[Democratic Republic Of Eiria]

Atlantis: a bustling metropolis in northwestern Eiria. Besides being the biggest city in Jurmala Province, it is also a cultural capital of the Republic. The Harbor Bay district is the beating heart of the Eirian theater industry, and plenty of influential movie studios own estates towards the outskirts of the city. In short, you would be hard-pressed to find a more suitable place in Eiria for the 2023 IDU Film Festival. A blue and silver carpet has been rolled out in front of the iconic Lasaria Theater for the awards ceremony, and the nearby Augupen and Lēbela Balts Theaters have been reserved for screenings. Hotels all around the city have been fully booked for the three week festival, signaling a large attendance of film experts and enthusiasts alike. 

Anticipating the sudden influx of tourists (both foreign and domestic), the City’s Office of Tourism has published thousands of biodegradable pamphlets containing a list of all the city has to offer. Between showings and other performances, visitors can shop in the city’s grand shopping mall, rest on the beautiful beaches of the Nereus Sea, and explore a dozen nearby city, provincial, and national parks (including the picturesque Amalija Waterfall Park, one of the most popular parks in the province). However, a majority of tourist attention will be on the vibrant festival, with the world's finest actors, directors, and other media celebrities, clad in the finest fashion, showing off for the press and their fans.

The 2023 Film Festival will consist of six regional categories for IDU entries (Best Film, Best Lead Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Musical Score, Best Costume Design, and Best Documentary Film) and one international category (Best Foreign Film), which is open to nations from IDU embassy regions. Applications will be accepted as soon as this thread is posted, and will still be taken until January 9th at 11:59 PM CST. Movies from within the IDU may be entered into more than one category, as long as the name of the awardee (I.E. Composer for Best Score or Actor for Best Actor) is also listed. Each nation may only present one entry per category.

The award application will take this format:

Film Title (English and/or Native):
Nominating Nation (If not from the IDU, please also list region):
Nomination Category/Categories:
Language: 
Run Time:
Director:
Producing Studio/Company (optional):
Cast:
Brief Summary (No more than 2-3 medium paragraphs please):
What makes this film special? Why was it nominated for this/these category/categories? (No more than 1-2 sentences per category nominated):
Any additional info (optional, short paragraph maximum):

List of categories:

IDU:
Best Film
Best Lead Actor
Best Supporting Actor
Best Musical Score
Best Costume Design 
Best Documentary Film

Embassy Regions:
Best Foreign Film

[Democratic Republic Of Eiria]

(Foreign entry posted on behalf of Favrisko)

[Content Warning: Mentions of violence, terrorist acts, etc]

Film Title: The Favriskan Sting (Rated 18+)
Nominating Nation: Favrisko [The South Pacific]
Nomination Category/Categories: Best Foreign Film
Language: English, Favriskan and Favriskan Sign Language.
Run time: 3 Hour 25 minutes
Director: Oliver Bill Fosterson
Producing studio: Fosterson Productionz, H.R. Gohil Entertainment
Cast: Newton Wilson, Angela Stewartson, Oscar Christ, Steve Issac, F.K.S. Yukop.
Summary:

“The Favriskan Sting” opens with a snowy winter in 1990, when an independent terrorist group called Fukot strategically plans to get inside Favrisko. After murdering the soldiers standing in their way at the border, they turn their attention to the nation’s capital, Hugoswille. The next morning, they strategically begin attacking government and police vehicles before retrieving their leader, a man named Nelson, from a nondescript warehouse. In order to destabilize the nation and its government, the Fukot leaders begin a bloody campaign of attacks, killing over 1,200 civilians (including Supreme Court Justice R.A. Fullor, whose death prompted a large government response). Meanwhile, a town mayor named Thompson Thomerson gives a hurried press conference on the horrific attacks. A Fukot terrorist in the crowd begins to fire his gun, killing a pregnant mother and a young child.

The crowd disperses, and perspective shifts to Michael Welkon, a 53 year old insurance executive (and personal friend of mayor Thomerson). Welkon and his wife start driving to the airport in order to leave Favrisko (against his friend’s wishes), but are forced to change over to a bus on the way. Unfortunately, the bus was rigged with an explosive, however Michael and his wife were able to escape safely, albeit injured. They seek treatment at the clinic of a Doctor Edward, however terrorists storm the clinic and begin killing its patients and staff (including Michael’s wife). A distraught Michael escapes the massacre, and after a strange encounter with a fortune teller, dedicates himself to helping as many people as he can. He helps lead large groups of survivors into a nearby forest, setting up a tent camp and hunkering down until the government apprehends Fukot’s leaders and restores order to the nation.

The film shoots forward a few years. 65 year old Michael accepts a medal for his bravery and leadership in setting up the forest camps. Large numbers of Fukot terrorists are sentenced to life in prison. In an outburst, Michael suggests violent methods of execution, gaining looks of pity and concern. As Favrisko heals from the attacks and moves on, Michael is seen growing increasingly older. His son John comes to live with him, but Michael never really moves on from the attacks, still calling the attackers “the real demons.” The final scene of the film shows Michael in the hospital, quietly passing away at the age of 85.

What makes this film special?: “The Favriskan Sting” takes details from the testimonials of over a hundred first-hand witnesses to the Fukot terrorist attacks in 1990. Using these stories and surviving pictures and video from the time, the film honestly and bluntly recreates one of the darkest and most horrific times in Favriskan history.

[Laeral]

Film Title (English and/or Native): September Run
Nomination Categories: Best Film, Best Lead Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Musical Score
Nominating Nation: Laeral
Language: French
Run Time: 1 hr 40 mins
Director: Guan Tonghua
Producing Studio/Company: Marion-Guichard Studios
Cast:
Jeremie Studer-Herth as Renald
Pierre Mörch as Guilhem
Inès Capelle as Marilyn
Zihe Tavernier as Montague

Brief Summary:
Renald (Jeremie Studer-Herth) is an ordinary young man, growing up in a rural backwater region of Peninsular Laeral. It’s the 1970s—no one in his village has a television, and only one road is paved—and he’s just a few months away from graduating from his auto mechanic’s apprenticeship at the local garage. But Renald’s got big dreams: he’s secretly working to fix up the broken-down Mareilles Corsage sedan that he salvaged from the scrapheap. With this, he’ll be able to win over Marilyn (Inès Capelle), the general store clerk’s daughter, and drive to the big city of Lyrene to make a new life.

Things get complicated when Renald’s single dad, Guilhem (Pierre Mörch), runs into trouble. Desperate to prevent his farm from being seized by the bank, he’s taken up work as a bootlegger. Problem is, he’s been asked to carry out a riskier smuggling job than ever before—and his triad boss Montague, portrayed by the chilling Zihe Tavernier, won’t take no for an answer. After revealing his feelings to her, Renald is gearing up to take Marilyn to the Township Ball a few towns over, the restored Corsage sedan gleaming and its engine purring like a kitten, when his dad breaks the grim news about his bootlegging career. Knowing that his dad’s farm, and possibly his life is at stake, Renald selflessly offers to lend his car to help his dad evade the law that evening—but insists that he must come along. The father and son duo must evade the law and satisfy the triad’s wishes on a dangerous, moonlit smuggling run…as well as make it back in time for Renald to pick up Marilyn for the ball.

What makes this film special? Why was it nominated for this/these category/categories?:

For your consideration:

September Run is nominated for Best Film, for its tender exploration of themes of fatherhood and maturity and its bold use of lighting and sound design (detailed below in the film’s nomination for Best Musical Score).

September Run is further nominated for Best Musical Score. The film incorporates period and period-inspired music as a soundtrack throughout, and most notably features the innovative synching of several period songs with cues on screen in one continuous, twenty-two minute automotive chase sequence.

Jeremie Studer-Herth is further nominated for Best Lead Actor, for the skill and nuance he injects into his portrayal of Renald and his aspirations for the future.

Pierre Mörch is nominated for Best Supporting Actor; the distinguished former theater actor portrays single father Guilhem and his struggle to provide security and shield his son from harm, even if it means making a deal with the treacherous organized crime leader Montague.

[Haesan]

Film Title: Nouveau Riche (사회등산, lit. social mountaineering)
Nominating Nation: Haesan
Nomination Category/Categories: Best Film, Best Lead Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Costume Design
Language: Haean (English dubbed version available, but seriously, just watch it with subtitles.)
Run Time: 2 hr 15 minutes
Director: Chang San
Producing Studio/Company: WonSan Studios
Cast: 
Kim Yu-ri as Yoo Na-hyeon
Seo Chae-won as Lee Hae-in
Park Tae-in as Jeong Min-su

Brief Summary:
Suyang in the 1920s was an era of great opportunity, and for those who were well established, great excess.  Nouveau Riche centers on Nahyeon (Kim Yu-ri), an academically gifted daughter of an industrial merchant, well enough off to have opportunity, but not wealthy enough to be truly rich.  She scores extremely highly on her exams and attends Haesan University, the historic gathering place of heirs, heiresses, and generally young people who have more money than they know what to do with.  There she befriends Haein (Seo Chae-won), from an extraordinarily wealthy mixed Haemin/Opthelian banking family, who has become disillusioned with the wealthy society she grew up around (her dialogue seems to indicate that she has been swayed by the Five Pillars, but that is never explicitly stated).

