Genevieve Clay-Smith’s What Was It Like?, made via Bus Stop Films, took home Best Australian Short at the Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival over the weekend.
The documentary follows eight filmmakers with intellectual disability as they discuss their diagnosis with their parents.
In a behind-the-scenes video, The Making of What Was It Like?, Clay-Smith said the film was “all about our filmmakers… advocating through telling their stories in order to change the way that doctors approach a diagnosis.”
Clay-Smith has heard many stories of parents having negative experiences with medical practitioners through the diagnosis process, and hopes this film will reduce this – choosing the documentary form as it was “the only way” to communicate the stories being told.
Winnings include $2,000 as well as a two-week artist residency, allowing Bus Stop Films to further the exposure of the work they do.
Speaking to IF, Clay-Smith said winning the prize “feels like the message has been seen, heard and valued.”
Nine awards were given out during Heart of Gold’s inaugural awards, presented by the likes of festival patron Leah Purcell and Echoes creator Vanessa Gazy.
Best Short Film was won by a Canadian film, Like the Ones I Used To Know. Directed by Annie St-Pierre, it follows a recently divorced man who travels to his ex-in-laws on Christmas Eve to pick up his children.
Festival director Jackson Laplsey congratulated the prize winners.
“We’re thrilled to be able to celebrate such a talented group of filmmakers,” he said.
Not only did this year’s festival display short films from around the world, patrons were also able to participate in a variety of workshops. These included painting in virtual reality and a podcasting intensive.
The full list of winners:
BEST SHORT FILM
Winner: Like The Ones I Used To Know (Canada)
Director: Annie St-Pierre
Recently divorced Denis travels to his ex-in-laws on Christmas Eve to pick up his children in this bittersweet festive short.
BEST AUSTRALIAN FILM
Winner: What Was It Like
Director: Genevieve Clay-Smith
Eight filmmakers with intellectual disabilities interview their parents about what it was like when doctors delivered their diagnosis.
BEST STUDENT FILM sponsored by Australian Teachers of Media QLD
Winner: Sunburn
Director: Jaslyn Mairs
In the wake of a tragedy, Charlie takes her best friend Em on a road trip in the hope it will help them heal. Along the way they find their friendship is tested like never before.
BEST SCRIPT sponsored by Dixon Dental
Winner: You and Me, Before and After
Writer and Director: Madeleine Gottlieb
Two adult sisters who love each other learn to like each other while getting their first tattoos.
MOST INSPIRING TRUE STORY sponsored by John Farrell Family Trust
Winner: A Defiantly Happy Story
Director: Alex Cummings
The incredible journey of a mother and her son who was diagnosed with two rare diseases.
BEST QUEENSLAND sponsored by Jobmatch Employment
Winner: Our Greatest Escape
Director: Loani Arman
Through an old ritual, a woman losing her mother to dementia finds a way to bring her back. Even though life moves on, there’s still magic to be had.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner: Zonder Meer
Director: Meltse Van Coillie
A campsite in the summer holidays, aimless days spent in the shade of trees. But something has gone awry.
BEST YOUNG FILMMAKER (NATIONAL) sponsored by AFTRS
Winner: Bacon
Director: Elizabethan Hogan – Mansfield State High
BEST YOUNG FILMMAKER (GYMPIE REGION) sponsored by Maxwell Walker
Winner: Move It
Director: Ande Foster, Rebecca Gainger – Gympie Flexi School