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Nominations Autumn 2022

Nominated: Best Short
The Gig

Director: Xander Turian

Writers: Xander Turian, Rhys Whomsley

Producers: Johanna von Salmuth, Xander Turian

Country: Sweden

Project Type: Drama, Biopic, Music

Overview: Backstage before the showcase gig that could change their lives, Xander, Clara and Johnny are each contemplating their individual goals with the band. When their plans and preparation are thrown into disarray, the mask slips and their true feelings are unearthed.

Director Statement: A 15-minute slice of life rehearsed like a play and shot in under a week. I want the audience to be a part of the action of the story and to feel the emotional struggle inside of the protagonist as they wrestle with their individual goals and needs. I believe that every person has been in a situation where they have felt as though they have either had to compromise themselves or take the high road and check themselves before they end up destroying every opportunity that could be. I chose to use music as the centrepiece of this film due to my personal connection to music as both a songwriter and performer, the idea of being able to combine my own passion for music and film while creating a mythology around my own band and real-life experiences both intrigues and excites me.

Nominated: Best Long Short
Coweed - first wave
Coweed - first wave

Director/Writer/Producer: Timotej Mimo Istenič

Country: Slovenia

Project Type: Fantasy, Drama, Comedy

Overview: Ažbe finds himself without money and job in the middle of the covid closure of the country and life. In order to reduce his own living expenses for the duration of the closure, he moves in with his grandmother in Koper. Time goes by very fast. Bored Ažbe falls into the embrace of marijuana and alcohol. The combination of everything leads him to a strange mental breakdown. In his imagination he plays a game with his past for his future. Just when he thinks he has won, he realizes that someone else is running the game... The line between imagination, hallucination and nightmare is completely blurred.

Director Statement: When life gives you lemonade, make lemons... Life will go: ''Like....What?''

Nominated: Best Actor/Actress
Cinema Rebel

Director/Writer/Producer Tessa Farrell

Key Cast "Daisy Blaine": Tessa Farrell

Country: United States

Project Type: Comedy, Drama, Feature

Overview: Daisy Blaine is an ordinary small town girl who moved to Hollywood to act in movies. After following the normal path of auditions, she realizes the film industry is overloaded with cash grabs, remakes, sequels, knock offs and lacks “original” inspirational movies. Using the power of the smartphone in her hand she quits auditioning to transform herself into a one person film crew and goes on a mission to create groundbreaking hit movies using only herself, her phone and a handful of other actors. Daisy’s journey of self realization unfolds over the course of her making 6 short films. To make ends meet along the way she works as a webcam girl and quickly realizes the consequences of sacrificing spiritual values to sharpen filmmaking skills. Subsequently through out her journey she is guided by God, her best friend, Trent, and Dr. Silk, her inexperienced psychiatrist. They tell her everything she does not want to hear but needs to hear… not only to become an extraordinary filmmaker but to become an extraordinary human being.

Director Statement: In order to make this movie I had to put myself far beyond my comfort zone every single day for over 3 years and discovered when you truly love something... you’re willing to go through hell for it. Making this movie was incredibly challenging and painful… but at the same time… thrilling, enlightening and the most rewarding experience of my life.

Nominated: Best Feature Screenplay
Blood Money
Blood Money

Writer: Dominic Flanagan

Country: United Kingdom

Project Type: Feature Screenplay

Overview: Howard Swan, a doctor with a severe drinking problem, loses his medical license, his wife, his house, and is on the verge of losing his daughter as well. In a desperate act, he enlists the help of Caspar, his drug dealer brother, to make some easy money. After a deal goes wrong, Howard uses his medical expertise to save the life of Snake Eyes, a psychopathic drug kingpin. Howard and Caspar fall deeper into the world of organised crime than they ever intended, and they may not be able to make it back out.