The plot accelerates when Nahyeon catches the eye of Minsu (Park Tae-in), the (wealthy! handsome!) heir apparent of a mercantile conglomerate.  Haein receives an invitation to a grand gala that is hosted by Minsu's family, presumably to see what suitable matches are available amongst the nascent aristocrats of Haesan U.  Haein, knowing of Minsu's interest in Nahyeon (and Nahyeon's interest in Minsu), decides that Nahyeon should take her place at the gala, since Haein has basically had it with the aristocracy anyways.  In order to be accepted in high society (and at the door), Haein coaches Nahyeon about etiquette, the mannerisms of the elite, and forces her to memorize all of the intricate details of Haein's life up into that point (in a stunning three-minute cinematic montage).  After suitable training, Nahyeon is ready to become Lee Hae-in.

The day of the gala arrives, and at first everything goes well for Nahyeon, she enters effortlessly, she socializes with the elites with ease, and even has a moment with Minsu.  Then, of course, everything unravels spectacularly in a frenetic sequence where love, fortune, and status are precariously balanced, and seemingly only fate truly guides the outcome.  Nouveau Riche weaves a tapestry of love, friendship, wealth, and prestige that brings the viewer on an unforgettable ride of deceit, intrigue, and suspense.

For your consideration:

Nouveau Riche is nominated for Best Film for its masterful use of cinematography, its unparalleled use of levity and shade, and for crafting a suspenseful tale that will scarcely be forgotten by its viewers.

Nouveau Riche is further nominated for Best Costume Design for its extensive use of period costumes of the 1920s era, its costume design team having scoured archives (whatever archives survived the Great War, anyway) for an accurate representation of the mixture of modern Opthelian design and traditional Haesanite profiles popular amongst the era's elite.

Kim Yu-ri is nominated for Best Actor, as she brings depth to the bookish Nahyeon, vividly displaying the tribulations and internal doubt that comes with changing one's identity, and embodying the lengths that one will go for love.

Seo Chae-won is nominated for Best Supporting Actor as she plays an exceptional comic relief as Haein, while also displaying immense nuance supporting Nahyeon as a friend and mentor while warding off signs of regret about abandoning the life of comfort she has always known.  
_____________________________________________________________

Film Title: Adrift
Nominating Nation: Misumi
Nomination Category/Categories: Best Musical Score, Best Documentary
Language: Mizu (English dubbed version available)
Run Time: 1hr 45 minutes
Director: KAWAMURA Tsutomu
Producing Studio/Company: Silver Star Productions
Cast: 
KAMATA Noboyuki as Lieutenant Colonel Yokota
IZUMI Yuzo as Lieutenant Kamiya
MAEKAWA Kyo as Private Yamaoka

Brief Summary:
Adrift is the true story of a man placed in extraordinary circumstances, a tale of the limits of human decision making, the psychological toll of isolation, and the resolve of an individual who resisted both internal and external pressures to shape the course of history.

In 1978, at the height of tensions between Misumi and Lao Sansong, as border fortifications were being constructed through the rugged, remote Shimo Mountains, a young lieutenant colonel (Kamata Noboyuki) is transferred to a military camp at elevation to help oversee construction of the new defenses and monitor Sansongian military activity.  As fall turns to winter, the remote camp high in the mountains (at an elevation 3500 m (11500 ft)) transforms into an eerie crypt blanketed in white snow and buffeted by gale force winds.  The film's exposition centers on depicting life in these harsh conditions and how the challenges of daily life unite the ragtag crew of soldiers and also break them in their own unique ways.

Adrift's climax centers around one fateful day in December, when the radar system picks up an incoming missile strike from northern Lao Sansong.  Amidst a blizzard, with discord within the group, and conflicting directives from the chain of command, the protagonist must determine how to respond to this imminent threat.  His choice determines whether two nations go to war.

For your consideration:

Adrift is nominated for Best Documentary for its true to form, thoroughly researched depiction of a critical juncture in Mizu history along with its unique ability to immerse the viewer into the film's historical context.

Adrift is further nominated for Best Musical Score, as its minimalist, haunting soundtrack of wispy instrumental music easily transports the viewer to that remote mountain, while its innovative style of intentionally cutting out the soundtrack during some of the movie's most climactic moments makes the suspenseful plot feel even more intense.

[Aramantha]

Film Title (English and/or Native): Saltwater
Nominating Nation (If not from the IDU, please also list region): Thousand Branches
Nomination Category/Categories: Best Musical Score
Language: English
Run Time: 1:12
Director: Clay Xoi
Producing Studio/Company (optional): Filmscape w/ Wand and Wicker Studios
Cast: Allen Mint — “Mal”
Maya Calcifer — “Indi”
Patrick Lima — “The Father”
Jack Roy — “The Mother”

Summary:

Saltwater is a story of death. Of life. Death after life and life after death. After Indi’s father dies, his family is briefly torn to shreds before his father’s spirit returns. For a time, it is as if little has changed at all, but as the days roll by, it becomes quickly clear that such a tenuous limbo between life and death cannot remain forever. 

Slowly, each member of the family begins to grieve, even as the spirit still joins them every day. And each member of the family finds their own peace, tears, and personal devastation. Saltwater explores the ways we view death and the danger of holding onto the past and explores humanity on a spiritual scale, how each person approaches death and finality — is it better to watch your loved ones die or to know they’ve passed while you were in the next room?

Short, sentimental, and filled with overflowing love, the latest movie from Wand and Wicker discusses the one thing we all share, and how it defines our humanity.

What makes this film special?: 

Saltwater, while not universally loved by critics or audiences, is defined by its score, the music serving as a background to explore the vast emotional landscape the movie treks over. It was performed by a 125-person symphony including 63 different instruments and noisemakers and is longer than the movie itself in full length, many touting it for its incredible uniqueness, powerful imagery, and its ability to really tell a story through sound.

Additional info:

Wand and Wicker (backed by a miniscule portion of the extensive financials of Filmscape) is an exploratory indie company that has created three movies over the last decade, all of which have garnered mixed, but nonetheless fascinated reviews. Nearly 80% of the budget for this film was put into the music, and several songs from the score have also featured prominently on the Branchian top 100 list, although none have reached the top 20.

[Novella Islands]

Film Title: The Expanse
Nominating Nation: Novella Islands
Nomination Category/Categories: Best Film, Best Lead Actor
Language: N/A
Run Time: 127 minutes
Director: Ava Hollingsworth
Producing Studio/Company:
Film: Sydney Cinematographic Productions, in conjunction with the Novellan National Media Directorate
Effects: National Software Corporation (Creative Arts Division)
Cast: Alex Grey as The Wanderer

Brief Summary:
The Expanse unfolds as the lead character awakens to a featureless void of pure white light. With no memory or clues to their identity or circumstances, the protagonist embarks on an introspective journey through this unending blank canvas. Time and space blend into irrelevance, as the character's motions transform into a reflection on consciousness, and on existence itself.

The film explores the silence with powerful authenticity, utilising only the sounds of movement and breath to punctuate the vastness. Engaging with ephemeral objects that sporadically arise within the void - a floating cube, a withering flower, an inky black sphere - the protagonist unveils their tumult of emotions both through minute expressions of body language, and through sweeping impromptu dance, each act revealing layers of their humanity in the inhuman space they inhabit.

Progressing through further evocative encounters - a sudden deluge of vibrant hues, and the confrontation with a mirror reflecting endless copies of themself - the protagonist’s interactions elicit universal human feelings of discovery and wonder. The climax of the film is marked by a silent symphony of geometric shapes and colours crafted from the nothingness, culminating in a revelation of pure catharsis... only to dissolve back into the void, signifying both conclusion, and a new beginning.

What makes this film special? Why was it nominated for these categories?
The Expanse is nominated for Best Film for its masterful visual storytelling that challenges and redefines conventional cinema, creating an immersive contemplative experience about the core of human identity.

Alex Grey is nominated for Best Lead Actor for delivering a compelling performance purely through the art of non-verbal expression, evoking a wide array of human emotions and inviting the audience to project their interpretations onto the blank slate of the character.

[Novella Islands]

Film Title: The Perfect Sandwich
Nominating Nation: Opthelia
Nomination Category/Categories: Best Film, Best Lead Actor, Best Supporting Actor
Language: English
Run Time: 122 minutes
Director: Oliver London
Producing Studio/Company: Ephemeral Dream Motion Picture Company
Cast:
Sofia Shepherd as Marion Beasley, the Head Chef
Lloyd Meyers as Edgar Morris, the Sous-Chef
Brook Carpenter as the Critic

Brief Summary:
The Perfect Sandwich is a comedy-drama that whisks audiences into the chaotic world of a prestigious Opthelian bistro, Marigold (Crescent Table, Eddington), where Chef Marion Beasley aspires to create a sandwich masterpiece for a revered food critic. Beasley, masterfully portrayed by Sofia Shepherd, is a culinary genius whose sublime sandwich becomes a battleground for her own perfectionism. Each ingredient chosen unfolds a story, showcasing her complex relationship with food, life, and the pursuit of excellence.

