Shipwreck wins at Glasgow

The Glasgow Short Film Festival has announced the award winners of the 2015 Scottish and International competitions, as well as the winner of the inaugural Channel 4 Award for Innovation in Storytelling.

CHANNEL 4 AWARD FOR INNOVATION IN STORYTELLING

Introduced for the first time this year, and supported by Channel 4’s Alpha Fund, the award carries a cash prize of £500. The jury comprised of Penelope Bartlett (Chicago Film Festival), MarBelle (Directors Notes) and Susie Wright (Channel 4) said the following:

The Winner of the 2015 Channel 4 Award for Innovation in Storytelling is Monkey Love Experiments (Dirs: Ainslie Henderson and Will Anderson, UK, 2014)

This intricate combination of stop motion, live action and 3D animation transported us into a singular, surreal environment. Seeing the world through the eyes of a confused - and somewhat deluded - primate, elicited deep emotional responses from the jury.

SCOTTISH COMPETITION

The Scottish Short Film Award is sponsored by Mother India and honours inspiration and innovation in new Scottish cinema. It carries a cash prize of £1,500. This year's jury was comprised of Scottish producer Wendy Griffin, US critic Kevin B. Lee and Spanish filmmaker and curator Jorge Rivero. They said the following:

The Jury gave q Special Mention to Cailleach (Dir. Rosie Reed Hillman, UK, 2014), a beautiful and moving portrait of an uncommon woman's self-determined way of life.

For revealing how the process of filmmaking can yield surprising discoveries and build extraordinary bonds within generations of a family, the Winner of the 2015 Scottish Short Film Award is Directed By Tweedie (Dir. Duncan Cowles, UK, 2014)

The Scottish Audience Award went to Dropping off Michael (Dir. Zam Salim, UK, 2014).  Zam will be invited to make the GSFF16 festival trailer.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

Named in honour of Scotland’s greatest filmmaker, the Bill Douglas Award for International Short Film is awarded to the film that in the view of the jury best reflects the qualities found in the work of Bill Douglas: honesty, formal innovation and the supremacy of image and sound in cinematic storytelling. The award carries a cash prize of £1,200.

This year's jury was comprised of Christoffer Olofsson (Uppsala International Short Film Festival, Sweden), Olha Reiter (Lviv International Short Film Festival Wiz-Art, Ukraine) and British filmmaker Daniel Wolfe. The jury stated that:

The winning film has cohesion of form and content, offering a hypnotic meditation on grief and injustice, without ever feeling exploitative. It is an immediate and devastating document of the here and now, while also immersive and timeless cinema that made us feel, think and discuss.

The winner of the 2015 Bill Douglas Award for International Short Film is Shipwreck (Dir. Morgan Knibbe, The Netherlands, 2014)

The International Audience Award went to World of Tomorrow (Dir. Don Hertzfeldt, USA, 2014)

2015 has been a bumper year for the festival. They experienced multiple sell-outs and unprecedented capacity audiences for large scale events Vertical Cinema, Strange Electricity and A Wall Is A Screen, the last of which saw 600 people watching films in several unexpected city-centre locations. Guests attended from across Europe and the USA, and the festival also saw an increase in international industry delegate attendance.

19 March 2015, by Laurence Boyce