SHORT TO THE POINT SEPTEMBER 2021 AWARDS
BEST FILM
TONE | United States | 2021 | 34’
Director: Dan Winters
Writer: Dan Winters
Producer: David Rafailovich
Cast: Walton Goggins, Antonio Bond, Meredith Placko, Oren Porterfield
Synopsis: Two broken souls living in a crumbling future society struggle to move on from their scarred pasts.
BEST DIRECTOR
The Bright Fire | China | 2021 | 16’
Director: Zoe Zou
Writer: Zoe Zou
Producer: Jing Wang
Cast: Yunjia Xing, Yuanqi Han
Synopsis: Two young cousins find a wonderland outside of their unstable families, without knowing the friendship they have will eventually comes to an end.
BEST SCREENPLAY
Burn on Arrival | United Kingdom | 19’
Director: Owen Gower
Writer: Owen Gower
Producers: Sinead Kirwan, Mark Lacey
Cast: James Harkness, Kate Dickie, John Stahl
Synopsis: Christmas, 1995. As Scotland reels from a devastating loss of industry, a man is trapped in an escalating nightmare. Forced to follow a series of bizarre and deadly instructions contained in red envelopes, he is soon stranded in the snowy wastes of the Scottish Highlands – his fate bound to a stranger he finds caught in the same brutal game.
BEST LEADING ACTRESS
A world free of crisis | France | 2020 | 27’
Actress: Tiphaine Haas
Director: Ted Hardy-Carnac
Writer: Ted Hardy-Carnac
Producer: La Belle Affaire (Jérôme Blesson)
Synopsis: Emilie is struggling in life. After numerous unsuccessful interviews, the lively but clumsy 30 year-old finds herself under a great deal of social pressure and fears to lose her home. Naturally she has high hopes when she is called in for a new interview, but in this future society that plays by slightly different rules, nothing goes as planned…
BEST LEADING ACTOR
The Manila Lover | Norway | 2019 | 27’
Actor: Øyvind Brandtzæg
Director: Johanna Pyykkö
Writer: Johanna Pyykkö
Producer: Nina M. Barbosa Blad, Lotte Sandbu
Cast: Øyvind Brandtzæg, Angeli Bayani
Synopsis: During a trip to the Philippines, middle-aged, Norwegian Lars meets Abigail – the Filipina he wants to share his life with, but does she share his plans?
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
TONE | United States | 2021 | 34’
Cinematographer: Jonny Clarke
Director: Dan Winters
Writer: Dan Winters
Producer: David Rafailovich
Cast: Walton Goggins, Antonio Bond, Meredith Placko, Oren Porterfield
Synopsis: Two broken souls living in a crumbling future society struggle to move on from their scarred pasts.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
TONE | United States | 2021 | 34’
Production Designer: Dan Winters
Director: Dan Winters
Writer: Dan Winters
Producer: David Rafailovich
Cast: Walton Goggins, Antonio Bond, Meredith Placko, Oren Porterfield
Synopsis: Two broken souls living in a crumbling future society struggle to move on from their scarred pasts.
BEST EDITING
CARY – Still dreaming | Germany | 2021 | 02’
Editor: Constantin Gross, Lukas Steinbrecher
Direcctor: Constantin Gross, Lukas Steinbrecher
Synopsis: What drives you? CARY tackles his fears… and dreams big. In the end, we all need a beat that drives us, that matches with the rhythm of our lives.
BEST NARRATIVE
On my way | France | 2020 | 15’
Director: Bertrand Basset
Writer: Bertrand Basset
Producer: Amélie Quéret (Respiro Productions)
Cast: Christian Bouillette, Capucine Lespinas
Synopsis: Granny died today. After years of marriage, Hubert is alone for the first time, tired and diminished. This toilet roll is always too far. Léonie his grand daughter comes in order to help him. Oppressed by the adults fussing around the best idea is maybe this old good whiskey bottle.
BEST DRAMA
Brussels-Beirut | Belgium | 2020 | 27’
Director: Thibaut Wohlfahrt, Samir Youssef
Writer: Thibaut Wohlfahrt, Samir Youssef
Producers: Frakas Productions, Offshore
Synopsis: After living in Europe for several years, Ziad returns to visit his family in his North Lebanon hometown at the Syrian border. When he arrives, the tension is palpable. Ziad tries to reconnect with his family despite a threat eating away at the inhabitants.
