2020 Winners & Selection

~ 2020 Official Competition ~

Results published on this page are the sole official source of information for the 2020 competition.

NOMINATED BEST FEATURE FILM

The Fisherman’s Diary, directed by Enah Johnscott, Cameroon, 2h23.

The Inheritance, directed by Kevin Speckmaier and Chad Barager, Canada, 1H22. EUROPEAN PREMIERE.

Thy Neighbor, directed by George A. Johnson, US, 1H39. FRENCH PREMIERE.

WINNER 🏆 Vagabondes (Vagabonds), directed by Philippe Dajoux, France, 1H48. EUROPEAN PREMIERE.

NOMINATED BEST FRENCH SHORT FILM

Cages, directed by Yacine Medjana, France, 11′. HAMA ALUMNI: winner best male director 2020.

WINNER ex-aequo 🏆 Camera Obscura, directed by Mary Noelle Dana and Sonia Sieff, France, 19′.

WINNER ex-aequo 🏆 Divertimento, directed by Keyvan Sheikhalishahi, France, 30′. FRENCH PREMIERE.

Je Fuis Donc Je Vis (Leaving to Live), directed by David Rodrigues, France, 8′.

Lifecall, directed by Charlie Fargialla, France, 3′.

Reviens (Come Back), directed by Aurore Klein and Alban Pauly, France, 17′.

Zizou sur Mars, directed by Salah Issaad, France, 22′.

Près d’une étoile (A Rising Star), directed by Jamel Zaouche, France, 20′. PARIS PREMIERE. DISQUALIFIED

NOMINATED BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM

3:14 PM, directed by I Fu Chen, China, 19′.

The Assassin’s Apprentice, directed by Russell Emanuel, US, 15′. PARIS PREMIERE. PAMA ALUMNI: best score nominee 2017 with “Occupants”.

Le Chirurgien de l’Empire (The Empire’s Surgeon), directed by Guillaume Main, Switzerland, 10′.

The Desecrated, directed by John Gray, US, 8′.

Juicy Girl, directed by Mj Kim, Korea, 16′.

The Last Man on Earth, directed by April Phillips, New Zealand, 20′. EUROPEAN PREMIERE

London Arabia, directed by Daniel Jewel, UK, 20′.

River, directed by Emily Skye, US, 17′. FRENCH PREMIERE.

The Shepherds of Cat Island, directed by Attila Rostas, US, 12′. FRENCH PREMIERE. PAMA ALUMNI: winner best short script 2018 with “The Shepherds of Cat Island”.

WINNER 🏆 Talk, directed by Romuald Boulanger, US, 25′. HAMA ALUMNI: revelation filmmaker 2020.

We Can’t Breathe, directed by Clarence Williams IV, US, 11′.

Yulubidyi (Until The End), directed by Nathan Mewett and Curtis Taylor, Australia, 13′.

Di Myay Mher Tha Ye Kana Phit Kae Tal (In This Land We’re Briefly Ghosts), directed by Chen-Wen Lo, Myanmar, 16′. DISQUALIFIED

NOMINATED BEST MUSIC VIDEO

Alon Mor – Echoes Follow, directed by Roberto Caldi Casanova, Italy, 9′.

Oddko – D4tm, directed by Giovanni Bucci, US, 4′.

Of Monsters and Men – Wars, directed by Marcella Moser, US, 4′.

Naïma Pöhler – Unseen, directed by Naïma Pöhler, France, 4′.

Mitchell TenpennyCanes Creek, directed by Michael Everett, US, 4′.

Toukan Toukän – Konowoulen, directed by Geoffroy Virgery, France, 4′. FRENCH PREMIERE.

WINNER 🏆 Charlie Winston – Lost In the Memory, directed by Ian Roderick Gray, UK, 6′.

Angela Zhang – All from Me, directed by Outerspace Leo and Wang Shou Jie, Taiwan, 4′.

Target – Inverted Gloaming, directed by Matias Alvarado, Chile, 7′. DISQUALIFIED

NOMINATED BEST ART PHOTOGRAPHY

WINNER 🏆 Chicano Life, by Julien Gremm, France.

Love is Love, by Dylan Perlot, US.

St Tammany Parish Major Arcana Deck, by Aaron Osborne, US.

NOMINATED BEST DANCE

Les Derniers Enfants du Causse (The Last Children), directed and choreographed by Fu Le, France, 10′. PARIS PREMIERE.

Edgar, directed by Elina Golde, choreographed Zhongjing Fang US, 8′. WORLD PREMIERE.

Hong Kong Ballet: Never Standing Still, directed by Dean Alexander, choreographed by Septime Weber, Artistic Director of the Hong Kong Ballet, US, 3′.

