Aevolum Cinema Presents — Touring Short Film Programme

Steve Ramsden is an award-winning British filmmaker who has worked across Asia, Africa, and the USA as a director, cameraman and editor. In 2016 he founded Unexplored Films. His short films have screened at LIFF, LSFF and internationally, winning awards at Venice Shorts, California Indies and the LA International Short Film Festival.

An overworked and arrogant lawyer describes the terrifying incident he has just experienced on his drive home from the office… but his night may not be over yet.

"Road Kill was written during Covid lockdown as a film I could make with very few resources. It is a short thriller with horror and dark comedic elements — exploring the morality of a crime no-one sees, taking responsibility for your actions, and the value of a human life versus a career." — Steve Ramsden

Steve Ramsden is an award-winning British filmmaker who has worked across Asia, Africa, and the USA as a director, cameraman and editor. In 2016 he founded Unexplored Films. His short films have screened at LIFF, LSFF and internationally, winning awards at Venice Shorts, California Indies and the LA International Short Film Festival.

An overworked and arrogant lawyer describes the terrifying incident he has just experienced on his drive home from the office… but his night may not be over yet.

"Road Kill was written during Covid lockdown as a film I could make with very few resources. It is a short thriller with horror and dark comedic elements — exploring the morality of a crime no-one sees, taking responsibility for your actions, and the value of a human life versus a career." — Steve Ramsden

Heidi Nyburg is a California-based writer/director and former Netflix product manager. Her work centres on female-driven stories exploring motherhood, identity, and resilience. Five and a Half has won 8 international awards including Best Director at Big Sur International Short Film Screening Series and Best Narrative Short at the San Francisco International Film Awards.

A little girl spends an unnerving afternoon with her estranged, recently paroled father — left with only her imagination to stop time and escape impending disaster.

Dan Hertzog is a Los Angeles-based writer/director and cinematographer. Domino Springs has won 52 international awards across 26 festivals, including multiple Best Film and Best Director prizes.

A troubled mechanic races across the Mojave Desert with his best friend in tow to ditch the body of a small-town waitress before being caught — the question is, by whom?

"At its core, Domino Springs is a story about two friends ultimately divided by their differing values of family and friendship. Times may change, but people don't — and that tension drives everything. In the end, our main character loses the very thing he valued most." — Dan Hertzog

Lola Mei Ellis is an independent director and cinematographer based in NYC. She holds a bachelor's degree in Film Studies and Political Science from Boston College. Ellis has directed, shot, and produced award-winning short films that have showcased at film festivals nationally. She is currently in post-production on her upcoming film, Velvet.

A short documentary shining a light on the plight of widows in India and their paths to overcoming hardships concerning inequality and poverty.

Colombian writer and director based in Western Australia, working across documentary and narrative drama. Her work explores mental health, intergenerational trauma, and identity, often blended with magical realism. Recognised for Horsepower and her role as Second Unit Director on He Ain't Heavy (SFF, MIFF; Netflix).

Ian, a young farrier haunted by lifelong battles with his mental health, discovers a profound sanctuary in the gentle presence of his horses, embarking on a transformative journey of self-discovery and healing.

"I set out to explore the profound connection between humans and horses — particularly in the context of men's mental health. Through Ian, a young farrier battling his mental health, we witness the transformational power of this bond. I hope this film fosters empathy and conversation around men's mental health: an often overlooked and stigmatised topic." — Jessica London

Steve Ramsden is an award-winning British filmmaker who grew up on Tyneside and has worked worldwide as a director, cameraman and editor. He founded Unexplored Films in 2016, producing short films including Road Kill (2023) and Pay Back (2023). He is also a prolific YouTuber with over 340,000 subscribers.

A wealthy property developer goes to the top floor of an art gallery to pay the ransom for his kidnapped son. But when the lift mysteriously stops halfway up the building, he must quickly work out if the young man he is trapped with is just an innocent tourist — or the kidnapper.

