DELICATE GRAVITY

French films took the top prizes at the 2013 Palm Springs International ShortFest – DELICATE GRAVITY (Délicate Gravité) directed by Philippe André was awarded the BEST OF FESTIVAL AWARD, and STRANGER BROTHERS (Faux Frères) directed by Lucas Delangle was awarded the BEST OF FESTIVAL AWARD. Both films are now eligible to be submitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Oscar consideration.

The 2013 Palm Springs International ShortFest award winners are:

JURY AWARDS

BEST OF FESTIVAL AWARD
DELICATE GRAVITY (Délicate Gravité) (France), Philippe André
Yvan Attal and Anne Parillaud are wonderful as two lonely spirits who come together by chance when a cell phone call to a wrong number provides the catalyst for a meeting.

PANAVISION GRAND JURY AWARD
STRANGER BROTHERS (Faux Frères) (France), Lucas Delangle
Guillaume returns to the village where he grew up to pick up the car he inherited from his father years before. Once there, he encounters his step brother, and things get a little more complicated.

FUTURE FILMMAKER AWARD – Winner received a $2,000 cash prize and a GoPro Hero 3 Camera courtesy of Radiant Images.
RHINO FULL THROTTLE (Nashorn Im Galopp) (Germany), Erick Schmitt
Bruno roams the streets of Berlin, gazing behind the many facades and surfaces as he seeks the soul of the city. Unexpectedly, he meets an ally in his quest and immediately falls in love. But she is also on a quest, and it’s one that has her leaving Bruno and Berlin very soon.

Jury Special Mention – The jury would like to give a special mention to the short film The Wall from Norway for its grit, humanity and creativity.

AUDIENCE AWARDS

AUDIENCE FAVORITE LIVE ACTION SHORT
WALKING THE DOGS (UK), Jeremy Brock
Emma Thompson stars as Queen Elizabeth in this delicious rendering of the infamous 1982 incident in which a man broke into the Queen’s bedroom while her security guard was out in the palace grounds walking the dogs.

Runner-up – GREAT (Germany), Andreas Henn

AUDIENCE FAVORITE DOCUMENTARY SHORT
NOT ANYMORE: A STORY OF REVOLUTION (USA), Matthew VanDyke
Shot on the ground with a hand held camera and told in striking first person, the Syrian struggle for freedom as experienced by a 32 year old rebel commander, Mowya, and a 24 year old female journalist, Nour, in Aleppo, Syria is exposed like no TV newscast could do.

Runner-up – SLOMO (USA), Josh Izenberg

AUDIENCE FAVORITE ANIMATION SHORT
A GIRL NAMED ELASTIKA (Canada), Guillaume Blanchet
A spirited girl made of rubber bands journeys across her corkboard universe in this delightful stop-motion film.

Runner-up – CHOPPER (Netherlands), Lars Damoiseaux, Frederik Palmaers

The ShortFest Online Audience Award went to SHELVED (New Zealand), directed by James Cunningham. The film will be available to view on the PSIFF website for the next three months.

JURY CATEGORY AWARDS 

BEST ANIMATION SHORT
First Place ($2,000) – ARTS & CRAFTS SPECTACULAR #2 (Germany),Ian Ritterskamp & Sébastien Wolf
This surreal claymation extravaganza wryly celebrates the close encounter of such disparate pop figures as Popeye and Yoko Ono during a be-in at a museum somewhere in time.

Second Place ($500) –Chopper(Netherlands), Lars Damoiseaux & Frederik Palmaers

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT OVER 15 MINUTES
First Place ($2,000) – WILD HORSES (USA), Stephanie Martin
Mireille Enos stars in this story of cruelty, courage, love and memory as two generations of women bear witness to the brutality common to wild horse roundups in the American West.

Second Place ($500) – SPRING TIDES (Les Grandes Marées) (France), Mathias Pardo

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT 15 MINUTES AND UNDER
First Place ($2,000) – WE KEEP ON DANCING (Australia), Jessica Lawton
Two distinctly disparate characters come together over a broken down Volkswagen Beetle in this sweet, amusing tale of love, loss and… car trouble.

Second Place ($500) – NOT FUNNY (No Tiene Gracia) (Spain), Carlos Violadé

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
First Place ($2,000) – LETTERS FROM PYONGYANG (Canada), Jason Lee
The tragedy of a divided Korea is powerfully evoked in this profound personal journey undertaken by filmmaker Jason Lee, who ventures with his father from South to North, across the Korean peninsula, in search of clues of his family’s unsettled past.

Second Place ($500) – DECEMBER 25 (Australia), Wendy Dent

STUDENT CATEGORIES

BEST STUDENT ANIMATION
First Place – HARALD (Germany), Moritz Schneider
Harald is a champion wrestler with a monster mother for his coach. Though his true love is growing flowers, coach mom doesn’t wanted him distracted by such trifles, so when she takes away his latest plant, Harald is forced to sieze the day.

Second Place – THE MAGNIFICENT LION BOY (UK), Ana Caro

BEST STUDENT LIVE ACTION SHORT OVER 15 MINUTES
First Place – MAGMA (Poland), Pawel Maslona
Dedicated furniture salesman Janusz always knows just how to close a sale but after an extremely rare accident at work, he finds his carefully constructed life unraveling.

Second Place – PAULINE IN A BEAUTIFUL WORLD (USA), William Thompson

BEST STUDENT LIVE ACTION SHORT 15 MINUTES AND UNDER
First Place – JUMP (Australia), Aimee Lee Curran
In a visually dazzling story about the importance of family when pursuing your dreams, Jump tells the tale of 12-year-old Edwin, a circus clown like his father, who dreams of becoming a trapeze artist..

Second Place – RELICS(USA), Jennie Allen

BEST STUDENT DOCUMENTARY SHORT
First Place – EMPTY NEST (Myanmar), Zaw Naing Oo
In one small pocket of Yangon, the urban center of Myanmar, Daw Ni Lang lives very modestly with her husband and young son. It’s a hard life, but she’s managed to raise four children who are all well-educated… if only they would call home a little more often.

Second Place – JONATHAN (Ecuador), Abe Zverow

BEST STUDENT CINEMATOGRAPHY
Leigh Lisbão Underwood (cinematographer), THE BOY SCOUT (USA)
Trapped in their car for days after an unexpected snowstorm strands them on a remote mountain road during an impromptu trip, Grant and Leah confront a life-or-death choice… With another storm on the way, should they stay or should they go.

Second Place – Tam Morris (cinematographer), JUMP (Australia)

BEST US FILM SCHOOL STUDENT FILM AWARD
First Place – MY FATHER’S TRUCK (Xe Tai Cua Bo) (Brazil/Vietnam), Mauricio Osaki
10-year-old Mai Vy skips school one day to help her father with his passenger truck for hire. Set along the countryside of Northern Vietnam, Mai Vy is soon confronted with varying shades of morality and harsh realities as she learns how things outside the classroom really are.

ADDITIONAL PRIZES The Alexis Award for Best Emerging Student Filmmaker went to OSTRICHLAND (USA), directed by David McCracken. T

Bridging the Borders Award presented by Cinema Without Borders went to THAT WASN’T ME (Aquel No Era Yo) (Spain) directed by Esteban Crespo. The runner-up was TRYOUTS (USA), directed by Susana Casares.

The next Palm Springs International Film Festival will be held January 3-13, 2014.