Our Best Short Film winner will receive our custom Global Shorts statuette which we ship anywhere in the world, free of charge. The award is manufactured by Society Awards, the same awards company that manufactures the Golden Globe and the Emmy. All winners will receive our Global Shorts Winner laurels in black, white, and gold.
Title: Ocean Child
Runtime: 17 min
Country: USA
Director: Marilyn Swick, Laura Koons
Placement: Award of Merit
Competition: September, 2025
Synopsis: Hope is a young girl who has always dreamed of becoming a mermaid. Unbeknownst to her, Hope is also a preordained Ocean Child, and this thirteenth birthday is like no other. Her Grandmother Serena is of an ancient royal bloodline destined to rule The Seven Seas. Knowingly, she gave up her mermaid legacy when she fell in love with a U.S. Navy Sailor. Serena chose to become human for love, as well as her son Finn, Hope’s father. These transitions did not alter Hope’s birthright. Serena knew the importance of releasing the mermaid scales Hope was born with back to the ocean on her thirteenth birthday. A pure act of selflessness allowing Hope to navigate the course of her own destiny.
Hope’s mother Haylee, a pure blood human, has lived in fear of losing her daughter to this enchanted underwater world since the day she was born. This fear has led Haylee to manipulate Hope into thinking her delusions are just that. Visions of unattainable imagination as if the truth had been deleted from Haylee’s memory. Serena reiterates Hope’s current dream contained facts that only a real mermaid would know. It leads Finn to step up and help Haylee recall the reality of the situation. Hope learns her parents will be sending her to The School of Mermaidology and Neptunism. This school is for all merchildren, sorted into pods from all over the world. With Serena and Finn’s reassurance, Haylee agrees to let go. Together they will help support Hope’s mystical journey toward her dreams.