Lip Reader: Game Of Detective (USA / China)

DIRECTOR: Tanxuan Shi

BEST EDITING OF THE STUDENT FILM

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE IN THE STUDENT FILM

ABOUT THE FILM:

Lin is a college student who has a severe hearing impairment, but she has a fantastic talent for reading lip languages. She is famous in the paparazzi industry, and also she served as an “intelligence analyst” for a paparazzi company in her spare time, reading out the information from a large number of videos taken by the paparazzi, and finding out the valuable clues…One day, Lin and her new paparazzo partner Zhou photographed a popular Chinese actress Lulu who’s coming to Hollywood to attend the red carpet of Oscar. But unexpectedly Lulu’s luxuries diamond necklace which she will wear it to Oscar and values more than twenty million dollars mysteriously disappeared in her villa. Only 48 hours before Oscar, Lin tries to find clues from the video that they had photographed in these few days. But at the same time… Danger is closing to her…

Casting (Hungary)

DIRECTOR: Sándor Csoma

BEST STUDENT FILM

ABOUT THE FILM:

The 18-year-old Julia lives in a poor mining town with her brother. One day she tries her luck at a modell casting in the hope of starting a new life abroad. However during the casting it turns out that they are looking for porn actresses. Unexpectedly Julia finds herself in a situation where her decency is endangered.

PLAY (Poland)

DIRECTOR: Piotr Sulkowski

BEST STUDENT EXPERIMENTAL FILM

BEST ACTRESS IN THE STUDENT FILM

ABOUT THE FILM:

A man consumed by guilt because he did not dare to defend his mother, plays the role of a murderer and forces his ten-year-old self to face his original trauma…

KEY CAST – Joanna Kulig – Cold War – Best Actress Award at the European Film Awards & Cannes, Ida – Academy Award

Día de Las Carpas (USA)

DIRECTOR: João Dall’Stell

BEST DIRECTOR OF THE STUDENT FILM

ABOUT THE FILM:

A little girl escapes deportation by becoming a mermaid.

After an immigration raid in their apartment building, a group of boys help an undocumented girl get to the beach to reunite with her family, unaware that their new friend has a magical secret that will change their lives forever.

LUISE (USA)

DIRECTOR: Natalie Camou

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHER OF THE STUDENT FILM

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS (under 18 years old)

ABOUT THE FILM:

Louise tells the tragedy of how a young girl, in 1912 California, loses her mother just as she is beginning to understand the devastating causes of their estrangement.

Don’t Run (United Kingdom)

WRITER: Kirsten Stoddart

BEST STUDENT SCREENPLAY

ABOUT THE SCREENPLAY:

In the year 2030, the Earth is invaded by an extra-terrestrial race who seek to improve the state of the planet. They rule with fear and violence. Those who disobey are incarcerated…but these are no ordinary prisons. For these inmates, the punishment is a life sentence…and a death sentence.

Oh My God! (Canada)

DIRECTORS: Ezgi Gundogdu & Farsina Kabir Prithwi

BEST STUDENT WEB/TV SERIES

ABOUT THE FILM:

Web series – An atheist farm girl arrives at the big city of “Vancouver” after being exiled from her cult community in Kamloops but in order to survive, she’ll work as personal assistant for a former god of chaos now the god of order.

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION (China / Palestine)

DIRECTOR: Guo Yifei

BEST STUDENT DOCUMENTARY FILM

ABOUT THE FILM:

Within the israeli-palestinian territories, about a million palestinians have been prisoned in Israeli jails, some with life sentences while others with 20 or more years.
In Palestine, “sperm smuggling” is becoming an option to give birth.
Prisoners smuggle their sperm from the prison to their wives in a special way, enabling their wives give birth through artificial insemination.
This is a land that has been under the shadow of war for a long period of time.Here, an approach as such is considered like a war without weapons thus they try to overcome all difficulties in order to regain their right to live.

