the "Courts des îles" Grand Prix
Margherita Spampinato. Segreti. Sicile (15:00)
Synopsis
The world seen through the eyes of a nine year old girl.
Playing, friends, school and the town she lives in.
And among all the games, the little girl will find a new, secret and mysterious one, that involves an unknown man.
Director
Margherita Spampinato was born in Palermo in 1979. She studied Social Sciences at the University of Rome "La Sapienza" and got a degree in "Performance arts and sciences" in the year 2003.
She has directed two short films: "Tommasina" and "Segreti" (available on her website www.margheritaspampinato.com).
She worked as script supervisor in many movies, such as: "VENUTO AL MONDO" and "LA BELLEZZA DEL SOMARO" by Sergio Castellitto, "VALLANZASCA" by Michele Placido, "LE QUATTRO VOLTE" by M. Frammartino, "L'ARIA SALATA" and "ALZA LA TESTA" by Alessandro Angelini, "GLI AMICI DEL BAR MARGHERITA" by Pupi Avati, "LA MAFIA UCCIDE SOLO D'ESTATE" by Pif, "UNA PICCOLA IMPRESA MERIDIONALE" by Rocco Papaleo, "FINALMENTE LA FELICITA", "UNA MOGLIE BELLISSIMA"
the "Courts des îles" Best Direction Prizes (2 prizes)
Seth Larney. The clearing. AustralieSeth Larney. The clearing. Australia (17:41)
Synopsis
Adam awakes in a clearing in the jungle, injured and with no memory of how he arrived there. He searches for clues but soon realizes he is running in circles. Will Adam be able to escape the clearing and discover the truth?
Director
Chaotic Pictures was established by director, Seth Larney and producer, Lisa Shaunessy to produce innovative and commercial feature films and television shows. Our aim is to work with Australian and international talent with original ideas to generate a new wave of commercial filmmaking in Australia.
Damien Power. Peekaboo. AustraliaDamien Power. Peekaboo. Australia (10:00)
Synopsis
Jillian is on a train, taking her young girls home from the Easter Show. They're all tired, it's been a big day. Three year old Marli is verging on hysterical as she flirts and plays peekaboo with a man sitting opposite. Jillian begins to be feel disturbed by the interest the man is showing in her daughter. Leaving the train, they enter a multistory car park to retrieve their car. Marli disappears amid a game of peekaboo, and Jillian races off to find her, leaving behind Marisa, 5. It's every parent's worst nightmare. Jillian's search grows increasingly frantic as she struggles to suppress her fear that something terrible has happened to Marli. Suddenly she sees the man from the train sliding shut the side door of a white van. Jillian runs to her daughter's rescue.
Director
I grew up in Launceston, Tasmania: pop: 60,000; cinema: 1. It was there, as a teenager at the local film society, that he fell in love with movies. After completing an Arts/Law degree in Hobart, he moved to Sydney to take up a position on the Film Classification Board. He started writing and directing soon after he arrived, and after making a few shorts, he enrolled in a MA in Directing at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS).
Damien recently directed two short films (Bat Eyes, Boot) for the Voices Project – an initiative by Australian Theatre for Young People to nurture the next generation of Australian writers. Both films were semi-finalists (from 15,000 submissions) in YouTube's inaugural Your Film Festival. Bat Eyes was voted a finalist and screened at the 2012 Venice Film Festival. Since their debut online in March 2012 the films have had over 240,000 views.
In 2011 Damien's short film Peekaboo was a finalist in the Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films at the Sydney Film Festival and screened in the Australian Shorts Program at the Melbourne International Film Festival. Peekaboo has won many awards including the Showtime Talent Assist Scheme award, Best Editing at Flickerfest and WOW Festival, the SBS Award and Audience Award at the WOW Festival, the Audience Award for best film at the Canberra Short Film Festival, and a Best Short Film award at the BOFA Festival. It received its international premiere in the Wide Angle Short Film Showcase at the 16th Busan International Film Festival in October 2011 and had its US premiere at the 2012 Seattle International Film Festival.
In 2010 the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) commissioned him to write an Interactive Shared Learning program about cyberbullying, and Tagged, a short educational drama. Tagged won the Best Secondary Education Resource at the 2012 ATOM awards, a Gold Award at the 2012 WorldMedia Festival in Hamburg – where it also won an intermedia-globe GRAND Award for Web & Web TV (a best of category award), and a Silver Medal in the Instruction & Education Category at the 2012 New York Festivals International Television & Film Awards.
