28th GPFF CORTONATURA COMPETITION
L’OPPORTUNISTE, LA VICTIME ET LE COUPABLE
DOMINIQUE MERTENS - BELGIUM | 2024 | 5’
In the neighbour’s meadow, the story of an unconventional western unfolds.
SANDCASTLE - THE SECRET LIFE OF POTTER WASPS
ROMAN WILLI - SWITZERLAND | 2024 | 12’
Accompany a brave potter wasp on an exciting journey! Witness the fascinating tenacity and perseverance of this insect as it makes its way through a kingdom teeming with challenges and predators. A short documentary that reveals the mysteries of a hidden world.
IL DESTINO DI UNA GOCCIA D’ACQUA
RICCARDO FRIZZIERO - ITALY | 2024 | 15’
Two explorers cross the Alps and Apennines by bicycle to document the state of Italian glaciers with glaciologists and mountaineers. The journey reveals the effects of the climate crisis: crevasses, new lakes, rocks without permafrost. A journey, also personal, involving local communities, in a documentary that reflects on the relationship between man and nature and the disappearance of glaciers as a vital resource.
THE BIRD IN MY BACKYARD
RYAN WILKES - CANADA | 2024 | 20’
In his backyard in Canada, a window dealer discovers a nest of hummingbirds and is fascinated by them. He thus begins to film them every day, becoming a self-taught expert. The short film recounts his transformation and the extraordinary relationship that develops between man and these tiny, fascinating birds.
DONDE SE QUEJAN LOS PINOS
ED ANTOJA - SPAIN | 2024 | 10’
A rural community discovers a crime scene in the heart of the forest. Gradually, a series of previous situations reveals the conflicts that occurred there.
DAMJI
NAZANIN CHITSAZ - IRAN | 2024 | 2’
A child collects drops of sewage…
CROC COUNTRY
SINÉAD REYNOLDS - UNITED KINGDOM | 2025 | 21’
In the idyllic tropics of northern Queensland, territory is shared with one of nature’s most ruthless predators. Despite casualties on both sides, what can be done to build a more peaceful coexistence between man and “monster”?
BOVINE BROTHERS
OLIVER HILL - UNITED KINGDOM | 2025 | 11’
In 1930s Germany, two brothers undertake an arduous experiment: to bring the aurochs back to life. Drawn into a world of fascist fanaticism and medieval fantasies, will their creation become a symbol of tyranny or renewal?
VINCENT
Noemi Pisano and Francesco Rey - Italy | 2023 | 14’
Vincent Quendoz is a young farmer from Valle d’Aosta who tells his story on social media. Caught between modernity and tradition, in a life he had not foreseen, he finds himself playing the role of someone else, taking charge of the family business. A journey filled with challenges, in which life and death are constantly intertwined. It is the story of broken dreams that give way to new opportunities, a man struggling to conquer his place in the world.
ROOTS WILL REMAIN
Garath Whyte - United Kingdom | 2022 | 2’
Inspired by the tragically ongoing events in Ukraine, this film tells the story of a stubborn sunflower on its journey towards the light. The film takes its cue from nature, which always finds a way to fight and survive. It fully captures the strength, determination and resilience of the Ukrainian people, whose national flower is the sunflower, which has become a symbol of the country’s resistance against invading Russian forces.
LAND TALK: ALPINE FRANCE
Laura Mahler - France | 2023 | 10'
Meet Danièle and her 91-year-old mother Juliette. Both born and raised in the small village of La Fornet, near France’s first protected area, the Vanoise National Park, today they are witnesses to the challenges the park faces beyond what borders can defend.
TAHLEQUAH THE WHALE: A DANCE OF GRIEF
Daniel Kreizberg - Lithuania and United States | 2023 | 15’
In the aftermath of the cub’s sudden death, Tahlequah, the mother killer whale, carries her daughter’s body across the Salish Sea: an incredible true story that has captivated the world.
THE DINGO FENCE
Kate Church - United Kingdom | 2024 | 17’
In the heart of Australia, the continent is bisected by the world’s longest fence, built to protect livestock from dingoes. For the past 150 years, this species has divided the nation. Now that new studies are emerging, is it time to change course?
AQUAVERSE
Justine Rauby - France | 2023 | 13’
The aesthetic value of the Mediterranean’s underwater landscapes is still unrecognised. This film, halfway between documentary and fiction, through the story of a ghost net abandoned at a depth of over 85 metres off the coast of La Ciotat, aims not only to show the inaccessible in order to stimulate the instinct to preserve it, but also to raise public awareness on the ravages of a real problem: pollution.
