WINNERS

Best Animated Film (Short) Winner

The Call

A phone call, a bathroom and a woman are at the intersection of the worlds.

Anca Damian

Best Cinematographer Winner

The Bird Catcher

On her attempt to flee the Nazi round-up in Norway, Esther finds herself alone, on an occupied farm forced to conceal her identity; leading to a series of choices and consequences which shift the paths of those around her. This story uncovers a hidden slice of history that grips at the heart and inspires us all at the deepest level.

Ross Clarke

Best Comedy Winner

Foreign

Ruby Welles (stand-up comedienne Suzi Ruffell in her acting debut) navigates the streets of London’s Soho, a first date, a secret struggle and the challenge of being a single thirty something lesbian buffeted by the sounds and bustle of the West End in Mark Pinkosh’s first film. With Jessica Murrain and Jenny Bede.

Mark Pinkosh

Best Danish Film Winner

Dream State

21-year-old director Asger Bartels’ self-financed, feature film-debut tells the story of the complexities of millennial coming-of-age through the eyes and lens of Louis (Karim Theilgaard). Following the death of his estranged father, the photographer Louis is left feeling he hasn't achieved as much in life as he had hoped for. He is still chasing the same dream of becoming a famous photographer but has been stuck working on the same project for many years. Louis’ girlfriend Rosa (Kimmie Falstrøm) tries to get Louis to snap out of it and grow up, but when old acquaintances make an appearance the night draws Louis back in.

Asger K. Bartels

Best Director Winner

I SEE

Nice, France. At dawn, Thomas, an incredulous young man, comes home late and drunk. His mother entrusts him with an important task. But when the time comes, he forgets to wake up.

Akaki Popkhadze

Best Director (Student) Winner

Dead Birds

A failing teenage badminton player at a Catholic Girls School is visited by a Saint – who agrees to help her if she'll complete three tasks for him. Dead Birds is a twisted Super Natural Black Comedy about competitive mother daughter relationships, losing your religion and learning how far you'd go to get what you want.

Johnny Kenton

Best Documentary (Student) Winner

Syria's Tent Cities

Many Syrian refugee children around the world don’t have access to a basic education, and this becomes a barrier to them growing up to be literate, self-sufficient, contributing members of their society. Some refugees are living illegally in neighbouring countries, while others have been resettled permanently halfway across the world in Canada. This film examines the lives of the Syrian refugees on both sides of the globe, as they slowly improve their situation through the efforts of two individuals who have dedicated their lives to making education and inclusivity a right for all Syrian children.

Mira Hamour

Best Documentary Director Winner

Life on a String

In the face of great sacrifice, two Los Angeles puppeteers refuse to give up their insatiable passion for their art. This short documentary peeks into the lives of two Los Angeles based puppeteers, Cain Carias and Gary Jones, who have dedicated their lives to their craft. Both men, Cain near the beginning of his career, Gary nearing its conclusion, seek validation and purpose in a world that seems to be leaving this ancient art form behind. As men of color, the two craftsmen yearn to use their art as a voice for their people. While they sometimes struggle to make the life of an artist work, they find humor, joy and ultimately peace when performing for an audience.

Jonatas da Silva

Best Drama (Short) Winner

Lift Share

Two strangers with broken family ties, meet online and share a road trip to the remote Outer Hebrides. Marina is a young Romanian woman, desperate to find her child, Murdoch, a Scottish musician, reluctant to return for his estranged father’s funeral. As they pass through the stark beauty of a landscape that mirrors their shared sense of isolation, bold shifts in timeframe reveal what each character imagines, hopes, or fears, they might do on reaching the islands. As they travel, these two strangers take the risk of sharing their innermost fears, opening up the possibility of a different future.

Virginia Heath

Best Editor Winner

Man of Circles

For Jakob only one thing is an absolute certainty: The book he is writing is going to change everything. But the pressure is overwhelming. And now, where his lost love, Laura, suddenly returns in his life, his perception of everything changes. The question is, can she end the circle?

