“I’m Not a Robot,” a sci-fi drama from the Netherlands, won the Best of the Fest award at last weekend’s Love Your Shorts Film Festival at the Ritz Theater in Sanford.
The short film directed by Victoria Warmardam also is nominated for an Academy Award on March 2. The film is about a woman obsessed by a disturbing question: Could she be a robot because she can’t correctly answer Captcha questions on her computer?
The 15th annual festival was attended by film makers from California to Italy.
Brady Lessard, economic development director for the City of Sanford, said the festival brings a “creative buzz” to the city, which has been the fes tival’s trophy sponsor for several years.
“I join the entire city in celebrating 2025 and an ticipating the next year,” he said.
Pat Battistini of Los Angeles, who won Best Comedy for his film “Ms. Rossi 3: Ms. Rossi Meets the Mob,” said “The Love Your Shorts Film Festi val is one of those events where it’s just magical. I love to keep coming back to Sanford because of this.”
“Every year when I finish a film, the Love Your Shorts Film Festival is always first on my list to submit to,” she said.
Mike Smith, who owns The Sullivan, a Public House, and Current Seafood Counter, has been one of the festival’s sponsors for a dozen years because “in a town full of events, LYSFF is the one that touches just about everyone in town.
“From the grassroots beginnings to its international reach, this event is right place/right time for Sanford. I love how it connects our community while also showing off our great town as well.”
The festival, organized by a nonprofit group of community volun teers, this year showed 76 films from 11 countries. Love Your Shorts’ next event is the annual one-night Summer Rewind on Aug. 22, when some of the most talked-about films from this year’s festival will be shown at the Ritz Theater. The 16th annual festival is scheduled Feb. 12-15, 2026.
Here are the films that won their categories at the festival this year:
- “Radio Silence” (Opening Night) Ric Serena, United States When confronted with her mother’s illness, Tracy is forced to re evaluate the soundtrack of her own life.
- “Contracting the Cooties” (E for Everyone) Skylar Levine and Maya Bayewitch, United States A second-grade girl touches a boy’s hand, contracting “cooties.” Her friend must find a cure.
-“Gopher Games” (Documentary) Brent Fannin, United States As much of Florida’s landscape is being squeezed by developers, protections for gopher tortoises are slowly being chipped away.
- “A Night, After All” (International) Anshul Agrawal, India Can a caregiver become tired of giving?
- “Ms. Rossi 3: Ms. Rossi Meets the Mob” (Comedy) Pat Battistini, United States While traveling for work, Ms. Rossi gets picked up by the wrong driver.
- “I’m Not a Robot” (Sci-Fi/Horror) Victoria Warmerdam, Nether lands After failing Captcha tests, Lara becomes obsessed with a question: Could she be a robot?
- “Turduck-In” (Animation) Sydney Christensen, United States How the turducken Thanksgiving delicacy first came to be.
- “SilverSizzle” (Drama) Brian Russell, United States A cemetery caretaker embarks on a quest to help two recent widow ers.
- “Filter 14” (Florida Flavor) Austin Roghelia, Brevard County Two astronauts navigate a desolate planet and figure out why their mission went awry.
