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SHORT to the Point – March 2022 Award Winners


BEST FILM

The Forgotten Flame | Canada | 2022 | 02’        

Director: Derek Lamoureux                                        

Cast: Janice Israeloff, Michael Smith        

Synopsis: “The Forgotten Flame” is a short about the caregivers who work tirelessly for their loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease. Caregiver burnout is often as prevalent and debilitating as the disease itself, yet rarely given the same attention and focus on how to manage it. In researching, we found that caregiver burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that is only compounded with the helpless feeling of being trapped.   This film’s goal is to raise awareness and is dedicated to the caretakers of family members with dementia.


BEST DIRECTOR

Gut Instinct | Australia | 2022 | 09’        

Director: Stuart Edgeworth         

Writer: Stuart Edgeworth            

Producer: Alexandra Patrick-Dunn           

Cast: Charlotte Friels      

Synopsis: Cold, alone and time is running out…A young woman wakes to find herself waist deep in ice and cuffed in place. She doesn’t know how she got there, but she knows she needs to get out. Fast.   Struggling to break free, it becomes clear that the situation she’s in is more complicated than first appears, but escape might be just within reach…


BEST SCREENPLAY

Suspect | United States | 2021 | 12’      

Director: David masters

Writer: David masters   

Producers: Malcolm Duncan, Fabien Colas           

Cast: John Charles Nagy, Josh Futcher, Wayne Allen         

Synopsis: Leon Delgado finds himself the main suspect in a mysterious investigation into crimes against the state. Can he convince the investigators that he is in fact Sonny Valentine and that they have the wrong guy.


BEST LEADING ACTRESS

Gut Instinct | Australia | 2022 | 09’        

Actress: Charlotte Friels

Director: Stuart Edgeworth         

Writer: Stuart Edgeworth            

Producer: Alexandra Patrick-Dunn           

Cast: Charlotte Friels      

Synopsis: Cold, alone and time is running out…A young woman wakes to find herself waist deep in ice and cuffed in place. She doesn’t know how she got there, but she knows she needs to get out. Fast.   Struggling to break free, it becomes clear that the situation she’s in is more complicated than first appears, but escape might be just within reach…


BEST LEADING ACTOR

Suspect | United States | 2021 | 12’      

Actor: John Charles Nagy

Director: David masters

Writer: David masters   

Producers: Malcolm Duncan, Fabien Colas           

Cast: John Charles Nagy, Josh Futcher, Wayne Allen         

Synopsis: Leon Delgado finds himself the main suspect in a mysterious investigation into crimes against the state. Can he convince the investigators that he is in fact Sonny Valentine and that they have the wrong guy.


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

DARK DREAMS  | United States | 2022 | 03’       

Cinematographer: Nicola De Prato

Director: Nicola De Prato             

Producers: Nicola De Prato, Dino Sardella             

Cast: Nicola De Prato     

Synopsis: Cole Elliott, Sarah Polednak    

Synopsis: “A tormented soul is lost chasing his dream in a deserted city. But his dream is someone else’s nightmare”


BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Gut Instinct | Australia | 2022 | 09’        

Production Designer: Kelsey Lee

Director: Stuart Edgeworth         

Writer: Stuart Edgeworth            

Producer: Alexandra Patrick-Dunn           

Cast: Charlotte Friels      

Synopsis: Cold, alone and time is running out…A young woman wakes to find herself waist deep in ice and cuffed in place. She doesn’t know how she got there, but she knows she needs to get out. Fast.   Struggling to break free, it becomes clear that the situation she’s in is more complicated than first appears, but escape might be just within reach…


BEST EDITING

The Forgotten Flame | Canada | 2022 | 02’        

Director: Derek Lamoureux                                        

Cast: Janice Israeloff, Michael Smith        

Synopsis: “The Forgotten Flame” is a short about the caregivers who work tirelessly for their loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease. Caregiver burnout is often as prevalent and debilitating as the disease itself, yet rarely given the same attention and focus on how to manage it. In researching, we found that caregiver burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that is only compounded with the helpless feeling of being trapped.   This film’s goal is to raise awareness and is dedicated to the caretakers of family members with dementia.


BEST NARRATIVE

Final Touches | Canada | 2021 | 05’       

Director: Corey Malone

Writer: Corey Malone   

Producers: Corey Malone, David Van Dyke, Justine Peterson       

Cast: Jessamine Salas, Corey Malone, Shenadoah Adams, Adam Muxlow, Melvin Medici 

Synopsis: A Make Up Artist is pushed to the edge when she has to deal with a misogynistic crew.


