The French Riviera Film Festival (FRFF) has officially unveiled the finalist shorts for its seventh annual competition, set to take place May 16–17, 2025, in Cannes, France. The announcement was made today by festival co-founder Nicole Goesseringer Muj.
Launched in 2019, FRFF celebrates the best in short-form content across film, television, web, and digital platforms. Timed to coincide with the Festival de Cannes, the two-day event will feature screenings, the eighth annual Global Entertainment Showcase (details to be announced), VIP receptions, and a closing gala awards ceremony.
“Our boutique short film festival becomes more successful each and every year,” Muj told Reel 360 News. “We’re thrilled that filmmakers are embracing AI, which is reflected in many of this year’s submissions. We can’t wait to showcase such remarkable talent from around the world in Cannes.”
2025 FRFF Finalist Shorts Categories
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Bound By The Brush (Germany) — Director: Mark Wachholz
- Dominant (USA) — Director: Nik Kleverov
- hAIrmony (Spain) — Director: Javier Ideami
- Market (Republic of Korea) — Director: Ilyou Kim
- Project 2029 (USA) — Director: James Jones
- Return to Emerald City (Republic of Korea) — Director: Gina Yoon Jin Kim
- Roadkill (USA) — Directors: Daniel Max Bonventre, Ian McLees
- The Butterfly Dream (Republic of Korea) — Directors: Suhyeon Scholastica Jin, Aria Suhyun Kim
- The Flower That Never Dies (United States) – Directors: Faz Brahimi, Pascale Fortunat, Lola Grumbach
- Unblind (Germany) — Director: Mark Wachholz
- WWJD SportsTalk Radio (USA) — Director: Carl Burcham
Micro Short
- Break The Silence (USA) — Director: Dax Phelan
- Déjà Rêvé (USA) — Director: Paris Mumpower
- Mi Fuego (France) — Director: Quentin Feynie
- Picking A Guitar (Ireland) — Directors: Eddie Brannigan, Felipe Candido de Brito
- Rage (India) — Director: Rah Bharath Rajagopal
- The Last Word (France) — Director: Eric Camus Dulac
- Will We Always Have Paris? (Israel) — Director: Rona Soffer
- Young People (USA) — Director: Brooke Westphal
Special Mention (online screening only)
- Proof of Life — Director: Brooke Westphal (USA)
- Self-Care in Seconds — Director: Curtis Johnson (USA)
Student
- Chase Jupiter (USA) — Director: Linjie Huang
- A Mother Goes To The Beach (Portugal) — Director: Pedro Hasrouny
- Lacoste, Lastly (USA) — Director: Will Susor
Animation
- Mombomb, part 1 (USA) — Director: Patricia Beckmann Wells
- The Adventures of Ohee (USA) — Director: Matthew Mason
- To Bend The Ear of The Outer World (UK) — Director: John Elefante
Sci-Fi/Horror
- IDA (Spain) — Director: Javier Ideami
- Night Terror (Canada) — Director: Dana Fradkin
- Swipe (USA) — Director: Patia Prouty
Comedy
- 1..2…3 (France) — Directors: Quentin Feynie, Caroline Thomas
- Chinese Laundry (USA) — Director: Dan Aid
- Hello JOJO (France) — Director: Jeremy Alexandre Condamine
- How Do You Expect Me to Live if I Don’t Kill? (France) — Director: Hassan Hamza
Documentary
- Cooking Up A Legacy (Canada) — Directors: Josef Azam, Melissa Reis
- Deer Bell (Hungary) — Director: Edit Jakab
- Twisted Fate (USA) — Directors: Mike Horelick, Jon Carnoy
- Before 1619: She Took Justice (USA) — Director: Bobby John Field
Music Video
- A Little Displaced (USA) — Directors: Alex Knapp, Thomas Essig
- À Volonté (France) — Director: Shaun Rylee
- Ayshe – Call It Home (Turkey) — Director: Cansu Boğuşlu
- Crescent Heights (Greece) — Director: Yiannis Margetousakis
- Rebel (USA) — Director: Medi eM
Drama
- At The Table (Croatia) — Director: Ivan Veljača
- Bitter Mash (France) — Director: Hadrien Kurzenne
- Casa Susanna (France) — Director: Pauline Bernard-Vernay
- My Paws Are Soft, My Bones Are Heavy (Indonesia) — Director: Garry Christian
- Sally, Get The Potatoes (USA) — Director: Danicah Waldo
- The Monte Carlo (USA) — Director: Jamie Lockhart
- The Paradise Road (USA) — Director: Lisa Marie Tedesco
Special Mention (online screening only)
- The Castle of Four Doors — Director: Christopher Lamb (USA)
Additionally, FRFF will host a special Out of Competition screening of Swedish band The Hives’ new music video Enough Is Enough on day two. Finalists will also compete for awards including Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Audience, Rising Star, and Industry Excellence.
Festival Details
- Screenings: May 16–17, 10 AM–3 PM, Eden Hotel & Spa, 133 rue d’Antibes, Cannes
- Receptions: By-invitation events at Bel-Air Fine Art Gallery and Eden Hotel & Spa
- Online Screenings: Available on eoFlix beginning May 16
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