In the kitchen's frenetic arena, Lloyd Meyers brings levity and wit as the lovable Sous-Chef, Edgar Morris. The foil to Beasley's fervency, Edgar's comedic interludes and playful scepticism about the solemn significance of sourdough or the poignant poetry in prosciutto provide a delightful contrast. His quips cut through culinary pretensions, shining a light on the joy and absurdity that accompanies the quest for perfection.

On the day of reckoning, when the critic arrives to pass judgment, the kitchen is a storm of nerves, hopes, and fears. The sandwich, simple yet sophisticated, sits poised for evaluation upon the porcelain plate; an edible mosaic of heritage and craft. A balanced film that serves humanity with humour, The Perfect Sandwich elevates the everyday into an art form, with Shepherd and Meyers delivering performances that resonate with anyone who has ever dared to dream of creating something perfect.

What makes this film special? Why was it nominated for these categories?
The Perfect Sandwich is nominated for Best Film for its heartfelt narrative, exploring personal ambition and the artistry behind a craft often taken for granted: the humble art of cooking.

Sofia Shepherd's portrayal of Chef Marion Beasley garners a Best Lead Actor nomination due to her nuanced performance, capturing the essence of a gifted chef whose love for food is as intense as her drive for excellence. Her ability to convey complex emotions with subtlety and depth makes her character truly satisfying and multi-dimensional.

Lloyd Meyers' depiction of Edgar Morris earns his Best Supporting Actor nomination through his expert blending of humour and depth, serving both as a culinary and emotional foil that elevates the narrative, bringing heart-warming balance to the intensity of the film's pursuit of perfection.

[Lauchenoiria]

Film Title: القطط (English: Feline)
Nominating Nation: Zargothrax

Nomination Category/Categories: Best Film, Best Lead Actor, Best Supporting Actor
Language: Arabic
Run Time: 107 mins
Director: Rayan Tawfeek
Producing Studio/Company: Rawea Studios

Cast:
Farida Karim as Afsun Nejem (Best Lead Actor nominee)
Ismat Ahmadi as Randa (Best Supporting Actor nominee)
Khwaja Shirazi as Yacoub Al-Hashim
Mustafa Omar as Mamun Al-Hashim
Niloofar Ali as Zayna

Brief Summary:
Afsun Nejem (Farida Karim, human) is a sixteen-year-old babysitter with seven sisters desperate for work after the death of her father. She hangs around a job market (usually a section of a Thraxian town where people seeking work or employees go to advertise their jobs to Thraxians with limited or no literacy) but nobody wants to hire a girl without a male guardian. Eventually, she receives an offer from the mysterious Yacoub (Khwaja Shirazi, human) for 2 million rials a day (approximately 43 Sanctarian pounds), a fortune for a poor girl like Afsun (average pay for casual work in Zargothrax is around £1 a day). She accepts.

She is taken to Yacoub’s house where she meets his enigmatic brother Mamun (Mustafa Omar, human) and discovers that the “child” she has been hired to look after is a cat named Randa (Ismat Ahmadi, cat). Afsun finds this absurd and threatens to quit, but the brothers remind her of the money and she agrees to stay. At first, she spends the days watching TV and mostly ignoring Randa, who tries her best to get Afsun to pay attention to her. This fails, until one day Afsun is disturbed by distressed snarling and meowing. She rushes to the kitchen to find Randa being cat-napped by a masked figure on a bicycle.

Afsun gives chase, borrowing one of the brothers’ bicycles, which she has never learned to ride. There is a comedic bike chase with Afsun falling off before picking it up and closing the distance with the cat-napper at the bottom of a steep hill. Afsun tackles the cat-napper and pulls off the mask to reveal a girl her own age, Zayna (Niloofar Ali, human). It transpires that Zayna worked in the cat shelter where the Al-Hashim brothers adopted Randa and grew attached and missed the cat. Afsun takes Zayna back to the house where she explains things to the brothers and they take pity on her. Afsun offers to split half the money with Zayna so the brothers can hire her to cat-sit also and then she can spend time with Randa. The film ends with all four humans laughing and playing with Randa.

What makes this film special? Why was it nominated for these categories?
This is a rare example of a Thraxian film with a female lead character, where women appear on screen more than men and play the most prominent parts. Farida Karim is a young Thraxian actress who is paving the way for women in the Thraxian film industry; while the cat Ismat was nominated at the behest of King Shapur to “promote feline rights”.

Additional Info:
This entry was personally sponsored by King Shapur. It is widely believed that the studio made the film specifically to gain the attention of the cat-loving monarch.

[Lauchenoiria]

Film Title: Margrethe and Olufemi
Nominating Nation: Zongongia

Nomination Category/Categories: Best Film, Best Lead Actor, Best Musical Score, Best Costume Design
Language: Mixed (Zongongian, Teyèan, English, Spanish, French, Mandarin)
Run Time: 129 mins
Director: Christina Ström
Producing Studio/Company: Flying High Films

Cast:
Lottie Vestergaard as Princess Margrethe/Margaret Robinson
Mawuli Abiodun as Olufemi Robinson (Best Lead Actor nominee)
Göstav Andersson as King Aleksander II
Agnethe Adamsen as Queen Beatrice
Birte Ness as Baby Margrethe
Embla Strand as Child Margrethe
Abidemi Kayode as Baby Olufemi
Olusegun Okorie as Child Olufemi
Kehinde Botha as Mosi Robinson
Thandeka Okafor as Nkiru Robinson
Kagiso Ihejirika as Priest
Malaika Abioye as Baby Dorothy
Kristiina Nørup as Edith Hart

Brief Summary:
Margrethe and Olufemi follows the love story of the former Zongongian princess, and later founder of Kerlile Princess Margrethe (Lottie Vestergaard); and Teyèan immigrant Olufemi Robinson (Mawuli Abiodun). The film covers the pair from birth until the founding of Kerlile, giving a Zongongian perspective to the life of one of the early 20th centuries most controversial female figures and her husband. The film starts in 1887 with the birth of Margrethe to Queen Beatrice (Agnethe Adamsen) on a stormy evening with the newly-installed electricity failing. The baby is born as a window flies open in the wind, blowing out candles as the flickering electric lights go out too, leaving the room in darkness until a servant closes the window and lights a candle. Ominous music plays. We also see the birth of Olufemi Robinson in Teyè.

The film quickly passes through Margrethe’s and Olufemi’s childhoods until Margrethe reaches the age of 20 where she bumps into Olufemi at the university where she is studying Zongongist religious texts. Olufemi is a Teyèan student who talks to Margrethe like a human being rather than a princess (overly deferential while still being misogynistically patronising). The two begin to meet up and fall in love. The King (Göstav Andersson) and Queen find out and forbid Margrethe from having anything to do with him. Despite this, Margrethe sneaks out and marries Olufemi in secret in a town with an ethnic Teyèan priest (Kagiso Ihejirika).

When the King and Queen find out, they disown Margrethe and send her and her new husband into exile, threatening that if either returns to Zongongia they will be killed. The couple moves to South Fleura and then onto Laeral, where the former Princess, now going by Margaret Robinson, begins to attend feminist conferences. She gives birth to a daughter, Dorothy (Malaika Abioye), after which Olufemi passes away. As a foreign widow, Margaret is now subjected to many rude comments from passing men, and becomes more and more radicalised at the feminist conferences. The film ends with attendees of the International Women’s Congress discussing a “thought experiment” about the creation of a feminist state led by Edith Hart (Kristiina Nørup).

What makes this film special? Why was it nominated for these categories?
While the life of Margaret Robinson has been covered from a Kerlian perspective many times, the early days and the marriage to Olufemi have been neglected. This film focuses more strongly on the racial discrimination elements of the relationship and the factors which led Princess Margrethe to become Margaret Robinson in the first place.

The film is entered into Best Musical Score due to the variety and strength of emotion in the music; including clear evocations of place and inclusion of different musical cultures in a film set in numerous countries and containing scenes in six languages. The multicultural elements were also well-represented and evoked in the costume design, hence the nomination for that category.

Additional Info:
All Teyèan characters were played by Teyèan actors.