BEST COMEDY

Chopsticks | China | 2022 | 08’

Directors: Fanbo Zheng, Weiyang Chen 

Writers: Xinyan Qian, Weiyang Chen      

Producer: Shihan Lu       

Cast: Ryan Chiu, Ko Han Lai, Karen Zheng, Lydia Li, Lan Zhong      

Synopsis: A man is promised a new world when his friend invites him to an authentic Asian Restaurant, where the various use of Chopsticks plays a culturally shocking role in his mind-blowing dining experience.


BEST DRAMA

Frank & Emmet  | United States | 2021  | 13’    

Direcor: Carlos F. Puertolas         

Writer: Carlos F. Puertolas          

Producers: Carlos F. Puertolas, Bryan Dimas, Jonathan Coria        

Cast: Paul Eiding, Brian Michael Jones, Arabella Grant

Synopsis: “Frank & Emmet” tells the story of two life-long friends and show-business partners who, after weeks of drifting apart, sit together to have a much-needed conversation. Their friendly dialogue takes a turn when they address head-on the one thing they’ve never talked about: One of them is a puppet.   Starring Paul Eiding (Ben 10, The Incredibles 2), Brian Michael Jones (Mank, Muppets Most Wanted), and Arabella Grant (Fuller House, Timeless). With original music from singer-songwriter Kyler England (Grey’s Anatomy) and Emmy-nominated composer Tony Morales (Elena of Avalor, Bloodline).


BEST SHORT FANTASY/SCI-FI

RELATIVITY | France | 2021 | 07’

Directors: Jules Rebuffat, Hugo Astesano, Guillaume Hulot, Loic Remy, Loic Ciaux, Benjamin Matthys

Writer: Jules Rebuffat   

Producer: ArtFX

Cast: Gregory Defleur, Sophia Vesna, Thierry Caumel      

Synopsis: Adams is the first astronaut to approach lightspeed. Boarding the spaceship Myriss, he experiments regularly in order to analyze how such a speed will affect living organisms until an exceptional event happens and changes everything.


BEST THRILLER/MYSTERY

DARK DREAMS  | United States | 2022 | 03’       

Director: Nicola De Prato             

Producers: Nicola De Prato, Dino Sardella             

Cast: Nicola De Prato     

Synopsis: Cole Elliott, Sarah Polednak    

Synopsis: “A tormented soul is lost chasing his dream in a deserted city. But his dream is someone else’s nightmare”


BEST DANCE/MUSICAL

Toporzeł | Poland | 2019 | 09’  

Director: Iwona Pasińska              

Writer: Iwona Pasińska 

Producers: Polski Teatr Tańca     

Cast: Kacper Bożek , Jerzy Kaźmierczak, Zbigniew Kocięba , Dominik Kupka, Paweł Malicki, Michał Przybyła , Adrian Radwański          

Synopsis: TOPORZEŁ Beautiful mountain landscapes, from which the figures of dancers grow, rocks, bushes, the severity of nature and its strength, everything intertwines with each other, thus emphasizing the strong bonds between nature and man. This was the set of the latest film project of the Polish Dance Theatre entitled Toporzeł.  The project was inspired by sculptures by Stanisław Szukalski. In the works of this artist, who causes strong emotions, the motif of the human body appears; one can see muscle tension, movement, gesture and expression. The sculpture is made of earth, of nature, of which man is a part – this was the interpretive code of the project. The Toporzeł project could not have been created anywhere else than in the Izerskie Mountains in the “Stanisław” quartz mine in Szklarska Poręba. The Karkonosze and Izerskie Mountains hide secrets, they are a place where magic mixes with reality, where the history of the legendary Mountain Spirit is still alive. The film and the accompanying album are further elements building the story of the Polish Dance Theatre. We hope that apart from the beauty and aesthetics of the presented shots, you will see the Spirit of Dance Theatre in these materials.


BEST STUDENT

RELATIVITY | France | 2021 | 07’

Directors: Jules Rebuffat, Hugo Astesano, Guillaume Hulot, Loic Remy, Loic Ciaux, Benjamin Matthys

Writer: Jules Rebuffat   

Producer: ArtFX

Cast: Gregory Defleur, Sophia Vesna, Thierry Caumel      

Synopsis: Adams is the first astronaut to approach lightspeed. Boarding the spaceship Myriss, he experiments regularly in order to analyze how such a speed will affect living organisms until an exceptional event happens and changes everything.


BEST YOUNG DIRECTOR

RELATIVITY | France | 2021 | 07’

Directors: Jules Rebuffat, Hugo Astesano, Guillaume Hulot, Loic Remy, Loic Ciaux, Benjamin Matthys

Writer: Jules Rebuffat   

Producer: ArtFX

Cast: Gregory Defleur, Sophia Vesna, Thierry Caumel      

Synopsis: Adams is the first astronaut to approach lightspeed. Boarding the spaceship Myriss, he experiments regularly in order to analyze how such a speed will affect living organisms until an exceptional event happens and changes everything.


