SHORT TO THE POINT MAY 2021 AWARDS
BEST FILM
Servus Karl | Austria | 24’
Director: Thomas Bischof
Writer: Thomas Bischof
Producer: Thomas Bischof
Cast: Erwin Steinhauer, Isabella Jeschke, May Garzon, Robert Slivovsky, Gerald Walsberger
Synopsis: SERVUS KARL is an evil fictional reflection of a milieu in the face of its downfall. The observation of a world at a standstill, and of its characters that want to break out of it. The film follows Karl, a retiree and ex-thug, on his way through the bars and brothels of Vienna. Through documentary scenes the viewers experience the standstill that rules his world. Besides, they observe the characters’ lack of prospects and how they are struggling through the night under the burden of misery well aware that there is no escape. In the midst of this standstill, Karl gets to realise the evanescence of things and his own mortality. As he takes drunken Leo to his favourite bar, the situation gets out of control. Leo gives the prostitute Julie a bloody nose and destroys her hopes of escape from her misery. Later, Karl’s night ends in a way that is surprising for every person involved. He commits a murder to avoid vanishing into oblivion.
BEST DIRECTOR
Sisterly Love | Denmark | 2021 | 14’
Director: David Zinck
Writer: David Zinck
Producer: Ida Guld
Cast: Alvilda Lyneborg Lassen, Anna Olympia Bøss, Clara-Aviaya
Helsted Hvid, Dina Munch Rasmussen, Sara Saabye, Kajsa Dirch, Linnea Olivia Belfrage, Anna Holm Donatzky
Synopsis: A conflict arises between sisters Ida and Sofie when little sister infiltrates big sister’s girl gang. During the course of one night, their already strained relationship is tested through violence and manipulation.
BEST SCREENPLAY
Snorrie (Mustachio) | Netherlands | 2021 | 12’
Director: Victoria Warmerdam
Writer: Victoria Warmerdam
Producer: Trent
Cast: Henry van Loon, Wim Willaert, Sieger Sloot
Synopsis: Absurd tragicomedy about thirty-something Freek, who is reuniting with his imaginary friend from the past, who is looking for closure.
BEST LEADING ACTRESS
It Will Get Better | Brazil | 2020 | 18’
Actress: Cássia Damasceno
Director: Pedro Fiuza
Writer: Pedro Fiuza
Producer: Pedro Fiuza
Cast: Cássia Damasceno, Henrique Fontes, Rogério Ferraz, Geraldo Maia, Rodrigo Bico, Enio Cavalcante, Giovanna Araújo, Débora Medeiros, Alessandra Augusta, Andreia Souza, Larissa Grazielly, Bruno Cortez, Robson Medeiros, Pedro Queiroga, Priscilla Vilela, Maria Gorette, Dinha Vítor, Alice Carvalho, Thulho Siqueira, Quitéria Kelly
Synopsis: Working as a TV host of an important political campaign for mayor, Luisa suffers with the professional relations with her co-workers. It’s the last week before the first round of local elections and Luisa, away from her hometown and family, discovers a serious scandal that could jeopardize the entire election. Not only must she now decide her fate, but that of an entire city.
BEST LEADING ACTOR
Servus Karl | Austria | 24’
Actor: Erwin Steinhauer
Director: Thomas Bischof
Writer: Thomas Bischof
Producer: Thomas Bischof
Cast: Erwin Steinhauer, Isabella Jeschke, May Garzon, Robert Slivovsky, Gerald Walsberger
Synopsis: SERVUS KARL is an evil fictional reflection of a milieu in the face of its downfall. The observation of a world at a standstill, and of its characters that want to break out of it. The film follows Karl, a retiree and ex-thug, on his way through the bars and brothels of Vienna. Through documentary scenes the viewers experience the standstill that rules his world. Besides, they observe the characters’ lack of prospects and how they are struggling through the night under the burden of misery well aware that there is no escape. In the midst of this standstill, Karl gets to realise the evanescence of things and his own mortality. As he takes drunken Leo to his favourite bar, the situation gets out of control. Leo gives the prostitute Julie a bloody nose and destroys her hopes of escape from her misery. Later, Karl’s night ends in a way that is surprising for every person involved. He commits a murder to avoid vanishing into oblivion.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Servus Karl | Austria | 24’
Cinematographer: Judith Stehlik
Director: Thomas Bischof
Writer: Thomas Bischof
Producer: Thomas Bischof
Cast: Erwin Steinhauer, Isabella Jeschke, May Garzon, Robert Slivovsky, Gerald Walsberger
Synopsis: SERVUS KARL is an evil fictional reflection of a milieu in the face of its downfall. The observation of a world at a standstill, and of its characters that want to break out of it. The film follows Karl, a retiree and ex-thug, on his way through the bars and brothels of Vienna. Through documentary scenes the viewers experience the standstill that rules his world. Besides, they observe the characters’ lack of prospects and how they are struggling through the night under the burden of misery well aware that there is no escape. In the midst of this standstill, Karl gets to realise the evanescence of things and his own mortality. As he takes drunken Leo to his favourite bar, the situation gets out of control. Leo gives the prostitute Julie a bloody nose and destroys her hopes of escape from her misery. Later, Karl’s night ends in a way that is surprising for every person involved. He commits a murder to avoid vanishing into oblivion.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Servus Karl | Austria | 24’
Production designer: Aliza Karn, Elena Riener
Director: Thomas Bischof
Writer: Thomas Bischof
Producer: Thomas Bischof
Cast: Erwin Steinhauer, Isabella Jeschke, May Garzon, Robert Slivovsky, Gerald Walsberger
Synopsis: SERVUS KARL is an evil fictional reflection of a milieu in the face of its downfall. The observation of a world at a standstill, and of its characters that want to break out of it. The film follows Karl, a retiree and ex-thug, on his way through the bars and brothels of Vienna. Through documentary scenes the viewers experience the standstill that rules his world. Besides, they observe the characters’ lack of prospects and how they are struggling through the night under the burden of misery well aware that there is no escape. In the midst of this standstill, Karl gets to realise the evanescence of things and his own mortality. As he takes drunken Leo to his favourite bar, the situation gets out of control. Leo gives the prostitute Julie a bloody nose and destroys her hopes of escape from her misery. Later, Karl’s night ends in a way that is surprising for every person involved. He commits a murder to avoid vanishing into oblivion.
