SHORT TO THE POINT OCTOBER 2021 AWARDS
BEST FILM
’91 | Slovenia | 2021 | 27’
Director: Luka Štigl
Writer: Luka Štigl
Cast: Jan Kok, Luka Štigl, Aleksandar Repić, Mitja Okorn
Synopsis: In the middle of the 10 day war for Slovenian independence (1991), two soldiers day-dream about the future of their newborn country. Ratko and Tugo are volunteers in the middle of a war, keeping post on a barricade… but not much is happening. They decide to throw a small party for Ratko’s 30th birthday. This causes them to speculate and dream about where their new country will be 30 years in the future. As they literally let their guard down, they are up for a surprise. A tale about friendship, brotherhood, an end of an era and the beginning of a new one, full of possibilities.
BEST DIRECTOR
The Warziniek’s File | France | 2021 | 19’
Cinematographer: Romain Fisson-Edeline
Director: Pierre J. Secondi
Writers: Pierre J. Secondi, Maxime J. Richard
Producers: Julien Vicaire, Pierre J. Secondi
Cast: Julien Pestel, Benoit Gourley, Benoit Blanc, Jerome Lenotre, Lionel Laget, Chantal Baroin, Marion Creusvaux, Matthias Girbig
Synopsis: Paul Warziniek – citizen 4.815.162.342 – is living a happy life. One day, he receives a parking ticket. The only problem is : he doesn’t own a car. Paul then decides to go to the Prefecture to settle what seems to be a simple administrative formality.
BEST SCREENPLAY
’91 | Slovenia | 2021 | 27’
Director: Luka Štigl
Writer: Luka Štigl
Cast: Jan Kok, Luka Štigl, Aleksandar Repić, Mitja Okorn
Synopsis: In the middle of the 10 day war for Slovenian independence (1991), two soldiers day-dream about the future of their newborn country. Ratko and Tugo are volunteers in the middle of a war, keeping post on a barricade… but not much is happening. They decide to throw a small party for Ratko’s 30th birthday. This causes them to speculate and dream about where their new country will be 30 years in the future. As they literally let their guard down, they are up for a surprise. A tale about friendship, brotherhood, an end of an era and the beginning of a new one, full of possibilities.
BEST LEADING ACTRESS
Incident at school | Denmark | 2020 | 23’
Actress: Cecilie Elisabeth Bogø Bach
Director: Jacob Thomas Pilgaard
Writer: Jacob Thomas Pilgaard
Producer: Cecilie Jensen
Cast: Cecilie Elisabeth Bogø Bach, Camilla Bendix, Mads Kruse
Synopsis: A shooting at a university—played out for 24 terrifying minutes—in a single unbroken close-up of a young woman hiding in an auditorium.
BEST LEADING ACTOR
’91 | Slovenia | 2021 | 27’
Actor: Jan Kok
Director: Luka Štigl
Writer: Luka Štigl
Cast: Jan Kok, Luka Štigl, Aleksandar Repić, Mitja Okorn
Synopsis: In the middle of the 10 day war for Slovenian independence (1991), two soldiers day-dream about the future of their newborn country. Ratko and Tugo are volunteers in the middle of a war, keeping post on a barricade… but not much is happening. They decide to throw a small party for Ratko’s 30th birthday. This causes them to speculate and dream about where their new country will be 30 years in the future. As they literally let their guard down, they are up for a surprise. A tale about friendship, brotherhood, an end of an era and the beginning of a new one, full of possibilities.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Warziniek’s File | France | 2021 | 19’
Cinematographer: Romain Fisson-Edeline
Director: Pierre J. Secondi
Writers: Pierre J. Secondi, Maxime J. Richard
Producers: Julien Vicaire, Pierre J. Secondi
Cast: Julien Pestel, Benoit Gourley, Benoit Blanc, Jerome Lenotre, Lionel Laget, Chantal Baroin, Marion Creusvaux, Matthias Girbig
Synopsis: Paul Warziniek – citizen 4.815.162.342 – is living a happy life. One day, he receives a parking ticket. The only problem is : he doesn’t own a car. Paul then decides to go to the Prefecture to settle what seems to be a simple administrative formality.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Warziniek’s File | France | 2021 | 19’
Director: Pierre J. Secondi
Writers: Pierre J. Secondi, Maxime J. Richard
Producers: Julien Vicaire, Pierre J. Secondi
Cast: Julien Pestel, Benoit Gourley, Benoit Blanc, Jerome Lenotre, Lionel Laget, Chantal Baroin, Marion Creusvaux, Matthias Girbig
Synopsis: Paul Warziniek – citizen 4.815.162.342 – is living a happy life. One day, he receives a parking ticket. The only problem is : he doesn’t own a car. Paul then decides to go to the Prefecture to settle what seems to be a simple administrative formality.