He is currently developing several projects as writer/director, including a feature with Peekaboo producer Joe Weatherstone (currently financing) and a children's television series.
the "Courts des îles" Best Screenplay Prize
Craig Boreham. Drowning. Australia (19:57)
Synopsis
Things are changing for Mik (Miles Szanto). His world has been turned upside down by the sudden death of his older brother forcing him to redefine his place in his family. The one solid thing in Mik's life is his best friend Dan (Xavier Samuel).
But Dan has a new girlfriend…
DROWNING is a journey through the final moments of childhood as two friends are dragged toward their adult lives. Realisations of their place in the world, their familial responsibilities and awakening sexualities shape the men they will become and their changing relationship with each other.
Director
To date, Boreham has focussed his attention on short film works that explore issues of marginalised sexuality and the politics of desire. Craig Boreham graduated from both the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS), and his films have screened extensively throughout the world and collected a number of awards including The City of Melbourne Best Queer Short Film Award,[1] Melbourne Queer Film Festival, and Best Independent Film,[2] Newtown Flicks Short Film Festival, Sydney.
In 2005 his short drama Transient,[3] premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2005 and received a Teddy Award[4] nomination for best short film. In 2008, LesGaiCineMad and Fundación Triángulo in Madrid, programmed a retrospective of Boreham's short films titled True Cinema Poison. Craig's most recent film Drowning had its Australian premiere at the Academy Award accredited film competition Flickerfest International Short Film Festival[5] at Bondi Beach Sydney. Drowning stars, up and coming Australian actors Miles Szanto, Xavier Samuel and Tess Haubrich.
Special prize : "coup de coeur" of the jury
Claire Dix. Downpour. Ireland (03:30)
Synopsis
Downpour, starring Muireann Bird and Cian Barry was funded by the Irish Film Board as part of their Short Shorts scheme and has been doing really well on the festival circuit. Some of its awards and nominations include; Best Irish Short at Foyle Film Festival 2011, the Directors Choice Short Film Award at the Irish Film Festival Boston March 2012, Le Prix du Cinéma Indépendant at the 32nd Festival du Film Court de Villeurbanne and an IFTA nomination back in February 2012.
Director
Claire Dix is an award winning filmmaker, working in both fiction and documentary film. Her first feature documentary Broken Song premiered at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival in February 2013 where it won the audience award and also the Michael Dwyer Discovery Award. Her short film Downpour, funded by the Irish Film Board, has won a total of eight international awards including Best Irish Short at Foyle Film Festival 2011. Her latest short film, Alia, premiered at the Cork Film Festival in November 2012 and is currently on the festival circuit.
the "Courts des îles" Audience Award
Maharaki MJ. Vivre. Martinique (13:00)
Synopsis
VIVRE, est une comédie dramatique tendre qui nous projette dans la société moderne à travers les choix de vie de Tom, un garçon de 10 ans d'une maturité étonnante. C'est le monde des adultes dans les yeux d'un enfant. " Qu'est ce que tu voudrais faire plus tard ? " Par cette question classique et simple à première vue, Maharaki souhaite mettre en lumière le trouble qu'elle peut engendrer lorsque la réponse est mûrement réfléchie.
Pour Tom, comme pour de nombreux adolescents dans le monde, les choix de vie sont vastes, mais cela ne veut pas dire pour autant qu'ils soient aisés. Ainsi lorsque Tom comprend l'essence de la question, il répond avec intelligence et panache. Sa réponse est simple, réaliste, positive et pleine de promesses pour l'avenir.
VIVRE traite de la question du libre arbitre, de la responsabilité et des conséquences de ses choix. VIVRE est un pur produit Caribéen. Réalisé et produit en Guadeloupe et en Martinique, il se situe cependant loin des clichés des cartes postales. L'histoire se déroule dans un univers urbain et social contrasté où les personnages voyagent dans le temps.
C'est l'universalité du message de VIVRE qui a touché et inspiré Maharaki. Ce film a été un challenge à la fois artistique et technique, une aventure passionnante faite de rencontres et d'émotions, une révélation de talents innés chez des enfants qui ont exacerbé sa sensibilité.
Director
Born and raised in Martinique, Maharaki presently lives in Barbados. She graduated in 2004 from the Ecole Internationale de Création Audiovisuelle & de Réalisation (EICAR) in Paris. She received her Bachelor of Fine arts Motion Picture Directing from the
European Accreditation Board of Higher Education Schools (E.A.B.H.E.S) in London.
Her short film DIG IT has received the EICAR 2004 Grand Jury Prize. She has since won numerous awards for her commercial spots, music videos, scripts and short films.
Maharaki has just completed her much anticipated film, VIVRE, supported by several institutions such Le Centre National du Cinema & de l'image animée (CNC). The film project was presented at the 2012 Cannes film festival. It will premiere in September 2013 at the TTFF.
Maharaki is currently preparing her first feature film.