[Libertas Omnium Maximus]

Film Title: Morte di un Pazzo, Ascesa di un Eroe (English: The Death of a Madman & the Rise of a Hero)
Nominating Nation: Il Regno di Mansilla (Mansilla)
Nomination Categories: Best Film, Best Lead Actor, Best Musical Score
Language: Italian
Run Time: 113 minutes
Director: Ludovico Marino
Producing Studio/Company: Produttori Cinematografici Nazionali

Cast:
Vitale Giordano as Mario di Brambilla
Filippo Gallo as Lorenzo di Amaretti
Pino Femia as Piero Pugliesi
Silvia Baresi as Angela di Brambilla
Valentino Pirlo as Antonio Calabresi
Antonio Ricci as Giancarlo Ricci

Brief Summary:
A period-piece and biopic, The Death of a Madman & the Rise of a Hero depicts the tumultuous final years of the Amaretti regime in Mansilla and the rise of Mario di Brambilla, the father-in-law of current Prime Minister, Giancarlo Ricci, who led a coup against Amaretti in 1978. Shot in black and white, the film begins in the mid 1970s, depicting Lorenzo di Amaretti (Gallo) as an unsightly, feeble man prone to violent outbursts. In his office, he is strongly implied to “engage” with women of ill repute, and is later depicted gorging himself on imported foodstuff, despite publicly waging a brutal and repressive campaign against decadence and degeneracy. He has built a shrine of images of himself, forgoing church or quiet contemplation on Sundays in favor of throwing lavish parties where he regularly belittles his guests.

The hypocrisy of Amaretti is juxtaposed with the good nature of Mario di Brambilla (Giordano), a spirited, handsome, urbane up-and-comer within the Mansillan National Party and former military police colonel. A man of the people, Colonel Brambilla gives freely to his downtrodden neighbors, assists his community in constructing a plaza, and instills good morals in his young-adult daughter, Angela (Baresi), who he raises as a single father due to the death of his wife in 1957. At the behest of his friends and family, Brambilla runs for a seat on the Voccientilles, the Mansillan parliament, and is easily elected, defeating the pompous Amaretti-backed candidate, Piero Pugliesi (Femia). Simultaneously, Brambilla’s daughter begins dating Giancarlo Ricci (Ricci), a young party member.

During a session of the Voccientilles, Brambilla calls for an end to many of Amaretti’s draconian and unpopular policies, including a near-total ban on imported goods, which has caused mass starvation and poverty within the nation. The Vocientilles applaud Brambilla, but Amaretti, enraged, calls for a meeting with Brambilla. Amaretti attempts to scare Brambilla into retracting his incendiary speech, declaring that, as Prime Minister, Amaretti believes himself to be above all, even the King, even God. Unintimidated by Amaretti’s tacit threats, Brambilla refuses to back down, so an assassin is dispatched to kill him in his sleep. Brambilla easily thwarts the assassination attempt and convinces the people of Mansilla, the army, and the Voccientilles to back him in an attempt to remove Amaretti from power. The people of Brunelli, Mansilla, led by local disruptor Antonio Calabresi (Pirlo), form a lynch mob and come for Amaretti in the summer of 1978, but Brambilla talks them down in an impassioned speech. Amaretti is arrested and Brambilla is named Prime Minister by the Party. The final scene of the movie, shot in color, depicts Brambilla giving his daughter away at her wedding to Giancarlo Ricci in 1980.

What makes this film special? Why was it nominated for this/these category/categories?:
The Death of a Madman & the Rise of a Hero is a state-sponsored film, and is of dubious historical accuracy, but does showcase the resourcefulness of the extremely small and underfunded Mansillan film industry. On a shoestring budget and with no special effects department, director Ludovico Marino was able to capture the zeitgeist of an extremely dark era in Mansilla’s checkered history and deliver a compelling narrative in the process.

For his portrayal of Mario di Brambilla, Vitale Giordano has been nominated Best Lead Actor. Giordano delivered on a tall order, to portray one of the most celebrated and revered figures in recent Mansillan history in a way that fulfilled the contradictory desires of Mansillan viewers to see Brambilla both deified and humanized in the same cinematic interpretation. 

The film’s score, performed by Orchestra Filarmonica Reale, includes a mix of classical Mansillan pieces, jazz pieces popular in the late 1970s in Mansilla, and original music written for the film by composer Vinicio Padovesi. Considered in Mansilla to be one of the greatest soundtracks in any domestic film, The Death of a Madman & the Rise of a Hero has been nominated Best Musical Score.

Additional Info:
Antonio Ricci, the son of Giancarlo Ricci and notorious dilettante, portrays his father in a number of cameo appearances and the film’s final sequence. According to speculation, which has been largely confirmed by Antonio, he took on the role of Giancarlo pro bono and solely for the opportunity to spend time with his co-star, Silvia Baresi, one of the most celebrated actresses in Mansilla, who portrayed his own mother in the film.

[Greater Acadia]

Film Title (English and/or Native): The Factory/L'Usine
Nominating Nation (If not from the IDU, please also list region): Greater Acadia
Nomination Category/Categories: Best Supporting Actor, Best Costume Design
Language: English
Run Time: 1h46
Director: Alicia Montague
Producing Studio/Company (optional): United Filmmakers
Cast: Gaetan Joffre (Maxwell Hart), Jennifer Keyes (Melissa Hart), Francisca Jones (Elody), Shaun Dennis-Paulk (Mr. Fraser), Michael Bench (Francis Starke), Reggie Foxworthy (President Thurston)
Brief Summary (No more than 2-3 medium paragraphs please):
The Year is 1922 and Greater Acadia is on the cusp of the Workers Revolution and the Third Acadian Civil War. Times are tough for the average Acadian. Wages are low, cost of living is high, and hope is running out. Pleas from the common class for the government to intervene fall on deaf ears, as the legislature is either comprised of or paid off by the business magnates, who grow rich off the labors of the average Acadian. With nothing left to lose, many turn to crime to try and make ends meet, only to be brought to heel by a vicious government crackdown on crime. The innocent are caught in the middle, the world seemingly blind to their suffering.

Maxwell Hart is an employee at the local Fraser Autoplant. He works overtime to provide for his wife Melissa and their three children. Life is hard and margins are tight, but the Harts are making do. That is until the Fraser Auto Company suddenly announces that they will be docking the pay of employees at the plant across the board. Now Maxwell suddenly can no longer afford to provide for his family. In an instant, his world is turned upside down. Drowning his sorrows in a local pub, Max stumbles across the charismatic Francis Starke, a working-class man like himself, and advocate for change in the Acadian order. With nothing left to lose, and with his wife Melissa at his back, he is thrust into a world of revolution as Starke rallies the autoworkers to take control of the plant for themselves, sending them on a collision course with the Police and Enforcers hired by Mr. Fraser.

The Factory is a dramatic retelling of the Siege of the Port Royal Fraser Plant, a brave tale about solidarity and camaraderie in the face of impossible odds. This inspiring and gripping film follows a caste of characters inspired be real life historical figures. With period correct costumes and music, the film captures the revolutionary fervor of the 1920s in Greater Acadia. Directed by Actor and Director Alicia Montague, The Factory takes movie goers on a journey back in time to see the spark that lit the fire of the Worker's Revolution.
What makes this film special? Why was it nominated for this/these category/categories? (No more than 1-2 sentences per category nominated):
Jennifer Keyes delivers a passionate and deeply compelling performance as Melissa Hart as she balances her duties as a mother, wife, and revolutionary in a time of great change.

With great attention to detail by renowned fashion designer Renée Gilbert, the costumes worn by the actors reflects the tough nature of the times. With commendable attention to detail, Renée captures the threadbare yet colourful fashion of the common Acadian of the time.

[Lauchenoiria]

Film Title: One Thousand Butterflies
Nominating Nation: Lauchenoiria

Nomination Category/Categories: Best Documentary Film
Language: Spanish/English
Run Time: 89 mins
Director: Candellario Cruz Bustillo
Producing Studio/Company: Pelicula Precisa

Cast:
Eric Gallardo as Narrator

Brief Summary:
One Thousand Butterflies is a critically-acclaimed nature documentary covering the various butterfly species in Lauchenoiria, their history and status, and their surprising contributions to Lauchenoirian agriculture. The documentary examines not only the ecological facts about the butterflies, but also historical stories involving butterflies and appearances of butterflies within Lauchenoirian pre-Christian mythology. It looks at the impact of the Second Lauchenoirian Civil War on butterfly populations and conservation, as well as cross-border conservation efforts with neighbouring nations.

The documentary tells of butterflies whose touch can counteract the effects of poisonous plants; covers the tale of a butterfly which led a Lauchenoirian company to safety while pursued by Kerlians in the Great War; and delves into the all-but-forgotten story of Melissa, a butterfly goddess from pre-Christian Fleura and the namesake of present-day Melissa Province.

What makes this film special? Why was it nominated for these categories?
The blending of ecology, history and mythology means there is something for everyone in this documentary on Lauchenoiria’s tiny national animal. Butterflies are a large part of Lauchenoirian culture, and this has quickly become one of the most viewed documentaries in the country, with many people who do not usually watch documentaries viewing One Thousand Butterflies due to the variety of topics covered in an accessible manner.

