SHORT TO THE POINT – MAY 2020 AWARDS
BEST DIRECTOR
Playback Is A Bitch | United States | 2020 | 20’
Director: Scot Sax
Writers: Benjamin Stranger & Scot Sax
Producer: Leslie Mills
Cast: Cody Brooks, Bee Taylor
Synopsis: What does it take to find sanity in a world gone mad? A fat recording contract with a major label? The love of a good woman? Or maybe just a little wind, enough to get your kite off the ground.
BEST LEADING ACTRESS
Raspberry | The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia | 2018 | 13’
Actress: Ivana Pavlakovikj and Sara Klimoska
Director: Anastasija Lazarova Pilling
Writer: Аnastasija Lazarova Pilling
Producer: Nikola Madic
Cast: Ivana Pavlakovikj, Sara Klimoska, Amernis Nokshiqi, Stefan Spasov , Bojan Kirkovski
Synopsis: Andrea is home alone and her best friend Dona comes for a sleepover, determined to go to the party where her crush Viktor will be at. In the club, they see Viktor with another girl and Andrea’s brother. When Dona pushes Andrea to find out from her brother who the girl is, the persuasion puts their friendship to the test.
BEST LEADING ACTOR
Swarm | Germany | 2020 | 12’
Actor: Janek Heese
Director: Stefan Koutzev
Writer: Stefan Koutzev
Producer: Stefan Koutzev
Cast: Janek Heese
Synopsis: Thirteen year old Janek is seduced by the new hype of a trading card game at his school. Wishing for approval, but not being able to afford new cards, he finds a way to harvest attention.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Eldorado | Brazil | 2019 | 13’
Cinematographer: Fernando Bertoluci
Director: Cristiano Brant Trindade
Writer: Peele and Yentl Heitor
Producer: Dhalia and Egisto Betti
Cast: Cristiano brant trindade
Synopsis: Refugees in a place outside of urban frequency, a couple lives in search of more property about the time.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Sunshine Periphery | Germany | 2020 | 24’
Set designer: Mac Kretschmer
Director: Eric J. Liddle
Writer: Eric J. Liddle
Producers: Valentina Huber , EE Miller
Cast: Gabriel Tauber, Lary Muller , Matt Greenaway
Synopsis: Jonny wakes in the heat of the desert. The world that surrounds him is strange and utterly unpredictable. Upon encountering this absurdest reality, Jonny meets somewhat familiar strangers, who guide him on an involuntary quest to find meaning, truth and answers to some of life’s most elusive questions. During this journey of self discovery, Jonny is exposed to his weaknesses and reminded of his passions in a chaotic excursion of a world that vaguely resembles California. Beyond the vast deserts, never ending roads and idyllic beaches Jonny must try and evaluate his situation and come to terms with why exactly he is going through this experience.
BEST EDITING
Playback Is A Bitch | United States | 2020 | 20’
Editor: Josh Shreve
Director: Scot Sax
Writers: Benjamin Stranger & Scot Sax
Producer: Leslie Mills
Cast: Cody Brooks, Bee Taylor
Synopsis: What does it take to find sanity in a world gone mad? A fat recording contract with a major label? The love of a good woman? Or maybe just a little wind, enough to get your kite off the ground.
BEST NARRATIVE
Sunshine Periphery | Germany | 2020 | 24’
Director: Eric J. Liddle
Writer: Eric J. Liddle
Producers: Valentina Huber , EE Miller
Cast: Gabriel Tauber, Lary Muller , Matt Greenaway
Synopsis: Jonny wakes in the heat of the desert. The world that surrounds him is strange and utterly unpredictable. Upon encountering this absurdest reality, Jonny meets somewhat familiar strangers, who guide him on an involuntary quest to find meaning, truth and answers to some of life’s most elusive questions. During this journey of self discovery, Jonny is exposed to his weaknesses and reminded of his passions in a chaotic excursion of a world that vaguely resembles California. Beyond the vast deserts, never ending roads and idyllic beaches Jonny must try and evaluate his situation and come to terms with why exactly he is going through this experience.
BEST COMEDY
Not Your Average Bear | Canada | 2020 | 15’
Director: Cliff Skelton
Writer: Simon Longmore
Producers: Adam Lolacher, Simon Longmore
Cast: Simon Longmore, Mauri Momose, Andrew Ucrianet, JC wendt, Christy Webb Gibson, Lisa Faist, Dominik Longmore, April Telek, Reese Alexander, Kevin O Grady, Adil Zaidi
Synopsis: A daring robbery pulled off by the most unlikely of culprits. What an average man will do when pushed to his limits.
BEST DRAMA
Togetherland | United States | 2019 | 14’
Director: Máté Boegi
Writer: Máté Boegi & Árpád Hermán
Producer: Melanie Grams & Kristof Boegi
Director of Photography: Ziryab Ben Brahem
Cast: Robert Brettenaugh, Alexandria Churchwell and Elohim Nycalove
Synopsis: A father’s half-baked plan to reunite his family.
BEST HORROR
A Wild World | Spain | 2019 | 20’
Directors: Rodrigo E. Marini Valsechi,David Santamaría González
Writers: David Santamaría González,Rodrigo E. Marini Valsechi
Producer: David Santamaría
Cast: González,Rodrigo E. Marini Valsechi Synopsis: The Saint, a gangster from Madrid’s underworld, is obsessed with the pursuit of loyalty. His favorite hitman Dante, his trusty cook Benigna, and his unconditional Evaristo, a lackluster torturer, according to his closest environment. Kira, an enigmatic woman with a desire for revenge, unleashes in him the hatreds of a past he believed buried.