Victor Chaos

Best Experimental Winner

Failing Up

“Failing Up” describes career advancement despite bad decisions, bankruptcies, and intellectual mediocrity. In this short film, the Manhattan real estate holdings of the King of Failing Up are catalogued and synced to a soundtrack that suggests how it feels to be one of his subjects. Whip pans, zooms, lens twists, and bursts of stop-frame animation transform eight minutes of borrowed audio from “Home Alone 2” (a film that features a cameo of the current U.S. President) into a political work of slapstique concrete.

Jacqueline S Goss

Best Feature Documentary Winner

Among Wolves

The Wolves are no ordinary biker club as revealed in this gorgeously shot, surprisingly intimate portrait of trauma and survival. Still struggling from the aftermath of the Bosnian War, this multi-ethnic club organizes charity for their small mountain town and defends the threatened herd of wild horses they first met on the frontline. It’s out there, with the horses, they confront their past and reclaim that territory as a space for healing.

Shawn Convey

Best Foreign Documentary Winner

Volar (Flying)

This film gathers nine survivors of gender violence, among whom there is an architect, a university professor, a cleaning lady and a student. They all share a weekend in the countryside, in the heart of the Basque Country. That is where we gather their testimonies, their conversations on their past of violence as well as a message of hope and their experience overcoming what they had gone through.

Bertha Gaztelumendi

Best Music Score Winner

Invaders

On Christmas Eve, a small UFO struggling find his place in the universe follows his two mischievous friend’s down to earth, whilst trying to impress and gain their acceptance he inadvertently changes Christmas forever.

Daniel Prince

Best Music Video Winner

Overwerk – Reign

The Reign film tells a tragedy, a gritty story of self-destruction; how the need for connection can also be the force driving others away. – We crave stability and fight for control, but our actions yield results diametric to our intentions. We might not relate to this character, but can all empathize with his experience… Every small town has it's dominance hierarchy; a social order with one despotic character reigning over their domain. In this story, it happens to be a guy who peaked early in life. He is unable to escape his bubble, stuck repeating the same cycle of destructive behaviours. – As those around him grow, all of his actions that once drew envy, now seem pitiful. He puts on an act, desperately trying to maintain his influence, but feels frustrated and trapped. – This feeling reaches a breaking point when he can no longer connect with family or friends.

Lasse Noer, Lasse Tvilum Toft

Best Screenplay Winner

Becoming

Becoming tells the story of women protecting themselves and their families against a group of supernatural beings who seem to have it in for the men of this town. Blood, guts and glory mark this feature as a classic horror film… with a feminist twist.

Best Short Documentary Winner

Lowland Kids

As climate change erases the Louisiana coast, the last two teenagers on Isle de Jean Charles fight to stay on an island that's been their family home for generations.

Sandra Winther

Best Short Film Winner

Tomatic

Three best friends, Jimmy, Samy and Sofi, have the trailblazing idea: to turn a chocolate dispenser into a pot-vending machine. Also, there’s a dog in the film.

Christophe Saber

Humanitarian Award Winner

Restoring Dignity

Noma is a gangrenous infection starting in the mouth caused by extreme poverty, malnutrition and poor hygiene. In just two weeks, it destroys the tissues of the face and might kill up to 90 percent of the people affected. The World Health Organization estimates it affects 140,000 people every year. At the Noma Hospital in Sokoto, Nigeria, disfigured survivors find a unique place to heal their wounds. Sakina is a little girl, Amina and Adamu are teenagers and Mulikat and Aliyu are adults who have lived for decades with the terrible physical and psychological consequences of noma. While they suffer from pain and discrimination, they are on a life-changing journey to overcome years of isolation. This documentary follows them over the course of a year.

Claire Jeantet, Fabrice Catérini

Special Mention Winner

A Thousand Ukuleles

A master luthier reflects on his life's work and legacy.

Rhys Edwards

Special Mention Winner

Roar

In the not-too-distant future, Lars and Mille are trying to start a family and seek treatment at a fertility clinic. Here they are offered genetically engineered super-sperm that will produce a flawless female child. Mille is dragged towards the new cynical world. This brave new world does not favour the ordinary man who is about to be extinct. Lars has to put up a fight for both becoming a father and for an even bigger cause.

Nikolaj Storgaard Mortensen