Nominated: Best Short
Superheroes
Superheroes

Director/Writer: Rafael de Andrade

Producers: Raphael de Oliveira Dorsa, Tauã Franco

Country: Brazil

Project Type: Short

Overview: Famous superheroes take care of adult problems, but children also have their superheroes, always ready to help solve their dilemmas. Anonymous heroes may be closer than we think, and in this fun movie, they will be taken back.

Nominated: Best Comedy Short
Linda Evans is my Spirit Animal
Linda Evans is my Spirit Animal

Director/Writer/Producer: Billy Walker

Country: United States

Project Type: Short

Overview: An absurd British comedy about a pompous English Actor who arrives in Hollywood with a burning desire to star in the Dynasty Reboot.

Director Statement: To create consistently, kindly and compassionately, to the best of my ability!

Nominated: Best Feature Screenplay
No Address

Writers: Julia Verdin, James Papa

Country: United States

Project Type: Feature Screenplay

Overview: A group of homeless people bond together as a family, struggling to survive the streets while fending off a harassing gang, an unforgiving community and the local authorities in hopes of finding their humanity again.

Writer Statement: I want to produce and direct movies that will help change the world into a better place to live.

Nominated: Best Comedy Short
Rubber Love
Rubber Love

Directors: Adam Van Bendler, Adam Van Bendler

Writer: Adam Van Bendler

Producer: Michał Grzyb

Country: Poland

Project Type: Experimental, Short

Overview: A short action comedy in which the main roles are played by rubber squeaking toys. A film pastiche using many, both classic and modern film treatments.




Nominated: Best Short Screenplay
Home to Roost
Home to Roost

Writer: Tom Matthews

Country: United Kingdom

Genres: Drama

Overview: A man returns home for a relaxing afternoon. He has an unexpected visitor which drastically alters the rest of his day.

Nominated: Best Long Short
Boys Don't Cry
Boys Don't Cry

Director/Writer: Alfie Court

Producer: Eve Burns

Country: United Kingdom

Project Type: Drama, Short

Overview: Three young lads venture into the woods and don't come out the same. Aaron, the ringleader, believes he has found something out there, something that belonged to his girlfriend who's been missing for a year. His two friends think he's become obsessed chasing her ghost, but they are reluctantly dragged along all the same despite losing hope she'll ever be found.

Director Biography: Initially training to be an actor, Alfie transitioned to a role behind the camera after finding his love for filmmaking at university. Editing much of his own work, often writing his own material yet also finding equal joy directing films written by others. Alfie puts heart, soul, and humour into every project he directs.

Best Drama Short
"3"

Director: Peter Ney

Writer: Michael Ward

Producers: Christopher M. Abraham, Peter Ney

Country: United States

Project Type: Short

Overview: How would you live your life if you knew the day you were going to die? Would you start marking off your bucket list of enjoy the little things more? Would you be panicked with anxiety or feel somehow at ease knowing the inevitable meeting with the Grim Reaper? Now think of this. What if you found out you only have 3 days left?

Director Statement: I really enjoyed this film in particular since we decided to shoot on an iPhone13PROMax camera using the Filmic Pro app along with accessories from Beast Grip including various lenses and mounts.

Nominated: Best Drama Short
Little Happy
Little Happy

Director: Peter Ney

Writer: Angela Mac

Producers: Cynthia Sanders, Parker Clark

Country: United States

Project Type: Short

Overview: Follow your passion, they say. But Cowboy Billy’s passion is robbing banks. Getting older certainly doesn’t make the hobby easier. Having an RV for a getaway vehicle is a whole other obstacle. One more duffle bag full of cash is all that stands between Billy and retirement. Is there enough in the tank for one last ride?

Director Biography: Peter Ney has been in the entertainment business for nearly 30 years. his credits include directing and producing various productions and projects. Peter was nominated for the DGA director’s guild award for FACE OFF in 2013.




