WINNERS

MONTH OF FEBRUARY

Vanity

A young performer is haunted by the appearance of an older woman in her dressing room mirror.

Best Director - Natasha Kinaru

Six Years Gone

Six years ago, single mother Carrie Dawson suffered every parent's worst nightmare. Now she seeks redemption.

Carrie, a thirty two-year-old single mum to daughter Lolly, is enjoying a comfortable existence in suburban Brighton. Living in a beautiful house that is being paid for by her wealthy ex-husband Dan, Carrie is back on the dating scene and enjoying life to the full. Then one afternoon her life crumbles into pieces. Her eleven-year-old daughter is snatched from outside the secondary school, thanks to Carrie’s mum Mary. The 65-year-old, unbeknown to Carrie, is suffering from early-onset dementia and forgets about the 3.15 school pick-up they’d arranged. Lolly has disappeared.

Six years on Carrie’s life has fallen into ruin. Her beautiful daughter has never been found. Gone are the nice house, the ‘school mum’ friends, and the regular money from Dan, to be replaced by a tiny flat, a life of poverty, and the daily heartbreak of caring for her terribly ill mother. All that drives Carrie on is the ever dwindling hope that her daughter may one day be found, and the Facebook page that she runs for parents of other missing kids.

Then one afternoon, following a chance meeting with a young woman outside the Social Club where she cleans, Carrie takes on an ‘escort’ client to earn some extra cash. As she begins her descent into the world of low-end sex work, her Facebook page throws up a post about a newly abducted girl that changes everything. As the astonishing clues start to come together about this little girl’s abduction, Carrie is about to put everything on the line to find her own daughter.

Six Years Gone is a gritty and powerful look and tragedy, love, and desperation, that will touch a nerve with all parents.

Best Film – Directed by Warren Dudley
Best Actor Lead (female) - Veronica Jean Trickett (Shared)

Capture

Bob who is a photographer owns a cursed
film camera, one day he developed the film in that camera
and notice that there is a monster shown on the image of
the film which he never saw something like this. In order
to find out the truth, he started his adventure.

Best Emerging Filmmaker – Yicheng Zhang

Descend

After the sudden death of her child, a woman with postpartum psychosis struggles to determine which, if any, of the dark thoughts in her head are real. Her family, close friend, and psychiatrist act as both support and as stumbling blocks as she battles to maintain her sanity.

Best Producer - Mark A. France, Troy Randall-Kilpatrick, Heather Fairbanks, Tricia L. France
Best Emerging Film maker - Mark A. France
Best Actor Lead (female) - Heather Fairbanks (Shared)

Do You Have A Wish

One day, a little girl missed her daddy a lot. She can't wait any longer and goes to meet him.

Best Emerging Film Maker – Olga Mikhaleva

Moira

The Moirae are at the table, in front of them lies a great banquet. Clotho is spinning with a wooden spindle; Lachesis is measuring the thread with her hands, and Atropos is cutting it with long scissors when they are interrupted by an omen that reveals a great event: the arrival of the crescent moon at nightfall. They prepare with a dance for the big event of the night.

Best Film - Directed by José Mauricio Aguirre
Best Cinematography -Daniel Torreón González
Best Art Direction - Jimena Torres, Karina García

Imaginary's Eyes

nna a professional photographer who was promoted to a great career, had been selected to participate in a famous photograph festival.
But her dreams were suddenly broken by an eye disease called glaucoma
Turning her brightness world into darkness.
Blind and desparate, to get through this awful situation, she was helped by Bruno her loving, devoted, husband and an association called "eyes of imagination" giving her hope and confidence to live her first passion once again.

Best Screenplay - Stéphane Parientitho

The Pillar Of Strength

When human beings value the life of nature, where they respect and learn from it, then it can strengthen the loving relationship between nature and human.

‘The Pillar of Strength’ is a wonderful story that touches on topics about family, natural relations and human identity as well as the patterns and culture of life in the Borneo archipelago.
This short animated film brings narrative storytelling in promoting cultural forms, life patterns and spiritual energy between human relationships with nature as well as unearthing the conflict of family relationships between a father and his son in recognizing the origin of their lineage. In addition, the film also brings the audience to an element of belief from generations that regard wildlife as a deity revered and elevated to its dignity.

Rentap is the son of an Iban tribal warrior in the Borneo archipelago where his father, Kanang was a respected warrior and held fast to the hereditary beliefs of his ancestors. When an accident occurred while hunting in the jungle, Rentap got the encouragement from the War God ‘Sengalang Burong’ who helped him identify his origins and led him to take responsibility as an Iban child who set an example to his people by holding the slogan ‘Agi Idup, Agi Ngelaban’.

Best Animated Short Film – Directed by Ayie Ibrahim

Shapeshifting Game

In many Filipino indigenous mythology and folklore shapeshifting is the ability to physically transform through an inherently superhuman and or divine spirit. Cruz explores and transforms into five different kinds of birds and uses Storytelling to convey his Asian Identity and struggles.

Leonard Arvisu Cruz– Honorable mention

Scrambled

MARSHALL (Don Most) is having a mid-life, mid-corona crisis. But is his therapist, Dr. BRANDSTEIN (Gail O'Grady) the perfect solution to all his problems?

Best Producer - Don Most, David Levin