-world", you can go to illegal underground VR facilities and control other humans like videogame characters, and act out your fantasies or do your biddings. Facilitated through a neural link between the player and the character, the experience is visceral, indistinguishable from the player's own bodily experiences.

A disgruntled lover goes to such a place to exact a personalized revenge to a woman who betrayed her in love. For her first ever such experience, she opts for "The Bear" package: you take control of a gigantic man called “The Bear” as your avatar and get to unleash a mauling on your target with your bare hands. She feels its something she has to do before she can move on, before she can have some sort of peace of mind. A catharsis, if you will.

During the mission, as she unleashes her fury on her target, her emotions gets the best of her and things go horribly wrong. The woman must confront the consequences of this mistake- "the catch", written in fine print in the terms and condition, drawn up by a shady company who makes their own rules.

Rubayat Hassan

Writer of "Catharsis"

Thuval

A river is adjacent to a village and the people of the village depend on the river and the surrounding forest for their livelihood. Their lives are enriched by nature, An exploitative boss earns money for his survival killing animals in the forest and destroying the beautiful pond for fishing with his magic. The townspeople followed him to do the same and they are greedy to do this, due to the river (nature) destroys their lives. Nature provides a way for man to live, but man tries to destroy it and live, and the result is great loss.

Rajavel Krishna

Writer of "Thuval"

Best Producer

We don't make Movies to make more Money. We make Money to make MORE Movies.

- Walt Disney

WINNER - BEST PRODUCER

"A big round of applause for those who put education and well-being before self-interests"

Rahul Sonawane & Nilesh Ambedkar

This is the story of Yashwant, a low-caste boy from a tribal family, whose father works as a sewer cleaner in the village, and the village believes that Yashwant will also do the same job in the future. To end this evil practice forever, Yashwant leads an academic rebellion against his teacher and frees him from this torture of dirty work due to the caste system.

Kumar Gautam

Saloni, a class topper, is period shamed in school after she gets her first period. At home, her uneducated but caring mother Asha tears the only vest of her husband to provide a clean cloth for Saloni’s protection and comfort as she has to take annual exams the next day. When Saloni’s father, Anil, comes to know that his only vest has been torn and used to absorb menstrual blood, he gets furious. He puts the cloth left for sun-drying into the fire and it turns into ashes. Saloni is shattered but Asha is determined, neither she wants period shaming for her daughter nor she wants her to miss exams. Through Saloni’s classmates, Asha comes to know about sanitary napkins, a hygienic alternative available at the health centre but Anil says that they can’t afford that luxury because of their poverty. It is then Asha decides that she will do anything possible to send Saloni to school to take exams as she doesn’t want her daughter to drop out of school after first periods as she had to do it because of the period stigma and poverty.

Vijay Pandurang Chaugule

Based in an Indian rural village, the gripping storyline of this short film revolves around Suman, a hopeful bride who enters her in-laws' home with dreams of a happy life. However, strange things start happening, making Suman feel uneasy and paranoid.
She constantly hears a mysterious voice coming through a closed door, which adds to her discomfort.
As Suman's confusion grows, she begins a journey to uncover the hidden truths of the house. With each revelation, she realizes that her life is now in danger.
Trapped in a state of uncertainty, Suman confronts a chilling truth about her in-laws. She must find a way to outsmart those who seek to hurt her and ensure her own wellbeing.
In a society where women are often seen as vulnerable and powerless, Suman challenges these stereotypes and fights for her life. Will she succeed in exposing her in-laws' true motives and escaping the imminent danger? This captivating tale explores themes of strength, empowerment, and the potential for societal transformation as one woman defies expectations and preconceived notions.
Will she be able to break the vicious circle?

Prakhya Vasudeo

The Dry Leaf -
Anil, a low-income immigrant who deeply believes in 'Vaastu Shastra' shifts into an apartment with crooked Vaastu with his seven-month pregnant wife, Bhavna.

Best Director (Fiction)

A Director must be a Policeman, A Midwife, A Psychoanalyst, A Sycophant and A Bastard.