Additional Info: N/A

[Democratic Republic Of Eiria]

Film Title: “Kačiet lei Mask” (“Hide the Mask”)
Nominating Nation: Eiria
Nomination Category/Categories: Best Film, Best Supporting Actor, Best Musical Score
Language: Eirian, English Subtitles
Run Time: 2 Hours, 33 Minutes
Director: Janis Litvinovs
Producing Studio/Company (optional): Cēla Sekret Studjō (Secret Sky Studio)
Cast:
Nikolaj Maršan as Adrian
Stefen Vandel as Lēo(Best Supporting Actor nominee)
Julia Abōlina as Sara
Talia Leru as Dr. Duma
Brief Summary:

Hide the Mask is the movie adaptation of an iconic Eirian musical that follows the story of Adrian Jumars, a student at a prestigious university who is just barely scraping by, both academically and economically. He is a bright student (with a particular aptitude for computer science) who is way in over his head with schoolwork and his dull retail job that he works to send money back home to his family. His struggles are lessened somewhat by his faithful friend Lēo, who helps Adrian to lighten up and enjoy life a little bit.

One day, after messing around with the school’s grading software, Adrian notices a weakness in the University’s system. After some prodding, he realizes that he now has access to both the grades of the entire school and the laptop of every professor. Lēo suggests that Adrian could find ways to make money off of this newfound knowledge, and though he was a bit hesitant at first, Adrian eventually agrees. He sets up “Mask,” a well-hidden website, and begins to drop hints to fellow students as to how to get onto the site. Through Mask, students can change their grades, change the grade of fellow students, or buy the secrets of their professors (all for a suitable price, of course).

The site quickly becomes popular, and Adrian becomes increasingly more obsessed with the site, worrying Lēo. One day, a student journalist named Sara hears rumors of this suspicious site, and quickly traced the rumors back to Adrian. She threatens him to tell her who runs the site, otherwise she would go to the school administration and the police. Lēo freaks out and demands the site be taken down, but Adrian is dismissive, continuing to manipulate grades and sell secrets. A few days later, the university is shocked as Sara goes missing on the way home from work. Lēo is distraught, and quickly suspects that his friend has something to do with it. He is forced to decide between his longtime loyalty to Adrian and his guilt over Sara’s disappearance (and the fact that he helped start Mask in the first place).

What makes this film special?: This film manages to address serious topics like guilt, poverty, and blackmail while still maintaining an upbeat, catchy soundtrack. This juxtaposition, as well as the film’s examination of the limits of friendship, are why Hide the Mask was nominated for Best Film.

Stefen Vandel was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his powerful and convincing performance as Lēo, a loyal friend struggling with doing what he knows is right. Vandel’s convincing character is punctuated by his beautiful and emotional renditions of songs such as “Fight the Current” and “Look What I Did.”

Hide the Mask’s soundtrack(written by ATEA Award winners Jan Ausē and Emilija Leklerk), already famous within theater circles, was refreshed and revitalized in this film adaptation. The catchy E-Rock songs provide a startling contrast with the plot of the movie, and this (combined with the sudden sincerity of the movie’s final songs) is why the film is nominated for the Best Musical Score category.

Any additional info: The theater version of Hide the Mask had a successful seven-year run in many Eirian theaters before this movie began production.

—

Film Title: Lei Poiv dei Vardei (The Power of Words)
Nominating Nation: Eiria
Nomination Category/Categories: Best Documentary Film
Language: Primarily Eirian, some minor English bits (as well as English Subtitles)
Run Time: 1 Hour, 57 Minutes
Director: Argalēn Kaltē
Producing Studio/Company: Studjō ZeltArb (“GoldTree Studio”)
Cast:
Kāden Vasilievs as Narrator
Rena Lavēn as Dr. Amalia Līzane
Juris Abels as Dr. Karlis Breidis
Krikors Portē as Richard Arsenalt
Lēna Auklār as Chancellor Irina Pečs

Brief Summary:

On August 8th, 1845, representatives from all across Eiria signed a document that bound them together: the constitution of the first-ever Eirian Republic. However, these are uncharted waters. Eiria has always been splintered previously, with large cultural, political, and linguistic differences between regions. How could such a fragmented land be merged into a flourishing republic?

Lei Poiv dei Vardei tells the story of nine linguistic scholars in early republican Eiria who were all brought to Geminus by Chancellor Irina Pečs for one distinct purpose: Recreating the Eirian language. The scholars (christened the “Council of the Eirian Language”)  quickly get to work, studying dialectal differences, word origin, and grammar structures, engaging in fervent debate with their colleagues. After four years of non-stop research, their efforts bear fruit: The first ever “Vardnik Basēk” (Standard Dictionary) for a standardized version of the Eirian language. This dictionary quickly went to print, with the support of many unitarians (and the anger of the regionalists).

But the journey of these scholars does not end there. Chancellor Pečs, a devout supporter of literacy and education, places her nine scholars in charge of standardizing her Eirian language education programs. Suddenly, a small group of academics has the power to shape an entire culture. Education and politics collide, leading to scandals, rivalries, and threatened resignations. Members of the Council take bribes, lobby for politicians, and even fire professors for disobeying them. This fanfare raises a question in the minds of many politicians and citizens alike: What is too high of a price to pay for national unity?

What makes this film special? Why was it nominated for this/these category/categories?: Lei Poiv dei Vardei was nominated for the Best Documentary award for its honest and symbolic depiction of the growing pains of the Eirian Republic, as well as its well-researched illustration of the birth of a standard Eirian language.

Any additional info: The Council of the Eirian Language (“Lei Kōnsal deile Lank Eirian”) still exists today, and is the foremost authority on Eirian language dictionaries, as well as dialectal preservation. However, language education now falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education.

[Aredoa]

Film Title: Beyond The Waves
Nominating Nation: Aredoa
Nomination Category/Categories: Best Film, Best Lead Actor (Andrés Molina), Best Supporting Actor (Gabriela Rivera)
Language: Spanish
Run Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Director: Juan Antunez
Producing Studio/Company: ProtoPulse Productions
Cast:
Andrés Molina as Emile Raya (Best Lead Actor Nominee)
Gabriela Rivera as Lucia Vargas, later Lucia Raya (Best Supporting Actor Nominee) 
Ricardo Mendez as Pedro Calero
Miguel Cruz as Felipe Raya

Brief Summary:
Emile Raya (Andrés Molina) is a quiet teenager growing up in impoverished and rural Manzanita against the backdrop of the Great War, which he is relatively sheltered from. Destined for a life of orchard farming, which had been the occupation of his family for generations but is not something that Emile intends to pursue, he enlists in the military upon his 18th birthday in 1963 with the encouragement of his grandfather Felipe (Miguel Cruz), who serves as Emile's mentor. Emile is transported to the capital city of Vahania where he undergoes basic training and forms bonds with his fellow soldiers.

Passed over for overseas deployment, Emile is initiated into the Home Guard, remaining stationed in Vahania and seeing no combat. Here he experiences life in the big city for the first time, immersing himself in the city's culture as he sings, dances, cooks and performs alongside his best friend, Pedro Calero (Ricardo Mendez). Emile meets and wins over the love of his life, Lucia Vargas (Gabriela Rivera), marrying her after a year together. The lovebirds find out they are expecting a child and buy a small suburban property on Emile's soldier salary in preparation for the baby. Emile's personal journey seems to be the inverse of the journey of Aredoa: while the future looks bleak for Aredoa as the war drags on with no end in sight, Emile experiences city living for the first time, marries the love of his life, and is expecting a son.

Two weeks before Lucia is due to give birth, Emile is called to take part in the invasion of the Slokais Islands as the Aredoan military command scrambles to bring in any additional forces it can, hoping to turn the tide of the war in Eastern Hesperida. The latter half of the film documents the highs and lows of Emile's war journey, first the brutal and bloody initial landing on the beaches of South Kaijan in a breathtaking 18 minute scene leaving the audience on the edges of their seats throughout. Emile loses countless friends while overseas - including Pedro, who dies in his arms after a particularly tough engagement. The fateful day before victory against Juan Costa's regime, Emile is shot in the neck as his unit falls victim to a false surrender. Despite every effort being made to save his life, Emile dies just hours before the Coalition's victory on the Islands. His wife Lucia, baby son Antonio, and wider family are blissfully unaware and only find out about Emile's death when he is absent from the troopship carrying his unit home, a moment of gut-wrenching grief surrounded by ecstatic families celebrating the homecoming.

What makes this film special? Why was it nominated for these categories?

Beyond the Waves is nominated for Best Film for its heart-warming yet tragic coming-of-age story showing the human cost of war. It features striking visuals, from Aredoa's serene rural and bustling urban landscapes and the tropical beauty of the Slokais Islands to the brutal depictions of amphibious warfare.

Andrés Molina is nominated for Best Lead Actor for his portrayal of Emile Raya as a quiet, young-eyed youth who comes out of his shell and falls head over heels in love before facing the horrors of war.

