Thanks to the generous support of:
2023: THE FILM JURY AND AUDIENCE RESULTS ARE IN!
2023 AWARD WINNERS!
RANKED IN ORDER OF FILM JURY VOTING
GRAND JURY PRIZE AWARD
FINALIST / BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
WILD SUMMON
U.K. / Documentary / 14 mins.
Music legend Marianne Faithfull narrates this natural history fantasy film, following the dramatic lifecycle of the wild salmon in human form.
COMMENTS FROM THE JURY PANEL:
“Really cool visuals and an original representation of the dire state of our environment.”
“Some fairly standard documentary narration works in tension with a wildly inventive visual execution! Clever use of anthropomorphism pushes us to look with fresh eyes at a story we thought we knew.”
AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD
FINALIST / BEST DRAMA
OUR MALES AND FEMALES
Jordan / Drama / 11 mins.
A father and mother are faced with the painful task of washing and shrouding their deceased grown child when religion clashes with reality
COMMENTS FROM THE JURY PANEL:
“Not an easy watch by any means, but powerful filmmaking that asks questions and lets the viewer look for the answers.”
“Heartbreaking and powerful. The originality in this film is in how the filmmaker shows how a contemporary issue is handled in an underrepresented culture. The performances from the main actors are beautiful. The direction is assured and economical.”
“So spare and haunting… Felt like another planet, in a great way.”
FINALIST / BEST ANIMATION
A MOST EXQUISITE MAN
ESTONIA/ Animation / 15 mins.
There exists a most exquisite man, or at least the world that surrounds him, labels and sees him as such. He has fantastic abilities and incomprehensible talent, he could even be called a genius, yet something within him is restless.
FINALIST / BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE
THE UNIFORM
USA / DRAMA / 18 mins.
An exploration of the desperate need for basic human connection in an ever-fragmenting world.
FINALIST / BEST COMEDY
CUCKOO!
Netherlands / Comedy / 7 mins.
Inside a cuckoo clock lives a lonely man. Every hour he is catapulted out of his tiny house to yell ‘Cuckoo!’
FINALIST
IT'S OK TO SAY NO
Norway/ Drama / 15 mins.
16 year old Jane is surrounded by sexual pressure from social media, TV-shows and her “friends” from school. She has to choose between social ruin and protecting her wishes.
FINALIST / BEST DIRECTOR
THE BATHTUB
Spain/ Drama / 19 mins.
Ramon Riera is taking a well-deserved bath when his cell phone suddenly rings. On the other side of the line is Clara, a phone solicitor who won’t take no for an answer.
FINALIST
BOUND
USA / Drama / 3 mins.
Leaving his ancestral home, Mantas confronts his childhood trauma in an attempt to cope with his own mortality.
SEMI-FINALISTS
RANKED IN ORDER OF AUDIENCE VOTING
SEMI-FINALIST
THE CONFESSOR
USA/ Dramedy / 11 mins.
An in-home hospice worker stuck in monotony is asked to do the unthinkable by one of his dying patients.
SEMI-FINALIST / BEST DOCUMENTARY
VOICES IN THE WATER
Argentina / Documentary / 20 mins.
The story about a strange and new threat of pollution hitting the seas near Argentina
SEMI-FINALIST
ELLEN NEEDS INSURANCE
USA / Comedy / 17 mins.
Being a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) doesn’t make you rich! Ellen is an actor on a mission… to get health insurance.
SEMI-FINALIST / BEST FAMILY FILM
PICTURE DAY
Ireland / Comedy / 12 mins.
After learning that class photo day is approaching, a young boy comes face to face with the manifestation of his insecurities in the form of a troll called Alan.
SEMI-FINALIST / BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
LIFE AND THE LADY
USA / Drama / 20 mins.
In a poetic drama, a new soul struggles with an existential choice: to stay comfortable in her world or to incarnate and surrender to the unknown.
SEMI-FINALIST
JUST AN EVENING
Ukraine / Drama/ 3 mins.
Facing a period of dark anxiety, a mother strives to be the light for her young child.