Nominated: Best Feature, Best Sound Design
Morris Men

Director: Gregg Masuak

Producers: DB Morgan, Peter Mahoney, Jamie B Chambers

Writer: DB Morgan

Country: United Kingdom

Project Type: Action, Urban Vengeance, Martial Arts

Overview: When a seaside town is gripped in a vice of drug fuelled corruption, sometimes the only solution is to book a dance with the Morris Men.

Director Biography: A multiple graduate with a Certificate in Cinematography (NSTC) and a BA in Communications (University of Technology, Sydney), Masuak initially gained the attention of music executives with his earliest, avant-garde shorts, launching a career that found him directing such iconic stars as Spice Girls, Kylie Minogue and Take That. His expertise in bringing out the best in people earned him a Juno and two MTV Awards and subsequently led the ad industry to his doorstep. Masuak moved to putting his acclaimed emotional and visual stamp on such diverse brands as Emporio Armani, Barclays, NEC, Olay and NSPCC, all the while honing his passion for his own special brand of unusual storytelling. He gained a reputation for extracting great performances from both novices and celebrities, working with actors like Penelope Cruz, Courtney Cox and Salma Hayek. His film "Born With Glasses" won Best Comedy/Satire in the Chicago International Film Festival, while more recently The Independent and The Huffington Post dubbed his Aids Alliance "Come Together" spot as "one of the most provocative ads to be screened on British television."

Nominated: Best Feature Screenplay

New Cross

Writer: Steve Garry

Country: Canada

Project Type: Drama, Grounded Historical-Fiction, Family

Overview: Near the end of WWII, members of a poor family in London's home front struggle to maintain their good spirits even as the Nazis launch a barrage of new, horrific, last ditch weapons that include space age rockets.

Nominated: Best Animation Short

FETCH
FETCH

Director/Writer: Sam Gill

Country: New Zealand

Project Type: Animation, Short

Overview: Fetch is a heart-on-its-sleeve animated dramedy about a dog and his human, working together as the only maintenance crew aboard a colossal space station. They fill their days cleaning vents, rewiring fuses, and throwing well-worn tennis balls down dimly lit-corridors in games of fetch. Overwhelmed by the scale of scope of the job, the man slides into depression, causing the station to malfunction catastrophically! When the human realizes he can’t reach the last escape pod in time, he throws his tennis ball towards it… His dog, following instinct, chases the ball into the pod and is propelled to safety, inadvertently leaving the human behind! But the dog’s devotion is too much, so he resolved to journey back across the universe to either save his human… or die along aside him.

Director Statement: Fetch is born from my own experiences with mental health, and is very much an ode to – and love letter to! – faithful hounds everywhere.

Nominated: Best Feature

A FISTFUL OF KARMA

Director/Writer: Terence Gross

Producers: John Smallcombe, Huriye Yavuz

Country: United Kingdom

Project Type: Feature

Overview: Il Santuario is a retreat centre nestled in the Tuscan hills. Run and staffed by a group of misfits, it hosts groups seeking spiritual growth, weight-loss, detox and escape from reality. Its six hundred year old walls bear witness to the entire emotional spectrum from desire to insanity that comes with the territory of spiritual seeking. The season opens with the arrival of Malcolm Schwartzman – and his group of spiritual seekers, the morning after Val and his mates have thrown a rather fabulously apocalyptic party…This is a critical week in the lives of Team Il Santuario as they face losing their home unless the group goes well and Malcolm pays up. But things don’t go well – most of the guests are very dysfunctional and demanding and there is a bona fide psychopath in the mix. Add to the pot, an old friend of Val’s arriving with a promise of investment and some potent designer drugs, and Il Santuario is about to witness a week to remember…




Nominated: Best Short
Bake Off

Director/Writer/Producer: Lee Viesnik

Country: United Kingdom

Project Type: Short

Overview: An unfaithful boyfriend gets his comeuppance with far-reaching consequences.

Director Biography: I can usually be found holding up a boom and/or mixing sound on film sets but my passion is also for writing and directing my own films. Bake Off is my fifth film so far and one I can say I am very proud of so really hope it gets a positive reception!

