BEST FILM

FRIEND (2021) 

Director: Andrey Svetlov

Country: Belarus

Duration: 20:30

Synopsis: “Friend” is a movie about two warring school students. One of them dreams of a new smartphone, the other of a simple friendship. By chance, they find themselves in a common predicament from which they will have to get out. It’s a rich, day-long story spiced with chases, childish adventurism and light humor.

BEST DIRECTOR

Brussels-Beirut (2020)

Director: Thibaut Wohlfahrt, Samir Youssef

Country: Belgium

Duration: 27:00

Synopsis: After living in Europe for several years, Ziad returns to visit his family in his North Lebanon hometown at the Syrian border. When he arrives, the tension is palpable. Ziad tries to reconnect with his family despite a threat eating away at the inhabitants.

BEST SCREENPLAY

It’s Cold (2021)

Writer: Danil Ivanov

Director: Danil Ivanov

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 10:00

Synopsis: It wants to be a good police officer, but it’s very cold in Russia. In the Russian hinterland, two police officers are sent on a mission. The task before them is quite simple, but the peculiarities of the local climate create a serious obstacle to its implementation.   

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Ink Ocean (2021)

Cinematogrphers: Ivan Solomatin, Dmitry Mishin, Egor Myasnikov

Director: Ivan Sosnin

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 17:22

Synopsis: The young sailor Sasha travels the world and sends letters to his father from every town where the ship stops. However, all his letters remain unanswered for years. Sasha hasn’t seen his father since childhood, he doesn’t have his phone number, only his mailing address. One-way letters had become a kind of ritual for him. Once, returning home from a voyage, the sailor finds a letter in his mailbox.

BEST NARRATIVE SHORT FILM

Walk a Mile (2019)

Director: Judith Cowley

Country: New Zealand

Duration: 15:00

Synopsis: Grumpy old Russ (Jeffrey Thomas) lives next door to a noisy family, whom he hates.  But when something happens to his neighbours, he changes his mind.

BEST STUDENT SHORT FILM

A Firecracker Story (2021)

Director: Zhizi Hao

Country: China

Duration: 20:00

Synopsis: An 8-year-old boy searching for fireworks on a Chinese New Year’s Eve, after the firework ban is introduced in this southern Chinese town.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM

Bianco (2021)

Director: Ahmed Khaled Deiab

Country: Egypt

Duration: 08:13

Synopsis: Among the flying dust, rubble, and loud equipment sound, Nathan Doss, the artist, is working on his new piece of art. Can any beauty spring out of the womb of this chaos?     

BEST ANIMATION SHORT FILM

TIO (2021)

Director: JUAN MEDINA

Country: Mexico

Duration: 12:40

Synopsis: On his first day of work as a miner, Martin, a cocky teenager will learn the importance of rituals and respect for ancestors.

BEST ANIMATION SHORT FILM

Soft Rain (2021)

Director: Sacha Goedegebure

Country: Singapore

Duration: 07:00

Synopsis: A man suffering from depression is caught in a sudden downpour of pink, fluffy balls. At a crowded bus stop, a cheerful looking woman offers him an umbrella, and together they enjoy the soft rain.  

BEST EXPERIMENTAL SHORT FILM

in silence (2021)

Director: Egor Trukhin

Country: Russian Federation

Duration: 18:59

Synopsis: Lonely people wander the empty Saint-Petersburg trying to seize the last pieces of something dear they used to have: music, the loved one, memories…  We have all faced or will definitely face the absolute absence of something warm coming hometown once. The place of birth and childhood suddenly become almost empty for us. The void only. You want to scream and only silence in return.

BEST EXPERIMENTAL SHORT FILM

Detektive Thumb and The Infinity House (2021)

Director: Preston King

Country: United States

Duration: 05:53

Synopsis: A detective is eaten alive by a house.

BEST MUSIC VIDEO

Color Your Mind (2021)

Director: Axel Werner

Country: Germany

Duration: 04:30

Synopsis: Free yourself, explore creative imagination, let your ideas be infectious, and help others to unleash their powers. Fantasy traveling always brings back freedom as a souvenir.   In 1871, an oppressed worker escapes her foreman into the realm of fantasy. Her creativity inspires her companions. Together they overcome their tormentor and free his spirit as well.