BEST ANIMATION

In The Upper Room | Austria | 2022 | 09’           

Director: Alexander Gratzer       

Writer: Alexander Gratzer           

Producer: József FÜLÖP               

Synopsis: Every season a young mole visits his blind grandfather, who lives deep underground in a comfortably decorated burrow. As the two grow older their relationship becomes more intense and important questions arise.


BEST DOCUMENTARY

Visiting Ben Shemen  | New Zealand |   2022 | 17’          

Director: Miriam Harris                 

Producer: Miriam Harris

Cast: Chava Almagor, Pnina Aviram, Stella Harris

Synopsis: In 1946, three young Jewish teenagers met at the Ben Shemen school, in Palestine. Each had been traumatised by the Holocaust and World War II. These women, now in their late eighties – one of whom is the director’s mother – recount the ways in which Ben Shemen offered a healing and soul-nourishing refuge, through its humane outlook and the privileging of creativity. Mixed-media and an animated sketchbook aesthetic, together with the collaging of fragments of music and sound, accompany their retrieval of memories, and the director’s efforts to understand their experiences. 


BEST EXPERIMENTAL

Black Dog | Australia |  2022 | 12’          

Director: Cameron Manion         

Writer: Cameron Manion             

Producer: Cameron Manion       

Cast: Emma Jensen, Lousie Wildman, Tony Driese             

Synopsis: A family deals with grief in different ways.       


BEST MUSIC VIDEO

BUGZY MALONE x EMILE SANDE – WELCOME TO THE HOOD | United Kingdom | 2021 | 05’        

Director: KC LOCKE                         

Producer: JOE VICKERS 

Cast: BUGZY MALONE, EMILE SANDE      


BEST MINI SHORT

Wildflowers | Czech Republic | 2021 | 03’          

Directors: Denisa Novakova, Mikulas Pejcha        

Writer: Denisa Novakova                             

Cast: Anna Rehorkova, Ester Gracerova 

Synopsis: Unease preserved in four apartment walls. An endeavor of creating a life at parquet floors may seem silly but point to one who has never tried. But some bridges cannot be built and at the end of the day, the best what we can do is let ourselves be carried away by the water. Open the doors we always close to concentrate, and go out. When flowers don’t bloom we never blame them, we change their environment instead. Why it should be different when it’s us not feeling good?


BEST MOBILE PHONE SHORT

So it goes. | United States | 2021 | 06’ 

Director: MJ Kielbus                       

Writer: MJ Kielbus          

Cast: Jess Thurber, Randy Pituk, Jonaz McMillan, Toby Fitch, Renca Dunn, Michelle Mansfield-Hom

Synopsis: A long-shot short observing three separate incidents up close at home, which spiral out of control as time passes by.


BEST NO/LOW BUDGET

That’ll do | United Kingdom | 2022 | 05’             

Director: Adam Klosowski            

Writer: Adam Klosowski

Producer: Adam Klosowski          

Cast: Adam Klosowski   

Synopsis: An artist battles a writer’s block.


BEST SERIES (WEB/TV)

SmallTown Outsiders | Pilot   | United States | 2022 | 21’           

Director: Michael Hill     

Writer: Michael Hill         

Producers: Michael Hill, Tracy Hill, Bobby Hill      

Cast: Gabriel Hill, Spencer Yang, Peyton Eliot, Ethan Melendez, Carlos Manuel Cadena, Troy Dorsey, Mandi Lutz, Sherry Wright, Sky Bradford     

Synopsis: SmallTown Outsiders is a Thriller/Sci-fi set in 1988. In this small town, a group of youth stumble upon a radio frequency which unveils a secret extra terrestrial anomaly right under their noses.


BEST COMMERCIAL/AD/TVC

Dungeons and Dragons: Play Your way. | United States | 2022 | 02’       

Director: Taylor Garrett

Writer: Stephanie Blackham       

Producers: Alex Mcbride, Savannah Butler           

Cast: Jason Conforto, Amaris Glamaris, Lee Liston, Grant Holmes, Noelle Goble, Rosana Chavez, Stephen Stubbs, Whit Johnson              


BEST STOP-MOTION/TIME-LAPSE

Into The Mountains | Greece | 2022 | 05’           

Director: Christopher Anagnostopoulos                                                

Synopsis: A short non-narrative, experimental timelapse documentary film, capturing the beauty of the mountains of Epirus, Greece.

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