London: Britain's biggest and longest running short film festival, Encounters, the 12th Bristol International Short Film Festival (21 – 26 November, Watershed Media Centre), celebrated the very best in short film-making on Saturday evening (25th November) with the presentation of their 15 prestigious awards at a packed ceremony at Bristol's Watershed Media Centre.
The festival included workshops, Q&As and screenings of Lottery funded short films. UK Film Council short film schemes highlighted at the festival included Single Shot, Blank Slate, and Cinema Extreme, which are all supported by the UK Film Council's New Cinema Fund.
Award Winners
* ITV West Award recognises the wealth of talented film-makers in the region. This year's prize money went to Aardman Animations' The Adventures of Big Jeff: Bushcraft Alphabet, directed by Tom Parkinson, for his irreverent animated short starring 'Big Jeff', the 'Aussie with no cozzie'!
* UK Film Council Audience Award was won by The End of the Sentence directed by Marisa Zanoti (UK). Zanoti's black comedy was the people's choice as this award was voted for by the thousands of ticket-buyers who attended the festival.
Rebecca Mark-Lawson, executive producer of Lifesize Pictures, who manages the UK Film Council's short film scheme said: "Encounters this year offered a platform for a fantastic range of film-making talent, demonstrating the breadth and range of creativity in the world of short film. Encounters is a key event in the short film industry, always giving new talent an opportunity to gain exposure for their work".
* International Jury Award is given in recognition of outstanding quality and innovation and this year's prize was awarded to Czech film Tricko (The T-Shirt) directed and written by Hossein Martin Fazeli.
The award was presented by the international jury members, Christopher Olofsson (Programme Director for the Uppsala International Short Film Festival in Sweden) and Peter Ignacio (director of acquisitions from AtomFilms), who also gave honourable mentions to Rabbit by Run Wrake (UK) and Linerboard by Jens Jonsson (Sweden).
* South West Screen Audience Award celebrates the audience's favourite film from the South West and awards a cash prize, plus mentoring from an industry professional from the region. The winner was James Breese for his provocative and moving film Benjamin's Struggle.
* Best of British Award is a cash prize and this year's winner was the animated tour-de-force Dreams and Desires: Family Ties directed by Joanna Quinn (UK).
* DepicT!/Live Action Award (sponsored by Aardman, Films@59, Orange, LoveFilm.com and Arts & Business). DepicT! challenges film-makers to make a film in under 90 seconds. This year there were a record number of 370 entries from around the world from film-makers as far afield as Argentina, Iran, Sri Lanka, Australia, Italy, Hungary, Estonia, India and Mexico. This year's live action winner, And the Red Man Turned Green was directed by Ruth Meehan who won the cash prize plus a year's subscription to LoveFilm.com. www.depict.org
* DepicT!/Animation Award was given to popular choice Flighty by Leigh Hodgkinson, who also won cash and a free year's subscription to LoveFilm.com. Both awards were presented by DepicT! jury member director Damien O'Donnell (East is East).
* Orange DepicT! Audience Award was voted for online by visitors to the www.lovefilm.com and DepicT! websites, and via text for Orange customers. Audiences agreed with jury members and Leigh Hodgkinson's witty film, Flighty picked up a second award, a top of the range mobile handset and a second free membership to LoveFilm.com!
* BBC New Film-Makers Award (created by BBC Three and BBC New Talent) is a cash prize, which this year was given to CUBS, Tom Harper'sshocking short about urban fox hunting, which won from a field of over 350 entries. All the shortlisted films for this award will be transmitted on BBC Three on 8th December. www.bbc.co.uk/newtalent
* International Newcomer in Animation Award recognises originality and technical achievement and the cash prize was awarded to Claude Barras for his wonderful short The Genie in a Tin of Ravioli (Switzerland).
* NAHEMI/KODAK Prize for Creative Film-making was awarded to the hilarious and brilliantly edited With Dickinson and I directed by Miles Carter from the University of the West of England.
* NAHEMI/Cinematography Award was presented to Sadik Ahmed for his documentary short filmed in Bangladesh, Tanju Miah from the National Film and Television School.
* Cartoon D'Or Nomination. The British animation entry, which now goes forward for consideration for the prestigious European award was announced as Daniel Gray and Tom Brown'squirky student film t.o.m. produced at the University of Wales.
* animate! Artist Award, for innovation in manipulated image, was awarded to Empire directed by Edouard Salier (France). Jury member Philip Ilson (animate! coordinator and Halloween Film Festival director) who presented the award also made special mention of Guy 101 directed by Ian Gouldstone (UK).
* Cosgrove Hall Films Children's Jury Award was presented by award winning Cosgrove Hall animation director Barry Purves to Coucou Clock directed and animated by Audrey Fobis and Francois Cailleau (France).
For more information contact:
Chloe Lola Riess / Tina McFarling
UK Film Council Press Office
T: 020 7861 7901/ 7900
E: chloe.riess@ukfilmcouncil.org.uk /
tina.mcfarling@ukfilmcouncil.org.uk
Editors Notes:
Encounters is funded by: Bristol City Council, and South West Screen. Principal Sponsors: Cartoon Network, DreamWorks, EA Games, HP, MEDIA, Aardman Animations.
Partners: UK Film Council, (Lottery Funded), BBC Three, BBC New Talent, BBC Film Network.
Major Sponsors are: BBC Worldwide, Cosgrove Hall Films, Films @59, Film Four, HIT, Nickelodeon, University of Bristol, UWE (School of Art, Media & Design).
Sponsors: animate!, A Productions, Atom Films, BAFTA, Bristol Media, ITV West, Kodak, MTV Flux, NAHEMI, Nesta, Norwich Union, Performance Channel, Skillset, Skillset Screen Academy Wales, Solomon Hare, Slinky Pictures, TLT. Sponsors in kind: Cobra, Fed Ex, The Hospital, JTL Productions, Premier Travel Inn, Rushes, Tijuana Design, Visual Impact, Watershed, Wonky Films.
Media Partners: Imagine Magazine, Vertigo Magazine.
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