BEST EDITING
Horizon | Italy | 2020 | 15’
Editor: Daniele De Muro
Director: Daniele De Muro
Writer: Daniele De Muro
Producer: Daniele De Muro
Cast: Chiara Lai, Viola Scuderi, Carlo Porru
Synopsis: In the borderlands, crossed by climate refugees looking for safety, men face their primordial nature, in a bleak reality where the law of the strongest rules the world. Hidden in an underground shelter and resigned to his fate, the main character observes the definitive decline of society as it surrender to the evil nature of men, until a special encounter, interpreted as a divine sign of light, turns on his faith and hope for the future of humanity.
BEST NARRATIVE
Premium Baby | France | 2019 | 13’
Director: Jeanne Signé
Writers: Nicolas Haudelaine, Jeanne Signé
Producers: Samuel Prat / Studio Off-Courts, Emilie Moreault / Studio Off-Courts, Catherine Benoît / Spira
Cast: Elizabeth Duperré, Nicola-Frank Vachon, Guillaume Perreault, Romane Goulet
Synopsis: In a near future, a couple enters a shop to buy a baby.
BEST DRAMA
NAIDA | Russian Federation | 2020 | 20’
Director: Yuri Sholin
Writer: Ivan Gamayun
Producer: Yuri Sholin
Synopsis: The only friend of the stern, scorched by the war in Afghanistan, guard Sergei, who has lost the meaning of life after the loss of his family, is the dog Naida. But he will soon face a difficult choice.
BEST COMEDY
Nachete | Spain | 2020 | 04’
Directors: Pau Rodilla, David Gaspar
Writers: Jaime Aguiló, Pau Rodilla, David Gaspar
Producers: Pau Rodilla, Jaime Aguiló, David Gaspar
Cast: María Maroto, Genís Benavent
Synopsis: A man is unfaithful to his girlfriend. He knows she will never listen to any excuse or forgive him. That’s why he takes her to the perfect place for a confession. It looks like a perfect plan.
BEST DANCE/MUSICAL
2020 | Russian Federation | 2021 | 05’
Director: Katya Telegina
Writer: Katya Telegina
Producers: Asya Kotelnikova, Yulia Kuzkina, Maxim Kuzmin
Synopsis: The video project “2020” is an attempt to understand and feel what is happening in 2020 through the art forms of dance and video. The film is the result of a collaboration between prima ballerina Diana Vishneva, choreographer Pavel Glukhov and director Katya Telegina.
BEST STUDENT
Silent Zone | Germany | 2020 | 29’
Director: Caren Wuhrer
Writer: Caren Wuhrer
Producer: Giacomo Vernetti (Creative Producer)
Cast: Effi Rabsilber, Katarzyna Faszczewska , Uwe Rohde
Synopsis: Alice, uncommunicative and electrohypersensitive, lives in seclusion in a dead zone deep in the Northern German forest. But then her hermitage is suddenly disturbed by the sex worker Lucia, who settles on the border of Alice’s safe space with her lovemobile.
BEST YOUNG DIRECTOR
Selina | Germany | 2020 | 25’
Director: Greta Benkelmann
Writer: Greta Benkelmann
Producer: Thowo Wolkowski (Creative Producer)
Synopsis: Selina wants to get away from her broken circumstances. Her boyfriend Nico takes her on a joyride that ends prematurely. The abyss of their young love is unearthed. When Selina meets Katharina, she increasingly recognizes Katharina’s pain as her own and Selina must ask herself: What does love have to endure?
