SHORT TO THE POINT DECEMBER 2020 AWARDS
BEST FILM
Kilter | Australia | 2020 | 12’
Director: Rob Stanton-Cook
Writer: Rob Stanton-Cook
Producer: Olivia Hantken
Cast: Kirin J Callinan
Synopsis: Kilter explores the wreckage left in the wake of generational toxic masculinity. Following a violent crime of passion, a gentle young man descends into a tormented reality as he struggles to reconcile who he is and what he has become.
BEST DIRECTOR
Kilter | Australia | 2020 | 12’
Director: Rob Stanton-Cook
Writer: Rob Stanton-Cook
Producer: Olivia Hantken
Cast: Kirin J Callinan
Synopsis: Kilter explores the wreckage left in the wake of generational toxic masculinity. Following a violent crime of passion, a gentle young man descends into a tormented reality as he struggles to reconcile who he is and what he has become.
BEST SCREENPLAY
Listen To Me Sing | United Kingdom | 2019 | 12’
Writer: Rosamund Attwood
Director: Isabel Garrett
Producer: Emily Everdee
Synopsis: A miserable hotel performer is struggling to use her voice, and finds herself desperate to re-learn how to express herself. One day, she finds a walrus in her bathtub and falls in love – and this encounter might well be the making of her.
BEST LEADING ACTRESS
THE BUZZ IN THE VOID | Latvia | 2020 | 22’
Actress: Guna Zariņa
Director: Beate Olekte
Writer: Beate Olekte
Producer: Sabīne Veldre
Cast: Ģirts Krūmiņš, Guna Zariņa, Baiba Broka, Tom J. Benedict
Synopsis: Ainars has been the principal of the Music School for forty years until he is unexpectedly fired. Ainars feels betrayed, seeing him unhappy, his wife Anita decides to act. When the new principal candidate arrives at the music school, the world created by the two of them collapses. The new suppresses the old and it just seems that everything that has been done before is left in vain.
BEST LEADING ACTOR
MILK ME | Norway | 2020 | 23’
Actor: Brede Fristad
Director: Jørgen Jensås Sivertsen
Writers: Jørgen Jensås Sivertsen, Tarald Aas Reite
Producer: Cecilie Stubberud Aas
Cast: Brede Fristad
Synopsis: In a remote Norwegian valley, the young farmer Per lives his lonely life. He shares the farm with “Vigdis,” his only cow. Their peaceful days will shortly end when Per discovers techno music. He falls in love with the techno, and Vigdis and the farm becomes a second priority.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Kilter | Australia | 2020 | 12’
Cinematographer: Aaron Mclisky
Director: Rob Stanton-Cook
Writer: Rob Stanton-Cook
Producer: Olivia Hantken
Cast: Kirin J Callinan
Synopsis: Kilter explores the wreckage left in the wake of generational toxic masculinity. Following a violent crime of passion, a gentle young man descends into a tormented reality as he struggles to reconcile who he is and what he has become.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
ALIE | Ukraine | 2020 | 20’
Directors: Kadim Tarasov, Viktor Romaniuk
Writer: Kadim Tarasov
Producer: Andriy Rizol
Cast: Dmytro Korshak
Synopsis: On September 5, 1977, the American robotic space probe Voyager was launched into space for exploring the Solar system and outside it. A gold disk containing coded information was on board. On the disk were recorded greetings and invitation to visit the Earth in all languages of our world. The film tells the story of an alien ALIE by name who responded to the invitation from inhabitants of the Earth. Gravity that confined ALIE to a wheelchair, people around him, who don`t understand each other, homesickness. That`s not all the problems the hero faced being among people. The moment he meets his love seems to lose touch with reality. But he finds the path to himself.
BEST EDITING
Kilter | Australia | 2020 | 12’
Editor: Adam Wills
Director: Rob Stanton-Cook
Writer: Rob Stanton-Cook
Producer: Olivia Hantken
Cast: Kirin J Callinan
Synopsis: Kilter explores the wreckage left in the wake of generational toxic masculinity. Following a violent crime of passion, a gentle young man descends into a tormented reality as he struggles to reconcile who he is and what he has become.
BEST NARRATIVE
Weekend in the Forest | Switzerland | 2020 | 18’
Director: Micha Meyer
Writers: Micha Meyer, Timon Meyer
Producer: Micha Meyer
Cast: Gregory Reymont, Christina Spaar
Synopsis: Alex is afraid of his girlfriend Amina and regularly dreams of her killing him. When she takes him on a camping trip to the forest and he confesses that he cheated on her, he fears the worst. But to his amazement Amina reacts calmly and understandingly. Nevertheless, she behaves extremely strangely towards him afterwards. Alex’s distrust grows. Are his nightmares coming true?
