Nick Waterman’s The Flame has lit up the 30th annual Flickerfest in Sydney, awarded Best Australian Short Film at the festival’s awards ceremony on Sunday.
Other winners included Tilda Cobham-Hervey and Dev Patel’s Roborovski, which was crowned Best Australian Short Animation, and Naomi Fryer, who won Best Direction in an Australian Short Film for her work on River.
The Flame, which was directed in collaboration with Dayannah Baker Barlow, Tyrese Fernando and Lance Whitton Jr, is about a young boy and girl in a remote town who remember a time before a cold wind first swept across the land; when fire meant something different.
The film was written by Nick Waterman, Megan Washington, Dayannah Baker Barlow, Tyrese Fernando, Paul Spearim, Connie Taylor, and Lance Whitton Jr, and produced by Beyond Empathy.
It was one of four Australian films to be selected for last year’s Berlin International Film Festival.
The Australian competition award winners list also featured Kieran Fowler, who was received Best Cinematography in an Australian Short Film for Soulmate; D.C. Fairhurst, who won Best Editing in an Australian Short Film Winner for This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us; and Jorde Heys, who received Best Original Music in an Australian Short Film Winner for The End, The Beginning.
Alisha Hnatjuk (Jean) was named Outstanding Emerging Female Director, while a special mention was given to Senie Priti (Alba).
Sunday’s award ceremony concluded the 10-day film festival at Bondi, with the event now set to commence a 45-venue national tour to all states and territories across Australia.
Festival director Bronwyn Kidd said there was no shortage of enthusiasm for the films that screened.
“It’s been great to see short films so warmly embraced by audiences across our ten-day event despite the challenges of COVID and its impact on the arts,” she said.
“I would like to congratulate all of the films selected for Flickerfest in competition this year and all of tonight’s award winners.”
The full list of winners:
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION AWARD WINNERS
Flickerfest Award for Best International Short Film (Academy® Accredited)
Winner: The Present (Palestine) Writer/Director: Farah Nabulsi
Writer: Hind Shoufani, Farah Nabulsi | Producer: Ossama Bawardi
Special Jury Prize
Winner: Girl With A Thermal Gun (China)
Writer/Director: Rongfei Guo | Producers: Du Yating
Yoram Gross Award for Best International Short Animation (Academy® Accredited):
Winner: Normal (France)
Writer/Director: Julie Caty | Producer: Ron Dyens
SAE Creative Media Institute Award for Best Use of Digital Technology in a Short Film
Winner: Masel Tov Cocktail (Germany)
Director: Arkadij Khaet, Mickey Paatzsch | Writer: Arkadij Khaet, Marle Kirchhoff | Producer: Ludwig Meck, Lotta Schmelzer, Christine Duttlinger AZURE Productions Award for Best Rainbow Short Film Winner: Dustin (France) Writer/Director: Naïla Guiguet | Producer: Jean-Etienne Brat, Lou Chicoteau
Special Mention: Cwch Deilen (UK) Director/Writer: Efa Blosse-mason | Producer: Amy Morris
INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION AWARD WINNER
Flickerfest Award for Best Short Documentary Film (Academy® Accredited)
Winner: 57 Days (Spain)
Writer/Director: Mario Lumbreras, Laura Brasero | Producer: Hernán Zin, Nerea Barros
Special Mention for Documentary: Huntsville Station (USA) Director/Producer/Writer: Jamie Meltzer, Chris Filippone
Special Mention for Documentary: We Have One Heart (Poland) Director/Writer: Katarzyna Warzecha | Producer: Ewa Jastrzębska
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AWARD WINNERS
Panasonic Lumix Award For Australian (Academy® Accredited) Short Film
Winner: The Flame
Director: Nick Waterman in collaboration with Dayannah Baker Barlow, Tyrese Fernando & Lance Whitton Jr. | Writer: Nick Waterman, Megan Washington, Dayannah Baker Barlow, Tyrese Fernando, Paul Spearim, Connie Taylor, Lance Whitton Jr. | Producer: Beyond Empathy
Spectrum Films Award for Best Direction in an Australian Short Film
Winner: This River
Director: Naomi Fryer
Yoram Gross Award for Best Australian Short Animation
Winner: Roborovski
Director: Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Dev Patel | Producer: Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Dev Patel, Jomon Tomas | Writer: Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Dev Patel, John Collee
John Barry Award for Best Cinematography in an Australian Short Film
Winner: Soulmate
Cinematographer: Kieran Fowler
Avid Award for Best Editing in an Australian Short Film
Winner: This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us
Editor: D.C. Fairhurst
Avid Award for Best Original Music in an Australian Short Film
Winner: The End, The Beginning
Composer: Jorde Heys
Rebel8 Award for Outstanding Emerging Female Director In honor of Samantha Rebillet
Winner: Alisha Hnatjuk (Jean)
Special Mention: Rebel8 Award for Outstanding Emerging Female Director In honor of Samantha Rebillet: Senie Priti (Alba )
SAE FLiCKERUP COMPETITION AWARD WINNERS
SAE Creative Media Institute FlickerUp Award Best High School Short Film
Winner: Round To It
Director/Producer: Grace Mincherton | Producer: Steve McLeod
Special Mention: Material Girl Director/Writer/Producer: Lillian Dight
Yoram Gross FlickerUp Award Best High School Animated Short Film
Winner: Mind Of My Own Director/Writer/Producer: Natalie Leroy
Avid FlickerUp Award Best Editing in a High School Short Film
Winner: La Torta
Director/Writer: Gabrielle Gregoire, Olivia Lawson
Special Mention: The Diet Director/Writer/Producer: Beau Ritchie
PS Organics FlickerUp Award Best Primary School Short Film
Winner: I Will Be Me Director/Writer: Claire Davison, Caitlin Jones, Bella Parsons | Producer: Table Cape Primary School
Special Mention: The Candy Rappers
Director/Writer: Agam | Producer: Eliza Johnson
Special Mention: The Chase
Director/Writer: Riley McIlveen Webb | Producer: Riley McIlveen Webb, Siobhan McIlveen Webb