- Billy Wilder

WINNER - BEST DIRECTOR

those filled with exceptional talent and vision who brought words to life

Ana Maria Ferri

for - Mascarada (Period Drama)

Murshid Panginikkadan

for - Shantha Valayam (Fantasy Thriller)

Moises Suarez & Javier Carreon

for Sweet Deliverance (Comedy)

Çağlar Çetin-Ayşe

for - Here it's a bed of Roses (Feature/Slice of Life)

Olga Khoreva

for - Valeria
(Romance/Drama)

Lorena Sopi

for - Hero of the Desert
(Romance)

Mostafa Ghorbanpour

for 9 Nights
(Feature/Suspense)

Nikita Bharat Mene

for Ambi
(Drama)

Tamara Broćić

for Jimmy Sales Away
(Slice of Life)

Rajavel Krishna

for Thuval
(Drama/Comedy - Feature)

When I looked at life through the Camera, I felt like I could finally see it.

- Katherine Howe

WINNER - BEST CINEMATOGRAPHER

Commending the artistry and technical expertise in capturing visually stunning moments; those who delivered the 'emotions'

for - Valeria

for - Mascarada

for - Pattu

Dharwesh

for - Thuval

for - Apocalypse A Love Story

for - Jimmy Sales Away

for - Color

When given an opportunity, deliver excellence and never quit.

- Robert Rodriguez

WINNER - BEST IN OTHER CATEGORIES

tribute to those whose efforts raised the bars of the following films

Best Direction Team (Background Activity), Best Background Score, Best Production Design

The Lonely Child

Best Choreography

Eroding

Best Photography

Best Sound Design, SFX, & VFX

Best Production Design

Best Production Design

Be so good they can’t ignore you.

— Steve Martin

NOMINATED FOR "BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ARTIST" AWARD - FEATURE

performances which captivated the audiences

Nathanael Theisen

from the film "Notes from the New World"

Soniya Hussain

from the film "Rohi"

Juan Rodriguez Leon

from the film "Apples, Oranges, Lemons & Limes - Pat Mitchell"

Aika Ota

from the film "The Adventures of Infinita"

Natasha Blasick

from the film "Notes from the New World"

Marvin Ritchie

from the film "

Firdous Jamal

from the film "Rohi"

Archana Puran Singh

from the film "Walk"

Zahid Hussain

from the film "Rohi"

Mizuki Watanabe

from the film "The Adventures of Infinita"

John P Coulter

from the film "The Redemption of Ricky Grey"

Katie Walsh

from the film "The Redemption of Ricky Grey"

Rebecca Sigl Light

from the film "Apples, Oranges, Lemons & Limes - Pat Mitchell"

Jack Wielar

from the film "The Redemption of Ricky Grey"

Luca Rickman

from the film "The Redemption of Ricky Grey"

Ayse Lebriz Berkem

for the film "Here it's a bed of Roses"

Joe Leone

for the film "Breakup Mountain"

Vincent Kevin Daniels

for the film "Breakup Mountain"

Asel Otunchieva

for the film "Breakup Mountain"

Jade Haley

for the film "Breakup Mountain"

Best Artist (Feature)

If you know you’re going to fail, then fail gloriously!

— Cate Blanchett

WINNER - BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ARTIST (FEATURE)

Mullaiyarasi

from Pattu

Sparsh Suman

from Walk

Maryam Sajjadi

from 9 Nights

Kayden Brenna Tokarski

from Apocalypse

Calvin Waldau

from Apples, Oranges, Lemons and Limes

Aydin (Gunes)

from Here it's a Bed of Roses

Rahul Roy

from Walk

Seyed Farshad Hashemi

from 9 Nights

Skye Marie Sena

from Apples, Oranges, Lemons and Limes

The Journalist

from Walk

Valeria Di Babbo

from Apples, Oranges, Lemons and Limes

Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes.”

