SEMI-FINALISTS SEASON 1
The Official 2025 Season 1 Semi-Finalists
Explore the official Season 1 Semi-Finalists of the Imperiya Film Festival South Africa International, formerly known as the Russian Film Festival South Africa. This showcase celebrates outstanding independent cinema from around the world across six categories: Micro Films, Mini Films, Short Films, Feature Films, Experimental & Art Films, and Documentary Films. Each film represents exceptional storytelling, creative vision, and diverse perspectives. Browse the complete list of the 2025 Season 1 Semi-Finalists below.
MICRO FILMS
Love
Director: Ilya Severov
Genre: Drama | Family
Synopsis: An 8-year-old girl misbehaves in the hospital, prompting the head doctor to demand her departure. Her overwhelmed father, with no other choice, must take her home.
Director Bio: Ilya Severov is a Russian director, screenwriter, and producer. His films include I Am Free, Divorce on a Whim, Trezorka, and the award-winning short film Love, which received Third Prize at the 2024 Film7Days International Festival.
Dance
Director: William Luke Mulders
Genre: Experimental | Dance
Synopsis: This film uses minimalism to explore strength, vulnerability, and the beauty of human connection through contrasting visuals and emotions.
Director Bio: William Luke Mulders is a South African filmmaker and cinematographer based in Cape Town. He is the founder and creative director of Happy Films, producing commercial, documentary, and narrative films with a strong focus on cinematic visual storytelling.
The Little Romance of Will-o’-the-Wisp and Raindrop
Director: Baptiste Denuit, Johan Denis
Genre: Animation | Fantasy | Romance
Synopsis: A love story between a man who burns everything he touches and a woman with a magical umbrella.
Director Bio: Baptiste Denuit (b. 1996) is a Belgian actor, screenwriter, and director passionate about storytelling and visual staging. Together with Johan Denis, he co-directed The Little Romance of Will-o’-the-Wisp and Raindrop, an animated short that has screened at international film festivals.
The Boy Who Cheated Death
Director: Pipou Phuong Nguyen
Genre: Animation | Fantasy
Synopsis: Syd, an eight-year-old boy, tries to hide his mother from Death. They escape as different creatures across the natural world while Death relentlessly pursues them, until Time becomes the ultimate predator.
Director Bio: Pipou Phuong Nguyen is a Vietnamese director and artist based in Paris. A graduate of Gobelins Paris with a master’s degree in animated filmmaking, she combines 2D and 3D animation, stop motion, puppetry, and immersive media to create distinctive animated stories.
MINI FILMS
The Little Prince
Director: Amar Khati
Genre: Drama | Family
Synopsis: The Little Prince follows Amineh, a girl who lives with her grandpa and spends every night searching for the comet.
Director Bio: Amar Khati is an Iranian filmmaker known for his short films that explore artistic expression and socially relevant narratives.
Volunteer
Director: Dmitry Pasichnyuk
Genre: War | Drama
Synopsis: Set during the first days of the Great Patriotic War, Ivan decides to become a volunteer and join the Red Army.
Director Bio: Dmitry Pasichnyuk is a Russian filmmaker known for Pro Lyudey i Pro Voynu (2020), The Air (2021), and Kurt Seyit & Sura (2014).
Kidney Trial
Director: Doron Neeman
Genre: Drama
Synopsis: When Dana, a Breslev Hasid, faces the sudden illness of her daughter, she must choose between her faith and the unfamiliar world of medicine and science.
Director Bio: Doron Neeman is an Israeli filmmaker known for Forbidden Holiness (2024), Kidney Trial, and The Tragedy of the Lady (2024).
An Old Friend
Director: Nuk Suwanchote
Genre: Drama | Fantasy
Synopsis: An imaginary friend discovers his sole purpose is to bring happiness to his child, only to realize that his child is now a 90-year-old man on his deathbed.
Director Bio: Nuk Suwanchote is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and cinematographer. A graduate of the University of Washington, his work has received international recognition, including honours for cinematography and screenings at the Cannes Film Festival.
The Tragedy of the Lady
Director: Doron Neeman
Genre: Drama
Synopsis: Hannah, a young actress, competes for the role of Lady Macbeth against her closest friend, with whom she is secretly in love.
