Festival Laurels (all categories + nomination laurel + special mention laurel)

Jury Prize

Winner:Charlie by Nicole Field

“A personal film which carefully navigates the internal turmoils of Charlie’s personal life and the personal dynamics she shares with her boyfriend. This is an inviting film – one which relishes the audience being involved, rather than just a bystander.”

Nominees: Imbalance Love, Hero, FOLD, Guilt, Forest of Echoes

FILM

• Best Short Film made for less than $5,000

The Cleaner – Winner: Best Cinematography – “This film has a great delicate use of light, which is quite amazing.”, Nominated: Best Actor – Stephen Opoku-Asamoah, Nominated: Best Director

Mustafa – Nominated: Best Short Film made for less than $5,000, Nominated: Best Ensemble Cast

Guilt – Nominated: Best Cinematography, Nominated: Best Music

Departures – Nominated: Best Screenplay, Nominated: Best Editing, Nominated: Best Ensemble Cast

The Reprisal – Nominated; Best Genre Film

Perpetuum Mobile – Nominated: Best Screenplay, Nominated: Best Director, Winner: Best Ensemble Cast – “A genuine feeling of balance exists between these performances. It is great.”

Dive – Nominated: Best Cinematography, Nominated: Best Actor – Marc Ewins, Nominated: Best Short Film made for less than $5,000, Winner: Best Screenplay (tied) – “A fantastic level-headed script.”

CRUSH TEST – Nominated: Best Genre Film

Forest of Echoes – Nominated: Best Director

Score – Nominated: Best Ensemble Cast – “A great blend of characters live in Score!”

Road to Nowhere – Nominated: Best Short Film made for less than $5,000

The Ballad of Bobby Shine – Nominated: Best Genre Film, Nominated: The Ballad of Bobby Shine

Always Allison’s – Winner (tied): Best Screenplay – “A great blend of characters and genre specific neurotic behaviour.” 

RAGE – Nominated: Best Cinematography 

Hero – Nominated: Best Actor (Lead), Nominated: Best Screenplay, Nominated: Best Director, Winner: Best Short Film made for less than $5,000 – “Intimate and yet somehow large-scale in the basis of its impact a single choice can have on several lives… overall, it is moving and impressive.” 

FOLD – Winner: Best Genre Film – “Easy to watch – which is spot on for its genre, constantly comical with some strong interpersonal stakes… until it isn’t funny (as intended)… ultimately memorable.”

Imbalanced Love – Winner: Best Actor – Wenbo Zhu – “Impressively delivered, Zhu is a great screen presence.”, Nominated: Best Director

• Best Short Film made for between $5,000-$10,000

Suicide Platoon: The Minefield – Winner: Best Short Film made for between $5,000-$10,000 – “Some great production values are featured in this film.”

• Best Short Film made for more than $10,000

Charlie – Nominated: Best Screenplay, Winner: Best Actress – Mikhala Hoffman – “Hoffman is instantly engaging and memorable.”, Nominated: Best Actor – Mikhala Hoffman

Come to Me – Nominated: Best Music

The Last President – Nominated: Best Music

Older Self – Winner: Best Music, Winner: Best Director – “Older Self excels where many short films fail: that being, it is a story that fits this runtime… but also comes perfectly carved to suit it. This is quite an impressive project!”, Nominated: Best Actor – Tom Michaels

• Best Feature Film made for less than $5,000

Red Wins – Nominated: Best Feature Film made for less than $5,000, Nominated: Best Genre Film

Kanavar – Nominated: Best Feature Film made for less than $5,000, Nominated: Best Editing, Winner: Best Actor – Aurelian Barbieru – “A strong performance lies here with Barbieru, whose work is impressionable.”

Dead, White and Blue – Winner: Best Editing – “What a fascinating maze of images and ideas compiled from public domain content.”

• Feature Film made for between $5,000-$10,000

Not enough entries to run this category.

• Feature Film made for more than $10,000

Not enough entries to run this category.

• Web series

Baby – Nominated: Best Actress

SPECIAL MENTION 

Kanavar – Winner: Bora Oezcan – Best Experimental Film – “Daring and challenging, Kanavar is memorable.”

Solar Neighbour – Winner: Best Animation – “Bizarre and dreamlike.”

MUSIC VIDEO

Best Music Video

Winner: Still Here – “With a great spirit, Still Here delivers a great sense of community and the importance of communication… all the while being a very well executed music video.” 

Nominees: Buy My Stuff!, Come to Me

Best Cinematography

Winner: Blood On your Teeth – “This feels like one hell of a thrill ride thanks to its visuals!”

Nominees: Flesh Wish, By Her Side

SCRIPT COMPETITION

• Best Character Arc

Winner: Stephanie Dellacosta

“Bursting with energy and character – Stephanie Dellacosta is a great, exciting read with an interesting character arc that many actors would relish.”

Nominated: The Tree With No Heart, VOODOO VALENTINOS, The Babysitter Slasher, Black Diamonds

• Best Genre Script

Winner: The Grateful Dead Squad

“Jumping between genres, The Grateful Death Squad comes loaded as an experience that would be a lot of fun if it were put on the screen!”

Nominees: Serving Justice,  VOODOO VALENTINOS, Red in the Wood, ESCAPE FROM SAMSARA, Mimic Men, Two Max

• Best Micro Budget Script

Winner: Hamzaad- The Same Born

“Written with clarity and a moderate budget – this is a great script for a micro production.”

Nominees: The Babysitter Slasher

• Best Technique

Winner: Serving Justice (tied)

“Concise, inventive and entertaining.” 

Winner: The Weekend (tied)

“A tender script that comes loaded with a lot of artistic value. This would be an emotionally moving film.”

Nominees: VOODOO VALENTINOS, Stephanie Dellacosta, Gale – Yellow Brick Road, The Doppel®️ Effect

• Special Mention – Best Concept

Winner: Max Two

“Original, and verging on the flavouring of Martin Amis’ short fiction.”