I wrote Pay Back to be a gripping thriller that keeps the audience guessing right until the end. I set the story in the North East — using the Baltic Centre with its famous glass lifts as the centrepiece — drawing on fond memories of learning to make films as a teenager around Tyneside. — Steve Ramsden

Born in Brussels, Belgium in 1984, Toni Hilgersson graduated from INRACI in cinematography. Father of two children, he has been responsible for their education in a rural environment since 2012. He directs short fiction films for cinema and television, and videos for the internet, in a very personal style close to magical realism.

Some say Jeanne is mad — because she doesn't let boys push her around, which doesn't sit well with everyone. To protect herself, she decides to say stop. From now on, consider yourself warned: don't touch Jeanne. She stings.

Born and bred in the West Midlands, Martin Hemingway-Moseley has built a decade-long career in film and television, progressing from camera crew to producing and directing. He has worked on projects for Netflix, Warner Bros, Twentieth Century Fox, and National Geographic. A Memory Owed is his narrative debut — a project over ten years in the making, powered by 726 donors and 146 crew members.

Bound by unspoken grief, a reclusive 91-year-old WWII veteran and his young carer find unexpected solace on the windswept plains of a former bomber airfield, where memory still lingers.

With A Memory Owed, I set out to build an emotional bridge between past and present by exploring the legacy of RAF Bomber Command — a chapter of history long overlooked until the 2012 unveiling of a long-awaited memorial in Green Park, London. As the voices of the WWII generation grow quieter, I felt a responsibility to tell a story that resonates today, while staying true to those who lived it. This film represents nearly a decade of work. It is a tribute to memory, sacrifice, and the enduring human need to connect.

Trapped in the loop of his own mind, with not much time left, a man meets a being beyond time. To taste her freedom, he must let go of the pain that anchors him.

Exchange emerged from the violent conflict between Mind and Surrender. Wilfred, cowering on the desolate shore with his kitchen knife, represents Mind; severed from life by his inability to let go, his perception defined by fear. An alternative, Surrender, is presented in the form of Barbara who appears on the shore before him, untethered to time or space and beyond Mind. Barbara represents the infinite while Wilfred is all of us, fighting to resist the tide of life. This story is about the cost of holding on — and the beauty in finally letting go.

Kitty Harper is a Birmingham-based award-winning writer and director with over 10 years of experience in short film. Her work has won Best LGBT Screenplay at the Chicago Script Awards, Best Thriller at Hollywood's Monthly Film Festival, and she was shortlisted for the Steven Knight Make It In Birmingham Competition. She has served as a panel judge and script reader for Lift-Off Global Film Festivals.

A young girl dealing with the loss of her mother gets bullied by her abusive French teacher, but soon discovers a deeper truth behind her teacher's actions.

Moroccan director and producer trained at ESRA Paris. Founded Pixel Factory in 2013. His short Hand Maid (2015) won the jury prize and audience award at Encounters Bristol International Film Festival. Seminal Animals won Best Screenplay at the Tangier National Film Festival and Best Picture at the Marrakesh Short Film Festival.

In a near-future city where a new law grants impunity for crimes against women after 9PM, a single mother races home through gang-patrolled streets after an emergency keeps her at work past curfew — while her teenage son drifts closer to the very world she's running from.

London-based interdisciplinary storyteller and filmmaker. His dance-documentary series Moving Cities has reached over 50 million people. When You Left Me won Best Editing/Post-Production at the Lift-Off Season Awards 2025.

A father at breaking point does the unthinkable — leaving his young son on a London Underground platform. What follows is a desperate, guilt-ridden reckoning with the fragile thread that holds us together.

I'm sure I'm not alone. We all lose control, especially with children. I became fixated on the tether. What happens when you're at the end of it? Could you really abandon your child? When You Left Me is a collision of two fears — losing a child in public, and losing control as a parent.

