And the winners are…
BEST FILM OF THE FESTIVAL
Love | Homegrown | Jane Ashmore | UK | 19mins
very well made, beautifully played by Jules Robertson and Gemma Harvey with great use of Mike Skinner’s music
ANIMATION
Desk Defender | Animation, Student | Sebastian Soler | United States | 11mins
Fun, charming, well-thought-through and technically proficient feel-good stop-motion riff on sci-fi action and contemporary desk collectable culture
COMEDY
Dispensary of Death | Comedy | Simon O’Neill | Ireland | 14mins
the acting, script, direction, editing (comic timing in particular) and effects work were all of a very high standard
DOCUMENTARY
Ukraine’s Soul – A Tribute to Heroes | Documentary | Marcelle Abela | Malta | 13mins
This was an inspiring use of home shot video showing human perseverance to keep sone kind of normal in the utter chaos of life, the film comes to a crescendo of complete human compassion as violinists across the globe play together along side those in Ukraine
EXPERIMENTAL
SEE ME: A Walk Through London’s Gay Soho in 1994 and 2020 | Experimental | Lee Campbell | UK | 7mins
It is a true collage of sound and image, with an abstract continuity of the cassette/eyes. Although a personal history it is also a social one, but treated in an inventive and multi-layered technique
GREEN PLANET AWARD
HELP and Saved By Jane.
Help | Green Planet | Lesley Manning | UK | 2mins
Saved By Jane | Green Planet | Damian Sciberras | Malta | 6mins
HORROR/SUSPENSE
Odds | Horror/Suspense | A. D. Cooper | UK | 3mins
Beautifully simple, delivering everything you want from a horror short in just three minutes: interesting characters, a sense of tension, a comment on creepy male behaviour, a clever, nicely set up rug pull and a killer line of dialogue. Both performances very good too
HOMEGROWN
Love | Homegrown | Jane Ashmore | UK | 19mins
MUSIC VIDEO
NEOSHIN | Music Video, Student | Sebastian Selg | Germany | 4mins
The Blade Runner, science fiction look of the clip looks highly professional and involves skills that would surely be in demand by any of the major gaming developers. The perspective, movement and detail of the clip synch with perfection together with the music which is the key criteria for selection in the music video clip category
NARRATIVE DRAMA
Press Key 5 | Narrative Short | Lipa Hussain | UK | 10mins
Very truthful performances on a very sensitive subject matter
SCI-FI/FANTASY
Can’t Go Home Again | Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Anthony J. Cook | UK | 11mins
Nice concept, well-played, tautly directed, stripped-down production design that serves the narrative (wonderful use of the Thames Barrier) and an excellent standout lead performance from Victoria Smith that sells the whole thing
SMARTPHONE
Backbone of the Urals (Хребет Урала) | Smartphone | Mark Krivoshein | Russian Federation | 5mins
Beautifully shot, very impressive. Great music
STUDENT AWARD
All my life (Całe moje życie) | Student | Jędrzej Gorski | Poland | 18mins
AUDIENCE AWARD
Wolf |Narrative Short, Student | Nicolas Mouren | France | 20mins