Making Men, directed by Antoine Panier, choreographed by Harold George, Belgium, 10′.

WINNER 🏆 Silk City, directed by Mikko Timonen & Erin Judd, choreographed by Jorma Elo, US/FINLAND, 3′. EUROPEAN PREMIERE.

NOMINATED BEST ANIMATED FILM

Master Moley By Royal Invitation, directed by Leon Joosen, UK, 30′. FRENCH PREMIERE.

Mime Your Manners, directed by Kate Namowicz and Skyler Porras, US, 4′.

Redemption, directed by Seora Hong, US, 4′.

Tides Are Changing, directed by Dinah Kalaha and María Bjarnadóttir, US, 3′. EUROPEAN PREMIERE.

WINNER 🏆 The Train to Qinling, directed by Shir Baron, US, 3′. WORLD PREMIERE.

Tyrant, directed by Barbara Mones, US, 10′.

Waste Away, directed by Elly Stern, US, 5′. EUROPEAN PREMIERE.

Wild Eyes, directed by Nina Prange, Germany, 6′. EUROPEAN PREMIERE.

The Winter, directed by Xin Li, Australia, 5′.

NOMINATED BEST STUDENT FILM

The Bride, directed by Yusif Jafarov, US, 20′.

Día de Las Carpas, directed by Joao Dall’Stella, US, 15′.

Insectarium, directed by Kilian Thomas, France, 13′.

WINNER 🏆 Modern Animals, directed by Filippo Savoia, US, 11′. EUROPEAN PREMIERE.

Sami, directed by Eden Bailey, US, 20′.

The Bigonia Garden, directed by Ron Goldin, Israel, 20′.

NOMINATED BEST VISUAL ARTS IN MOTION – EXPERIMENTAL FILM

Alabaster, directed by Dan Ramm, US, 10′. EUROPEAN PREMIERE.

WINNER 🏆 Hey Girl, directed by Haley Geffen, US, 10′. EUROPEAN PREMIERE.

If We Had Tomorrow, directed by Anastasiya Yevchenko, Ukraine, 16′. PARIS PREMIERE.

STuK, directed by Nadira Murray, UK, 8′. FRENCH PREMIERE.

The Vultures, directed by Nabil Senhaji, France, 4′. EUROPEAN PREMIERE.

NOMINATED BEST DOCUMENTARY

WINNER 🏆 All Its Name Implies, directed by Ev Durán, US, 1H38. EUROPEAN PREMIERE.

A Butcher by Any Other Name: The Hunt for Syria’s War Criminals, directed by Oubai Shahbandar, Turkey, 26′.

Dafa Metti (Difficult), directed by Tal Amiran, UK, 15′. PAMA ALUMNI: winner best documentary 2015.

Kim, directed by Maria Vattimo, US, 8′.

Lucinda Urrusti. Painter., directed by Juan Francisco Urrusti Alonso, Mexico, 1H31.

Thanatos, the Final Passage, directed by Pierre Barnérias, France, 1H45.

NOMINATED BEST DIRECTOR

Philippe Dajoux, with Vagabondes (Vagabonds), France, 1H48. EUROPEAN PREMIERE.

Ron Goldin, with The Bigonia Garden, Israel, 20′.

Enah Johnscott, with The Fisherman’s Diary, Cameroon, 2H23.

WINNERS 🏆 Nathan Mewett and Curtis Taylor, with Yulubidyi (Until The End), Australia, 13′.

Barbara Mones, with Tyrant, US, 10′.

Nadira Murray, with STuK, UK, 8′. FRENCH PREMIERE.

Kevin Speckmaier and Chad Barager, with The Inheritance, Canada, 1H22. EUROPEAN PREMIERE.

NOMINATED BEST ACTRESS

Raphaëlle Agogué, for her performance in Je Fuis Donc Je Vis (Leaving to Live), directed by David Rodrigues, France, 8′.

Stacey Farber, for her performance in The Desecrated, directed by John Gray, US, 8′.

Mary Cameron Rogers, for her performance in River, directed by Emily Skye, US, 17′. FRENCH PREMIERE.

WINNER 🏆 Natalia Ryumina, for her performance in The Inheritance, directed by Kevin Speckmaier and Chad Barager, France, 1H22. EUROPEAN PREMIERE.

Camila Senna, for her performance in The Bribe, directed by Yusif Jafarov, US, 20′.

Kathy Arfa Htwe, for her performance in Di Myay Mher Tha Ye Kana Phit Kae Tal (In This Land We’re Briefly Ghosts), directed by Chen-Wen Lo, Myanmar, 16′. DISQUALIFIED

NOMINATED BEST ACTOR

WINNER 🏆 William Baldwin, for his performance in Talk, directed by Romuald Boulanger, US, 25′.