BEST ANIMATION
198451 | Peru | 2020 | 12’
Director: Arturo Valentín Falconí Valderrama
Writer: Arturo Valentín Falconí Valderrama
Producers: Arturo Valentín Falconí Valderrama, Sofía Alexandra Serquen Portocarrero, Carlos Ruperto Inga Arévalo
Cast: ALEJANDRA MALAGA SABOGAL, JUAN ANTONIO LIMO GIRIBALDI, RAFAEL ADOLFO RAEZ LUNA
Synopsis: A dog travels around a world where the only ambition is to consume. After a tragic event, he discovers the cannibal way of life in this system, which will force him to fight or escape to survive.
BEST DOCUMENTARY
A Community Under Fire | Australia | 2021 | 23’
Directors: Harrison Thane, Matt Thane
Producers: Harrison Thane, Matthew Thane
Synopsis: We tell the story of a small but special regional town in during Australia’s 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfire season. We highlight the importance of community – everyday people doing extraordinary things to help our community survive and recover. And we show our town’s path to recovery. How we in Braidwood in New South Wales, faced our greatest existential threat, being surrounded by fire.
BEST EXPERIMENTAL
Gentle Wildfire | Netherlands | 2020 | 14’
Director: Simone Bennett
Writer: Simone Bennett
Producer: Interakt
Cast: Rúben Gomes, Sonia Santos, Rafael João Cabral da Silva
Synopsis: Gentle Wildfire is a short experimental film that deals with disappearing memories in the aftermath of a forest fire. Photographer Carlos’ self-confronting journey back to his hometown rekindles his connection to his roots.
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
THE BLUESTOCKING – NEVER READY | Russian Federation | 2021 | 07’
Director: Egor Gavrilin
Writer: Egor Gavrilin
Producer: Lucya Kravtsova
Synopsis: A look at 5 personal stories of the members of the band through the prism of magical surrealism with a tinge of steam punk and a dark fairytale.
BEST MINI SHORT
Big Touch | United States | 2020 | 03’
Director: Christopher Tenzis
Writer: Christopher Tenzis
Producer: Gabrielle Cordero
Cast: Raymond Ejiofor, Arabella Frost, Carly Stewart, Astra Marie Varnado
Synopsis: An Afro-Surrealist story about a giant woman and a tiny man who through the power of touch, experience an unexpected transformation.
BEST LOW/NO BUDGET
Ideas | Chile | 2021 | 03’
Director: Francisco Palacios Reyes
Writer: Francisco Palacios Reyes
Cast: Trinidad Barros Beker
Synopsis: Ideas is a reflection on the creative processes, the series of exercises and experiences that lead us to conceive and carry out an idea.
BEST DEBUT
BUNNY | Russian Federation | 2021 | 24’
Director: Tatiana Ra
Writer: Maria Elagina
Producer: Tatiana Ra
Synopsis: Vanya is 7 years old, he is a wizard and friend of the defective Bunny, but his parents are seriously concerned about the boy’s strange behavior, worried about his unwillingness to communicate with his peers, and about his ailment: severe stuttering. His mother, having tried all the possibilities to help her child, decides to take him to the well-known neighborhood healer. To speak properly does not mean to be understood. Sometimes one hug can heal both a broken knee and a broken heart.
BEST SERIES
FRITURES /FRY-UP | France | 2020 | 04’
Director: Jonathan RIO
Producer: Bruno FLORENTIN
Synopsis: Archibald a créé, il y a 30 ans, la célèbre baraque à frites « Le Lys d’Or » et souhaite passer la main. Sa nièce, Éléna, se lance à corps perdu dans l’affaire. Bien décidée à innover pour relancer l’activité de la friterie, elle propose chaque jour, à chaque épisode, une idée aussi farfelue que chaotique et bouscule les habitudes de son oncle. En aucun cas ces deux-là ne sont faits pour travailler ensemble. Deux personnalités s’affrontent, deux univers, deux générations …. Entre eux, il y a de la friture sur la ligne ! Thirty years ago, Archibald created his famous friterie “Le Lys d’Or” and wants to pass it on. His niece Éléna dives headlong into the business. Determined to innovate to revive the friterie’s fortunes, each day (each episode) she comes up with a far-fetched, chaotic idea to shake her uncle out of a rut. These two are definitely not made to work together. A clash of personalities, worlds, and generations… It’s a recipe that never fails to sizzle!
BEST FASHION
AAkasha #myCLT Futuristic Fashion Film Editorial | Bulgaria | 2019 | 03’
Director : Vasil Tuchkov
Writer: Vasil Tuchkov
Producer: Studio Rubik Ltd.
Cast: Eli Bineva, Tanya Ilieva
Synopsis: Aakasha #MyCLT is a fashion editorial art film, inspired by Neo Noir and Cyberpunk cults. The editorial opts to transmit the feeling of something grander, yet intimate – a secret about to be revealed exclusively to the one watching. Aakasha’s rebrand video is all about transformation, release, and transcendence. The protagonist is introduced as lost in her own world or head, until she notices the mysterious woman – the white rabbit she decides to follow on pure instinct, against all common sense.
