SHORT TO THE POINT – OCTOBER 2019 AWARDS
BEST FILM
Three blades | France | 2019 | 30’
Director: Matthieu MAUNIER-ROSSI
Writer: Matthieu MAUNIER-ROSSI
Producers: Isabel SEGOVIA, Stéphanie DRONNE
Cast: Davidson DUPUY, Jordany COTHIAS, Norbert ALIX
Synopsis: Haiti, nowadays. One day in the life of a family of three : three men, alone with their dreams and frustrations. Three generations under the burning sun. A day like every other day… And between them, everywhere, in every hand, there are blades : machetes. So when the night eventually comes…
BEST DIRECTOR
Flickering Souls Set Alight | Greece | 2019 | 30’
Director: Iakovos Panagopoulos
Writer: Iakovos Panagopoulos
Producers: Iakovos Panagopoulos, Petros Antoniadis
Cast: Ioanna Tsirigkouli, Yannis Kokiasmenos, Errikos Litsis, Eliza Skolidi
Synopsis: Greece, 2017. The lack of financial support of Aris (who suffers from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / ALS) urges his wife Persephone to get confronted with human existential limits. “How many years does it really take to finally reach «home»?”
BEST SCREENPLAY
Kneeling Sheep | United States | 2019 | 15’
Director: Hai Rihan
Writer: Hai Rihan
Producer: Jervis Li
Cast: Hong Mei, Namar , Baoligao, Havrqeqege
Synopsis: A Mongolian single mother fights to save her son who is about to be executed, only to discover that the absence of justice is crushing her life.
BEST LEADING ACTRESS
High Tide | Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela | 2019 | 11’
Actress: Tatiana Mabo
Director: Marco Salaverría
Writer: Marco Salaverría
Producer: Alejandra Acevedo Suzzarini
Cast: Tatiana Mabo, Francisco Marín, Luiggi Romero, Matías Salaverría
Synopsis: A woman long for her husband returns after he disappears at the sea.
BEST LEADING ACTOR
Three blades | France | 2019 | 30’
Actor: Davidson DUPUY
Director: Matthieu MAUNIER-ROSSI
Writer: Matthieu MAUNIER-ROSSI
Producers: Isabel SEGOVIA, Stéphanie DRONNE
Cast: Davidson DUPUY, Jordany COTHIAS, Norbert ALIX
Synopsis: Haiti, nowadays. One day in the life of a family of three : three men, alone with their dreams and frustrations. Three generations under the burning sun. A day like every other day… And between them, everywhere, in every hand, there are blades : machetes. So when the night eventually comes…
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Kneeling Sheep | United States | 2019 | 15’
Director: Hai Rihan
Writer: Hai Rihan
Producer: Jervis Li
Cast: Hong Mei, Namar , Baoligao, Havrqeqege
Synopsis: A Mongolian single mother fights to save her son who is about to be executed, only to discover that the absence of justice is crushing her life.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Charon | Russian Federation | 2019 | 15’
Director: Alexander Maslov
Writers: Alexander Maslov, Maksim Lagunov
Producers: Alexander Maslov, Maksim Lagunov, Natalia Maslova
Cast: Igor Savochkin, Mila Denisenko, Olya Anikina, Sergey Goloborodko
Synopsis: Leaving the chase, the girl ends up in a stranger’s boat and asks him to take her to the other side. She does not know that no one came back from this way alive.
BEST EDITING
Dragon Song | United States | 2019 |19’
Director: David McClister
Writer: John Carter Cash
Producers: John Carter Cash, April Kimbrell
Cast: John Carter Cash, Ana Cristina Cash, Eric Hamilton, Joseph Cash, Jamey Johnson
Synopsis: In the wilderness of Oregon territory in 1875, Sherriff Lamberic White is drunkenly beating his one-time friend Spiney Shamblins to death. Young and idealistic Deputy Abel Cross is aghast and fearful, knowing the Sherriff’s drunken rage may lead to death. The Wood brothers, Deputies Dicky Joe and Earnest, sit in the rocks behind watching the mortal battle, passing around a bottle of whiskey.