Director Bio: Doron Neeman is an Israeli filmmaker known for Forbidden Holiness (2024), Kidney Trial, and The Tragedy of the Lady (2024).
SHORT FILMS
Visible Voices
Director: Sofya Shevlyakova
Genre: Drama
Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Anya, who lost her hearing due to illness, relies on lip reading to communicate. Living in a small town with her strict mother and grandmother, she finds solace in visiting her older sister in the city. But when Anya falls for her sister’s new boyfriend, her struggle with self-acceptance intensifies.
Director Bio: Sofya Shevlyakova began her creative journey in theatre before transitioning to film directing. She graduated from the Feature Film Directing programme at the Saint Petersburg State Institute of Film and Television (SPBGIKIT).
Trinidad
Director: Jos Azuela, José Manuel Azuela Espinosa
Genre: Drama | Family
Synopsis: Trinidad follows three children who steal their beloved grandfather’s ashes from a cemetery, determined to keep him close throughout their lives.
Director Bio: Jos Azuela is a multidisciplinary Mexican creator whose work is influenced by magical realism and surrealism, earning recognition in art, film, and animation. José Manuel Azuela Espinosa is a filmmaker whose storytelling celebrates the people, landscapes, and traditions of rural Mexico.
Breaking Free
Director: Kopedi Aphane
Genre: Drama
Synopsis: Lerato, trapped in an abusive relationship, discovers she is pregnant and attempts to escape. When Zulu refuses to let her go, a violent confrontation follows, forcing their neighbour Pule to intervene.
Director Bio: Kopedi Aphane is a South African director and producer, best known for Breaking Free. Founder of APN Pictures (Pty) Ltd, he combines experience in film, television, information technology, and project management to create impactful stories.
Catharsis
Director: Valeria Popova
Genre: Drama
Synopsis: An aging actor, devastated by the cancellation of a performance, contemplates death. A chance encounter with a young colleague and a woman on a bus leads him to discover the transformative power of his craft.
Director Bio: Valeria Popova (b. 1978) is a Russian director and journalist. She graduated from the Academy of the Media Industry and completed the Higher Courses for Screenwriters and Directors in 2023.
FEATURE FILMS
The Devil Makes Work For Idle Hands
Director: Colin O’Reilly
Genre: Crime | Drama
Synopsis: A man on parole, a struggling mother, and two drug-dealing brothers find their lives intertwined in a complex web of crime, survival, and consequence.
Director Bio: Colin O’Reilly is an Irish director and cinematographer with a BA in Film, Radio & Television Studies. After working on productions including The Calling (2009) and Rustom (2016), he made his directorial debut with The Devil Makes Work For Idle Hands.
STEPPE
Director: Maxim Akbarov
Genre: Action | Drama
Synopsis: Hunting inspectors risk their lives battling poachers across the vast steppe. While rescuing a woman and her daughter, they make the ultimate sacrifice in the fight to protect both people and wildlife.
Director Bio: Maxim Akbarov is a Kazakh filmmaker whose directorial debut Steppe has received 15 international awards. He also produced Brothers, an acclaimed film that earned 14 international awards.
Clan Woman / JAMI
Director: Lekshmi Pushpa
Genre: Drama
Synopsis: Clan Woman / JAMI centres on a woman whose life is controlled by her son after her husband’s death, leading to a power struggle that forces her to confront deeper truths about life.
Director Bio: Lekshmi Pushpa is an Indian filmmaker from Kerala. Following the success of her award-winning short film Kombal, she made her feature film directorial debut with JAMI in 2024.
EXPERIMENTAL & ART FILMS
Spelonk
Director: Desmond Denton
Genre: Science Fiction | Drama
Synopsis: Set in a dystopian Cape Town in 2044, bounty hunter Dante is forced to confront his beliefs while hunting rebels fighting over dwindling water resources. Inspired by South Africa’s Day Zero water crisis.
Director Bio: Desmond Denton is a South African filmmaker, writer, and producer. His work includes feature films, documentaries, and short films, and he has participated in industry programmes including Berlinale Talents and Durban FilmMart.