BEST COMEDY
Vane | Russian Federation | 2021 | 19’
Director: Anton Filipenko
Writer: Anton Filipenko
Producer: Pavel Fuks
Cast: Ekaterina Shumakova, Aino Sirje, Saana Koivisto, Jaakko Kiljunen, Ilya Savin, Anton Filipenko, Arseniy Kolos
Synopsis: Three unknown couples meet in a country house in Finland. For what ?
BEST FANTASY/SCI-FI
TONE | United States | 2021 | 34’
Director: Dan Winters
Writer: Dan Winters
Producer: David Rafailovich
Cast: Walton Goggins, Antonio Bond, Meredith Placko, Oren Porterfield
Synopsis: Two broken souls living in a crumbling future society struggle to move on from their scarred pasts.
BEST HORROR
Escalation | Italy | 2021 | 15’
Director: Christian Bachini
Writer: Christian Bachini
Producer: Christian Bachini
Cast: Christian Bachini, Lucy Chun Yan, Giulia Serafini, Charles P. Cooper, Derek Blakely
Synopsis: In the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Chris, a paranoid and self-centered man, is happily avoiding all human contact, preferring to escape from reality in whatever’s on TV. When a friend reaches out to him to confront him about his past promises, Chris has to decide what kind of person he is inside, or it may just eat him…alive.
BEST THRILLER/MYSTERY
Causa Sui | France | 2021 | 22’
Director: Quentin Richard
Writer: Quentin Richard
Producer: Bertrand Jeandel
Cast: Olivia Vanpoperynghe, Denis Hubleur
Synopsis: At the heart of the Vosges massif, a young girl and her father live in a farm far from everything. One day, all the sheeps form their herd are mysteriously killed. Struggling to cop with the tragedy, the father falls into paranoïa.
BEST ROMANCE
Coffee & Sugar | United States | 2021 | 08’
Director: Andy Volk
Producers: Andy Volk, Aaron Bear
Cast: Carol Volk
Synopsis: In conversation with her grandson, 93-year-old Carol goes on a vibrantly animated journey as she reflects on her unbelievable marriage of 62 years. Combining a fantastic mixture of hand-drawn and stop-motion techniques, “Coffee & Sugar” explores the memories of love that transcend time and all conventions.
BEST STUDENT
Fools Gold | Poland | 2021 | 16’
Director: Shailesh singh
Writer: Shailesh singh
Producer: National film school in lodz
Cast: Michal surosz, damian kret, izabella dudziak
Synopsis: In the year is 2020, a blue crystal falls to the earth and kills a homeless man. The crystal is discovered by two friends Milosz and tomek, small time thieves. They take the rock thinking this mysterious rock could bring an end to their poor life. However, they find themselves in a web of police investigation and accusations, only to realise that the situation is not as simple as it seem
BEST YOUNG DIRECTOR
One Elevator Apart | Bulgaria | 2021 | 28’
Director: Chris Zahariev
Writers: Pavla Kotova, Chris Zahariev
Producers: Stanislav Semerdjiev, Chris Zahariev, Dessy Tenekedjieva
Cast: Yoan Popov, Aleksandar Grigorov, Yordanka Kuzmanova, Pavel Poppandov, Georgi Karkelanov, Lili Geleva
Synopsis: Yuli and Pavel are failing police students in the big city. Liliya, their rich and imperious landlord is the first person, who take them seriously by forcing them to start a secret investigation. Her winning lottery ticket is missing and the suspects are all of the neighbors. When the boys start investigating they find that a bigger theft is in the making. Suddenly they receive another offer.
BEST CHILDREN
ZAWAL | Germany | 2020 | 09’
Director: Mujtaba Saeed
Writer: Mujtaba Saeed
Producers: Gilda Weller, Nora Helou
Cast: Paolo Al Shahhaf, Diana Kadah, Katharina Walther
Synopsis: Eight year-old Adam confronts a mutated world, when he breaks out of the designated quarantine area for refugees.
BEST ANIMATION
Live | United Kingdom | 2021 | 05’
Director: Meg Dupont
Synopsis: A biographical 2D animation following the realisation of a missed opportunity to make a connection with a relative after attending their funeral digitally during the pandemic.
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Positive Rides | The race within | Germany | 2021 | 11’
Directors: Constantin Gross, Lukas Steinbrecher
Synopsis: 10 years after winning races, former professional road-biker Dominik Roels realises that the biggest challenge is to confront the pressure created by his own aspirations. On a road bike adventure with his sister, he evaluates what really matters when he steps on a bike. Because the biggest challenge is always inside your head.