BEST NARRATIVE
High Tide | Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela | 2019 | 11’
Actress: Tatiana Mabo
Director: Marco Salaverría
Writer: Marco Salaverría
Producer: Alejandra Acevedo Suzzarini
Cast: Tatiana Mabo, Francisco Marín, Luiggi Romero, Matías Salaverría
Synopsis: A woman long for her husband returns after he disappears at the sea.
BEST COMEDY
Hard Ground | Canada | 2019 | 11’
Director: Samuel E. Mac
Writer: Samuel E. Mac
Proucers: Samuel E. Mac, Lee Marshall
Cast: Lee Marshall, Jean Bernard
Synopsis: Two bumbling drug addicts struggle to get rid of the corpse of their accidental hit and run victim in the middle of the frozen winter. Hilarity Ensues. A dark comedy in the vein of Fargo, Weekend at Bernies and Breaking Bad.
BEST DRAMA
Kneeling Sheep | United States | 2019 | 15’
Director: Hai Rihan
Writer: Hai Rihan
Producer: Jervis Li
Cast: Hong Mei, Namar , Baoligao, Havrqeqege
Synopsis: A Mongolian single mother fights to save her son who is about to be executed, only to discover that the absence of justice is crushing her life.
BEST FANTASY/SCI-FI
Charon | Russian Federation | 2019 | 15’
Director: Alexander Maslov
Writers: Alexander Maslov, Maksim Lagunov
Producers: Alexander Maslov, Maksim Lagunov, Natalia Maslova
Cast: Igor Savochkin, Mila Denisenko, Olya Anikina, Sergey Goloborodko
Synopsis: Leaving the chase, the girl ends up in a stranger’s boat and asks him to take her to the other side. She does not know that no one came back from this way alive.
BEST HORROR
The Outsider | Sweden | 2019 | 12’
Director: Ludvig Gür
Writers: Ludvig Gür, H.P. Lovecraft
Producers: Ludvig Gür, Jesper Jönsson
Cast: Kola Krauze
Synopsis: Based on H. P. Lovecraft’s weird tale of the same name, “The Outsider” is the story of how a desperate loner who has grown up with a butterfly and the Bible for company one day seizes his chance and makes good his escape, only to face his worst fears head-on at an all-nighter in the company of strangers.
BEST STUDENT
Pardon | France | 2019 | 13’
Director: Rositsa Trayanova
Writer: Rositsa Trayanova
Producer: UPEM
Cast: Garance DUPUY, Leslie PERRIER, Vincent COMBE, Christophe MAI
Synopsis: After the three times that Thais tried to kill herself, she ends up at the rehabilitation center where she meets Roxan. Young singer, who is seeking treatment for her drug addiction. They get close very quick after spending little time together behind the doctors back. During a secret beach walk, a day before they release Thais, Roxan makes a present. Small player with a record of her last song. On other hand, Thais tells Roxan all the reasons why she wanted to end her life. Roxan is asking Thais to forgive, because “if we do not forgive we will never forget the pain.” And the pains stay, especially if you cannot forgive to yourself. A random meeting with the love of your life. A young singer who makes you see the life from another side of view. Who teach you that forgiving is the way to forget.
BEST YOUNG DIRECTOR
Luna | Poland | 2019 | 24’
Director: Marta Bijan
Writer: Marta Bijan
Producers: Marta Bijan, Tomasz Wilczyński
Synopsis: Two sisters live together in a cabin at the edge of the woods. The older sister, Gaia, is a local herbalist, and the younger one, Luna, spends her days reading the book “The Romance of Tristan and Iseult.” After Gaia’s sudden death, Luna grows even more detached from reality. One day, she finds a wounded man in the forest. Instead of helping him, she prepares a love potion to make him fall in love with her. Her beloved perishes because of her inaction, and the grieving girl drinks her own potion and dies as well.
