PRESS
For Immediate Release
OSCAR QUALIFYING LA SHORTS CROWNS DAOOD ALABDULAA’S “WALUD” BEST OF FEST
People & Things, Como si la tierra se las hubiera tragado and Classroom 4 also take top awards
LOS ANGELES, July 29, 2025. The 29th LA Shorts International Film Festival announced its winners at last night’s award ceremony in Echo Park. The festival is accredited by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences OSCAR®, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts BAFTA and the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television (ACCT) presenters of the Canadian Screen Awards and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Spain (Goya Awards). Categories that Oscar Qualify are Best in Fest, Best International Film, Best Documentary and Best Animation Film.
Daood Alabdulaa was awarded Best in Fest for German-Syrian co-production WALUD and the Polish drama PEOPLE & THINGS directed by Damian Kosowski, won Best International Film. .Classroom 4 directed by Eden Wurmfeld – winner of Best Documentary at Aspen Shortsfest won Best Documentary and Como si la tierra se las hubiera tragado, directed by Natalia León, an animated short that won the jury award at the Sundance Film Festival won Best Animation Film.
The full winners list:
Best of Fest
Walud by Daood Alabdulaa
Best International
People & Things by Damian Kosowski
Best Drama
A King's Curtain by Grant M Johnson
Best Comedy
The Lot by Raffaele Vesco
Best Animation
Como si la tierra se las hubiera tragado by Natalia León
Best Experimental
Memoir by Aiden Keltner
Best Documentary
Classroom 4 by Eden Wurmfeld
Best Sci-Fi
Dream Machine by Dan Egan
Best Horror
Mermaid by Ginger Gonzaga
Best Music Video
Dominant by Nik Kleverov
Best Web Series
Samson's Hammer by Vahan Bedelian
Best Vertical
Undercover Prison King by ReelShort
Best A.I.
Torment by Sijia Zheng
Best High School Film
Why Can't We Just Be Ghosts? by Patrick Jang
Best Actor
Caley Versfelt in Believe
Immaculate Heart Community Filmmaker Award
Walud by Daood Alabdulaa
Como si la tierra se las hubiera tragado by Natalia León
Classroom 4 by Eden Wurmfeld
The Window on Death Row by Linda Freund
Seeds from Kivu by Néstor López, Carlos Valle
A City That Cares by Aaron Hosé
On Healing Land, Birds Perch by Julian Cautherley
Exodus by Bob Miller
Fenice by Sterling Hampton
The Immaculate Heart Community awards $5,000 in cash prizes.
About the LA Shorts International Film Festival
LA Shorts International Film Festival ranks among the most prestigious and largest international short film festivals in the world.
The festival is accredited by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences OSCAR®, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts BAFTA, and the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television ACCT Canadian Screen Awards and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Spain GOYA AWARDS. 66 LA Shorts filmmakers have earned Academy Award® nominations, with 17 taking home the Oscar.
Now in its 29th year, LA Shorts is the longest-running short film festival in Los Angeles. The festival screens over 400 films and attracts 10,000 attendees each year, including Hollywood industry professionals and emerging undiscovered independent filmmakers.
For more information visit www.LAshortsFest.com
For press inquiries, please contact Deborah Gilels at deborah@lamediaconsultants.net.
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Academy Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
Officially recognized by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, some of these films may go on to receive Oscar nominations.
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
Official qualifying event for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts BAFTA short film awards. Award-winners at the festival are eligible to win BAFTA's
Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television
ACCT presenters of the Canadian Screen Awards – eligible international film festivals
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Spain
Official qualifying festival for the Goya Awards, Spanish short films selected for the festival are able to to submit for the 36 edition of the prestigious Awards.