Palm Springs International ShortFest Announces 2015 Winners

The Palm Springs International ShortFest, the largest short film festival in North America, has announced its winners for the 2015 festival. The event was held from June 16-22 in Palm Springs, California. 330 short films screened throughout the 2015 festival, with wore than $115,000 in prizes being awarded in 21 categories.

“It’s been a spectacular success on all fronts for ShortFest this year, with a uniformly ecstatic response from audience and filmmakers alike for the screenings, the panels and seminars and the special events the Festival mounted,” said Festival Director Darryl Macdonald. “With record numbers of attendees and filmmakers, the Festival lived up to its growing reputation as one of the most important events of its kind in the world.”

Read on for the official winners of this year’s festival:

Jury Awards

Best of Festival:
“Carry On (Esel)”- Director: Rafael Haider

Grand Jury Award:
“Over”- Director: Jörn Threlfall

Future Filmmaker Award:
“Submarine”- Director: Rafael Haider

Panavision Best North American Short:
“Marta Rosa”- Director: Barbara Cigarroa

Best Student Film Award:
“It’s Better in Italian”- Director: Jordan Ledy

Honorary Mentions

Exceptional Performance by an Actress:
Miriam Zohar- “Paris on the Water” (“Paris Al Amayim”)

Exceptional Cinematography:
“August”- Director: Tomek Slesicki

Audience Awards

Best Live Action Short:
Winner- “The Way of Tea” (“les frémissements du thé”)- Director: Marc Fouchard
Runner-up- “Contrapelo”- Director: Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer

Best Documentary Short:
Winner – “Body Team 12”- Director: David Darg
Runner-up – “It’s Better in Italian”- Director: Jordan Ledy

Best Animation Short:
Winner – “Bear Story” (“Historia de un Oso”)- Director: Gabriel Osorio
Runner-up – “SOAR”- Director: Alyce Tzue

ShortFest Online Audience Award:
“The Deadman”- Director: Franco Finocchiaro

Jury Category Awards

Best Animation Short:
First Place – “Bear Story” (“Historia De Un Oso”) – Director: Gabriel Osorio
Second Place – “The Orchestra”- Director: Mikey Hill

Best Live Action Short Over 15 Minutes:
First Place – “The Good Life-Over There” (“Det Gode Livet, Der Borte”) – Director: Izer Aliu
Second Place- “Submarine”- Director: Rafael Haider
Special Mention – “Brothers”- Director: Thordur Palsson

Best Live Action Short 15 Minutes and Under:
First Place – “August”- Director: Tomek Slesicki
Second Place – “Over”- Director: Jörn Threlfall
Special Mention – “Ave Maria”- Director: Basil Khalil

Best Documentary Short:
First Place – “Pinkboy”- Director: Eric Rockey
Second Place – “Pebbles At Your Door”- Director: Vibeke Bryld

Student Categories

Best Student Animation:
First Place – “SOAR”- Director: Alyce Tuze
Second Place – “After the End”- Director: Sam Southward
Honorable Mention – “The Present”- Director: Jacob Frey

Best Student Live Action Short Over 15 Minutes:
First Place – “Paris on the Water” (“Paris Al Amayim”) – Director: Hadas Ayalon
Second Place – “The Little Death” (“Den Lille Døden”) – Director: Simon Tillaas

Best Student Live Action Short 15 Minutes and Under:
First Place – “Marta Rosa”- Director: Barbara Cigarroa
Second Place – “Zelos”- Director: Thoranna Sigurdardottir

Best Student Documentary Short:
First Place – “It’s Better in Italian”- Director: Jordan Ledy
Second Place – “The Tour Guide” (“Ha Madricha”)- Director: Amos Geva

Additional Prizes

Alexis Award For Best Emerging Student Filmmaker:
First Place- “Zelos”- Director: Thoranna Sigurdardottir

HP Bridging the Borders Award Presented by Cinema Without Borders:
First Place – “Ave Maria”- Director: Basil Khalil
Special Jury Prize – “Rangan 99”- Director: Tiyam Yabandeh