Nominated: Best Student Director
Brothers

Director/Writer: Kieran Shayle

Producers: Kieran Shayle, Tom Ross

Country: United Kingdom

Project Type: Short

Overview: Two estranged brothers hike into the backwoods of Wales in the hope to reconnect with one another.

Director Statement: Kieran originally conceived the idea for 'Brothers' back in College when he was seventeen. However, with the lack of equipment and practical experience in filmmaking Kieran passed on the idea as he didn't believe he could make the film to his vision at this stage in his career. After three years of hands on experience making short films at University, Kieran felt he had gained the necessary filmmaking experience to make 'Brothers' to the vision and style he had for the film back in College. Kieran collaborated with his high school friend Tom Ross who composed the score for the film which was made entirely out of the Foley audio recorded on set. Tom carefully collated all possible sounds that would be workable into the framework of the composition, allowing him to experiment with natural human pickups we got through the lav mics. This in turn created a seamless and naturalistic score which accompanies the film emphatically.

Nominated: Best Art/Experimental Short
NALA
NALA

Director: Darshan Singh Bhuller

Country: United States

Project Type: Short

Overview: Inspired by the Director’s daughter’s experience with loss, Nala is a film about processing grief. Shot by Cinematographer, Justin Ervin, set to an original score by Andrew Ryan, and danced by revered dancer, PeiJu Chien-Pott, the film unfolds from the public to the private and expresses, through movement, the depths of trauma, and the tension between despair and strength. What is at first overwhelming and all encompassing, becomes tempered, and absorbed into the natural landscape. 

Nominated: Best Animation Short
Song of the Water

Director: Brian Luff

Writers: Brian Luff, Georgina Sowerby

Producers: Brian Luff, Georgina Sowerby

Country: United Kingdom

Project Type: Animation, Short

Overview: 4 AWARDS including Best Animated Short at the Bahrain Indie Film Festival 2022. When a little girl wins a fish at the fairground, she has no idea what adventures lie ahead. The wonderful things that she experiences may change her life forever, and perhaps she'll never be afraid of anything again. Song of the Water is the curious tale of a girl, a fish and a mechanical earth digger. The story's roots lie deep in Japanese samurai legend.

Director Statement: I have always wanted to dig my own koi pond, and since that is not currently possible I decided to make a film about it instead. When I researched the subject I discovered that there is a very strong connection between koi carp and samurai warriors, and what started out as a film about a pond ended up as a story about fortitude, imagination and bravery.




Nominated: Best Comedy Short, Best Student Director
Monkey or Man

Director: Oscar Hewitt

Writer: Jude Crook

Producer: Olivér Csanádi

Country: United Kingdom

Project Type: Student, Short

Overview: When a circus trio have a particularly disastrous show, Mandy the Acrobat must decide whether to run away from the circus, or to stay and help her friends.

Director Statement: When I first read 'Monkey or Man', I knew I had to make it. Not only did Jude's script have hilarious comedic dialogue, but I saw great potential for a heartwarming, truthful story between these larger-than-life characters. They're a quirky, dysfunctional family that goes through a lot of struggles as a unit, but ultimately pulls through together as a team. Creating this film was a joyfully exhilarating experience.

Nominated: Best Documentary Short

From Invasion to Dystopia: The British in Iraq

Director/Writer/Producer: Hekmat Imad Hasan

Country: United Kingdom

Project Type: Documentary, Short

Director Biography: Hekmat Hasan is a Bulgarian-Syrian trainee journalist, human rights activist, and filmmaker. Born in Bulgaria in 2002, Hasan grew up in Burgas, a city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, to a Syrian family. His father, Imad Hasan, moved to Bulgaria in 1992. He got married in Syria and brought his wife to Bulgaria in 2001. Hekmat Hasan and his family now live in Nottingham, United Kingdom. He is making his way to diving into documentary filmmaking and political activism. Hekmat aims to seek the truth and raise awareness through high-quality visual storytelling covering Middle Eastern politics and history.

