The Melbourne Documentary Film Festival handed out the awards for the 2021 season, with We Are Conjola snagging the Feature Awards Supreme Feature Award, Castro Spies won the Best International Feature Award and Inferno Without Borders took the Audience Choice Award.
Melbourne Documentary Film Festival 2021 Winners
A
FEATURE AWARDS SUPREME FEATURE AWARD Winner: We Are Conjola
Finalists: The Healing, Anchor Point, Women of Steel
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE AWARD Winner: Castro’s Spies
Finalists: Punks, Anchor Point, The Last Horns of Africa
AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD Winner: Inferno Without Borders
BEST AUSTRALIAN FEATURE AWARD Winner: Woman of Steel
Finalists: Cry of the Forests, Rosemarys Way, Inferno Without Borders
BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY Winner: The Rumba Kings
Finalists: Meeting the Beatles in India, Bleeding Audio, Don’t Let the Devil Take Another Day
BEST STRANGER THAN FICTION / TRUE CRIME Winner: Deadman’s Switch
Finalists: Claydream, Enemies of the State, Holy Frit
BEST DIRECTOR – AUSTRALIA Winner: Batoor: A Refugee Journey – Ali Batoor
Nominee – Ash Brennan for We Are Conjola Nominee – Women of Steel Nominee – The Healing – Nick Barkla
BEST DIRECTOR – INTERNATIONAL Winner: Yael Bridge – The Big Scary S Word
Nominee: Holly Tuckett – Anchor Point Nominee: Nominee: Jim Bernfield – Me to Play Nominee: Ollie Aslin & Gary Lennon – Castro’s Spies
BEST MELBOURNE DOCUMENTARY Winner: Wild Things
Finalists: The Healing, Finding Creativity, Mental as Anything,
B
SHORT DOCUMENTARY SUPREME JURY PRIZE: Winner: The Hunger Ward
Finalists: The Beach, FBI’s Secret War, An Improbable Collection
BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT DOCO or WEBSERIES: Winner: Hunger Ward
Finalists Deepfake Therapy, Bundini, Memory Lanes
BEST AUSTRALIAN SHORT DOCO or WEBSERIES: Winner: The Beach
Finalists Ngumpin Kartiya, Living on the Line, Beyond the Burning
BEST INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR: Winner: FBI’s Secret War
Finalists: Mesdames of Mayhem, From a Dark Place, 2020:A Covid Space Odyssey
AUSTRALIAN DIRECTOR: Winner: An Improbable Collection
Finalists: The Space Between, Icebergers, Lost Contact
BEST VR: Winner: Inside Covid-19
Finalists: Azibuye, MLK Convergence, Gimme One,
C
Supreme Jury Prize Documentary Photograph Winner: Once Upon a Time in Venezuela Photography by Sepp Brudermann
Best International Documentary Photograph Winner On the Train by Kang Le
Best Australian Documentary Photograph Winner: Australia Burns – Silence of the Land by Shane McLauchlan
Best Documentary Photographer Winner: Once Upon a Time in Venezuela Photography by Sepp Brudermann
The Melbourne Documentary Film Festival would like to thank the filmmakers and Australian audiences for supporting the festival during this difficult and challenging time.