They Won’t Last (USA)

DIRECTOR: Portlynn Tagavi

BEST FIRST TIME DIRECTOR

BEST ACTOR IN THE STUDENT FILM

ABOUT THE FILM:

After attending their friends’ perfect wedding, Christine is forced to consider the future of her own relationship when her hopeless romantic boyfriend Alex proposes. When Christine is unable to say yes, Alex makes it worse by giving her an ultimatum: either get engaged or break up right now.

La Ruta (USA)

DIRECTOR: Star Victoria

BEST PRODUCER OF THE STUDENT FILM

ABOUT THE FILM:

How far would you go for a better life?

Lucia crosses the Suchiate river with her daughter Carmen into Mexico, heading for the U.S. border. While traveling, she meets Matias, an offhanded father, making the trek with his son, Nicolas. They will work together through challenges, and endure the rising tides of hopelessness, to make it safely to the border, but when the harsh realities of La Ruta De La Muerte (The Route of Death) push them to a breaking point, their survival instincts kick in, forcing them to make unimaginable choices. Together, they will sacrifice everything they hold close to their hearts, in order to reach the United States.

Mime Your Manners (USA)

DIRECTORS: Kate Namowicz & Skyler Porras

BEST STUDENT ANIMATION FILM

ABOUT THE FILM:

An arrogant man berates a mime. As a consequence, he is transformed into a mime until he learns to treat others how he would like to be treated.

YEKKI (Korea)

DIRECTOR: Jihoon Kang

BEST STUDENT MUSIC VIDEO

ABOUT THE FILM:

These are the unwelcomed sounds of a vicious hit from a nefarious bully that unfortunately, many have experienced before. This song was inspired to help those who have experienced such an unfortunate encounter. The Korean phrase, 예끼, which does not have a direct translation to English is mainly used by adults telling children to stop behaving immaturely, and discouraging bad behavior. As a child, Jihoon was bullied and overcoming it has been a major hurdle in his life. He was able to come to the conclusion that the best approach of dealing with bullies is to take the road of avoiding trouble with them, not out of fear, but of understanding that people are at different stages of their lives. He knows that fighting fire with fire in this situation only leads to a larger fire and doesn’t need to be dragged down by their negativity. Furthermore, he was inspired to rap after watching a hip hop documentary of studying Shakespeare through rap and realized that he could use rap as a mode to help others being bullied to learn how to deal and overcome these types of situations.

The Gatekeeper (USA)

DIRECTOR: Jordan Michael Martinez

BEST SOUND IN THE STUDENT FILM

ABOUT THE FILM:

After awakening in a war-zone an Army First Sergeant must confront the causatum of his actions in combat in order to see his wife again.

Filum (Canada)

DIRECTOR: Claudia Hernandez Barragan

BEST SONG IN THE STUDENT FILM

ABOUT THE FILM:

An old retired guitar maker is forced to come back by a special request from his favorite musician to create his last Magnum Opus.

The Last Chord (Poland)

DIRECTOR: Franciszek Siwko

BEST YOUNG FILMMAKER (under 18 years old)

ABOUT THE FILM:

“The last Chord” is a family story about dreams and unhealthy parenthood. Tomas (20), is an outstanding piano musician, who lives in the shadow of his mother, an unfulfilled pianist of classical music. She, wants her sacrifices to bear fruit.
Watching her son, who like her, has exceptional talent and musical hearing, becomes perfect candidate to continue her abandoned career.

RenaiDance (Taiwan / China / USA)

DIRECTORS: Zhike Yang, Wenjie Wu & Han Chen Chang

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS IN THE STUDENT FILM

ABOUT THE FILM:

“RenaiDance” is a 3D narrative emotional animation.
The theme invigorates cultural inheritance and the integration of dreams, courage, and culture as transformation. By artistically interpreting a motif of inheritance and family support, integrating different cultures“inheritance” through the inspiring story, this film braces strong family love and elder culture in a never-ending chain.