Gabriela Rivera is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for her emotional and compelling portrayal of Lucia Vargas/Raya as a young woman navigating the complexities of love, loss, and single motherhood, adding a layer of depth and authenticity to the film.
_____________________________________________________________

Film Title: The Sunny Side of Life
Nominating Nation: Aredoa
Nomination Category/Categories: Best Documentary Film, Best Musical Score
Language: Spanish
Run Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Director: Jorge Sada
Cast:
Marta Santino as Narrator/Presenter
Mamá Cassita as herself
Lucífera as herself
Albaluzo as himself
Maravío as himself

Brief Summary:

The Sunny Side of Life takes the audience deep into the heart of Aredoa's culture by delving into the historical and modern-day customs of the small Oakaya Tribe, practitioners of the sun-worshipping Oalasamo religion that was once widespread in Aredoa before the import of Christianity. It examines how the tribe's religion permeates far beyond the culture of the Oakaya tribe and impacts on the Aredoan national identity as a whole, from art to literature, music to architecture, and even how it forms the basis for the name of Aredoa itself.

The documentary explores the unique ways of life within the Oakaya Tribe- such the morning prayers led by tribal matriarch Mamá Cassita at the first break of dawn, the quaint village where every building is adorned with motifs of the sun, and the tending to of the communal gardens that thrive under the sun's benevolence. Over the course of two months, Oakaya old and young alike are interviewed and shadowed by cameras as they go about their day, including the elderly matriarch Mamá Cassita, young siblings Lucífera and Albaluzo, and the tribe's Regional Delegate to the National Assembly, Maravío.

The documentary leads up to the Festilavo d'Oah, the Festival of Sun held at the summer solstice and the most important day of the Oakaya year. Aredoans from all walks of life eagerly wait for the festival that has woven its way into mainstream culture. But nobody quite celebrates like the Oakaya. The Oakaya's celebrations transcend mere festivities, being a spiritual journey of thanksgiving to the life-giving sun. As the film draws to a close, we see and hear the rhythmic beats of traditional instruments, the sundancing, and the feasting by villagers, with the credits rolling as the sun sets on the day.

What makes this film special? Why was it nominated for these categories?

The Sunny Side of Life is nominated for Best Documentary Film for its well-researched and captivating insight into the Oakaya Tribe, showing how the tribe's way of life not only encapsulates Areodan culture but also the universal values of communality and spirituality.

The Sunny Side of Life is further nominated for Best Musical Score for its enchanting musical score, entirely produced by members of the Oakaya tribe with traditional tribal instruments. It is masterfully blended into the narration of key moments of the documentary.

[Lauchenoiria]

Film Title: Pointed
Nominating Nation: Glanainn

Nomination Category/Categories: Best Supporting Actor, Best Costume Design
Language: English, Gaelic
Run Time: 114 mins
Director: Moira McInnes
Producing Studio/Company: Swords and Stars Productions

Cast:
Morag Kyles as Rhiannon
Torquil MacCrum as Oscar
Ivor McCallum as Cadfan
Kenina MacCallion as Cáelfind
Ally Leslie as Ailbe (Best Supporting Actor nominee)
Euan Glen as Iudris
Senga Begbie as Bláthíne

Brief Summary:
In the mythical kingdom of Puingaela, King Cadfan (Ivor McCallum) and Queen Cáelfind (Kenina MacCallion) of the elves rule with an iron fist over the round-eared humans, who are treated little better than animals. The short-lived humans, around for a mere tenth of an elven lifespan, can only hope to live in the forest as hunter-gatherers or eke out a meagre living on the fringes of elven civilisation. The few human settlements are strictly monitored and controlled by the elves, lest the humans gain any measure of independence. The pointier one’s ears, the more power they have in this society. Despite this, the human couple Oscar (Torquil MacCrum) and Rhiannon (Morag Kyles) begin to organise a rebellion in secret.

They are aided by a pair of elves with less-sharp ear points, Iudris (Euan Glen) and Bláthíne (Senga Begbie) who were exiled from Puingaela for breaching the arcane and complex code of etiquette of the elves. The goal of the small group of rebels is to found a human kingdom on the far side of the forest – something many have tried, only to be destroyed by the threatened elves. Panicked, the elven monarchs send Ailbe (Ally Leslie), their intersex child, to the humans to negotiate. In elven society, (identifiable without modern medicine) intersex conditions are even rarer than in humans, and the birth of an intersex baby in the royal family was prophesised long ago to herald the coming of a new age. The elves fear that this will bring an Age of Humanity and reduce their grip on the world.

However, to the elven monarchs’ shock, Ailbe, whose ears are sharp enough to pierce human skin, agrees to assist the humans with the founding of their own homeland, through sharing elven technology and elven protection. King Cadfan and Queen Cáelfind ask Ailbe why and she tells them not to worry, that she is merely giving the humans an illusion of control. Decades pass and the humans build their own city. The film ends with an elderly Oscar and Rhiannon discussing matters of governance… with Ailbe, unchanged by age, hovering over their shoulder, reading all their correspondence.

What makes this film special? Why was it nominated for these categories?
The film received attention for the prominent role of Ally Leslie, a non-binary actor, in the role of an intersex individual who identifies as non-binary. Their acting as Ailbe was noted for being eerie and inhuman as an elf, as well as their portrayal of a non-binary character who eschews traditionally androgynous appearance to define their own way out of the binary mould.

The creativity of the fantasy costumes depicting the elves and humans was also noted, with the elven characters looking suitably not-human and the use of clothing and ears to denote social class, despite different ways of noting class between the human and elven societies.

Additional Info:
While not noted by domestic critics, foreign critics have clearly noticed certain themes of empire and covert control, which they say mimics Glanainn’s current situation as a protectorate of Opthelia. It is uncertain whether this is purposeful; especially as the Glannish government tends to clamp down on pro-independence sentiments.

[Novella Islands]

Film Title: Pine Gap: Triumph Amidst Adversity
Nominating Nation: Opthelia
Nomination Category: Best Documentary
Language: English
Run Time: 181 minutes
Director: Bruce Archer
Producing Studio/Company: Cultural Harmony Opthelia

Brief Summary:
Pine Gap: Triumph Amidst Adversity is an evocative documentary that revisits the legendary Battle of Pine Gap, a pivotal moment in the Great War that has become synonymous with Opthelian resilience and strategic brilliance. Throughout the film, the long and arduous conflict is framed as a masterstroke in military sacrifice and heroism, emphasising the tactical ingenuity of Opthelian commanders, and the unwavering spirit of its soldiers.

The documentary narratively reconstructs the battle, portraying the Opthelian conscripts as valiant warriors who, against all odds and despite logistical limitations, held their ground with steadfast courage. While acknowledging the scarcity of supplies and arms, the narrative underscores the idea that this very hardship sparked the iron resolve and rare camaraderie amongst the soldiers. Dramatic re-enactments, interspersed with inspiring accounts by military historians, recount how the Opthelians turned the tide through stealth manoeuvres and an indomitable will, leading to a hard-fought victory that significantly changed the course of the war.

Towards its conclusion, the film acknowledges the complex aftermath of Pine Gap, with a measured analysis of the Glannish Uprising. It portrays the event as a brief but impactful occurrence that nevertheless reaffirmed the unity and strength of the Empire, presenting the restoration of order and the establishment of the Protectorate of Glanainn as a necessary reaffirmation of Opthelian sovereignty and the common peace.

What makes this film special? Why was it nominated for these categories?
Pine Gap: Triumph Amidst Adversity is nominated for Best Documentary for its masterful narrative, building a historical turning point into a larger-than-life epic, and venerating the Opthelian fighting spirit. The film is praised for its sophisticated storytelling, which, while touching upon the darker aspects of war, constructs a narrative that ultimately celebrates Opthelian dedication and resolve.

Any additional info:
Cultural Harmony Opthelia is a film studio dedicated to creating cinema which sets out to bring Opthelian history and culture to the masses. It regularly receives large grants (and occasionally, direct commissions) from the Opthelian Imperial Ministry of Culture.

The film has been sharply criticised by some historians as 'revisionist', a claim which is soundly rejected by the director.

[Slokais]

Film Title: Harvest Moon (Lune de récolte) (قمر الحصاد)
Nominating Nation: Kolda
Nomination Category/Categories: Best Film, Best Supporting Actor, Best Costume Design
Language: French (Dubbed into Arabic, English, and Kango)
Run Time: 2 hr 38 min
Director: Paul Soumanou Basa
Producing Studio/Company: Rivière Verte Productions
Cast:
Ousmane Toure as Jermain Barro
Sokhna Bousso as The Scribe
Anouk Fèvre as Madame Victorine Charbonneau

Brief Summary

The film begins in a small village, the people are aliens who have over time evolved from humans, three small bumps on their foreheads distinguish them but besides that are almost identical to humans. The people known as the Yanara have a unique ability to control nature through an individual known as The Scribe. Throughout the film’s first 25 minutes the language spoken is entirely alien to us with no subtitles guiding the way, the choice by Basa creating a true sense of the unknown in the viewer.