BEST FANTASY/SCI-FI
The fever | Spain | 2019 | 19’
Director: José María Flores
Writer: Miranda
Producer: Jose María Flores
Cast: Luisa Bellido,Alberto Sarmiento,Isabel Castro
Synopsis: In the doctor´s waiting room, all patients are quietly keeping their secrets.There, surrounded by whispers, a magical love story is born between HE: A patient tired of being quiet, and SHE: The nurse on the sign reminding: “Quiet please”.
BEST STUDENT
Summit of Solitude | Austria | 2020 | 33’
Director: Andreas Bacher
Writer: Andreas Bacher
Producer: Juliana Kraushofer
Cast: Hannes Schmid, Wolfgang Hundegger, Gregor Kronthaler, Alfred Kröll
Synopsis: Peter Schweiger lives in Tyrol in 1958 and works as a farmhand on his grandparents’ farm. Like many others at the time Peter smuggles goods across the border into South Tyrol. On one of these tours he is shot by his father who works as a customs officer.
BEST YOUNG DIRECTOR
In My Mind | United States | 2020 | 13’
Director: Daniel Carrai
Writers: Daniel Carrai, Nathan Wyatt
Producers: Marybeth DIngles, Jacob Harding
Cast: Lani Randol, Nathan Wyatt
Synopsis: Emma experiences her relationship in retrospect from a moment of betrayal, questioning how she perceives her position in the world.
BEST CHILDREN SHORT
The little thief | United States | 2019 | 04’
Director: Nicole Vanden Broeck
Writer: András Roder
Producer: Jervis Li
Cast: Kue Lawrence
Synopsis: After stealing a bean from a local market, a young boy experiences guilt for the first time.
BEST ANIMATION
Stick To Manual | United States | 2020 | 08’
Directors: Christian Antonini, Tanice Arnold
Writers: Martin Leon Y Leon, Karen Salzgeber
Producer: UCF SVAD
Synopsis: When a curious robot finds a seemingly worthless book, he discovers that the knowledge within is truly priceless.
BEST DOCUMENTARY
EDIT AS IF I DISAPPEARED | Russian Federation | 2019 | 16’
Director: Oksana Timchenko
Writer: Oksana Timchenko
Producer: Oksana Timchenko
Synopsis: Sometimes life can only be accepted through death denial. A film about the therapeutic nature of creativity, exploring the extent to which film-making can be a psychotherapeutic practice. Young people get to know each other on a film course, make a documentary about suicide together in search of an answer to the question why life is worth living, and fall in love with each other. Six months later, the guy commits suicide, and the girl tries to make him the protagonist of the film, editing from the periphery of the footage: the moments and phrases captured by the camera – by accident or as a joke.
BEST EXPERIMENTAL
Seedling | India | 2020 | 04’
Director: Nisrin Aziz
Producer: Adil Aziz
Cast: Kannakee Bhuyan
Synopsis: Seedling is an experimental film created and spearheaded by Nisrin Aziz along with collaborators from all over the world. This piece is a non-profit film endeavour that seeks to inspire introspection and a spiritual connection to the natural world, especially for those who have little or no access to greenery and nature in their Covid-19 lockdown scenarios world over.
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
DREZDEN “DAVIDA OLEN” | Belarus | 2020 | 05’
Director: Vladimir Nefedov
Producer: Vladimir Nefedov
BEST MINI SHORT
Busy Tuesday | Canada | 2019 | 03’
Director: Roger Gariépy
Writer: Roger Gariépy
Producer: Gabrielle Tougas-Fréchette
Cast: Serge Bouchard
Synopsis: In the form of a haiku, Gros mardi (Busy tuesday) is a little poem that celebrates the evanescence of things and… outdoor cardio.
BEST MOBILE PHONE
Kaminda | Netherlands | 2020 | 03’
Director: David van Delden
Writer: Juan-Carlos Goilo
Cast: Zane de Wind, Lucca Elisabeth
Synopsis: A visual poem of a 3-year-old boy’s journey of self-discovery. Kaminda revisits David’s childhood adventures narrated by a young voice in spoken words written by Juan-Carlos Goilo. From the dry northern plains to the atmospheric damp caves, Kaminda takes you through the rustic landscapes of Curaçao with stunningly captured scenes. Hear the primitive sounds of Curaçao’s “Muzik di Zumbi” accompanied by scenes shot under water, on land and in the air. The unpredictability of nature and a 3-year-old boy presented some challenges when shooting certain scenes. But there where also these moments where all I had to do was press record and watch something amazing unfold in front of me. This resulted in a film that resembled the purity of the story. In 2017 I created my first film on an iPhone 6. Since then I’ve been experimenting with mobile film. When shooting on mobile the rules are completely different. This drives me to think outside the box and think of creative ways to capture that epic scene.
BEST LOW/NO BUDGET
Adventure Brothers | United Kingdom | 2020 | 10’
Directors: Paul Longley, James Longley
Writer: Paul Longley
Producers: Paul Longley, James Longley
Cast: Paul Longley, James Longley, Susan Longley
Synopsis: Paul and James are brothers. They do not get on well with each other. Forced to isolate together during the lockdown of 2020, they struggle to coexist in each other’s company. However, when they discover a sketchbook with unusual powers everything begins to change as a whole world of possibilities presents itself to the pair. Will this discovery bring them closer together? Or will it drive them further apart?
