Winners 2020

Drama

Refugee: A Syrian doctor and her young daughter flee in an attempt to escape their war-torn homeland.

[Director: Brandt Andersen, Country: USA, Duration: 23:00]

Animation

The Bird & the Whale: A young whale struggling to find his voice strays from his family to explore a shipwreck. Meeting its sole survivor, a caged songbird, together they struggle to survive lost at sea.

[Director: Carol Freeman, Country: Ireland, Duration: 7:03]

Documentary

The Power of Beauty: The Power of Beauty - part of the feature-length documentary Tomorrow and the Butterfly - follows two students, their tears and resilience on the days leading up to their graduation from the Kate Korpi Academy, a high end salon in Cambodia educating sex traffic survivors and the country’s underprivileged youth.

[Director: Alessandro Soetje, Producer: Davines, Country: Italy, Duration: 20:46]

Comedy

Oddly Popular: Four fortuneless females already have a hard time navigating daily life; however, their lives take an unexpected turn when an accidental text lands them their own reality show.

[Director: Fred Gallo, Country: USA, Duration: 27:27]

Sci-Fi/Horror

Just A Moment: A Chinese hand cream promoter’s life turns upside down when a passerby demands he be given back the minute wasted listening to the worthless advertisement.

[Director: ZheShe, Country: Russia, Duration: 10:00]

Experimental

Huo Zhe: “HuoZhe" translates to the word "living" in Mandarin. We watch our existence from afar as the hands represent us and the water is how life treats its people.

[Director: Kino Lee, Country: Taiwan, Duration: 3:06]

Music Video

anpu - ZOEA:Two mitten crabs escape the hands of a vendor and make their way into the Taiwan’s dark underbelly of water ways.

[Director: POWEI SU, Country: Taiwan, Duration: 5:35]

Childhood: When natural and artificial wealth mingle as the pursuit of happiness is a never-ending process, Director Guilhem Coulibaly reveals a story of childhood through the illusion of time and a life’s perspective.

[Director: Guilhem Coulibaly, Country: France, Duration: 4:34]

Fashion

FILM ME: Four scenes matching a time and mood pay homage to the different periods of cinema through the spectrum of beauty.

[Director: Ed Picard, Country: France/UK, Duration: 3:15]

Industry Excellence Award

Sue Vicory (Heartland Films)

Lifetime Achievement Award

Larry Namer (Co-founder, E! Entertainment)

Best Actress

Yasmine Al Massri (Refugee)

Best Actor

Amos Nzamba(Zoo)

Best Director

Brandt Andersen (Refugee)