BEST EDITING
The World Is My Stage | Russian Federation | 2021 | 03’
Editor: Andrew Arrakis
Director: Andrew Arrakis
Writer: Andrew Arrakis
Producers: Roman Krupin, Anastasiya Guseva
Cast: Anna Scherbakova
Synopsis: The story of a ballerina who was robbed of chances to perform on stage but fell back in love with her profession. The career of Anna Shcherbakova, prima ballerina of the Russian state ballet, ended abruptly once the pandemic had started. All theaters were closed; all productions and tours were cancelled. But Anna had eventually discovered the true essence of her unique meaning and survived the true adherence to her being in the profession – she reflects on what she has been through when she tells us her story.
BEST NARRATIVE
Color Me Jane | Canada | 2020 | 09’
Director: Mary Darling
Writer: Elisa McRae
Producer: Mary Darling
Cast: Elisa McRae, Penn Badgely
Synopsis: JANE, a spunky disfigured high school counsellor, finds a gaping hole of suck in her life after her bff, DANA, gets married and leaves on her honeymoon. Jane’s consolation: the honour of dog-sitting Dana’s hyperactive mutt, COLGATE. In return for Colgate’s colour-blind, unwavering love, she takes him to the dog park, even in the rainy autumn, which is where she meets TREVOR, a goofily charming drummer with a dog named DEVO. For reasons which baffle Jane, Trevor seems attracted to her. Luckily, she has work to keep her tethered to the real world and at school she finds herself contending with a new transfer student, DOVE, who has been disfigured in a fire and patently refuses to drink Jane’s “you are not a victim kool-aid.” Meanwhile, at the park, Jane and Trevor continue to bond over dogs, obscure 80s music, and a shared sense of humor- including a few jokes at his ex-wife’s expense. This closeness starts to freak out Jane until Dana saves the day by returning and eliminating the need for Jane’s dog park visits. Back at school, after a gaff where she speaks her mind a bit too bluntly, Jane manages to convince Dove she can be her personal Obi Wan Kenobi. Things seem to go back to status quo until… Trevor shows up at her school as the music substitute. Backed into a corner, Jane agrees to go out to the club to check out his show. Things are about to get romantic when her birthmark once again becomes an issue and Jane takes off, feeling… once again… justified in using her deformity as armor. So she uses Christmas break to hunker down and get Trevor off her mind. This, of course, fails and like all good things, Christmas break comes to an end. Throwing herself back into work- planning the winter dance and solving students’ problems, Jane tries to keep Trevor at arm’s length. As she continues to counsel Dove, she tries to celebrate Dove’s increasing confidence and ignore that the student is surpassing the master. Then a crisis with another student hits and Jane loses her footing, chinks in her self-protection armor start to appear. Trevor, still working at the school, witnesses this and embraces her vulnerability. Seeing his chance to start a meaningful, intimate relationship with Jane, he professes his feelings. Unfortunately, he expects too much and spooks her, causing her to hurt him for his own good and escape- it’s like the opposite of “you had me at hello.” Jane seeks solace from her best friend, but Dana refuses to join in the pity party, calls Jane on her b.s., and kicks her out of the house. Alone and without a sounding board, Jane flips out, trying to blame her problems on everyone else. At the school dance, Jane finally realizes her immature hypocrisy after getting a lecture from Dove, who is starting to resemble a character right out of “Mean Girls.” (Jane leaves that as a problem to solve another day…) Jane chases down Trevor and fights to win him back, honestly admitting for the first time in her life that she was playing the victim. He accepts her with his generous heart and juicy lips. So she loses her pride but gains someone to make out with. And to love. It’s a pretty good trade.
BEST COMEDY
The Struggle is Real 365 | Denmark | 2021 | 15’
Director: Flook Nielsen
Writers: Daniel Mierz, Flook Nielsen
Producers: Daniel Mierz, Flook Nielsen
Cast: Daniel Mierz, Rudi Køhnke, Jacob Svarre Juhl, Stine Primdahl
Synopsis: Daniel tries to impress his new boss in an attempt to get his life back on track.