BEST COMEDY
PARENTHOOD 2050 | Russian Federation | 2020 | 09’
Director: Svetlana Bolycheva
Writers: Lana Bolycheva, Eugene Orlov
Producers: Oriana Ng, Lana Bolycheva
Cast: Lizzie Short, Michel Turtle, Terence Chen
Synopsis: Lylith and Henry a couple who cannot conceive visit a futuristic clinic to create a genetically modified baby by choosing all qualities from appearance to the character. However, the baby genome will be based on parents genes. This experience creates tension in the relationship as their genome analysis leads them to discover that the mother has no capacity to love. Father cannot believe it, because there live seemed to look happy and full of love. Was it just his perspective or a lie? They can not afford to give their baby the ability to love, because the price for it is too high. They are risking to have a healthy baby without any ability to Love. Nevertheless, Lylith doesn’t mind it and even finds some advantages of it.
BEST DRAMA
Ultra | Portugal | 2020 | 24’
Director: João Lourenço
Writer: João Lourenço
Producers: João Lourenço, Cristiana Gaspar, Maria Rui Livramento
Cast: Gustavo Rocha, Gabriela Leão, Francisco Lima, Catarina Lacerda, Paulo Calatré
Synopsis: Struggling to fulfil the burden of manhood that has been bestowed upon him, a teenager is at a crossroads between a shattered home life, and the cruelties of youthful love.
BEST FANTASY/SCI-FI
Sundown Trail | United States | 2020 | 14’
Director: Luke Guidici
Writer: Luke Guidici
Producers: Luke Guidici, Patrick Reasonover, Matthew Edwards, Victoria Hill
Cast: Mason McNulty, Joshua Loren, Philip Wheeler, Jason Daniels, Giovanny Vasquez
Synopsis: In a post-apocalyptic world where toxic mushrooms have made the air deadly to breathe, a timid boy must learn to trust a thieving bandit in order to save his dying father.
BEST DANCE/MUSICAL
Out Of Ordinary | Switzerland | 2020 | 09’
Directors: Luca Signoretti, Tobias Buchmann, Alicja Pahl
Writer: Luca Signioretti
Producer: ZHdK
Synopsis: This film is from the everyday viewer’s perspective. It explores what it might be like to travel through the frames and screens, that otherwise keep a voyeur and his or her fanciful ideas and longing experiences at a distance and, instead, turn them into a real-life journey.
BEST STUDENT
MILK ME | Norway | 2020 | 23’
Director: Jørgen Jensås Sivertsen
Writers: Jørgen Jensås Sivertsen, Tarald Aas Reite
Producer: Cecilie Stubberud Aas
Cast: Brede Fristad
Synopsis: In a remote Norwegian valley, the young farmer Per lives his lonely life. He shares the farm with “Vigdis,” his only cow. Their peaceful days will shortly end when Per discovers techno music. He falls in love with the techno, and Vigdis and the farm becomes a second priority.
BEST YOUNG DIRECTOR
THE BUZZ IN THE VOID | Latvia | 2020 | 22’
Director: Beate Olekte
Writer: Beate Olekte
Producer: Sabīne Veldre
Cast: Ģirts Krūmiņš, Guna Zariņa, Baiba Broka, Tom J. Benedict
Synopsis: Ainars has been the principal of the Music School for forty years until he is unexpectedly fired. Ainars feels betrayed, seeing him unhappy, his wife Anita decides to act. When the new principal candidate arrives at the music school, the world created by the two of them collapses. The new suppresses the old and it just seems that everything that has been done before is left in vain.
BEST CHILDREN SHORT
Daisies and Sparrows | Singapore | 2020 | 13’
Director: Ervin Han
Writer: Ervin Han
Producers: Elaine Chan, Bernard Toh
Synopsis: A young boy lives through both sides of parenthood in this short film about growing up and growing old.
BEST ANIMATION
Any Instant Whatever | United Kingdom | 2019 | 06’
Director: Michelle Brand
Producer: Michelle Brand
Synopsis: A man in a room, in a film – it is the becoming of something and simultaneously becoming in itself. Nothing is as solid as we believe. The film explores our perception of time and change, bodies and objects, and our inability to comprehend the full motion of things.
BEST DOCUMENTARY
THE GODDESS IN THE POOL | 30’
Directors: GERARDO KORN , MARTIN SERRA
Writers: MARTIN SERRA, RODOLFO MARTINEZ MENDOZA
Producers: GERARDO KORN, MARTIN SERRA
Cast: GUILLERMO ROUX , FRANCA BEER , JORGE SALMINI
Synopsis: The film shows the creation of the “Goddess in the Pool” by Argentine painter Guillermo Roux, between January and May 2016,
The protagonists spend a hot summer in an empty pool, dive into a world of paint and, in the process, find a retreat to escape from dreary reality and to get carried away by the magic of art.
BEST EXPERIMENTAL
ПUZZLE | Russian Federation | 2020 | 19’
Director: Anastasiya Sovashchenko
Synopsis: This film is about the moment when a person creates something unique and creative. We will consider what the process consists of, what hinders it and what helps. It’s like traveling from room to room, where dance parts that symbolize details of puzzle that called “Creativity” We use a novel narrative structure And single-frame shooting. Hidden cuts will help us to match parts together adds continuity to the movie.
