SHORT TO THE POINT – NOVEMBER 2020 AWARDS
BEST FILM
Afloat | France | 2019 | 20’
Director: Ève-Chems de Brouwer
Writer: Ève-Chems de Brouwer
Producers: Idris Lettifi, Moussa Lettifi
Cast: Garance Eltejaye, Benjamin Siksou, Louise Massin
Synopsis: It’s summertime, by the Mediterranean sea. Garance joins her sister to look after her children. But for a few months now, something alters her appearance. Close to the water and the waves, she meets again with a man that she once knew.
BEST DIRECTOR
Mush (2020) | United Kingdom | 2020 | 20’
Directors: Milo Blake, Alexander Denning
Producers: Siona Davis, Francesca Wallace
Cast: Geoff Bell, Bradley Bissett, Eunice Monk
Synopsis: A stolen camera falls into the possession of George King, setting in motion a road to new friendships, a deeper consideration of his identity as a Roma Traveller, and a reckoning with his father on the grief that they have shared.
BEST SCREENPLAY
I Am Your Sister | United Kingdom | 2020 | 20’
Directors: Claudia Priddy, Zoë Ellender
Writer: Claudia Priddy
Producers: Milly Upton, Emma Fine
Cast: Leila Mimmack, Sinéad Clancy, Branwell Donaghey
Synopsis: A young, Irish woman making her way to an abortion appointment is hijacked into a clinic that reveals itself to be a decoy; a place to shame women into keeping their pregnancies by using an array of unethical and abhorrent practices.
BEST LEADING ACTRESS
Afloat | France | 2019 | 20’
Actress: Garance Eltejaye
Director: Ève-Chems de Brouwer
Writer: Ève-Chems de Brouwer
Producers: Idris Lettifi, Moussa Lettifi
Cast: Garance Eltejaye, Benjamin Siksou, Louise Massin
Synopsis: It’s summertime, by the Mediterranean sea. Garance joins her sister to look after her children. But for a few months now, something alters her appearance. Close to the water and the waves, she meets again with a man that she once knew.
BEST LEADING ACTOR
Virtuoso | Italy | 2020 | 15’
Actor: Scott Trost
Director: Nico Amedeo
Writer: Peter Walters
Producers: Nico Amedeo, Peter Walters, Federica Marchese
Cast: Scott Trost, Martin Sun Hans Anderson
Synopsis: As a father battles with his Parkinson’s in order to play the song his son once played so well, he’s interrupted by his android servant, intrigued by the piano. Rollo, the servant, masters the tune to please his owner, but instead brings back memories best forgotten.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Afloat | France | 2019 | 20’
Cinematographer: Jean-Louis Vialard
Director: Ève-Chems de Brouwer
Writer: Ève-Chems de Brouwer
Producers: Idris Lettifi, Moussa Lettifi
Cast: Garance Eltejaye, Benjamin Siksou, Louise Massin
Synopsis: It’s summertime, by the Mediterranean sea. Garance joins her sister to look after her children. But for a few months now, something alters her appearance. Close to the water and the waves, she meets again with a man that she once knew.
BEST EDITING
Grit | Netherlands | 2020 | 11’
Editor: Matthias Hoekman
Director: Matthias Hoekman
Writer: Matthias Hoekman
Producer: Hoekman Brothers
Cast: Astrid van Eck, Bert Hana
Synopsis: A dark surrealistic tale on the grief of a mother during WWII.
BEST NARRATIVE
Furthest From | United States | 2020 | 19’
Director: Kyung Sok Kim
Writer: Rex Reyes II
Producer: Rex Reyes II
Cast: Amanda Christine, Tucker Chandler, Jasmin Jean-Louis, Mignon
Synopsis: In 1999, Novato, California, an 8-year-old girl named Jessie is enjoying what little time she has left with her best friend, Lucas. The two of them have difficulty conveying it, but they’re both aware as to what is about to happen. The trailer park they live in will be closed, and the whole community will be forced to evacuate, as a result of the MTBE water contamination. For Jessie, this means facing an unwanted change and learning to say goodbye to that which tethers her to her little pink trailer.
BEST COMEDY
Pit Stop | United States | 2020 | 06’
Director: Cody Lee Brown
Writers: Ian Simpson, Mim Epstein, Cody Lee Brown
Producers: Mim Epstein, Ian Simpson, John Pesavent
Cast: Molly Ryman, Walter Weaver
Synopsis: A simple gas station pit stop turns into a heated battle of principles in this comedy short film from writer/producer Mim Epstein, writer producer Ian Simpson and director Cody Lee Brown. Starring Molly Ryman and Walter Weaver.
BEST DRAMA
Grit | Netherlands | 2020 | 11’
Director: Matthias Hoekman
Writer: Matthias Hoekman
Producer: Hoekman Brothers
Cast: Astrid van Eck, Bert Hana
Synopsis: A dark surrealistic tale on the grief of a mother during WWII.
