Adrian Sitaru’s Art triumphs at Leeds International Film Festival

Adrian Sitaru’s clever deconstruction of filmmaking Art (reviewed by Cineuropa here) has won the top prize at the Leeds International Film Festival over the past weekend.  The film gained the Louis Le Prince award for Best International Short which comes with the possibility of qualifying for an Academy Award. Special mentions went to the Israeli short Greenland (Dir. Oren Gerner) and Portuguese film Chorus (Dir. Tiago Guedes)

In the Animation category, the top prize went to Dame Mit Hund (Walk The Dog) by Sonja Rohleder, a short and snappy film from Germany about a woman who walks her dog in the park and meets someone should would much rather avoid.

Over in the festival’s British film selection, the big winner was Scottish film Exchange & Mart, (Dirs. Cara Connolly & Martin Clark). The film, about sex and longing in a girls boarding school, has already had a strong year screening at the likes of Sundance and the Berlinale.

The jury was made up of Tony Donoghue (filmmaker), Anna Veilande – Kustikova (programme director of 2Annas International Film Festival), Mat Kirkby (filmmaker), Francis Lee (filmmaker) and Kate Sullivan (filmmaker).

The Leeds International Film Festival continues until 20^th November. The audience awards are still to be announced.