BEST MINI SHORT
Monday Blues | Hong Kong | 2020 | 03’
Director: Arnold Tam
Producer: Ervan Luk
Cast: Louis Lo, Wilfred Sung, Caleb Wong, Adrain Kwok
Synopsis: On a gloomy normal Monday morning, our protagonist hits his day job as usual. Sitting in the regular catchup meeting, the sound of Chopin from the movie he watched last night still lingers. As he daydreams about watching live ballet in Europe, he travelled in thoughts and lost track of time. He finally landed on the ultimate question of every quarter-life young adult in Asia – Why do we work?
BEST LOW/NO BUDGET
Zeno’s Paradox | Italy | 13’
Director: Martin Basile
Writers: Martin Basile, Andrea Salomone
Producers: Vittorio Saldutti, Martin Basile
Cast: Vittorio Saldutti, Stella Fonte, Emanuele Pacca, Guido Iozzi, Daniele Foglietta, Martin Basile
Synopsis: Vittorio suddenly leaves college and gets back to his family in the countryside. Something convinced him that the dark secret he shares with his parents will stop him from fulfilling his aspirations.
BEST DEBUT
Blind Alley | Bulgaria | 2019 | 20’
Director: Olga Koleva
Writer: Olga Koleva
Producer: Olga Koleva
Cast: Nadejda Koleva, Christo Petkov
Synopsis: The night after the protests in Sofia, two strangers meet and take an aimless road journey through the streets of the city.
BEST AMATEUR
Jane | United States | 2020 | 05’
Director: Ilene E
Synopsis: A short animated film on being proud to be Chinese American.
BEST SERIES
PAUSE | United Kingdom | 2019 | 21’
Director: Iona Morrison
Writer: Iona Morrison
Producer: Iona Morrison
Cast: Chris Dunn, James Munro, Adam Rhazali
Synopsis: Joe, a young musician from Glasgow, is extremely passionate about a band he has set up with two of his best friends from college – David and Michael. Being the drummer of the band, Joe is constantly exposed to loud noises but the adrenaline of performing distracts him from the pain that this is causing him. When driving home after a gig with his mum, their car is hit by a lorry from the side and they are flipped into the air. Surviving with only a few cuts and bruises, they are both grateful to be alive but do not realize the drastic impact that this event will have on them for the rest of their lives. A few weeks pass and Joe starts to notice a high pitched noise everywhere he goes. He is unable to concentrate at school and cannot perform to his usual standard during band practice. Joe is quite a shy person and does not want to show that he is in pain so he decides to keep it to himself. His friends and family become increasingly more worried about him but since David and Michael both have their own issues (Michael is trying to find a way to tell his family that he is gay and David’s abusive stepdad has just been let out of jail), their efforts to help him are very slim. Frustrated by how much this is ruining his life, Joe runs away from home but when the high pitched noise appears again, it all becomes too much for him. After coming into contact with a deaf veteran, Joe realizes that there may be a way for him to overcome his issues and he eventually goes on an adventure of self discovery and creative realization.
BEST FASHION SHORT
Non So Dove, Ma Insieme | Italy |2020 | 07’
Director: Luca Finotti
Writer: Luca Finotti Studio
Producers: Federico Cesari, Francesco Cicconetti, Naomi Oke, Matteo Tagliabue, Diogo Alexandre Varela
Cast: Rodrigues Gomes, Camilla Vettore, Cai Yu
Synopsis: Following Floraworks, the iconic 2012 video project for italian label MSGM, director Luca Finotti collaborates once more with the brand’s founder and creative director Massimo Giorgetti for his SS21 campaign.
The focus of Non So Dove, Ma Insieme (I Don’t Know Where, but Together) is on the younger MSGM generation. Passionate, free and filled with enthusiasm, we bounce back from a difficult moment by claiming the now and looking into the future. Set in Milan to the sound of Italian musician Coez, the film speaks of love, desire and friendship, as we wander through a city about to burst with summer and sunshine. A celebration of the overwhelming intensity of life, Non So Dove, Ma Insieme stands as a powerful and joyful rebirth. As with all his productions, Finotti takes particular care of the cast by ensuring a strong focus on diversity. Through an open call on Instagram, he selected actor Federico Cesari (23), trans activist Francesco Cicconetti (24), fashion designer Naomi Oke (25), synchronised swimming winner Camilla Vettore (17), models Diogo Gomes (23) and Matteo Tagliabue (24) and stylist Cai Yu (24). The idea for the film was born out of a brainstorming session between Giorgetti and Finotti. “MSGM has faith in our present and looks into the future with optimism, passion and poetry. The film addresses the uncertainty we have been experiencing, but also underlines the importance of being able to face it united as one. Only together can we truly dream” – states Giorgetti.
BEST STOP-MOTION/TIME-LAPSE
Norabelle | United States | 2020 | 04’
Director: Zsofia Katona
Writer: Zsofia Katona
Synopsis: A naïve young girl, Norabelle learns to let go of her need to control the day and finds joy at an unexpected place.
BEST TRAILER
The Last Wolves | Spain | 2020 | 02’
Director: Iker Bilbao
Writer: Iker Bilbao
Producer: Iker Bilbao
Cast: Daniel Ferreiro
Synopsis: In 2236, a group who have renounced society, will face the extinction of the human race.