Yanara is soon visited by a human mining crew from the DeSales Company. The DeSales led Madame Victorine Charbonneau (Fèvre) to want to exploit the planet for generating fuel, requiring the construction of a mine and the removal of the Yanara. In revenge, The Scribe (Bousso) manifests a series of disasters against the mining company. Jermain Barro who leads the mining company believes The Scribe is using a dangerous piece of technology that turns drawings into reality via the ecosystem itself. After Barro captures The Scribe, he interrogates him and demands he give the technology to him. After the Scribe refuses, Charbonneau demands Barro and the miners force the locals into slavery by destroying the technology, destroying the Yanara’s faith.

The final act consists of a brutal battle between DeSales with futuristic weapons and the Yanara with simple tools and arrows. Eventually, The Scribe is captured along with his technology and brought before Charbonneau. The Scribe tells her the technology can’t be used by anyone, and it has no meaning outside of their home planet. In the final scene, as the artficact is on display in a museum of various alien artifacts, The Scribe remotely detonates the device killing many of the corporate before escaping his cell. In the final shot, he intentionally launches himself into space, to prevent it from even being used again.


What makes this film special? Why was it nominated for this/these category/categories?
Harvest Moon is nominated for Best Film due to the film’s nuances and stylistic choices of color, sound, and design to create a deeper meaning. Additionally, the film’s references and criticisms of colonialism and corporate exploitation are admirable.

Harvest Moon is nominated for Best Costume Design for the film's mixture of traditional Koldan design with modern slick business ware, this style known as Koldan-futurism has become popular within Koldan fiction in recent years, as the film demonstrates the concept very well. The contrast between the Yanara and the Miners is also symbolic with the Yanara wearing traditional cloth with simple patterns while the miners wear slick and rigged clothes made from synthetic material.

Sokhna Bousso is nominated for Best Supporting Actor as he plays an exceptional villain in the eyes of the De Sales, and an exceptional hero to his people. The conflict between The Scribe and Barro as each tries to convince the other man of his ill’s is exceptional.

Any additional info: Harvest Moon was controversial within Kolda as the film is inspired by natural gas and mineral extraction operations by Descoteaux and Pirot. D&P has been accused of human rights abuses on numerous occasions and the film brought about a national public debate over the operations within the Moudjerria Region. D&P attempted to sue Basa and film distributors although the case was thrown out, a major victory for political freedom in a country known for corporate and government censorship.


The Bluest Sea: Nuiqsut Confederation

Film Title: Tunngujuttak Nilak Te (The Bluest Sea)
Nominating Nation: Nuiqsut Confederation
Nomination Category/Categories: Best Documentary Film
Language: Kaquismaq (with English and Oapuik subtitles)
Run Time: 1 hr 30 min
Director: Shak’shaani Eesh (Jerome Eesh)
Producing Studio/Company: Nuiqsut Society of Film
Cast:
Robert Gdmang’ra as Robert
Brittiany Durangara as Eve
Rodney Johnara’u as Young Robert

Brief Summary (No more than 2-3 medium paragraphs please):
Nuiqust is a vast rural country, with large sections of the country being sparsely populated. Robert playing himself has lived in the village of Fort Jackson the town where he was born. The Opthelian Authority controls much of the country through a series of military bases, we witness these moments and others via Robert’s stories told by himself featuring actors. At just 12 years of age, Robert along with his family is forcibly interned as a result of activities by the Nuiqsut Independence Party who thought the early 1960s raided multiple Opherlian settlements.

The second act opens on Ukagavit Island, where Robert and around 5,000 of his people the Eastern Kaquismaq are being held in an open-air prison under the watch of armed guards. The island’s remoteness and lack of resources lead to starvation among those imprisoned. Additionally, the native Islanders operate on a matriarchal system. However, Robert begins to develop a relationship with Eve a native whose views on gender and responsibility clash with Robert’s. Later on in 1965, as the Kaquismaq are freed from their imprisonment and they are taken home, Robert feels an intense conflicting feeling over 500 people including some of his family died yet having to leave Eve is bittersweet as the two grow closer over the years.

The film ends with the real-life Robert revealing that he returned to Fort Jackson and remained even as the town’s population decreased with Robert being the last person remaining. In the final shot, Robert returns to where he was once imprisoned, with the facilities remaining abandoned since the war.



What makes this film special?

The Bluest Sea effectively captures the conflicting emotions of coming of age in a time of trauma, and the film highlights an often overlooked story of the Great War. The mixture of interview and documentary footage as well as recreations of Robert’s story creates a truly great documentary.

Additional info: The Bluest Sea was created by students as part of a nationwide virtual film program, with various college students at Nuiqust University shadowing in production and learning from industry experts. This is Jerome Eesh’s directorial debut and only the third film in Nuiqsut history to gross over 5 million NKD ($200,000).

[Libertas Omnium Maximus]

Film Title: A Leeward Phantom
Nominating Nation: Libertas Omnium Maximus
Nomination Categories: Best Film, Best Lead Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Musical Score
Language: English
Run Time: 156 minutes
Director: Garth Greene
Producing Studio: Maynard Motion Pictures, Empyrean Studios (distributor)

Cast:
Grant Page as Archibald "Archie" King
Benjamin Wagner as Matthew
Christopher Baxter as Captain William Ramsey
Lawrence Barber as Dr. Leland Howard
Sebastian Tallmadge as Narrator
Tiffany Bowman as Ariadne

Brief Summary:
Set during the twilight years of the age of sail, an unseen narrator (Tallmadge) tells the story of a wealthy heir to a merchant shipping empire, Archie King (Page), who once fell in love with a native woman, Ariadne (Bowman), of St. Paul Island, a small isle off the southeast coast of Iustitia. Although their romance was passionate and genuine, the heir was already betrothed to a socialite in Iustitia City and withheld this information from his lover. When Ariadne eventually learned of the heir’s dishonesty and infidelity, she sent Archie away and cursed his name, wishing on him the Thassalaparata, a native southern-Iustitian mythological poltergeist who would turn the seas against those who dishonored the Iustitian peoples. Over the following years, Archie’s life became mired in tragedy and ill fortune, including the freak drowning of his fiancée, the untimely death of his father from Typhoid Fever, and the inexplicable disappearances of many of the vessels in his inherited merchant fleet. Sailors reported that phantom ships now stalked the waters of the Iustitian isles and the seas would sometimes glow like fire.

A Leeward Phantom follows the efforts of Mr. King, convinced that Ariadne’s curse was the source of his misfortune, to return to St. Paul Island and beg for her forgiveness, no matter the cost. For the voyage, King recruits an odd ensemble of characters, including William Ramsey (Baxter), an austere, intransigent ship captain, Leland Howard (Barber), a physician, personal friend of Mr. King, and amateur biologist more interested in documenting the reported bizarre phenomena than any ancient curse, and Matthew (Wagner), an orphaned cabin boy. As the crew sets out on what should be a short voyage from Iustitia City to St. Paul island, they become mired in doldrums, haunted by a spectral fleet of ancient sailing ships, and seemingly pursued by a massive whalefish, which Archie King becomes convinced is an incarnation of Thassalaparata. As nerves become shot and tensions run high, the crew, terrified, turn on their leaders, plotting a mutiny. Noting the fear in Matthew’s eyes, Captain Ramsey takes the cabin boy under his wing, reassuring the young man that as long as the crew maintains faith in their ship and captain, the schooner will not be lost. That evening, however, a huge storm blows in, crippling the schooner and causing one of the masts to fall on Doctor Howard, killing him midway through an unsuccessful attempt to convince the crew that they were plagued not by a poltergeist, but by a harmless phosphorescent algae bloom and overactive imaginations. As concern turns to blind terror among rank-and-file crewmembers, a scuffle breaks out aboard the ship and Archie King is beaten mercilessly before being “sacrificed” to the Thassalaparata, thrown overboard into a raging sea. As the crew turns on Captain Ramsey, a yard breaks off from the mainsail, knocking Matthew into the rolling surf. The schooner is blown away from the overboard duo, leaving Ramsey and his crew’s fate a mystery. Although Matthew cannot swim, King, though mortally wounded, keeps him afloat long enough to grab hold of a floating piece of debris from the schooner, dying from exhaustion and injuries sustained during the mutiny moments later. As King’s body sinks into the sea, the waves begin to glow and the storm gradually abates, revealing an iridescent sunrise.

In the film’s epilogue, the narrator is revealed to be a now-octogenarian Matthew, who was rescued by Legionite sailors the morning after the storm. They reported pursuing a great whalefish, who disappeared into the depths just before Matthew was sighted. Living in a townhouse overlooking the harbor of Port Lutzos, Legionas, the narrator explains that he never again went to sea, but does not believe in mythical curses or a vindictive spirit of the ocean, only the lengths mankind will go to rationalize occurrences beyond their control or comprehension. In the harbor, a huge steam-powered ocean liner departs from the port, headed for destinations unknown.

