An international festival is all about celebrating other cultures and this year we were excited to present our first Country Highlight, a screening dedicated to films made in, by or about Mexico! We also tried out a hybrid format, with two weeks of on-demand content in addition to our regular live (streamed) screenings.
This festival delivers what filmmakers expect to see from a festival. The organizing committee did a great job of offering, not only screening of the selected films, but they had networking opportunities for filmmakers to connect with each other virtually. Screening fees for selected films are also a bonus. As of this year, you can even add your nominations and awards on IMDb. This is a festival you want to be a part of.
– Darrell Portz
Award Winners
Boje
Best Picture
Directors: Andreas Cordes, Robert Köhler
Best Animation
Best Animation
Animation: Sylvain Cuvillier, Chloé Bourdic, Théophile Coursimault, Noémie Halberstam, Maÿlis Mosny, Zijing Ye.
Ian, a Moving Story
Audience Choice
Director: Abel Goldfarb
Boys Don't Cry
Documentary
Director: Bobbie Faren Müller
Best Seller
Best Screenplay
Screenplay: Paulo García Conde
Thunder From A Clear Sky
Best Editing
Editor: Alexandra Knusmann
Ria
Best Art Direction
Art Direction: Martha Funke
Moon Drops
Best Cinematography
Cinematographer: Tobias Hochstein
Mars Colony
Best Performance
Performance: Theo Van de Voorde
M.A.M.O.N. (Monitor Against Mexicans Over Nationwide)
Visual Effects
Visual Effects: Marcelo Torterolo and Luis Eduardo Ambriz
Vincent Before Noon
Best Overall Sound
Sound: RAPHAËL BIGAUD, MATTHIEU DALLAPORTA and FLORENT VRAC
48-Hour Challenge Winners
The Heist
Audience Choice
Team: Ookotoks
The Heist
Best use of line
Team: Ookotoks
Time Loop Tech: Security System of the Future
Comedy
Team: Dapper Ghost Studio
Borrowed Ice
Best picture
Team: Maple Studios
The I'cest
Best use of genre
Team: Social Skeleton
Ice Ice Maybe
Best use of prop
Team: Glasshouse Pictures
2021 Feature Films
Jasmine Road
Canada
Director: Warren Sulatycky
Nomination: Best Picture, Performance
John, 316
Canada
Director: JarvisG
The Great Fear
Director: Iain Laird
STAND STRONG
Japan
Director: Hisashi Kikuchi
Country Highlight: Mexico
Captain Justice
Mexico
Director: Efrén Alberto López Legarra
The Station
Mexico
Director: Alan V. Markakis
M.A.M.O.N. (MONITOR AGAINST MEXICANS OVER NATIONWIDE)
Uruguay
Director: ALEJANDRO DAMIANI
Nomination: Visual Effects
Hacked
Canada
Director: Erick Delgado
WHY KILL THEM?
Mexico
Director: LUDOVIC BONLEUX
Nomination: Documentary
COFFEE IN THE MORNING
Mexico
Director: ROGELIO RODRíGUEZ
LEITMOTIV
Mexico
Director: NaMiguel Ángel Ocaña Contrerasme
Nomination: Editing
I THOUGHT YOU WERE NOT GOING TO WAIT FOR ME
Mexico
Director: Franco Acosta
General Reels
ONE
Spain
Director: JAVIER MARCO RICO
Night on Fire
Czech Republic
Director: Martin Kuba, Eva Josefikova
Nomination: Art Direction
THUNDER FROM A CLEAR SKY
Canada
Director: YOHAN FAURE
Nomination: Editing
THE CAMEL BOY
France
Director: CHABNAME ZARIÂB
Applebaum
United States
Director: Edward Loupe
Nomination: Performance, Screenplay
A New Leash On Life
Canada
Director: Daniel Jeffery
I AM NAKED
France
Director: ALEXANDRA MIGNIEN
Thin Ice
France
Director: Pauline Epiard, Valentine Ventura, Tiphaine Burguburu, Clémentine Vasseur, Lisa Laîné, Élodie Laborde
Boje
Germany
Director: Andreas Cordes, Robert Köhler
Nomination: Best Picture
ARCHIBALD'S SYNDROME
France
Director: DANIEL PEREZ
Nomination: Art Direction
Tulsa
Iran
Director: Seyyed Parviz Shojaei
Going Down Alone
Italy
Director: Michele Bizzi, Claudia Di Lascia
Nomination: Cinematography
AN EXCEPTIONAL DAY
France
Director: CEDRICK SPINASSOU
SJAAK'S WIFE DIED, SO NOW HE NEEDS TO SAY SOMETHING
Netherlands
Director: EVA M. C. ZANEN
Ria
Germany
Director: Dennis Baumann
Nomination: Best Picture, Art Direction
A Gourd-Head's Lessons in Humanity
Canada
Director: Shawna Koski
Nomination: Animation
27 marzo 2020 (Sub Eng) / 2020 March 27
Italy
Director: Alessandro Haber
Best Seller
Spain
Director: Max Lemcke
Nomination: Screenplay
GAME
United States
Director: JEANNIE DONOHOE
TwistedReels
Attack of the Killer Scarecrow
Canada
Director: Octavian Kaul
Family
Spain
Director: Iván Molina Jiménez
Solipsism
Canada
Director: Callum Leblanc
Love, Death and Tomatoes
Turkey
Director: Tuğba Erdem
Rationale
Canada
Director: C. Blake Evernden
Clout
Canada
Director: Ariel Hansen
Nomination: Visual Effects
Replica
Spain
Director: Álvaro de la Hoz
Nomination: Overall Sound, Cinematography
Grave Sight
Canada
Director: Angus Swantee, Walter Forsyth
KinderReels
7th Floor
France
Director: Clémentine Laurent, Angela Cicatello, Marine Lorent
The Healing Dance
Canada
Director: Shaelyn Johnston
The Ribbon
United States
Director: Polla-Ilariya Kozino
A Tiny Tale
France
Director: Sylvain Cuvillier, Chloé Bourdic, Théophile Coursimault, Noémie Halberstam, Maÿlis Mosny, Zijing Ye
Nomination: Overall Sound, Animation
Operation: Clean Slate
Canada
Director: Jayson Therrien
TALENT SCOUT
Spain
Director: JOSÉ HERRERA
IAN, A MOVING STORY
Argentina
Director: ABEL GOLDFARB
Documentaries
Garden Shark: there are some things dementia can't touch
Canada
Director: Anna Cooley and Dawn Nagazina
Nomination: Documentary
Beyond the glacier
Spain
Director: Jorge Rivero González
Boys don't cry
Denmark
Director: Bobbie Faren Müller
Nomination: Documentary
SPOKO (THE BLIND FOOTBALL COACH)
South
Director: WIM STEYTLER
DREAM/LIFE
Germany
Director: DAVID AUFDEMBRINKE
Nomination: Editing
Zero Altitude
Netherlands
Director: Castor Sprado
On Demand
Ghetto Uprising- The Untold story
Israel
Director: Yuval Haimovich Zuser, Simon Shechter
Lila
Spain
Director: Lamberto Guerra
That Was Awesome!
United States
Director: Arlen Konopaki
Vincent before Noon
France
Director: Guillaume Mainguet
Nomination: Overall Sound
Shift
Canada
Director: Chen Sing Yap
Mars Colony
France
Director: Noel Fuzellier
Nomination: Performance, Screenplay
Moon Drops
Israel
Director: Yoram Ever-Hadani
Nomination: Cinematography