Rushes Soho Shorts are delighted to announce the winners and runners up for this year’s festival.
The 148 films that made up the festival’s Official Selection were whittled down from over 1200 pieces of work initially submitted to the festival, by 53 different countries. Those 148 films were viewed and reviewed by our category juries made up from a total of 120 long standing industry professionals and we’re very excited to now be able to reveal our category winners and runners up.
The 24 finalist films of 2011 are:
THE ANIMATION AWARD
WINNER
NOKIA ‘DOT’
Directed by Sumo Science at Aardman Animations
Dot is a tiny 9mm girl who wakes up in a magical, magnified world to discover her surroundings are caving in around her. She escapes the encroaching wave of destruction as her world unravels via a path made up of tiny, familiar objects. The film set a new world record for the smallest stop-motion animated character in a film.
RUNNERS UP
THE EAGLEMAN STAG
Directed by Mikey Please at The Royal College of Arts
Mikey Please’s BAFTA award winning short animation concerns itself with a botanist’s fear of the passage of time.
A MORNING STROLL
Directed by Grant Orchard at Studio AKA
Based loosely on a real life event recounted in Paul Auster’s brilliant book ‘True Tales or American Life’, Grant Orchard’s ‘A Morning Stroll’ tells the story of one New Yorker’s early morning encounter with a chicken, an event that plays out over 100 years.
THE SHORT FILM AWARD
WINNER
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
Directed by Michael Davies at Spellbound Films
Do you believe in love at first sight? When Arthur spots Ruth he knows in his heart that it’s true… This short film was made with the support of a Wellcome Trust People Award. It stars John Hurt and Phyllida Law.
RUNNERS UP
CAPTURING SANTA
Directed by Peter Cattaneo at Sprout Pictures
Irish comedian Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids) never liked Santa. His own childhood Christmas traumas inspire this urine-soaked tale of Yuletide treason.
COLOURBLEED
Directed by Peter Szewczyk at Light + Mathematics
A young girl, creative and idealistic, dreams of brighter days in a forgotten Eastern European city. Her fate is inextricably sealed when she crosses paths with a scheming, and enigmatic old woman, who harbours a dark secret. What seems like a small act of cruelty between strangers will fracture the very foundations of a city. In association with BBC Film Network and BBC HD.
THE INTERNATIONAL AWARD
WINNER
TWO LAPS
Directed by Owen Trevor at Lanky Boy and Luscious International
Val and Pete have been swimming together every morning for the past 17 years. Once a year, on the twelfth of June, they have a race: two laps, up and back.
RUNNERS UP
COCKRAOCH
Directed by Luke Eve at More Sauce
Cockroach is a romantic black comedy. When Charlie is accidentally run over by his own wedding car, he is given another chance at life. Reincarnated as a cockroach he does everything in his power to convince his grieving widow that he has returned. He must woo her back or risk losing her forever.
VIA GORI
Directed by George Barbakadze at Iluminar Pty ltd.
As Russian planes begin to bomb Georgia, a Russian woman and her daughter board a bus to escape – but will they be discovered? This film is based on the real events of summer 2008 – the war between Russia and Georgia over Georgia’s province of South Ossetia. The film’s writer and director was caught in the conflict in August of 2008 and had to flee the country under the Russian bombing of Gori, Tbilisi and nearby regions and towns.
THE LONG FORM AWARD
WINNER
RITE
Directed by Michael Pearce at Digicult
Mike takes his estranged son out for his birthday, desperate to prove he’s a reformed man. But drink and the simmering violence of match day threaten to bring out the worst in him.
RUNNERS UP
HERMANN
Directed by Hana Geissendorfer at GFF KG
Hermann is 67 years old and lonely. He does have Gloria – but she is only a budgie. Then he meets Jörg.
DEEPER THAN YESTERDAY
Directed by Ariel Kleiman at The Victorian College of the Arts
After three months submerged underwater, the men have become savages. Oleg fears that losing perspective may mean losing himself. Ariel Kleiman produces here a surprising short, shot on a submarine.
THE BROADCAST DESIGN AWARD
WINNER
THE CHASE – Venables and Bell and Intel
Directed by Smith & Foulkes at Nexus Productions
Nexus directors, Smith & Foulkes, have created a dynamic new spot for Venables and Bell and Intel’s incredible new Core i5 processor – a breakneck, all-action chase scene which is the perfect showcase for the new processor’s amazing capacity. Using a dynamic mix of live action and animation, Smith & Foulkes used every trick in the action movie book and got some hot insider tips from their DOP, Oliver Wood, of Bourne trilogy fame, to create this thrilling spot.
RUNNERS UP
AIDES ‘SMUTLEY’
Directed by Againstallods at Passion Pictures
Smutley is a happy cat because he’s got nine lives – but you only have one. This commercial is part of the AIDES ‘Protect Yourself’ campaign.
