After six days of screenings, Aspen Film announced the winners of the 20th Anniversary Aspen Shortsfest. The Awards Ceremony was held last evening at Rustique Bistro. Recognized by indieWIRE as one of the world’s top-50 leading film festivals, Aspen Shortsfest is widely renowned as a premier North American showcase for short film and video.
The festival’s centerpiece, the Oscar®-qualifying International Competition, reflected the incredible diversity and creativity of today’s short films – whether drama, comedy, animation, or documentary. Nearly 3,300 short films from around the world were considered, indicating a twenty percent increase over last year. Ultimately, 79 short films representing 30 countries were selected for this year’s eleven International Competition programs. The slate included 15 world premieres, two international premieres, and ten North American premieres.
“I had always heard about Shortsfest throughout my years in film school and dreamt that one day I would have my own short considered – let alone accepted. It was truly surreal and quite the honor to spend a week with so many intelligent and interesting people from the film community,” UK filmmaker Sasha Collington (LUNCH DATE) commented. “I can honestly say it was the best program of shorts that I have ever seen.”
Each year, Aspen Shortsfest provides a unique opportunity for filmmakers and audiences to interact and connect. Over 60 filmmaker guests from the United States, Australia, and Europe traveled to Aspen to participate in public screenings, in-depth Q&A’s, school education programs, and special events. Attendance increased over ten percent with close to 3,500 festivalgoers enjoying screenings at the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen and the Crystal Theatre in Carbondale. The jury was comprised of a diverse and talented group of comedy writers and awarded cash and prizes in several categories.
“It’s hard to distill what I most love about Aspen Shortsfest, because it has so much going for it. Anyone who’s attended knows that it’s not a wheeling-dealing sort of festival, although many filmmakers’ careers have received a helpful boost by their presence here,” commented jury chair Robert Weide. “But Shortsfest is above all, a festival for film lovers, put on by film lovers. The variety and quality of the work that shows here never ceases to amaze me. As a returning jury member, I always find it curious when the organizers thank me for attending, since I’m the one who’s always grateful to spend a week among some of the friendliest people and best films I’m likely to encounter all year.”
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION JURY AWARDS
BEST ANIMATION* $2,500
ABUELAS (GRANDMOTHERS)
(Afarin Eghbal, UK)
BEST COMEDY* $2,500
A CURIOUS CONJUNCTION OF COINCIDENCES
(Joost Reijmers, Netherlands)
BEST DOCUMENTARY $2,500
ELLIOTT ERWITT: “I BARK AT DOGS”
(Douglas Sloan, USA)
BEST DRAMA* $2,500
SUPERMAN, SPIDERMAN OR BATMAN
(Tudor Giurgiu, Romania)
BEST SHORT SHORT* $1,000
THE CENTRIFUGE BRAIN PROJECT
(Till Nowak, Germany)
BEST STUDENT FILM $1,000
FIRST MATCH
(Olivia Newman, USA)
* Academy Award qualifying category
SPECIAL JURY RECOGNITION
EVEN GODS
(Phil Harrison, UK/Ireland)
FLOYD THE ANDROID: TELEPORTER + DIM BULB
(Jonathan Lyons, USA)
LUNCH DATE
(Sasha Collington, UK)
MR. CHRISTMAS
(Nick Palmer, USA)
OCHRE AND INK
(James Bradley, Australia)
OUT OF ERASERS
(Erik Rosenlund, Denmark/Sweden)
AWARDS DETERMINED BY OTHER JURIES
THE ELLEN $2,500
ARMADINGEN
(Philipp Kässbohrer, Germany)
YOUTH JURY PRIZE $500
AS YOU WERE
(René Frelle Petersen, Denmark)
BAFTA LA SHORT FILM PRIZE
SUPERMAN, SPIDERMAN OR BATMAN
(Tudor Giurgiu, Romania)
BAFTA LA CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE
ARMADINGEN
(Philipp Kässbohrer, Germany)
BAFTA LA CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE
AS YOU WERE
(René Frelle Petersen, Denmark)
THE ALLEGIANCE THEATER EMERGING FILMMAKER AWARD
THE CHAIR
(Grainger David, USA)
AUDIENCE AWARD $500
SAVING FACE
(Daniel Junge + Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Pakistan/USA)
AUDIENCE SPECIAL RECOGNITION
FRIEND REQUEST PENDING
(Chris Foggin, UK)
OCHRE AND INK
(James Bradley, Australia)
OUT LIVING IT
(Michael Brown, USA)
WE LOVE OUR CLIENTS
(Beppe Tufarulo, Italy)
Complete descriptions of films screened during Aspen Shortsfest 2012 are available at www.aspenfilm.org.
Aspen Shortsfest 2012 Sponsors: The City of Aspen, Les Dames d’Aspen, The Aspen Times, Aspen Public Radio, Stella Artois, The Hotel Jerome, Sky Hotel.
Aspen Shortsfest 2012 Media Partners: 303 Magazine, Aspen Daily News, Denver Westword, Jack FM, KDNK, KSNO/KUUR, KSPN, Plum TV, Radio 1190, SKOLLIE ASPEN, and Yelp.com.
About Aspen Film
Established in 1979, Aspen Film is one of Colorado’s most active film arts organizations, presenting dynamic programs and featured guest artists throughout the year. Internationally recognized, Aspen Film organizes a major film event in every season, along with an extensive education program: Aspen Filmfest, Academy Screenings, Aspen Shortsfest, and Film Educates. With a mission to enlighten, enrich, educate, and entertain through film, Aspen Film stimulates thought, encourages dialogue, and broadens understanding of our world and ourselves through the diverse spectrum of ideas presented by filmmakers worldwide. To learn more, visit www.aspenfilm.org.
