Five shorts earned Oscar-qualifying wins at the Aspen Shortsfest International Competition: Dissonance, from Germany’s Till Nowak, which toped the Animation category; Two Dosas, directed by Sarmad Masud of the UK, which was named Best Comedy; The Champion, a U.S. entry which garnered Best Documentary distinction for Patrick McGowan and Brett Garamella; Shok, winner of Best Drama for Jamie Donoughue of the UK and Kosovo; and The Girlfriend Experience, named Best Short Short, from Mark Kunerth of the U.S. Each winner received a $2,500 prize–except for the Best Short Short honoree who was awarded $1,000.
Best Drama honoree Shok also won Audience Special Recognition and Youth Jury Prize Awards at the overall Aspen Shortsfest.
Aspen Film, a year-round film arts and education organization, announced and honored the winners of the Shortsfest International Competition during an awards ceremony on Sunday, April 12, after six days of screenings.
The Oscar-qualifying International Competition, reflected the incredible diversity and creativity of today’s short filmmaking in drama, comedy, animation and documentary. Over 3,100 submissions from around the world were considered, and 70 short films, representing more than 30 countries–over a third of them premieres–were ultimately selected for this year’s International Competition.
“What I love about Shortsfest is that, through the work of talented filmmakers, it opens windows into the rapidly changing world of international cinema. This is my second tour as a member of the jury, and I’m honored to be here,” said Elias Davis, International Competition jury member and award-winning comedy screenwriter. Other members of the jury included Lisa Kennedy (Denver Post film and theater critic), Kevin Ott (communications director for the Writers’ Guild Foundation) and Laurence Andries (screenwriter).
Over 50 international film guests from a dozen countries traveled to Aspen to participate in public screenings, in-depth conversations, and informal networking opportunities. Shortsfest also hosts a significant education component in which over 1,800 students and teachers from over a dozen schools and youth arts programs participated.
Here’s a full rundown of 2015 Aspen Shortsfest winners:
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION JURY AWARDS
BEST ANIMATION $2,500
DISSONANCE
(Till Nowak, Germany)
BEST COMEDY $2,500
TWO DOSAS, North American Premiere
(Sarmad Masud, UK)
BEST DOCUMENTARY $2,500
THE CHAMPION, World Premiere
(Patrick McGowan and Brett Garamella, USA)
BEST DRAMA $2,500
SHOK, World Premiere
(Jamie Donoughue, UK/Kosovo)
BEST SHORT SHORT $1,000
THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE, World Premiere
(Mark Kunerth, USA)
BEST STUDENT FILM $1,000
Sponsored by KQED
MEND AND MAKE DO
(Bexie Bush, UK)
BEST SHORT SHORT $1,000
THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE, World Premiere
(Mark Kunerth, USA)
SPECIAL JURY RECOGNITION
DE SMET
(Thomas Baerten and Wim Geudens, Belgium/Netherlands)
LISTEN
(Hamy Ramezan and Rungano Nyoni, Denmark/Finland)
LUCY
(Zoe Lubeck, USA)
RABBIT
(Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, France/USA)
RUN FAST
(Anna Musso, USA)
WE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT COSMOS
(Konstantin Bronzit, Russian Federation)
AWARDS DETERMINED BY OTHER JURIES
AUDIENCE AWARD $500
HOW I DIDN’T BECOME A PIANO PLAYER
(Tommaso Pitta, UK)
AUDIENCE SPECIAL RECOGNITION
SHOK, World Premiere
(Jamie Donoughue, UK/Kosovo)
THE ELLEN $2,500
BOOGALOO AND GRAHAM
(Michael Lennox, UK)
YOUTH JURY PRIZE $500
SHOK, World Premiere
(Jamie Donoughue, UK/Kosovo)
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More