Liverpool John Moore’s MA Short Film Festival has come to a close, and there was a fantastic display of talent here from a whole host of films all over the world. However, only a select few were chosen by both the jury and the audience for the coveted Paper Bird Award.
From animations to documentaries, there was a wide selection of short films shown at the film festival, and below are the winners from each category.
Fiction
Come Sit With Us
Hailing from Estonia, Elis Rumma from Tallinn University directs an adaptation of Piret Raud’s ‘Bench’ which deals with social ties and individualism. The film involves Eve and Lola, who finds themselves drawn to a group of women on a bench at the Midsummer’s Eve celebration, at which the women voice their concerns to their new guests. Causing Eve and Lola to doubt their own perspectives on many different issues. This complex narrative just gave it the edge over the other films, making it the winner in the fiction category.
Additional Credits: Writer (Johanna Viskar), Cinematographer (Joosep Ivask) and Producer (Lennart Mathias Männik)
Animation
Closing Hour
In this short animation, a collaboration of French and Japanese animation styles inspired Netherlands based animator, Tim Smink, to create a horror story revolving around an employee working the graveyard shift, and their attempt to survive against the night. Despite being only eight minutes in length, the film uses tension to make a minute feel like a lifetime and the horror film certainly created an impact, allowing it to be the winner in the animation category.
Experimental
Verses From the Water
Brazilian-Chilean director Amadis T. Loyer presents a dream sequence which involves a young adult questioning their gender identity whilst facing his past and his desire to be reborn. This experimental short obviously captured the hearts of the jury and audience which means it was a winner in the experimental category.
Documentary
Someone Else’s Life
Umi Aravena of Universidad de Chile, brings a nostalgic and capturing documentary of umi’s journey to understand her parents when she was younger through home footage recorded by her. This capturing of this journey awarded her with the award for the documentary category.
Additional Credits: Producer (Ignacio Durán) and Executive Producers (Eduardo Riffo Yáñez & Vicente Sepúlveda)
The Audience Award
Larger Than Life
The Audience’s Award means that director Sam Mason of Bournemouth University got an award for his short documentary which follows coach Connor and his life with sacral agenesis and all of the ups and downs of Connor’s life. The documentary captured the hearts of the audience, and for good reason, therefore allowing for a second winner in the documentary category.
Additional Credits: Director of Photography (Hugo Theodorou), Colourist (Finley Clifton) and Composer (Tom Culling)
Special Mentions
While it is certainly important to acknowledge the winners of these awards, it is equally important to also acknowledge all of the special mentions within each category. Those being:
Fiction – Bridal Car (Dir. Parsa Ansari & Ali Asadi)
Animation – How We Hamsters Die (Dir. Mio Gribskov & Phoebe Burdick)
Experimental – Embroidering the Abyss (Dir. Fikri Al Murtaky)
Documentary – Handwoven (Dir. Dasha Levin)
That’s a wrap on the 2026 LJMU MA Short Film Festival, which once again delivered an inspiring showcase of outstanding short films from emerging talent around the world. Each year, LJMU provides an important platform for new filmmakers, giving them the opportunity to gain the recognition their work deserves.
The festival will return in 2027 with another exciting programme of exceptional short films and rising creative voices competing for top honours.
For more information visit ljmumashortfilmfestival.org.
