Press Release
MELBOURNE, 5 August 2013 – Last night the 2013 MIFF Shorts Awards took place with an impressive audience of Australia’s finest existing and emerging filmmakers and industry professionals in attendance.
The MIFF Shorts Awards are the most highly regarded short film competition in the Asia-Pacific region, showcasing the best short films from Victoria, Australia and the rest of the world, across animation, documentary, experimental and fiction programs. The competition offers filmmakers the opportunity to compete for 7 awards and a total cash prize pool of $42,000.
The MIFF Shorts Awards are Academy®, BAFTA and AACTA accredited and the winners of the Best MIFF Short, Best Fiction, Best Animation and Best Documentary awards will be eligible to submit their film for the 86th Academy Awards® in 2014.
AND THE WINNERS ARE…
The Swinburne Award for Emerging Australian Filmmaker went to James Vaughan for You Like It, I Love It. Vaughn has been a participant of the 2013 MIFF Accelerator program, an intensive four-day workshop for up-and-coming directors. He was awarded $5,000.
The Astor Theatre Award for Best Experimental Short Film went to another stand out Australian filmmaker, director/producer Pia Borg for her film Crystal World, winning $5,000.
Director Nathanael Carton and Producer Jonathan Berguig took home $5,000 for The BBC Knowledge Award for Best Documentary Short Film for their insightful documentary Recollections that tells the story of the aftermath of the 2011 Japanese tsunami.
Winner of The Best Short Animation at Sundance, Irish Folk Furniture won The Holmesglen Award for Best Animation Short Film. Director Tony Donoghue and Producer Cathal Black were awarded $5,000.
The Cinema Nova Award for Best Fiction Short Film went to Director Xavier Legrand and Producer Alexandre Gavras for their nail-biting French thriller Just Before Losing Everything, taking home $5,000 cash.
Local Melbourne filmmaker and Victorian College of the Arts graduate, Rodd Rathjen, was awarded The Film Victoria Erwin Rado Award for Best Australian Short Film for his outstanding short film Tau Seru. Officially selected to premiere in Competition at the 52nd Semaine de la Critique (Critic’s Week) at this year’s prestigious Cannes Film Festival, this deserving short film captures the beauty and tranquility of India, being shot completely in the
Himalayas. Rodd was awarded $7,000 in prize money.
The City of Melbourne Grand Prix Award for Best Short Film was awarded to Czech Director Matúš Vizár and Producers Peter BadaÄ and Tomáš HrubyÌ for the colourfully animated and darkly funny short film Pandas. The outstanding and deserving short claimed the highest cash prize of $10,000.
Many thanks go to the MIFF short film jury, which included 3RRR radio presenter Lorin Clarke, Madmen Entertainment’s Michael Matrenza and Ramona Telecican producer of the 2011 film At the Formal, which won the Emerging Australian filmmaker award for the film's director.
Melbourne International Film Festival runs 25 July – 11 August 2013.
For all media enquiries contact Asha Holmes Publicity 03 8660 4814