SPRING 2024 | Festival Laurels (all categories + nomination laurel + special mention laurel)
Jury Prize
Updates still coming!
FILM
Jury Prize
Winner: Open Your Eyes
“Bursting with strong cinematic design, Open Your Eyes is a marvel – an experience that will haunt and attract viewers into its mysterious dark gooey bits. Cinematography, acting and sound design are top draw here.”
Nominees: Unalome, Sham Love – Online Dating Ruse, Terrible, Project 405: Lost at Sea, Haunted
FILM
- Best Short Film made for less than $5,000
A QAnon Christmas – Nominated: Best Genre Film, Nominated: Best Short Film made for less than $5,000, Nominated: Best Editing – “A comical set up, and a blend of the Christmas film with comedy provides some great style to the film’s overall throwback style… which recalls Frank Capra.”
Will there be Dancing on Mars? – Nominated: Best Screenplay, Nominated: Best Actress (Sean Buckley) – “This simple dialogue lead film delights with strong character and impressive naturalism.”
Tierra del Fuego – Nominated: Best Cinematography, Nominated: Best Score – “This nature video reveals the damage of our changing climate, the brutalist images of the icy world. The sweeping shots are grand, and the music is impactful.”
An Anciet Evil – Nominated: Best Short Film made for less than $5,000, Nominated: Best Ensemble – “This period exercise would benefit a heap from a solid grade, as it looks very digital at the moment. Overall though, the locale and the style is a lot of fun, and recalls Hammer Horror – when they did period horrmedy.”
Terrible – Nominated: Best Short Film made for less than $5,000, Winner: Best Actress (Bear Thompson), Nominated: Best Actor (Oli Meredith), Winner: Best Screenplay – “Almost play like, this short film unfolds as a very intimate and authentic story about interpersonal relationships. The actors really help elevate it.”
Project 405: Lost at Sea – Winner: Best Short Film made for less than $5,000, Winner: Best Editing – “Like Vivarium, this sci fi romance becomes a horror show. Meticulous, and well executed on a tight budget, it will seep into your thoughts.”
Bloodline – Winner: Best Genre Film – “Leaning heavily into the subgenre of the action-vamp motif, Bloodline delivers great tone where other genre films miss.”
Haunted: Nominated: Best Short Film made for less than $5,000, Winner: Best Direction (tied), Winner: Best Ensemble Cast – “Blooming as a great ghost saga, this film boasts some impressive set pieces, production style and genre-specfic performances. It is great fun!”
Echo – Nominated: Best Actor (Michael Tait), Nominated: Best Direction, Nominated: Best Genre – “Echo treads where others dare not… it is impactful, memorable and stylish.”
Daniel Came Home – Nominated: Best Genre Film, Special Mention: Best Make-Up Effects – “A ghost returns… and a family’s trauma spills out. Its a well executed narrative which relishes its locales and internal meanings.”
- Best Short Film made for between $5,000-$10,000
Ramen Journey: Winner: Best Short Film made for between $5,000-$10,000, Nominated: Best Editing, Nominated: Best Score, Winner: Best Cinematography – “Slick and a whole lot of fun!”
- Best Short Film made for more than $10,000
Open Your Eyes – Winner: Best Short Film made for more than $10,000, Nominated: Best Direction, Nominated: Best Actress (Ella Loudon), Nominated: Best Cinematography, Nominated: Best Ensemble Cast, Winner: Best Score – “Sleep deprivation unlocks the feminine horror cycle. This new trope, which appeared in The Babaduck and Smile has finally landed in the realm of indie filmmaking… and it is a delight to hold.”
- Best Feature Film made for less than $5,000
Unalome – Nominated: Best Actor (Alakshendra Prabhakar), Winner: Best Direction (tied), Winner: Best Feature Film made for less than $5,000, Nominated: Best Score – “Unpacking the journey of a lost soul – Unalome carries a lot of style and slick production in delivery, despite a micro-budget. Very impressive and memorable.”
- Feature Film made for between $5,000-$10,000
No entries.
- Feature Film made for more than $10,000
Sham Love – Online Dating Ruse – Winner: Feature Film made for more than $10,000, Winner: Best Actor (John Ojeyemi), Nominated: Best Ensemble Cast, Nominated: Best Screenplay – “Produced with great style, and solid production quality. Some strong performances are in here too. ”
This is Now – Nominated: Best Genre Film, Nominated: Best Actor (Brad Cook) – “Comical, and reminiscent of John Landis’ films, this effort is a great comical exercise in caricatures.”
Saudi The Superhero – Nominated: Feature Film made for more than $10,000, Nominated: Best Editing – “A rare documentary in the indie scene – intimate, and large in scope.”
- Web series
The Gliwensbourg Chronicles – Season 1 – Winner: Best Webseries, Nominated: Best Ensemble Cast – “Produced with a slick high quality photography, and a strong sense of locale, this webseries forgets budget restrictions and reaches for the stars!”
SPECIAL MENTION
MUSIC VIDEO
- Best Music Video
Winner: I Wanna Run
“With a large scale production, I Wanna Run is an epic music video.”
Nominee: Lock the Door
- Best Cinematography
Winner: Fade
“Shot with some seriously talented gaffer work – the lighting is amazing.”
SCRIPT COMPETITION
- Best Character Arc
Winner: Shut Up & Swim
“Modern in its design, Shut Up and Swim finds a pleasure in the key component of character driven films: the arc – where the characters starts, and where they end up.”
Nominees: AT THE MERCY OF FAITH – Alternative Horror – “With strong character drive dialogue, this script excels in creating a world around its characters.”, Squeaky Clean – “Morals hang over characters who attemp to judge one another – here the personal becomes public as pressure from peers builds up. It’s exciting to read, and is a very actor friendly script.”, El Male – “Moving, memorable and impressive.”, Gary’s Game – “Intriguing, and detailed – with some interesting characterisations.”
- Best Genre Script
Winner: Aqualand
“Bursting with fun ideas – Aqualand is a new subgenre of horror subgenres… ‘the waterpark-dead-child-revenge theme’. The dialogue is comical and spot on in terms of tone.”
Nominees: AT THE MERCY OF FAITH – Terror Version – “A detailed tale of horror which explores genre in a strong tableaux.”, Hidden – “Intriguing, smart and full of fun enigma codes – Hidden uses genre to propel the audience into the cinematic delights of watching and trying to compile ideas and spaces.”, Midnight and Mushrooms: Troupe Mushroom Melon – “Comical, and full of rich characters, this script shines on its strong use of dialogue and interactions between different personalities.”
- Best Technique
Winner: Tangled Tails
“There is a strong understanding of film writing here. The text is clean and precise.”
Nominees: A Fresh Start – “This intimate drama is a great example of strong dialogue and interesting motifs for actors to explore.”, The Estate – “Written with care, The Estate poses many ideas and situation-based dilemmas… and manages to navigate them with some outstanding clarity.”
- Special Mention – Best Series
Winner: Midnight and Mushrooms: Troupe Mushroom Melon
“With a strong set of characters, Midnight and Mushrooms presents a small world of personalities we are bound to enjoy returning to. The main question is – how will the series expand? – and if there’s a mystery to be had.”