Children From Heaven
Director: Shravan Pranesh, Karthick Mohan, Karthik Gopal
Genre: Drama
Synopsis: Children From Heaven explores the challenges faced by four children, revealing how compassion and humanity can become the answer to society’s deepest conflicts.
Director Bio: Shravan Pranesh, Karthick Mohan, and Karthik Gopal are Indian filmmakers who collaborated on Children From Heaven, using the perspective of children to explore meaningful social issues through independent cinema.
Popurri
Director: Ricardo Rivas
Genre: Experimental | Art
Synopsis: Popurri is a collage of scenes blending moods and emotions into a surreal, fragmented dream that invites viewers into a deeply personal cinematic experience.
Director Bio: Ricardo Rivas is a Venezuelan filmmaker based in Argentina. Since beginning his filmmaking career in 2019, he has focused on developing experimental films that explore personal expression through innovative visual storytelling.
DOCUMENTARIES
Happy People
Director: Ксения Владимировна Криницына-Сажина
Genre: Documentary
Synopsis: In the heart of Tatarstan, on the Volga River, three generations spent more than 60 years transforming their land into a paradise, only to lose it when a local entrepreneur purchased the property to build his own home.
Director Bio: Ксения Владимировна Криницына-Сажина (b. 1980) is a Russian actress and filmmaker from Kazan. A graduate of the Kazan Theatre School, Moscow State University, and VGIK, she has performed more than 80 stage roles and received recognition at national and international theatre festivals.
Deep Black
Director: Roberto Pili
Genre: Documentary | Biography
Synopsis: Deep Black explores how art, through the story of Sardinian writer Davide Lai (NERO), serves as a tool for resilience and mental health, featuring artists and professionals discussing the healing power of creativity.
Director Bio: Roberto Pili is a Sardinian filmmaker whose work explores the relationship between art, identity, and mental health. His documentaries highlight personal stories that demonstrate the transformative power of creativity.
Bitter Honey
Director: Julia Andreevna Makarova
Genre: Documentary
Synopsis: Following their father’s death, the Skuratov sisters struggle to preserve the family bee apiary while confronting the grief and memories he left behind.
Director Bio: Julia Andreevna Makarova is a Russian documentary filmmaker and graduate of SPbGIKiT. She specialises in non-fiction films and television documentaries while also teaching at the institute.
Olga Michi – An Artist Odyssey
Director: Vladimir Sumashedov
Genre: Documentary | Biography
Synopsis: Olga Michi. An Artistic Odyssey follows photographer and artist Olga Michi as she journeys from living with African tribes to swimming with crocodiles, pushing boundaries in pursuit of artistic expression.
Director Bio: Vladimir Sumashedov is a Moscow-born television director who has produced more than 40 projects for leading Russian broadcasters and international brands, including Toyota and Kaspersky Lab.
Made In Paradise
Director: Aniruddha Das
Genre: Documentary
Synopsis: Set against the breathtaking landscapes of Ladakh, Made In Paradise follows the Changpa nomads, guardians of the world’s finest Pashmina, as they strive to preserve a centuries-old way of life.
Director Bio: Aniruddha Das is an Indian filmmaker and former software engineer who transitioned into advertising photography. Made In Paradise marks his feature documentary directorial debut.
My Kola Odyssey
Director: Maria Popritsak
Genre: Documentary | History
Synopsis: My Kola Odyssey explores the Kola Superdeep Borehole, a Soviet Cold War megaproject that sought to unlock the Earth’s secrets, while reflecting on the memories of those who witnessed its rise and decline.
Director Bio: Maria Popritsak is a documentary filmmaker born in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Her work focuses on the experiences of young people living through significant historical and social change.
The Journey Home
Director: Vera Denton, Desmond Denton
Genre: Documentary
Synopsis: A compelling documentary that captures the hopes, fears, and challenges of immigrant families in the United States through the eyes of their children, revealing the universal search for belonging and a better future.
Director Bio: Vera Denton and Desmond Denton are South African filmmakers dedicated to telling human-centred stories with global relevance. Desmond Denton has won more than 16 international awards for his work as a director, writer, and producer, while together they bring authentic and impactful narratives to the screen.