BEST HORROR
Parched | United States | 2020 | 10’
Director: Charles Mesa
Writer: Charles Mesa
Producer: Faviola Rivas
Cast: Christine Celozzi, Arthur J. Davis, Charles Mesa
Synopsis: After a self-destructive bender, Rebecca receives a threatening phone call from her “beloved.” She begins to fear that before the night is through, she’ll have to face the consequences of her actions.
BEST THRILLER/MYSTERY
Ride With The Guilt | United Kingdom | 2020 | 10’
Director: Dario Bocchini
Writer: Dario Bocchini
Producers: Victor De Almeida, Dario Bocchini
Cast: Rebecca Calienda, Cecile Sinclair
Synopsis: Two women meet in a car during a rainy night, a crime has been committed, only one of them knows why.
BEST ROMANCE
In Tune | France | 2020 | 16’
Director: Xavier Inbona
Writer: Xavier Inbona
Producer: Claude Lelouch
Cast: Xavier Inbona, Charlotte Bizjak
Synopsis: While he must, no matter the costs, win the largest piano contest in the world, he has a stroke…
BEST DANCE/MUSICAL
Divided We Scroll | United Kingdom | 2019 | 06’
Director: Klaas Diersmann
Writer: Klaas Diersmann
Producers: Sandra Spethmann, Simon Oxley
Cast: Temitope Ajose-Cutting, Stephen Moynihan, Sara Ruddock, Flavien Cornilleau, Angeliki Margeti
Synopsis: Technology is rewiring our brains and changing both our physical movements and inner thought processing. ‘Divided We Scroll’ is an experimental and eerie depiction of our intimate relationships with these technologies, which have become obsessive, compulsive and divisive. Through contemporary dance, we explore the chilling reality of a constantly connected world where data and software is continuing to redefine us within an increasingly complex technological network.
BEST STUDENT
Jack and Anna | United States | 2019 | 15’
Director: Ksenia Ivanova
Writers: Ksenia Ivanova, Savannah Oakes
Producers: Eva Herndon, Mika Santiaguel
Cast: Kate Smith, Brookelyn Hébert , Joe Chapleau
Synopsis: Based on true events from the early 1900s, “Jack and Anna” tells the story of a young couple whose happy life on their farm is suddenly shattered when Jack’s biggest secret is revealed: the fact that he is a woman named Helen. After the revelation, Helen is put on trial for cross-dressing and same-sex marriage.
BEST YOUNG DIRECTOR
Jack and Anna | United States | 2019 | 15’
Director: Ksenia Ivanova
Writers: Ksenia Ivanova, Savannah Oakes
Producers: Eva Herndon, Mika Santiaguel
Cast: Kate Smith, Brookelyn Hébert , Joe Chapleau
Synopsis: Based on true events from the early 1900s, “Jack and Anna” tells the story of a young couple whose happy life on their farm is suddenly shattered when Jack’s biggest secret is revealed: the fact that he is a woman named Helen. After the revelation, Helen is put on trial for cross-dressing and same-sex marriage.
BEST CHILDREN SHORT
Pilipka | Belarus | 2012 | 07’
Director: Tatiana Kublitskaya
Writer: Dmitry Yakutovich
Producer: National Film Studio “Belarusfilm”
Synopsis: The little boy Pilipka shows up at the log hut of the evil Baba-Yaga. He is trying to run away. But the forest where the log hut is located was bewitched…
BEST ANIMATION
Sad Beauty | Netherlands | 2020 | 10’
Director: Arjan Brentjes
Writer: Arjan Brentjes
Producer: Arjan Brentjes
Cast: Bart van der Schaaf, Anne-May de Lijser, Peter Baker
Synopsis: In a heavily polluted world, a young woman mourns the disappearance of animal species. When she falls ill due to a bacterial infection, nature appears to send her a message in her hallucinations.
BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Little Moon | Lithuania | 2020 | 27’
Director: Elena Kairyte
Writer: Elena Kairyte
Producer: Ruta Adele Jekentaite
Synopsis: “Where the last house faded away in the wheat, there lived a little girl, who walked at night out in the fields, with a bucket of water to mirror the moon.” It’s a true story, based on Tonino Guerra’s poem, about a girl who lives in a remote Lithuanian village. This single farm holds her entire world: family, beloved animals and the whole seeing moon.
BEST EXPERIMENTAL
In Home Quarantine | Hungary | 2020 | 08’
Director: Zoltán Janovics
Writer: Zoltán Janovics
Producer: Zoltán Janovics
Cast: Adrián Bobály Vendel, Imre Csok, László Kassai, Lili Kiós, Eszter Léb, Tamás Novák, Dániel Oláh, Zsuzsa Ujvári, Erzsébet Zernovácz, György Zrai
Synopsis: The film stars a large family. Family members live locked up in an apartment with no interaction between them. The plot of the film takes place in a single large room, a living room, in 7 minutes. The family is monitored through a security camera. Each character has a single scene of about 20 seconds. This sequence of actions is repeated many times, performing the same movements each time, as if they were members of a dance team. When the living room is full it becomes a cramped space, but suddenly it is emptied and something strange happens to the grandpa.
