The Super Shorts New York Film Festival kicked off its very first edition last week with three screening nights and a total of 37 short films, hailing from around the globe. The festival was happy to see a great turnout at their screening location, Brooklyn arthouse theater Film Noir Cinema, with two fully sold out evenings.
The festival is pleased to share with you today the winners of its inaugural edition. A special thank you to this year's jury members Stephen Donovan, Iva Gocheva, Priyanka Das and the international online jury members.
Best Narrative Film: TENDER AGE (France) by Julien Gaspar-Oliveri. “Sixteen-year-old Diane lives exclusively in the eyes of her mother, Sophie. Their symbiotic relationship is becoming more and more cumbersome for the teenager.”
Best Documentary Film: HOTEL STADT ALTONA (Germany) by Sophia Schachtner. “The team at Hotel Stadt Altona wishes you a warm welcome and a pleasant stay.”
Best Experimental Film: EMPTY STATES (U.K.) by Jola Kudela. “Part of 'The World is a Vibration' series, in which neo-classical and progressive sounds of female musicians will take you on a journey through different imaginary landscapes and spaces. Kudela sees music as created by the cosmic vibration of the world that enters the microcosm of a musical instrument. The two worlds coexist and interlace between each other.”
Best Animated Film: FOSSIL (Belgium) by Anton Cla. “An old man's vision of a drowning world is clouded. He decides to take radical actions inflicting damage to his surroundings. Instigating a self-destructive chain of events, coming from the dark abyss of his subconsciousness.”
Best Underground Film: SPONTANEOUS (U.S.) by Lori Felker. “You never know when someone is miscarrying; it could be happening right next to you.”
Best Music Video: OPHELIA (France) by Hadi Moussally. “A tribute to the Pre-raphaelite brotherhood by telling the story of the creation of some of the most famous paintings, especially the most known "Ophelia" by Sir John Everett Millais.”
Best NY Film: LAST DAY (Taiwan) by New York–based filmmaker Szu-Wei Chen. “As work continues on the border wall, a Chinese sex worker gets surprising news from her visiting lover.”
Best Super Short Film: 2020 (U.S.) by Tom Bessoir. “A film for 2020, a year to remember. 2020 different colors create a flicker film. Music by Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth).”
With annual film festivals in New York, London and Los Angeles, Super Shorts Film Festival highlights independent short film talent from around the globe. Talent Circle in London founded the Super Shorts International Film Festival in 2003, to focus explicitly on short films in all its forms and shapes. In its original incarnation, the festival came to an end in 2014. Inspired by that original movement, the Super Shorts Film Festival London was revived in 2018 at the Stephen Street location of the British Film Institute, and continued to emphasize lesser known, vanguard cinematic works and further its tradition of galvanizing budding talent. This year, under the wings of Cinematory LLC, Super Shorts Film Festival brought to life two new festivals at new exciting locations. The first edition of Super Shorts Los Angeles will be taking place this week, from December 7-9, at the prestigious Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in West Hollywood.
Super Shorts Film Festival creates an intimate atmosphere and space for unique visionaries and voices. True to their history, the different festivals screen films of both novices and veterans—with medium and low budgets—from all over the globe. Super Shorts Film Festival's goal is to create a warm, open atmosphere in which filmmakers, fans, critics, and producers can watch the films of emerging talents, explore new cinematic techniques and styles, and award cinematic excellence.
Via Super Shorts New York Film Festival, 6 December 2021