THIS UNPREDICTABLE LIFE – Honda
Directed by Smith & Foulkes at Nexus Productions
‘This Unpredictable Life’ is a breathtaking mix of volumetric lighting and magical particles bringing to life a beautiful fantasy world through which we take an amazing trip. Cleverly playing out the central premise of the ad, that life is an unknowable journey, the film combines simplicity and sophistication with an uncomplicated but engaging central character starkly contrasted against a series of deliciously complex and abstract backgrounds. Set to a cinematic poem, we follow our hero as he swoops and wheels through life’s journey.
THE MUSIC VIDEO AWARD
WINNER
ISLES – Little Comets
Directed by Aoife McArdie at Agile Films
Greasy spoons, caravan sites, grey skies, terraced backstreets, bordered-up shops, empty seaside towns and their inhabitants…. all painting a poetic if stark picture of modern Britain through the eyes of director Aoife McArdle. The project required a month of intensive research and a week of filming around the UK and Northern Ireland. Mixing genuine photojournalism with tilt- shift footage, every image tell its own poetic story of British idealism and loss. The overall effect is an emotional, evocative mini-epic.
RUNNERS UP
MARCHING SONG – Esben & The Witch
Directed by Peter King & David Procter at Agenda Collective
A hypnotic, visual exploration of physical degradation.
IRON – Woodkid
Directed by Yoann Lemoine at Caviar / HSI London
A stunning labour of love by director Yoann Lemoine for his own musical project, Woodkid. Yoann set out to make a statement about heroic fantasy – and months of hard work later “Iron” was completed. As well as composing, singing and directing, multi-talented Lemoine also had a hand in the editing and the 3D work. Models Agyness Deyn and Willy Cartier feature in this highly stylised, beautifully photographed and lovingly realised piece.
THE NEWCOMER AWARD
WINNER
WORSHIP
Directed by Calum MacDiarmid
Worship tells the disturbing story of a young man who dares to look deep into his own dreams to confront the oppressive religion of his father. Based on extracts from A Century of Insight by eminent psychotherapist Dr Derry Macdiarmid, the film explores the impact of Nietzsche, Freud and Jung on the mind of a young man struggling to keep the faith. A Century of Insight was Dr Macdiarmid’s life work, completed on his deathbed in 2005. The book brings the history of psychotherapy to life through the author’s own dreams and revelations. In Worship, Calum Macdiarmid translates his father’s vision into moving imagery, weaving together some of the most significant of those dreams and ending with the final, poignant words which were in reality his father’s last.
RUNNERS UP
GOD VIEW
Directed by Billy Lumby
From an unusual perspective, we follow Philip around his neighbourhood in Hackney, East London. He is mentally unwell and misses his wife and daughter very much.
STARCROSSED
Directed by Tactful-Cactus at Tactful-Cactus
A scientist, frustrated by his loneliness, sets about discovering an equation to locate the girl of his dreams. He spends a week embarking on a series of failed rendezvous, which only compounds his feelings of isolation. Despite these setbacks he’s determined to find her so he goes back to the drawing board. She has to be out there somewhere.
THE DOCUMENTARY AWARD
WINNER
PS YOUR MYSTERY SENDER
Directed by Benjamin Wigley at Artdocs & Scottish Documentary Institute
For the past 20 years Paul Smith the world renowned fashion designer from Nottingham has been receiving an avalanche of odd and quirky unwrapped objects which have had a remarkable effect on his life, and all have been sent from a Mystery Person. This film takes us on a ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ in and out of Paul Smith’s ‘fashion factory’, as we discover the secret behind his endless inspiration and worldwide success.
RUNNERS UP
SKATEISTAN: TO LIVE AND SKATE KABUL
Directed by Orlando Von Einsiedel at Grain Media
Skateistan: To Live And Skate Kabul is a beautiful and moving short film that follows the lives of two young skateboarders from Afghanistan who attend the Skateistan charity project. Juxtaposing the harsh reality of life in Kabul with the hopes and ambitions of the country’s children, the film is a touching ray of light from a country only ever in the news for all the wrong reasons.
MANUEL DE LOS SANTOS
Directed by Peter Montgomery
Manuel de los Santos is one of sport’s most inspirational figures. Growing up in the Dominican Republic, he played baseball from a young age and by 2003 was planning to turn professional. But a motorcycle accident changed his life forever when he lost his left leg above the knee. Following this accident, he moved to France and on seeing the film, ‘The Legend of Bagger Vance’, he was inspired to take up golf. Now 26 years old, Manuel lives in Paris and plays to a handicap of just three, competing in high profile tournaments all around the world. His extraordinary golf swing has become instantly recognisable. Peter Montgomery read about Manuel and his remarkable story at the end of 2009 and had the idea of making a film about him. This short documentary portrait is the result.
The festival is a non-profit event, taking place from 20th to 29th July, and is recognized as one of UK’s best Short Film Festivals, promoting filmmakers to the film, TV and commercial production industries with an equal focus on emerging and established talent. www.sohoshorts.com
