Flatpack 2021 Award Winners
The audience votes have been counted, the juries have deliberated and the cream of this year's short film crop has been selected. We are very pleased to share with you our Flatpack 2021 award winners...
COLOUR BOX AUDIENCE AWARD
Mishou (Dir: Milen Vitanov, Germany, Bulgaria, 8mins)
COLOUR BOX AWARD
Whatever Tree (Dir: Isaac King, Canada, 11mins)
Jury members Marie-Pierre Bonniol (artist and curator) and Walter Duncan (her 9 year old son, himself a filmmaker and curator) said:
"Different elements have impressed us in the films and animations of the programme. But amongst all of them, Whatever Tree is the film we've had the most enjoyment and interest to watch and discover. The quality of the animation, of the story and the humor of the film really got us, but also the use of the paper characters, the general rhythm and construction as well as the political and societal dimensions of the story."
A special mention goes to Catgot by Ho Tsz Wing:
"The colourful, crazy, impressive quality of this work really enchanted us."
SCREENDANCE AWARD
Navigation (Dir: Marlene Millar, Canada, 13mins)
Ingrid Nachstern (Screendance jury, choreographer and filmmaker):
"It came together beautifully as a piece and worked superbly well both on, and in, its environment. All elements in the film coalesced to deliver its message."
A Special Mention goes to L'Appât by Tang Chenglong:
"Its pace held you till the end and its visually-appealing dance was incorporated well with the environment."
Both films will be available to watch at Birmingham International Dance Festival from 7-9 June.
OPTICAL SOUND AWARD
Harmonic Spectrum (Dir: Austen McCowan & Will Hewitt, UK, 17 mins)
"A honest, poignant, joyous and tumultuous story of a man navigating his autism, his musicality and the world. It’s also a wonderful, if not devastating at times, story of the transcending possibilities of friendship that making music together offers. Couldn’t stop thinking about it!" Jessica Ashman, Optical Sound Jury
"It was a moving and motivational piece of work which considered incredible detail, where at times there are windows of pure empathetic engagement into the own world views of the characters in the film. So beautiful editing was married with perfect sound score choices." Justin Wiggan, Optical Sound Jury
Watch the full pianodrome session to delve deeper into the Harmonic Spectrum
A special mention goes to Mothwasp Unlive by Matt Watkins:
"A meditative, ominous journey of a film, which feels like it crosses universes, dimensions and time itself. Beautifully shot and paced." Jessica Ashman
"It felt like I was being one of Scott walkers ovaries." Justin Wiggan
MID-LENGTH AWARD
A TREATISE OF THE HUMAN ANIMAL N°38: HEARTACHE (Dir: Jacob Møller, Denmark, 30mins)
Our Midlands-based jury Jade Turner, Sheeba Sehgal, Lucy Beth Brawn said:
"The rich, stylish and absurd A Treatise of the Human Animal no.38: HEARTACHE resonated deeply with the entire jury. Although there were many strong contenders in the Mid-Length Competition, it was a unanimous decision to award a film of such singular vision and exquisite craft. We all felt the film perfectly suited the style and personality of Flatpack as a festival. The beautiful compositions, hilarious and heartbreaking performances and perfectly-pitched intertitles indicate a filmmaker of great skill, who has expertly blended their distinctive style with a universally moving exploration of grief. Viewed through the lens of the pandemic, the film takes on a poignancy and urgency that cannot be ignored. That the film is from a student filmmaker masterfully working on celluloid is an exceptional achievement and suggests many outstanding productions lie ahead."
"It's a joy to get to share our film with a wider audience and I continue to be happily surprised that it translates well to audiences that do not speak Danish or penguin." Jacob Møller
SHORT FILM AUDIENCE AWARD
International Dawn Chorus Day (Dir: John Greyson, Canada, 15mins)
WTF AWARD
Easter Eggs (Dir: Nicolas Keppens, Belgium, 15mins)
Jury members Nag Vladermersky (director of London International Animation Festival) and Rhea Storr (artist-filmmaker and programmer for Alchemy Film and Moving Image):
"This darkly humorous coming-of-age film is an engaging exploration of male teenage friendship, exquisitely animated and framed in an episodic comic-book style. Subtle but complex moments of teenage angst pepper the narrative as the two boys take part in their strange adventure."
Read Nicolas Keppens's conversation with Mathilde Parquet
A special mention goes to Flex, by Josefin Malmen and David Strindberg,"which depicts the mind of a strong yet vulnerable bodybuilder."
SHORT FILM AWARD
Just a Guy (Dir: Shoko Hara, Germany, 15mins)
Nag Vladermersky and Rhea Storr said:
"This bold, confrontational documentary takes a provocative subject matter as a starting point and turns the narrative on its’ head. The film is seen from the point-of-view of the three female protagonists, at times uncomfortable and disconcerting, but ultimately the message here is that love can be ugly and toxic just as much as it can be positive. The mixed-media techniques (claymation, collage and archive footage) combine for a startling experience, showing that animation is the perfect tool to document this vision of the truth."
A special mention goes to The End of Suffering (A Proposal) by Jacqueline Lentzou, "for a Martian otherworldliness, which ultimately explores the human."
A huge thanks to all the filmmakers involved in this year's festival, to our jury and to our lovely audience.
If you've been to anything at all at this year's festival, please do complete our very short survey. It really won't take long, it's really important to us and you'll be in with a chance of winning a £50 voucher from your choice of places including Grace & James, Foyles, Mockingbird and DigBrew.