—Maggie Smith

NOMINATED FOR "BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ARTIST" AWARD - SHORT

Miriam Candurro

from Dreaming of Venice

Alex Gadea

from Mascarada

Braulio Motta

Secrets of Memory

Francesco Di Leva

from Dreaming of Venice

Johnny Gilligan

from Thereafter

Riya Suman

The girl at the Airport

August Rogers

from The Golden Hoax

Peter Maple

from The Golden Hoax

Tom Matthews

from The Golden Hoax

Martha Rapozzo

from Secrets of Memory

Vinicius Olivo

from Secrets of Memory

Morena Di Leva

from Dreaming of Venice

Nico Falcone Georgiadis

from Ego

Don’t aspire to make a living; aspire to make a difference.”

—Denzel Washington

Best Artist (Short)

WINNER - BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ARTIST (SHORT)

Pooja Bhamrrah

from Ipsa

Eva Jakubovska

from Colors

Ari Villalpando

from Sweet Deliverance

Vjollca Tasholli

from Hero of the Desert

Mikel Markaj

from Hero of the Desert

Kolya Neukoelln

from Valeria

Alejandro Garrido

from Mascarada

Samriddhi Radheshyam Srivastav

for Ambi

Pranay Pachauri

from The Girl at the Airport

"Study, find all the good teachers and study with them, get involved in acting to act, not to be famous or for the money. Do Plays. It's not worth it if you're in it for the money. You have to love it."

— Phillip Seymour Hoffman

NOMINATED FOR "BEST MOTION PICTURE" AWARD

I Love You NOT

Jimmy Sales Away

Pattu

Gladiators

Dreaming in Venice

The Astral Woods

Ambi

The Washerwoman

Let's Talk

Just Like Water

Shantha Valayam

Do we have a chance?

Secrets of Memory

The Golden Hoax

Notes from the New World

I Mustache You

Best Film (Feature)

“Don’t give me any money, don’t give me any people, but give freedom, and I’ll give you a movie that looks gigantic.”

— Robert Rodriguez

WINNER - BEST MOTION PICTURE (FEATURE)

Here it's a Bed of Roses

Winner - Best Motion Picture (Romance/Drama)

Apples, Oranges, Lemons & Limes

Winner - Best Motion Picture (Romance)

9 Nights

Winner - Best Motion Picture (Suspense)

Thuval

Winner - Best Motion Picture (Drama)

Walk

Winner - Best Motion Picture (Family/Drama)

Best Film (Short)

“Film as dream, film as music. No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls.”

— Ingmar Bergman

WINNER - BEST MOTION PICTURE (SHORT)

IPSA

Winner - Best Motion Short (Mythology/Drama)

Sweet Deliverance

Winner - Best Motion Short (Comedy)

Color

Winner - Best Motion Short (Fantasy)

Valeria

Winner - Best Motion Short (Romance/Drama)

Mascarada

Winner - Best Motion Short (Period Drama)

Hero of the Desert

Winner - Best Motion Short (Romance)

New Year’s Kaleidoscope

Winner - Best Motion Short (Animation)

In Feature films the Director is God; in Documentary film God is the Director.

- Alfred Hitchcock

NOMINATED FOR "BEST DOCUMENTARY" AWARD

Afrat

Faith, Hope, Love

ROOTS, DIASPORA & WAR

Pala

Unwavering World

The Last 5

Behind the Paintbrush

The Melnikov

Selected Milk Added from Reconstituted Milk Powder Whole Pasteurized Homogenized - RAW

There You Are In The Milk Of Dreams

SOL

Tribal Fashion

Pacing the Pool

A Place on Earth

Rebel Rhythm

Farewell to Xulhaz

Best Documentary

“Academia is the death of cinema. It is the very opposite of passion. Film is not the art of scholars, but of illiterates.”

— Werner Herzog

WINNER - BEST DOCUMENTARY

Follow Me

Best Documentary (War)

Human Welfare Committee

Best Documentary (Human Welfare)

Coming Home to Edison

Best Documentary (Nature)

Woiwode

Best Documentary (Biography)

The Football Aficionado

Best Documentary (Sports)

I've been encouraging documentary filmmakers to use more and more humor, and they're loath to do that because they think if it's a documentary it has to be deadly serious - it has to be like medicine that you're supposed to take. And I think it's what keeps the mass audience from going to documentaries.

— Michael Moore

Best Director (Documentary)

WINNER - BEST DIRECTOR (DOCUMENTARY)