Director Statement: I have been planning this project for a year now. It’s a very controversial issue that is still discussed today. The emergence of the Russia-Ukraine war has encouraged me to do more research and start planning my documentary. The importance of this issue is based on how many consequences a war can lead to. No matter how politically engaged someone is, the Iraq war needs more attention from people across the world. The invasion of Iraq in 2003 was intended to be a humanitarian intervention to free the Iraqi people from a tyrant regime, but then it turned into a massive bloodshed. I strongly believe that history matters. And the Iraq war is a large historical event that changed the way we think about a certain military power that aims to help build a better future. 'From Invasion to Dystopia: The British in Iraq' is a short documentary that will focus on the disastrous British intervention in Iraq and the downfall of Tony Blair. The project aims to cover the beginning of Britain’s military operations in Iraq till the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on 22 May 2011, from a British perspective.

Nominated: Best Feature

THE SEASONS, four love stories

Director/Writer/Producer: Paul Schwartz

Country: United States

Project Type: Romance, Drama, Comedy

Overview: Over the course of a year, four sets of intertwined characters are faced with turning points in their romantic lives. Each chapter takes place in a different season, with the central characters in each season being age-appropriate, thus: Summer, young adults, Autumn, middle aged, Winter, elderly, and Spring, a ten year old girl.

Director Statement: I have always been intrigued by pieces that are told as a series of stories that link to each other: either thematically, by sharing characters, or by unfolding linearly over a period of time. In this film the four stories are linked in all three ways. They are all romantic, they are told serially as the seasons succeed each other, and in each story after the first, one character from the previous story reappears.

Nominated: Best Documentary Short

No Friends but the Mountains
No Friends but the Mountains

Directors: Lea Steding, Richard Wilde

Writers: Lea Steding, Richard Wilde

Country: Germany

Project Type: Documentary, Short

Overview: The film 'No friends but the mountains' accompanies the journey of a European peace delegation to Southern Kurdistan. They are examining the developments of the Turkish government's war of aggression, which is coming to a head in the summer of 2021, and want to draw international attention to it. In the midst of the impending inner-Kurdish conflict, the participants travel to historically and politically important locations. Here they get to know a large number of political representatives. Among them Baba sheikh, the cultural head of the Yazidi women, who invites the delegation to the holy temple of Lalesh and provides insights into the special rituals. Representatives of the various parties in Southern Kurdistan also talk about the current situation and their perspectives. Again and again we experience personal moments in which the delegation participants show their motives and motivation for this undertaking. The film documents the difficulties that the participants are confronted with at the beginning and during the journey. Participants are not allowed to enter the country, an interview is interrupted by soldiers and the delegation is held in a hotel for two days. But that cannot prevent the exchange with the MPs on site - the need for this is too great. At the end, the refugee camp of the Yazidis `Sharia` is visited. Three women impressively tell their story and call for support from abroad. Despite the obstacles, the declaration of the `Defend Kurdistan` delegation is broadcast live across the country and demands an immediate stop to the Turkish attacks on southern Kurdistan and the withdrawal of all Turkish troops and Islamist mercenaries.




Nominated: Best Sound Design
All through the hall
All through the hall

Director/Writer/Producer: Falko Jakobs

Country: Germany

Project Type: Feature

Overview: The whole film takes place in one night: A security guard working the night shift at a warehouse is caught up in his past. Three strangers break into the warehouse in the same night. But for what reason and what do they have to do with the security guard? In the end, they all have to go through the hall!

Director Statement: I wanted to create a film noir heist thriller that ends up being a western. The characters are classically created with the exception that there is no good one. Furthermore, I tried to tell the story not linearly, but to use the means of the episodic film.

Nominated: Best Short
Night at the milonga
Night at the milonga

Director/Writer/Producer: Svetlin Mitrev

Country: Bulgaria

Project Type: Short

Overview: Sarah - a shy young woman finds her inner confidence and transforms herself after a night at a milonga bar where she has been invited by her friend Norah.