BEST DRAMA
Hunger | Mexico | 2021 | 15’
Director: Carlos Meléndez
Writer: Carlos Meléndez Meléndez
Producers: Mar Mercado, Tim Luna, Marius Henry Hoyo
Cast: Damian Rodríguez Martínez, Evan Zahid Parra Sánchez, Lilia Mendoza
Synopsis: A child is being tormented by a voracious well demanding food from him. But as he proves unable to satisfy its hunger, he drags himself to find another way of feeding it.
BEST FANTASY/SCI-FI
Five Minutes | Spain | 2021 | 07’
Director: Genesis Lence
Writer: Genesis Lence
Producer: Genesis Lence
Cast: Aïda Ballmann, Serai Ballmann
Synopsis: Aïda and Serai are the main characters of a not so far future where the rule of law have been lost. The vulnerable people living in a polluted, exploited and wasteland have to pay for clean oxygen.
BEST THRILLER/MYSTERY
MYSTERY MEAT | Denmark | 2021 | 10’
Director: Veber Rasmussen
Writer: Emil Veber Rasmussen
Producer: Emil Veber Rasmussen
Cast: Nicolai Duckert Perrild, Mads Nørby , Nadia Jasmin Nielsen , Mikkel Baden-Jensen , Malaika Berenth Mosendane , Jan Korsbakke
Synopsis: MYSTERY MEAT is an unsettling encounter between two people, of different generations, in a Smoky jazz club. When a very insisting older man engages with a younger man, bizarre things start to happen. A strange meat-like tumor emerges from the old man’s stomach and is sucked into a bleeding hole in the young man’s chest – soon after, innocence leaves his body in an obscure and disgusting way. The encounter is irreversible, but one thing is certain – human cruelty spreads like a disease.
BEST DANCE/MUSICAL
Epitome | United States | 2021 | 04’
Director: Quenne Eric Nonde
Cast: Sarah J Bartholomew
Synopsis: Epitome Experimental Short Film Directed by quenerc Choreography: Sarah J Bartholomew
Loneliness is in fact an chance to reconnect with others and oneself “A season of loneliness and isolation is when the caterpillar gets its wings. Remember that the next time you feel alone.”
BEST STUDENT
The Immortal | Bulgaria | 2021 | 25’
Director: Nikolay Dimitrov Urumov
Writer: Nikolay Dimitrov Urumov
Producer: Stanislav Semerdjiev
Cast: Julian Vergov, Alexander Alexiev, Rashko Maldenov, SAimona Halatcheva
Synopsis: Apprentice psychiatrist Dr. Pavel Hristov (33) has recurrent dreams of his patient Lazar (50). The latter tries to convince him he is his father, that Pavel is an Immortal and has to embrace his fate: kill Lazar and take his place. Pavel is mired in dreams and tries to break free – by killing himself. Yet, the Immortal Lazar gets Pavel to do his bidding. Pavel is locked up in a mental asylum; he has killed his father and his pregnant wife.
BEST YOUNG DIRECTOR
Nest | Belgium | 2020 | 01’
Director: Van Holderbeke Matthee
Writer: Van Holderbeke Matthee
Producer: Spur Sven
Cast: Vandelanotte Pepijn, Vanparys Karen, Vermeir Tom
Synopsis: In the aftermath of a divorce, a youngster in his 20s is looking for a step forward.
BEST CHILDREN
Liv&Bell ” Bell’s long thin friend ” | Japan | 2021 | 05’
Director: Natsuki Kida
Writer: Natsuki Kida, Naoya Kida
Producers: Izumi Nakazawa, Ryosuke Komine
Synopsis: Liv & Bell, the story of Liv, a girl with a big ribbon, and Bell, a colorful hedgehog, who travel in the flying house with an inventor pig. One day, the flying house lands in a beautiful but Lackluster town. On the outskirts of town, there is a lot of nature, but there is also a factory spewing black smoke. When Liv and Bell go out into the town, they are guided by beautiful insects and meet curious-looking creatures. The creatures lie in long, thin shapes. They are making a path between the town and the forest. Why did the creatures appear in this world? A beautiful story is spun in stop-motion animation with a set made of paper craft pop-ups in the background, full of surprises to stimulate children’s imagination. Is it possible for nature and civilization to live together? This is a message to the children who will live in the world of the future.