BEST CHILDREN SHORT
Animobiles | Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela | 2017 | 07’
Director: Alberto Chumaceiro, Mauricio Rodriguez Pons
Wrtiter: Alberto Chumaceiro, Mauricio Rodriguez Pons
Producer: Isaac Bencid
Cast: Daniela Wertheim
Synopsis: The series follows the adventures of 4 characters: Nana, Guau, Ali and Mou; all are part of a cradle mobile and come alive every night, while the baby sleeps. These characters search for special items in the house to make a story that help the baby learn about different things important for his development.
BEST ANIMATION
At First Sight | Netherlands | 2018 | 17’
Director: Sjaak Rood
Writer: Sjaak Rood
Producer: Paul de Heer
Synopsis: A man and a woman drive straight towards one another. They hit the breaks just in time and come to a standstill, facing each other. They’re both too stubborn to give way to the other. A life story begins.
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Cyclist | Turkey | 2019 | 22’
Director: Melih Aslan
Synopsis: A young black cyclist enters his first marathon race, and learns to dream of a life beyond a South African township.
BEST EXPERIMENTAL
The Sounds Beyond Silence | Islamic Republic of Iran | 2017 | 09’
Director: Azar Tajalli
Writer: Sharafnesa Niroomand
Producers: Fatemeh Abolghasemi, Mahtab Keramati
Cast: Mahtab Keramati
Synopsis: An insomniac lady tries to sleep, but environmental sounds don’t let her. She cuts them all but one!
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
True Love | Tonic Clonic | Israel | 2018 | 04’
Director: Ophir Benshimon
Writer: Ophir Benshimon
Producer: Ophir Benshimon
Cast: Ofir Daniel
Synopsis: A teenage girl is looking for true love. Will she succeed?
BEST MINI SHORT
LOST IN OBLIVION | United Kingdom | 2019 | 03’
Director: Nejc Miljak
Writer: Jaida Saint Gomes
Producer: Moses Gomes Santos
Cast: Moses Gomes Santos
Synopsis: Lost in oblivion is an extraordinary story about a man who was once told he had nothing to live for. Now an accidental addict, he fights a not so sober fight for his life and sanity.
BEST MOBILE PHONE
The New Forbidden City | China | 04’
Director: Viv Li
Synopsis: Beijing, the center of one of the most powerful countries at our time, has forbidden many to stay in its town. Is it political? Is it environmental? or is it simply racial? I spent two months investing into the strict regulations of Beijing’s forbidden rules, only to discover a beginning of a start.
BEST SERIES
STORMCHASER | United States | 2019 | 28’
Director: Gretl Claggett
Writer: Gretl Claggett
Producers: Gretl Claggett, Producer, Executive Producer, Pamela Cederquist, Executive Producer, Simon Taufique, Executive Producer, Sarah Donnelly, Producer, Etan Harwayne-Gidansky
Cast: Mary Birdsong, Stephen Plunkett, Dominic Rains Synopsis: All Bonnie Blue ever wanted was to chase tornadoes with her Dad. But dreams die with time. Now, she’s become a different kind of storm chaser — hawking storm-doors “door-to-door” for her charismatic boss, Flip Smyth: a cult-like father figure to Bonnie and his tribe of young sales bucks. In the guise of “tough love,” Flip relishes publicly shaming Bonnie and his token minority assistant, Don Stuckey, her sole ally. After hours, Bonnie and Don find comfort in each other’s arms, inspiring Bonnie to rekindle her childhood dream and close her first deal. But when Flip pulls a bait-and-switch to avoid paying her commission, she finally challenges him, sending him into a rage as fierce as the funnel cloud that hovers on the horizon. As she realizes Flip’s doctrine of “Flip the Switch!” is just a way to exploit customers, a different kind of switch flips inside Bonnie — unleashing an inner and outer storm of violence.
BEST FASHION SHORT
Models of Thought | Australia | 2018 | 03’
Director: VERSUS
Writer: Jason Sukadana
Producer: Tanya Babic
Cast: Lola Van Vorst
Synopsis: When Lola Van Vorst starts to experience universal doubt, she embarks on a journey to explain René Descartes’ famed philosophical proposition “I think, therefore I am”. Models Of Thought is a series of fashion shorts in which models attempt to explain essential philosophical theories.