What makes this film special?:
A Leeward Phantom seamlessly combines elements of native Iustitian folklore with a thrilling maritime epic that pays homage to Maximusian cultural history and its inextricable link with the sea. Filmed primarily on-location, A Leeward Phantom features hard-hitting performances by some of the Maximusian film industry’s most venerable actors and ingenious utilizations of practical effects augmented by state-of-the-art computer generated imagery to bring the terror and grandeur of a vengeful sea to life.

For his skillful portrayal of the film’s tragic protagonist, Grant Page has been nominated Best Lead Actor. His immense range as a performer allowed him to gracefully capture the full breadth of human emotion as his character stood atop the world, fell from greatness, and, in the bitter end, found some redemption in ferrying an innocent to safety as his final act.

Benjamin Wagner, though just beginning his acting career at 14 years of age, demonstrated in A Leeward Phantom that he is as much an actor as any by delivering an evocative and heartfelt performance as Matthew, the everyman cabin boy who finds himself getting much more than he bargained for when he signed-on for a short voyage through charted waters. He has been nominated Best Supporting Actor.

A Leeward Phantom’s original score, a combination of haunting orchestral fanfare composed by Zachary Gilbert and performed by the Litudinem Symphony Orchestra and traditional sea-shanties sung by the Via Regis Men’s Choir, has been nominated for Best Musical Score.

[Democratic Republic Of Eiria]

(Posted on the behalf of Iceagea)

Film Title: Too Camp to Camp?
Nominating Nation: Iceagea [Europe]
Nomination Category/Categories: Nomination for Best Foreign Film
Language: English
Run Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Director: Pryttg Bshnp
Producing Studio: Wddlyn Öntrtnmnt
Cast: Fryvg Hrstll as Lntzz, Jytll Hymm as Rhnggs.
Summary:

Two men, a father called Rhngss, who is a scruffy traditional country man, and a son named Lntzz, who is from first impressions his opposite, go camping to fix their relationship after Lntzz came out and was met with negativity, being called “not man enough” before being kicked out. Both are there at the request of their respective partners who believe that father and son can mend their relationship. Both Lntzz and Rhnggs engage in general camping and survival activities where the son silently showcases his skills much to his fathers surprise, including a hike where they discover a carcass. The father recounts a childhood memory of seeing something humanoid covered in fur that left similar claw marks but on a tree. Spooked, they return to the camp.

The next day, the father returns to the site with his gun. A shot goes off a while later and the son hears and rushes to investigate. His father is injured, and he is told that he saw it. The son attempts to take his father back to camp, but the father believes it is playing with them. Rocks fall and leaves rustle. They nearly make it back to camp when the creature appears, imposing and aggressive. It attacks Lntzz, who evades it and hides in the van. While the creature attempts to break into the van, Lntzz spots a gun outside the van window. Quietly creeping out of the front of the van, he heads for the gun. The creature notices and rushes at him, but the son reaches the gun just in time to shoot at the creature, injuring it.

The creature flees, and the son, breathing heavily, is all bedraggled in contrast to his earlier polished appearance, almost representing his father. The father asks his son where he learnt to shoot a gun and all those other skills and the son tells him his partner's father taught him. The father breaks down and acknowledges his judgment in the past of his son back in the past as “not man enough” was wrong, he has become one without him.
He acknowledges his failure as a teacher and father and that while he cannot turn back time, he hopes he can mend things, and move past his more traditional upbringing. The son acknowledges that and jokes so long as they don't go camping for a while, they can try.

What makes this film special?:

Too Camp to Camp? Is a pioneer in iceagean film, turning the survival thriller genre beloved by iceageans, a hardy neanderthal people on its head by combating stereotypes and inserting a more socially liberal message into a traditional and often macho setting for am increasingly urban and modern society.

Any additional info:

It is Fryvg Hrstll’s first breakout role in film, with the actor usually working in theatre.

[Democratic Republic Of Eiria]

(Posted on the behalf of Ottterland)

Film Title (English and/or Native): "Lost Cause: Not Just a High School Story" or "The Lavender Envelope"

Nominating Nation (If not from the IDU, please also list region): Ottterland, From Europe
Nomination Category: Best Foreign Film
Language: English (some Spanish Dialogue)
Run Time: 2h 15m
Director: Erick Rodriguez
Producing Studio/Company:
BlueOtter Films
Cast: Eduardo Garza, Gabriel Pazarón, Karla Cyril, Fernanda Díaz, Danna Eithne, Ovidio Andrade, Ana Soria

Brief Summary: The story starts at with a group of young people halfway through high school. They all attend the same classes, and even though they all have different backgrounds, they soon become friends. One of them, called Edward, starts becoming close friends with a girl from the group, called Sara. Everyone gets into new activities that year: some into a club, a sports team, a hobby, a new job; everybody's out there meeting new people. School is now also in full swing, and so are their activities. After some unorthodox teaching techniques (involving hand-holding, hugging and hula-hoops), Edward slowly starts liking Sara.

This is the first time Edward felt something for someone, so he was clueless as to what to do next. Should he tell her? Or should he just forget it and move on? He didn't have to decide. One of her friends asked her out. So now he had problems: Now that this feeling doesn't go away, what does he do? He is risking her friendship with Sara, with Joseph (her boyfriend), and all of the others on this decision. He decides to ask his friends, while maintaining all of this a secret. But it doesn't last long. The subject of the matter is still unknown, but everyone is now looking out for who could be the significant other. Edward receives advice from a foreign friend, who suggests that he directly tells her how he feels, personally.

Edward Must Now handle the task of finding the right way and time to tell her, while finding a way to distract everyone from his intentions. With him being stressed at school, the pressure from his friends asking who is this person, and the discombobulated mess of his thoughts and emotions, he has had enough. He starts to write a thorough letter expressing everything from the start, putting it in a lavender Envelope, and sets himself the plan of giving it to her the next day. That day, he is waiting to see the perfect opportunity to get it over with. He sees Her, walks up to her, and gives her the lavender envelope. The faces of bewilderment and disconcertment in their faces was quickly Intensified when he started to walk away. The movie ends with Sara reading the letter while Edward walks off into the distance.

What makes this film special? Why was it nominated for this/these category/categories? : The movie features familiar situations for lots of people, becoming quite popular in the Romance and Slice-of-life genres.

Any additional info: The film has an open ending to leave the outcome undecided, but there are talks of a second part. The film is based on a real story from the director.

[Laeral]

Film Title (English and/or Native): Kalapara
Nomination Categories: Best Documentary Film
Nominating Nation: Andhrapur
Language: Andhran
Run Time: 1 hr 23 mins
Director: Rajiah Masum
Producing Studio/Company: Kyphina Rush Animation Studio
Cast:
Hasna Begum as Salma Saha (voice)
Rahat Morshed as Aminul Saha (voice)

Brief Summary:
Kalapara is a documentary film produced in the style of Andhrapuri animation, retelling the story of archaeologist Salma Saha’s discovery of the lost ancient city of Kalapara in 1929. Presented in a striking, stylized manner produced by the acclaimed animators at Kyphina Rush, Kalapara introduces Salma (voiced by Hasna Begum), who along with her husband, acclaimed archeologist Aminul Saha (voiced by Rahat Morshed), is taking part in an expedition deep into the remote jungles of Faridpur fief, meant to find the 13th century Kalapara palace complex of the great emperor Surya Mutam, long since lost to the time and the jungle. The narrative is based primarily on Saha’s diary, and rather than featuring a narrator, Saha herself describes and narrates the obstacles encountered by the expedition (including dense overgrowth, wild animal encounters, and extreme humidity), frequently speaking directly to the camera.

The initial winter 1928 expedition is unsuccessful and forced to turn back without having found the city’s location after a sudden storm destroys the Sahas’ sensitive equipment. Returning to the metropolis of Sughatta, Aminul falls ill with a tropical malady, likely from an insect bite, and dies. A now-widowed Salma pledges to fulfill her husband’s dream of finding the lost city, even as many dismiss the expedition as a wild goose chase. Winning over a sympathetic nobleman as sponsor, Salma leads a second expedition to the Faridpur highlands in the winter of 1929, discovering the fabled city in a secluded valley after feeling an inexplicable sense of certainty that Kalapara lies there. As the expedition begins to excavate the site, a vast city gradually takes shape, complete with houses, temples, bathhouses, and a vast palace complex. As it becomes clear that this remarkable archeological find will revolutionize studies of the premodern Andhrapuri civilization and reignite a sense of national pride among Andhrapuris, Salma falls into a deep sleep where she dreams of how the city of Kalapara may have appeared at its heyday, based on modern archeologists’ understanding.

What makes this film special? Why was it nominated for this/these category/categories?:

Kalapara is nominated for Best Documentary Film for its enrapturing and historically-accurate depiction of the Salma Saha expedition and the discovery of the ruins of Kalapara, presented in eye-catching Andhrapuri animation. Viewers will find the visuals impressive and the historical narrative engaging as it sheds light on the practice of archeology nearly a century ago as well as premodern civilizations in modern-day Andhrapur.