Christopher Cotten, for his performance in Modern Animals, directed by Filippo Savoia, US, 11′. EUROPEAN PREMIERE.

Marco Longo, for his performance in Le Chirurgien de l’Empire (The Empire’s Surgeon), directed by Guillaume Main, Switzerland, 10′.

Dave Payton, for his performance in Thy Neighbor, directed by George A. Johnson, US, 1H39. FRENCH PREMIERE.

Kang Quintus, for his performance in The Fisherman’s Diary, directed by Enah Johnscott, Cameroon, 2h23.

John Way, for his performance in Sweet Sunshine, directed by Craig McMahon, US, 1H33. EUROPEAN & INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE.

NOMINATED BEST DOP – DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Ev Durán for All Its Name Implies, directed by Ev Durán, US, 1H38. EUROPEAN PREMIERE.

Ryan Petey for The Inheritance, directed by Kevin Speckmaier and Chad Barager, Canada, 1H22. EUROPEAN PREMIERE.

Emily Skye for River, directed by Emily Skye, US, 17′. FRENCH PREMIERE.

WINNER 🏆 Yoann Suberviolle for The Vultures, directed by Nabil Senhaji, France, 4′. EUROPEAN PREMIERE.

Lukasz Dziedzic for Di Myay Mher Tha Ye Kana Phit Kae Tal (In This Land We’re Briefly Ghosts), directed by Chen-Wen Lo, Myanmar, 16′. DISQUALIFIED

Matias Alvarado for Target – Inverted Gloaming, directed by Nabil Senhaji, Chile, 7′. DISQUALIFIED

NOMINATED BEST EDITOR

The festival Judges the overall editing quality of the works, as a technical category to reward the hard work of the editor(s) to achieve fluid narration fitting the film and the script.

WINNER 🏆 Roberto Caldi Casanova for Alon Mor – Echoes Follow, directed by Roberto Caldi Casanova, Italy, 9′.

Brett Langefels for Hey Girl, directed by Haley Geffen, US, 10′. EUROPEAN PREMIERE.

Skylar Zhang for Día de Las Carpas, directed by Joao Dall’Stella, US, 15′.

_ for Hong Kong Ballet: Never Standing Still, directed by Dean Alexander, US, 3′.

NOMINATED BEST PRODUCTION

Le Chirurgien de l’Empire (The Empire’s Surgeon), produced by Glockhome production and Main & Co SA directed by Guillaume Main, Switzerland, 10′.

WINNER ex-aequo🏆 The Fisherman’s Diary, produced by Kang Quintus, directed by Enah Johnscott, Cameroon, 2h23.

WINNER ex-aequo 🏆 Hong Kong Ballet: Never Standing Still, produced by _ directed by Dean Alexander, US, 3′.

Alon Mor – Echoes Follow, produced by Silvia Perego, Fabio Bertozzi, Davide Morelli, Leonardo Ruiu and Roberto Caldi Casanova, directed by Robert Caldi Casanova, Italy, 9′.

Yulubidyi (Until The End), produced by Glen Stasiuk, directed by Nathan Mewett and Curtis Taylor, Australia, 13′.

NOMINATED BEST POSTER

Camera Obscura, directed by Mary Noelle Dana and Sonia Sieff, France. Poster designed by _.

Le Chirurgien de l’Empire (The Empire’s Surgeon), directed by Guillaume Main, Switzerland. Poster designed by _.

Día de Las Carpas, directed by Joao Dall’Stella, US. Poster designed by _.

The Inheritance, directed by Kevin Speckmaier and Chad Barager, Canada. Poster designed by _. EUROPEAN PREMIERE.

WINNER 🏆 Tides Are Changing, poster designed by Maria Bjarnadottir and Dinah Kalaha, directed by Dinah Kalaha and María Bjarnadóttir, US. EUROPEAN PREMIERE.

NOMINATED BEST WEB SERIES

WINNER 🏆 Le Coroner – Season 1, directed by Fabio Soares and Mike Zonnenberg, France, 6′.

Fritures (Fry-Up), directed by Jonathan Rio, France, 4′. WORLD PREMIERE.

Histoire de Bagnards (Story of Convicts), directed by Benjamin Sebire, France, 7′.

NOMINATED BEST SCORE – COMPOSER

The following composers and scores all are listed in competition, official selection. The festival judges only the music, not the movie. The movies do not screen.

Fadi Awad for We Are Here, directed by Fadi Awad, Canada.

Aniss Belkadi for Orange and Blue, directed by Théo Méritet, France. HAMA ALUMNI: winner best score with “Orange and Blue”.

