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Experimental
WINNER: An Impossible Address, dir. Suneil Sanzgiri
Feature Doc
WINNER: Zenón and the Rebel Boats, dir. Juan C. Dávila Santiago
Special Mention: Finding Your Laughter, dirs. Arlieta Hall and Brittany Alsot
Feature Narrative
WINNER: Variations on a Theme, dirs. Jason Jacobs and Devon Delmar - Not available for online viewing
Short Doc
WINNER: Authors of the Estate, dir. Abdou Cissé
Special Mention: Another Day Shall Come, dir. Aida Kaadan
Short Narrative
WINNER: Treasure Island, dir. Miryam Charles - Not available for online viewing
Special Mention: Tell Me When You Get Home, dir. Tshay Meade
Philadelphia Filmmaker Award
WINNER: The Seeds We Carry, dir. Gabrielle Patterson
Audience Award: Feature Documentary
WINNER: Scene Not Heard: Women in Philadelphia Hip Hop, dir. Maori Karmael Holmes
Audience Award: Feature Narrative
WINNER: Call of My Life, dir. Dammy Twitch
Audience Award: Experimental
WINNER: Tenants of Lenapehocking in the Age of Magnets, dir. Louis Massiah
Audience Award: Short Documentary
WINNER: The Seeds We Carry, dir. Gabrielle Patterson
Audience Award: Short Narrative
WINNER: When They're Gone, dirs. Ragan Henderson and Lauryn Darden
Shine Award for First-Time Filmmakers
WINNER: One More Show, dirs. Mai Saad and Ahmed Al Danaf
Suneil Sanzgiri’s work has been shaped by an ongoing investigation into the histories of anti-imperialist and anti-colonial struggle in the Global South — rooted in his own family genealogy of resistance in Goa under Portuguese occupation. Here, he writes an impossible letter to Sita Valles, an Angolan doctor of Goan descent who, in the aftermath of April 25, left Lisbon to join the MPLA, the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola. A film that unfolds through shifting cinematic techniques and anchors itself in a mutable aesthetic in an attempt to grapple with what struggle truly means.
How can we unearth the solidarities that time and colonialism sought to erase? The director traces a latent mapping of anti-colonial movements uniting Asia and Africa under the former Portuguese yoke. Following the trail of revolutionary Sita Valles — born in Goa and killed in Angola — the director reveals deep connections between struggles that, though seemingly disconnected, echo on the same frequency of resistance. Through an immersive visual approach, where 16-mm film is literally buried and retrieved from the earth, the film operates as both an archaeological and narrative excavation. Sanzgiri bypasses what seems invisible or impossible to track, reconnecting the power of Afro-Asian solidarities.
- Year2025
- Runtime39 minutes
- LanguageEnglish, Portuguese
- CountryUnited States, Angola, India
- PremierePhiladelphia
- GenreExperimental
- Content WarningFrenetic scenes and fast-moving images with some light flashes throughout the film but mostly at the very start
- DirectorSuneil Sanzgiri
- ScreenwriterSuneil Sanzgiri
- ProducerSuneil Sanzgiri
- CastAna Naomi de Sousa, Edgar Valles, Justino Pinto de Andrade, Dr. Inocência Mata, Dr. Cristina Pinto, Yasmina Price
- CinematographerSuneil Sanzgiri, Bernardo Infante, Krish Makhija, Doug Durant
- EditorSuneil Sanzgiri
- AnimatorSumedh Sawant & Adithya lyengar
- ComposerAmirtha Kidambi in collaboration with Lester St. Louis, Matt Nelson, Alfredo Colón, Jason Nazary; Additional Music: Haamid Rahim & Sarah Zarina Hakani, Booker Stardrum
- Sound DesignSuneil Sanzgiri
Experimental
WINNER: An Impossible Address, dir. Suneil Sanzgiri
Feature Doc
WINNER: Zenón and the Rebel Boats, dir. Juan C. Dávila Santiago
Special Mention: Finding Your Laughter, dirs. Arlieta Hall and Brittany Alsot
Feature Narrative
WINNER: Variations on a Theme, dirs. Jason Jacobs and Devon Delmar - Not available for online viewing
Short Doc
WINNER: Authors of the Estate, dir. Abdou Cissé
Special Mention: Another Day Shall Come, dir. Aida Kaadan
Short Narrative
WINNER: Treasure Island, dir. Miryam Charles - Not available for online viewing
Special Mention: Tell Me When You Get Home, dir. Tshay Meade
Philadelphia Filmmaker Award
WINNER: The Seeds We Carry, dir. Gabrielle Patterson
Audience Award: Feature Documentary
WINNER: Scene Not Heard: Women in Philadelphia Hip Hop, dir. Maori Karmael Holmes
Audience Award: Feature Narrative
WINNER: Call of My Life, dir. Dammy Twitch
Audience Award: Experimental
WINNER: Tenants of Lenapehocking in the Age of Magnets, dir. Louis Massiah
Audience Award: Short Documentary
WINNER: The Seeds We Carry, dir. Gabrielle Patterson
Audience Award: Short Narrative
WINNER: When They're Gone, dirs. Ragan Henderson and Lauryn Darden
Shine Award for First-Time Filmmakers
WINNER: One More Show, dirs. Mai Saad and Ahmed Al Danaf
Suneil Sanzgiri’s work has been shaped by an ongoing investigation into the histories of anti-imperialist and anti-colonial struggle in the Global South — rooted in his own family genealogy of resistance in Goa under Portuguese occupation. Here, he writes an impossible letter to Sita Valles, an Angolan doctor of Goan descent who, in the aftermath of April 25, left Lisbon to join the MPLA, the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola. A film that unfolds through shifting cinematic techniques and anchors itself in a mutable aesthetic in an attempt to grapple with what struggle truly means.
How can we unearth the solidarities that time and colonialism sought to erase? The director traces a latent mapping of anti-colonial movements uniting Asia and Africa under the former Portuguese yoke. Following the trail of revolutionary Sita Valles — born in Goa and killed in Angola — the director reveals deep connections between struggles that, though seemingly disconnected, echo on the same frequency of resistance. Through an immersive visual approach, where 16-mm film is literally buried and retrieved from the earth, the film operates as both an archaeological and narrative excavation. Sanzgiri bypasses what seems invisible or impossible to track, reconnecting the power of Afro-Asian solidarities.
- Year2025
- Runtime39 minutes
- LanguageEnglish, Portuguese
- CountryUnited States, Angola, India
- PremierePhiladelphia
- GenreExperimental
- Content WarningFrenetic scenes and fast-moving images with some light flashes throughout the film but mostly at the very start
- DirectorSuneil Sanzgiri
- ScreenwriterSuneil Sanzgiri
- ProducerSuneil Sanzgiri
- CastAna Naomi de Sousa, Edgar Valles, Justino Pinto de Andrade, Dr. Inocência Mata, Dr. Cristina Pinto, Yasmina Price
- CinematographerSuneil Sanzgiri, Bernardo Infante, Krish Makhija, Doug Durant
- EditorSuneil Sanzgiri
- AnimatorSumedh Sawant & Adithya lyengar
- ComposerAmirtha Kidambi in collaboration with Lester St. Louis, Matt Nelson, Alfredo Colón, Jason Nazary; Additional Music: Haamid Rahim & Sarah Zarina Hakani, Booker Stardrum
- Sound DesignSuneil Sanzgiri