London-based award-winning photographer and director. Fighting Demons won Best Short Documentary at the London Lift-Off Film Festival 2025 and has screened at 9 international festivals including HollyShorts UK and the New York Independent Film Festival.

Four fighters step into the bare knuckle ring — not just to battle their opponents, but to confront their own inner struggles.

Bare knuckle boxing is often dismissed as brutal spectacle. I wanted to look beyond that. When I first encountered this world, what struck me wasn't the violence — it was the vulnerability. What I found were four deeply human answers. Paul, Tony, Tamlyn and Harvey each carry something into the ring that no opponent can touch — grief, identity, purpose, legacy. The bare knuckle arena, for all its rawness, became a place where those things could be confronted honestly.

British filmmaker. A Great Love is a poetic documentary portrait of equine sculptor Charlie Langton and his lifelong muse.

In a poetic and personal reflection, a sculptor contemplates his life's work and the enduring power of his singular muse.

In an age of multi-hyphenates, it's rare to meet someone with a singular creative focus. This is what made meeting Charlie Langton so remarkable. For the past twenty years, he has worked as a sculptor, with his focus almost exclusively on one muse: the horse. There was something deeply calming about hearing an artist speak with such enduring wonder for a pursuit that has remained constant over time.

French writer-director. APNÉES won Best Drama Short at Aesthetica Short Film Festival 2024 and received a Special Jury Mention at Tribeca Film Festival 2024.

Pierre is diligently overseeing the completion of a tumultuous construction site. An eco-district is due to arise from this land — but for now, Pierre is ensuring that progress doesn't come at the cost of safety.

With Apnées, I wanted to make a breathless social thriller — intimate and committed. In the arena of a construction site governed solely by the laws of supply and demand, I made the radical choice of intimacy: placing my camera as close as possible to reality and to my characters, capturing every nuance of an intricate subject.

Sydney-based writer-director and cinematographer. YAKKA won Best Cinematography and was nominated for Best Short Narrative at the Lift-Off Global Network Season Awards 2024.

On a secluded Australian estuary, as two young brothers grapple for their neglectful father's approval, their usual pastime of exploring empty holiday houses goes awry, and a violent mistake will shatter their fragile bond forever.

The cycles of toxic masculinity are even more entrenched in families overrun with men and need to be addressed by the men caught inside them. Not only is this a love letter to my youth — it's also a coming of age story encouraging independence and challenging audiences to stand up for what they believe in, no matter what the consequences may be.

Tokyo-based filmmaker and commercial director. 6 international award wins including Brooklyn SciFi Film Festival 2025, Amsterdam Independent Film Festival & Ghent International Film Week.

Set in the future shortly after singularity has happened, this is a story of a woman's decision in a world where the 'scenario' has come to present optimal solutions.

Life is made up of choices. From the smallest, everyday decisions to the larger, defining ones, we shape our lives through what we choose. And yet, in the moment, we can never truly know if what we chose was the right path. Meaning only reveals itself later, with time. But what if the answer had already been decided? scenario is a film that contemplates that question — and the quiet space between choice and inevitability.

Documentary filmmakers. 13 festivals. Nominated Best Short Documentary — Lift-Off Global Network.

A celebration of the beautiful absurdity of tall bikes — and what happens when strange, joyful things roll through ordinary streets.

Luca is a British director and cinematographer with a focus on documentary. The Doula won Best Short Documentary at the Lift-Off Season Awards and Best Documentary at Soho Independent Film Festival.

An atmospheric portrait of Jo Piercey, a birth doula, mother and rebel, who is fighting to change the way we think about birth.

This film is deeply personal to me, as it's a film I made with my mother. My Mum's passion is her work as a 'doula': a modern birth partner. As the traditional family unit is diluted in the digital age, we are finding ourselves less educated and more fearful about giving birth, giving rise to huge numbers of high intervention birth and a rising tide of trauma. Jo has a different message about how we can and should be doing things.