Director Biography: Svetlin Mitrev has a Ph.D. in philosophy and currently works as a philosophy teacher. Author of many articles in philosophy and science journals as well of two books: "Wu-Wei and Zen as a manifestation of Aikido and Argentine tango" and "Unfinished stories".

Nominated: Best Short Screenplay
Kamren's Haven
Kamren's Haven

Writers: Derek G Bailey, Stephanie M Byrd

Country: United States

Overview: Kamren is overjoyed when she is adopted nine years after being abandoned by her addicted birth mother. However, she soon discovers that her new family may have an agenda that's not in her best interests.

Writer Statement: This script is BASED ON the birth of the co-writer Stephanie Byrd, who was left in the care of hospital nurses with drugs running thru her body. Born Addicted and abandoned, her life isn't just a life of foster homes and failed adoptions.

Nominated: Best Documentary Short
Loggerhead
Loggerhead

Director: Guillaume Couche

Producer: Guillaume Couche, Léonard Heuse

Country: United Kingdom

Genres: Documentary, Short

Overview: Every year, Loggerhead sea turtles come to nest on a small island of the Atlantic Ocean under the eye of scientists and local NGOs engaged in a race against time to protect this endangered species. Their original collaboration reveals a unique combination of high-level research, field work and creativity to design new tools that allow for gaining a better understanding of the turtles’ behaviour and engaging with the younger generation of islanders.




Nominated: Best Comedy Short
Life Cycle Challenge

Director: Michael Hayes

Writers: Michael Hayes, Alex Scott

Producers: Michelle Foster, Michael Hayes

Country: Canada

Project Type: Comedy, Short

Overview: When John dies, he's shocked to discover that a surreal game show comes next - and that the key to winning is his social media. The stakes: his next incarnation on Earth.

Director Biography: Michael Hayes is a multifaceted filmmaker with experience in the fields writing, directing, producing, editing, acting and special effects. His short films have appeared at the Kingston Canadian Film Festival, Northern Frights, ReFrame, Blood in the Snow, and The Sham Film Festival. His short The Doorway (2017) won Best Picture at the 2018 Snowdance Film Festival, and his latest short The Basement Monster premiered in the fall of 2019 at Showplace Performing Arts Centre. The event raised $2,000 for Habitat for Humanity. In addition to film production, Michael is passionate in advocating and fostering local talent. With local partners he is involved developing a Peterborough and Kawartha Lakes regional film board.

Nominated: Best Actor/Actress
Lost in the City

Director/Writer: Lara Celenza

Producers: Lara Celenza, Alex van Ric, James Winslett

Key Cast "Eric Telton": Alex van Ric

Country: Germany

Project Type: Drama, Comedy, Social, Feature

Overview: Eric Telton is a drunken but resourceful homeless man who lives under a railway bridge in Berlin with his faithful companion, Jimmy, a wooden mannequin with whom he engages in deep conversations about the meaning of life.

Director Statement: Writing "Lost in the City" was a voluntary experience of demonic possession. Alex (the lead actor) and I created a character that had many negative traits that I don’t personally find attractive in a human being. My challenge as a writer (and director) was to let Eric Telton overtake me, pretty much like a method actor surrenders their own identity to the character they’re playing. I imagined Eric, I learned everything I could about him, and then I started to communicate with him... and ended up loving him - just because at the end of the day he, like every single one of us, is just trying to improve his life and feel connected to people. He knows that the system is rotten and that all life is imbued with dignity. However, his humanity is covered in dirt, rags, and a shady past. When Eric sees something, he either wants to eat it, fuck it or fight it. He is always in survival mode, and his ruthless wits are what makes him strong on the mean streets of Berlin. However, there is so much we don’t know about him. Of course, the burning question here is: how did he end up like this? Homelessness is not a condition - homelessness is a story, and Eric’s story unfolds between humour and darkness over the course of the film.