shnit FINALE 04: the International Award Winners

shnit International Shortfilmfestival closed in style as VIP guests, fans and filmmakers packed New York's boutique No. 8 Club to celebrate the presentation of the festival's International Awards in five categories and $100,000 in cash prizes.

Jury President and guest of honour Paul Haggis poured praise onto the nominees as he took to the stage to personally award three Jury category prizes, noting their technical excellence and narrative depth, and the challenge in making his final decisions. It was the film that affected him most in each category that ultimately took the award, he said, addressing a receptive audience during a low key, vibrant and frequently funny ceremony that also saw him in conversation with Festival Director Olivier van der Hoeven and host Sean Drummond. He was insanely jealous' of the winning filmmakers, he joked.

In addition to the Jury prizes, two international Audience Awards were presented. Voting took place over the official festival weekend in Bern, Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Cape Town, Kyoto, Moscow and San Jose, and again during the shnit CINEMAS week in multiple cities around the world in the lead up to the Finale. Each award represents a collective global vote.

The five winning filmmakers had flown in from all around the world. Each receives the coveted Flaming Faun trophy - designed and cast in bronze and 18 carat gold and mounted for the first time in 2014 on a black slate foundation stone - as well as $20,000 in cash.

The Full List of Nominees and Winners:

THE FLAMING FAUN

shnit PLAYGROUNDS Award - Chosen by the Audience

JA VIE ELSKER by Hallvar Witz , Norway

VERHON TAKAA by Teemu Nikki, Finland

WINNER: SUNNY by Barbara Ott, Germany (accepted by producer Simon R hlemann)

THE FLAMING FAUN

shnit CINEMAS Award - Chosen by the Audience

HISTORIA DE UN OSO by Gabriel Osorio Vargas, Chile

RUSSIAN ROULETTE by Ben Aston, UK

WINNER: JA VIE ELSKER by Hallvar Witz , Norway

THE FLAMING FAUN

shnit JURY Award - Category up to 10 min

B R by Pascal Floerks, Germany

LUKKEDE INE by Kerren Lumer-Klabbers, Denmark

WINNER: NO KISSING by Manuel Arija de la Cuerda, United Kingdom

THE FLAMING FAUN

shnit JURY Award - Category up to 20 min

15 FRANCS ET UNE COULOTTE by Maud Garnier, France

BABE by Lucy Brydon, UK

WINNER: MILLIONNAIRES by St phane Bergmans, Belgium (accepted by co-writer Mathieu Donck)

THE FLAMING FAUN

shnit JURY Award - Category up to 40 min

THE K RM N LINE by Oscar Sharp, UK

ZABICIE CIOTKI by Mateusz Glowacki, Poland

WINNER: LA TERRE BR L E by Julien Meynet, France

SHNIT 2014

Festival Managers of six of shnit's eight international host cities were present to round out the festival for another year. Guests partied into the night to the beats of Uncle Mike, drinking Peroni, Vodka Mariette and a selection of Swiss wines.

More so than any other year, shnit made its mark in 2014 as a truly global short film festival. With 7102 entries from 136 countries, 40000+ audience members in attendance over the festival's 10 days and eight national awards presented in addition to the five International Awards, the exponential growth of the festival looks unstoppable.

Shnit returns 7 - 18 October 2015.

www.shnit.org

LINK:	http://www.filmcontact.com/africa/south-africa/shnit-finale-2014-inter...
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