Zong Chiang for The Two of US, directed by Leading Lee, Taiwan.

Matthias Fuchez for The Muse, directed by Matthias Fuchez, UK. FRENCH PREMIERE.

WINNERS 🏆 Bänz Isler and Sandra Stadler for Der Bär in Mir, directed by Romain Droux, Switzerland.

Michael Klubertanz for Wuthering Heights, directed by Bryan Ferriter, Germany.

Nobuko Toda and Kazuma Jinnouchi for Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045, directed by Kenji Kamiayama and Shinji Aramaki, Japan.

NOMINATED BEST SOUNDTRACK SONG

The following movies are listed in competition, official selection. The festival judges only a specific soundtrack song, not the movie. As a result, the movies will not screen, but the tracks will play all along the festival’s various events.

WINNER 🏆 Abeg, performed by Ewube, from The Fisherman’s Diary, directed by Enah Johnscott, Cameroon.

Fall in Love, performed by Micci Yu, composed by Zong Chiang, from Born Into Loving Hands, Taiwan.

Sane, performed by Tea Belle, written by Tea Wagner, from Stay Sane, directed by Hana Wagner, US.

Seul, performed by Laura Kleinas, composed by Andrew Fly, from Seul, directed by Simon Hare, Italy.

NOMINATED BEST SHORT SCRIPT

bOb, written by Alberto Chumaceiro, Venezuela.

Dessert & Dash, written by Wayne Pombert II and Muse Seymour, US.

WINNER 🏆 Disappearing Ally, written by Warren Paul Glover, Australia.

Last Chance, written by Eszter Angyalosy, Hungary. PAMA ALUMNI: winner best music video 2016.

Lenny’s Luck, written by Colin Pierce, US.

McKenzie, written by Alex Meridy, Tony Carrington Jr and Selah Green, US.

Next, Please, written by Diego Trovarelli, Italy.

The Night Light Lad, written by Davis Clark, US.

Private Number, written by Geoffrey Gould, US. HAMA ALUMNI: winner best short script with “Private Number”.

NOMINATED BEST FEATURE SCRIPT

Alta California, written by Lynn Elliott, US.

A Dream of America, written by Bo Svenson, US.

Bones of Ribbon, written by Ashley Sanders, Australia.

Fires of Saint Sebastian, written by Tomek P. Chenczke, Portugal.

The Life of Cockroaches, written by Gillian Croft, Canada.

Mysteries of Lake Brosno, written by Sergei Okhotin, Russian Federation.

Natalie Rising, written by Donna Wheeler, US.

The Road of Rose, written by Annette Rodig, US.

Six Boxes in Six Hotel Rooms, written by Graeme Keeton, UK.

The Statue Garden, written by Peter Hsieh, US.

WINNER 🏆 Taken Away, written by Katherine Hill, Canada.

NOMINATED BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS

Andrew Buckley and Ivan Rojas – Siamese for Yulubidyi (Until The End), directed by Nathan Mewett and Curtis Taylor, Australia, 13′.

Brendan Forde and Bobby Cary for Sami, directed by Eden Bailey, US, 20′.

WINNER 🏆 Davy Liu and Tseng Hsiao Han for Angela Zhang – All from Me, directed by Outerspace Leo and Wang Shou Jie, Taiwan, 4′.

Tom O’Neill, Kymberly Murphy and Armen V. Kevorkian, Studio Encore Visual Effects for The Desecrated, directed by John Gray, US, 8′.

Guillaume Tripoteau for Toukan Toukän – Konowoulen, directed by Geoffroy Virgery, France, 4′. FRENCH PREMIERE.

NOMINATED BEST TRAILER

Equal Standard, edited by Eun-Ah Lee, US, 1’23.

Fashion Alibi, edited by _, France, 1′.

Histoire de Bagnards (Story of Convicts), edited by _, France, 1’29.

Sweet Sunshine, edited by _, US, 0’55.

WINNER 🏆 Thy Neighbor, edited by George A. Johnson, US, 1’07. FRENCH PREMIERE.

NOMINATED BEST DRONE SHORT FILM

Freefly Alpstein, by Jonas Schäuffelen, Moritz Seiter and Marvin Blach, Germany, 4′.

WINNER 🏆 Unseen Australia, by Chris Tangey, Australia, 3′.

NOMINATED OUT OF COMPETITION

We are proud to screen renew our partnership with the Disability Film Challenge, and to screen the films listed below.

Human Helper, directed by Shaina Ghuraya, US, 6′.

I/O, directed by Carl Hansen, US, 6′.

The McHenry Trial – Don’t Judge a Kid by Their Hoodie, directed by Ken Sagoes, US, 31′.

The Vanished, directed by Rachel Handler, US, 6′.