BEST EXPERIMENTAL
Rasa | Italy | 2021 | 18’
Director: Alexander Faganel
Writer: Alexander Faganel
Producer: Alexander Faganel
Cast: Alexander Faganel
Synopsis: The capacity of suggestion of works of art plays a crucial role in Sanskrit poetics, where we talk about rasa, the emotional component of the experience of a work of art. The protagonist is trapped between the real world and an imaginary universe, where he would like to set his film and redeem himself from the past.
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
David Lindmer // Omen | United Kingdom | 2021 | 05’
Director: DRUST
Producer: Barney Gee
Cast: Alex Draper
Synopsis: The starting point for the Omen video was to explore the theme of ‘doomed relationships’ and witness the nuanced moments where things take a wrong turn. So we meet Rueben, a troubled kid and ex-psychiatric patient who falls for his doctor. She should know better than to act on her feelings, but doesn’t and leads him on an adventure into the unknown. Sex, drugs, first love and finally heartache, when he realises that she’s having a relationship with a colleague. And that’s where we pick up the story, as Ruben sets off to find them in a club and confront them both with the truth. This journey from the club doors to the stand off on the dance floor, is the framework which all his memories hang off. From their first glances across the canteen until the end, standing alone in the rain. Extra Notes: Bringing emotion to the forefront of the viewers’ experience was key to the storytelling and a big part of the reason why the track was so great to work on. David was a fantastic artist to engage with because of his openness to the collaborative effort of the whole piece. Early on we decided that the images shouldn’t feel like they’d just been tacked onto the track, but that there should be a reciprocal process, where the pictures enhance the music and vice versa. The feeling of both being fully bedded together was of primary importance to us.
BEST MINI SHORT
PAGE TURNER | Germany | 2021 | 03’
Director: Christian Grüner
Producer: Christian Grüner
Cast: : Angelo Volpini, Christian Kirschstein
Angelo Volpini turns music score pages for pianists. His job is not to attract attention. When the applause sounds after the concert, he disappears behind the stage without anyone noticing. His name does not appear in any program booklet.
BEST MOBILE PHONE
Ignore. Don’t | Russian Federation | 2021 | 03’
Director: Alyona Styrikovich
Synopsis: Social manifest on the topic of ignorance.
BEST LOW/NO BUDGET
A Quark’s Looking Glass | United Kingdom | 2021 | 15’
Diector: Adam Loxley
Writer: Adam Loxley
Producer: Chris Reading
Cast: Laurie Ogden, Adam Loxley
Synopsis: A complicated teenager stumbles into a forgotten hollow and encounters a strange hermit with truth growing on his shoulders who offers enigmatic insight and an otherworldly therapy session.
BEST SERIES
LEIA | France | 2021 | 06’
Director: Cassam Chenaï Khourban
Writers: Cassam Chenaï Khourban, Stanislas Grassian
Producers: Stanislas Grassian, Cassam Chenaï Khourban
Cast: Stanislas Grassian, Mahamadou Diop, Claire Courture, Marie Coulonjou, Rolland Bruit
Serie of 14 episodes (about 6 minutes each). Following the lockdown, Fred, a 40-year-old computer engineer, burned out. It’s LEIA program, an artificial intelligence life coach, that helps people get out of depression. While taking care of himself, he will try to sell his invention online.
BEST FASHION SHORT
Knit-A-Morphosis | Italy | 05’
Director: Arianna Genghini
Cast: Cielo Fiordi
Synopsis: “Knit-a-morphosis” is an experimental corto and fashion film presenting a fashion performance in which the model wears 5 knitwear outfits and transforms them from the structure thanks to strings to pull. The transformation creates completely different shapes on the garments within a real metamorphosis. Indeed, Metamorphosis is the concept at the core of both the knitwear collection designed by Rosalba Fucci, and this video I directed. Both the collection and the film drew inspiration from Ovid’s Metamorphosis, the preface of which is narrated in the VoiceOver throughout the film. The former narrates the irreversibile metamorphosis and the self emancipation process of the girl wearing clothes, which creates new spaces, through re-shaping, in response to the body asking for more consciousness in the relationship with them selves. The latter connects the garments’ metamorphosis of the performance to the moth metamorphosis from the cocoon to the animal and shows the conceptual and aesthetic similitudes that can be found between the clothing and the natural element. The biological change of the body is showed through the garments’ change and it’s linked to the natural change of a moth’s body. This film was commissioned by Rosalba Fucci for Royal College of Art graduation collection, and it was sponsored by Royal College itself alongside Loro Piana, and other names of the textile and knitwear industry.