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
Ekaterina Yashnikova – Recover | Russian Federation | 2020 | 06’
Director: Yulia Uzkikh
Writer: Yulia Uzkikh
Producers: Irina Bondarovich, Igor Kuznetsov, Adelina Nigmatova
Cast: Lev Keiser, Alexandr Lopanov, Fedor Galaktionov, Leonid Styazhkin, Ekaterina Yashnikova, Valeriy Prusakov, Maxim Udintsev, Oleg Dyadkov, Anton Zolnikov
Synopsis: Touching musical road movie about best friends who don’t want to grow up. Three boys go on the road in an old orange car. Where will they go?
BEST MINI SHORT
Stillness | Lebanon | 2020 | 02’
Director: Jessica Mansour
Producer: Dany Chamoun
Synopsis: It took Couple of seconds to change the beat of a country, to deform the face of a city and to destroy people’s lives. This film is about Beirut grieving in stillness. Moving in this city while dwelling on the memories of the explosion of the 4th of August 2020.
BEST LOW/NO BUDGET
B&B 2.0 | France | 2020 | 14’
Directors: VENTURI Anaïs, MATTEACCIOLI Philip
Writers: MATTEACCIOLI Philip, VENTURI Anaïs
Producer: SABATIER Ludovic
Cast: DASSIGNY Diane, LAIGNER Alexandre
Synopsis: Diane and her teen-ager daughter are coming back home after holidays. Unfortunately, the man having rent their flat for two weeks has not left. What are they going to do with that alien ?
BEST DEBUT
VILLA EMPAIN | Belgium | 2019 | 25’
Director: Katharina Kastner
Writer: Katharina Kastner
Producer: Nicola S. Sangs
Cast: Tamar Kasparian
Synopsis: Villa Empain tells a story of survival. Concrete marble, brick and steel: little else made by human hands seems as stable, as immutable, as a building. Yet the life of any structure is neither fixed nor timeless. Outliving their original contexts and purposes, buildings are forced to adapt to each succeeding age. To survive, they must become shapeshifters. From a static idea in 1934, Villa Empain has turned into a living organism in the decades to come. The camera touches gently upon its textures as if to glimpse the moments they witnessed, to read the inner meaning of time. Villa Empain was a passion, a vision, a plan, a home, an artwork. It is a heartfelt dream that was abandoned. Villa Empain, today, looks like it did in the 1930s, but it has turned into another entity held by the same fundament. The film compares the life of Louis Empain and his creation. It bears witness to how a fixed idea, an architect’s dream, disappears in favour of a living architecture. The work is activated.
BEST FASHION SHORT
Welcome to Milan | Italy | 2019 | 02’
Directors: Giacomo Boeri, Matteo Grimaldi
Writer: Carlotta Giacomin
Producer: Antonio Guarrella
Synopsis: For Milan Fashion Week AW19/20, the National Chamber of Italian Fashion presents “ Welcome to Milan”, a fashion film directed by The Blink Fish. The film shows how beauty and imagination run wild in Milan just a few days ahead of fashion week. Following a group of models as they make their way through the city, we get to discover some of the most iconic places of the Italian fashion capital. The different looks of the models were carefully curated by fashion editor and stylist Georgia Tal, with a focus on supporting the local design scene by featuring a wide range of brands based in Italy, from emerging to more established, namely Act n.1, Arthur Arbesser, Gabriele Colangelo, GCDS, Giannico, Lucio Vanotti, Marco de Vincenzo, Marco Rambaldi, MSGM, Paula Cademartori, Sara Battaglia, Stella Jean, Tiziano Guardini and Vién. The Blink Fish and the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana have been collaborating since 2016, developing an increasingly strong online presence with fresh and relevant video content with each fashion season. Some of their most recent works, such as Start the Buzz, Be Ready and Waiting Room, have been internationally recognised, selected and awarded by several film festivals, including Berlin Commercial, Aesthetica Short Film Festival and the LA Fashion Film Festival.
BEST COMMERCIAL/AD/TVC
Mercedes Benz – Celebrate the Star | Germany | 2020 | 01’
Directors: Adrian Koch , Johannes Tschepe (co-director)
Writers: Adrian Koch , Johannes Tschepe
Producer: Soda
Synopsis: Like a beacon in time everything is pulling to the greatest Star of all. The 123 series is the most widely sold Mercedes-Benz model to date. Beloved all over the world, the predecessor of the E-Class is a gift from the past. This clip is honoring the series, which left a lasting impression on the aesthetics of its time and all the times to come.