BEST ANIMATION
Step into the river | France | 2020 | 15’
Director: MA Weijia
Writer: MA Weijia
Producers: Damien Megherbi, Justin Pechberty
Synopsis: Lu and Wei are two young girls living in a village nestled on the banks of a river. As the one-child policy has led some families to drown baby girls, they both have a special relationship with this river, which looks like a cradle of tragic stories.
BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Robot and The Butterfly | Lithuania | 2021 | 26’
Director: Gaile Garnelyte
Writer: Gaile Garnelyte
Producer: Laura Ratkeviciute
Cast: Ieva Mikenaite, Vadim Korotajev
Synopsis: The art of self-realisation: when a young mother IEVA leaves her small daughter to produce a musical performance with much older VADIM, she has to realise that this project leaves her with the same feelings of unfulfilledness like the mother’s role. It became a modern convention to use arts and culture as THE must-be form of self-realisation as it had been the role of the caring mother before. Both puts a lot of pressure on Ieva and her choices.
BEST EXPERIMENTAL
A Castle in Spain | France | 2021 | 20’
Director: Max BELMESSIERI
Writer: Max BELMESSIERI
Producer: Max BELMESSIERI
Cast: Charlotte DENIS, Angeles MOLINA GARCIA
Synopsis: A few months after a painful loss, lonely photographer Carlota Cortés fails to complete a commission documenting castles in the Spanish countryside. Despite the passage of time, she has remained obsessed with “her man”. She is especially haunted by the memory of one “Tina Tickey”, a mysterious and erotic woman of whom he often spoke. Who was she? During her trip through the barren Bardenas Reales Desert, Carlota’s mental distress grows, and she gradually gets lost in her thoughts, musing about the vital need to take photos, the ideas of property and the nature of matter. These at times humorous reflections lead her to observe the rocks, sand and dust of the desert where she finds symbolic figures of “her man” in the contours of the landscape. Her overheated imagination then develops a hypothesis: could the shapeless “magma” which permeates the imagery – an entity as indestructible as the memory of the flesh – bring back from the depths of the universe the very atoms and voice of her departed lover? By chance, the beginning of an answer appears when she finally meets the real “Tina Tickey”.
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
Got to move | Germany | 2021 | 04’
Director: Oltscho
Writer: Oltscho
Producer: Oltscho
Cast: Oltscho
Synopsis: A man in front of the assembly line of a sushi bar. The comforts of our consumer world passing by. But the beautiful glow is suddenly clouded. The disturbing injustice that is linked to our consumer behavior pushes itself into the picture and challenges our conscience.
BEST MINI SHORT
Addiction | Canada | 2021 | 03’
Director: Marc De Vinci
Writers: Marc De Vinci, Jake Straat
Producers: Marc De Vinci, Jake Straat, Reagan Eve
Cast: Destiny Millns, Rachel Michetti, Michel Duran
Synopsis: A young woman shares her struggle with addiction.
BEST LOW/NO BUDGET
Same Page | United Kingdom | 2021 | 04’
Director: Josie Charles
Producer: Alexandra Boulton
Cast: Alexandra Boulton, Barney Fishwick
Synopsis: After they have a one-night stand, Luke wants Ela to leave so he can get on with his day. After all, they’re totally casual. And totally on the same page. Or so they say…
BEST DEBUT
Drop | United Kingdom | 2021 | 20’
Director: James Thomas Cockrell
Writer: Bailey Newsome
Producer: James Thomas Cockrell
Cast: Bailey Newsome, Anna Russell-Martin
Synopsis: A Glaswegian drug dealer contemplates his job, his life and his not so distant past on a busy Friday night in December.
BEST FASHION SHORT
CIELO (Sky) | Italy | 2021 | 04’
Director: Michele Bizzi, BG
Writer: Michele Bizzi, BG
Producers: BG, Lorenzo Comoletti, Massimo Comoletti
Casst: Carol Ulivieri, Chiara Giubergia
Synopsis: A dances goes on an emotional journey involving the colors and materials of a new design concept.
BEST TRAILER
Frames Closer: Gothenburg | Sweden | 2021 | 02’
Synopsis: This teaser is about cinema as a way of getting closer to others and ourselves. Exactly like this, closer as a comparative adjective and as a metamorphosis of a relationship. During a pandemic that forces us to have physical distance, closer is about shortening distances and moving the camera closer to the humanity that inhabits the framings.
