The winners of the 2021 St Kilda Film Festival have now been announced. The winner of the grand prize for Best Short Film was Lost Boy directed by Peter Skinner, alongside producers Susannah Wolff and David Shyegun. Best Director was awarded to Joy‘s Gabrielle Morrison, who also took out Best Screenplay alongside co-writer Serena Siow.
Best Documentary was awarded to Lost Contact, and Carmentis, which went into the awards with the most nominations was awarded the Craft Award, Best Actor for Ben Mortley and Best Achievement in Sound Post-Production. Psychological horror film The Moogai took out the award for Best Achievement in Indigenous Filmmaking.
A showcase of film highlights continue to be made available for viewing online until June 5. The full list of winners can be found highlighted in the original nominations article below.
[Original article, published 25/05/21, continues below]
Nominations for the 2021 St Kilda Film Festival have been announced, including the prestigious $10,000 Best Short Film category featuring nominees Carmentis, Erwin, Lost Boy and Joy.
Perth filmmaker’s Antony Webb sci-fi Carmentis leads the way with seven nominations, which includes a Best Actor nod for Ben Mortley. Following Carmentis’ recognition is Joy, from Hobart and Sydney-based filmmaker Gabriel Morrison, with four nominations. Erwin and Inferno round out the leading nominees with three apiece.
Now in its 38th year, the St Kilda Film Festival is Australia’s longest-running short film festival, and also serves as a pathway to the Academy Awards, with Best Short Film and Best Documentary winners receiving eligibility for the Short Film and Documentary Shorts Oscars respectively.
Read: St Kilda Film Festival offers 100 short films online for free
This year’s festival features a prize pool of over $36,000 across the 14 categories, with support from the City of Port Phillip and Film Victoria. City of Port Phillip Mayor Louise Crawford said excitement was high following last Thursday’s opening night event, with celebration of local creatives the focus.
‘Our opening night at the Astor Theatre was incredibly special as creatives and other passionate film lovers came together to celebrate Australian film in person’ Crawford said. ‘All the films screened, from intricate animations to sci-fi and horror, were well-received and provoked many lively discussions.’
Film Victoria CEO Caroline Pitcher added that the St Kilda Film Festival is an important part of the calendar in highlighting Australian filmmaking.
‘The St Kilda Film Festival plays an important role in fostering the next generation of filmmakers and celebrating Australia’s best short films,’ Pitcher said. ‘Film Victoria is proud to partner with the festival to grow Victoria’s world-class talent on both sides of the camera and I congratulate all of this year’s award nominees.’
The St Kilda Film Festival award winners are due to be announced on Saturday 29 May at the official closing ceremony at the Alex Theatre. Adjudicating the awards is a panel of industry professionals including screenwriter and producer Vanessa Burt; Yaegl woman, filmmaker and academic Pauline Clague; alongside filmmaker and artistic director Maxine WIlliamson.
Regarding the latest COVID-19 developments in Victoria, event organisers shared a post to the St Kilda Film Festival Facebook page advising attendees plans are in place should any cancellations occur and masks are mandatory at all live events from 6 pm tonight.
The full list of St Kilda Film Festival award nominees is as follows:
Best Short Film
• Carmentis (Dir: Antony Webb, Prod: Jaclyn Hewer)
• Erwin (Dir: Lev Libre-Jutsen, Prod: Nic Parker, Lev Libre-Jutsen)
• Lost Boy (Dir: Peter Skinner, Prod: Susannah Wolff, David Shyegunr) [WINNER]
• Joy (Dir: Gabriel Morrison, Prod: Matthew Bunin)
Craft Award
• The Wake (Dir: Eddie Diamandi, Prod: George Rubanov, Katerina Mitropoulos)
• Carmentis (Dir: Antony Webb, Prod: Jaclyn Hewer) [WINNER]
• I’m So Depressed (Dir, Prod: Kai Smythe )
• Inferno (Dir: Katherine Chediak Putnam, Prod: Brenton Pinsent, Dean W Law)
Best Director
• Carmentis (Antony Webb)
• Joy (Gabriel Morrison) [WINNER]
• Groundhog Night (Genevieve Clay-Smith and Rawley Reynolds)
• Peaks (Navzad Dabu)
Best Documentary
• What Was it Like (Dir: Genevieve Clay-Smith, Prod: Dianna La Grassa, Genevieve Clay-Smith)
• Lost Contact (Dir, Prod: Jaina Kalifa, Amelia Paxman) [WINNER]
• Jez: a letter for life (Dir, Prod: Mitzi Goldman)
• Jett (Dir: Michi Marosszeky, Prod: Paul Sullivan)
Best Animation
• Lifeblood (Nicholas Tory)
• The Winter (Xin Li) [WINNER]
• Horde (James Cohen, Will Thompson)
• White Goods (Cath Murphy)
Best Achievement in Indigenous Filmmaking
• The Moogai (Dir: Jon Bell, Prod: Samantha Jennings, Kristina Ceyton, Taylor Goddard, Mitchell Stanley) [WINNER]
• Elders (Dir: Tony Briggs, Prod: Damienne Pradier)
• Waiyirri (Dir: Kiara Milera, Charlotte Rose, Prod: Jodie Kirkbride)
• JADAI: The Broome Brawler (Dir: Curtis Taylor, Nathan Mewett, Prod: Glen Stasiuk)
Best Actor
• Simon Lyndon (Chucky Boy Blue)
• Ben Mortley (Carmentis) [WINNER]
• Natalia Novikova (The Wake)
• Liz Harper (Joy)
Best Achievement in Cinematography
• Carmentis (David Le May ACS)
• Erwin (Ollie Ritchie)
• Kilter (Aaron McLisky ACS) [WINNER]
• The Wake (Edward Goldner)
Best Achievement in Screenplay
• Carmentis (Antony Webb)
• Groundhog Night (Emily Dash)
• Joy (Gabriel Morrison & Serena Siow) [WINNER]
• God Grant Me (Mark Davis)
Best Achievement in Editing
• Peaks (Navzad Dabu) [WINNER]
• A Godless Country (Dave Redman ASE)
• Inferno (Matthew Sawyer)
• Furlough (Max Bowens)
Best Young Actor
• Julia Savage (The Familiars)
• Lennox Lee (Fire Rabbit)
• Garang John Deng (Two Sands)
• Catherine Lillian (Dry Fire) [WINNER]
Best Achievement in Sound Post-Production
• Carmentis (Xoe Baird) [WINNER]
• The Familiars (Stuart Melvey)
• Inferno (David Butcherine)
• Lifeblood (Jonathan Nix)
Best Original Score
• Lifeblood (Jonathan Nix)
• After Saturn (Pru Montin and Michael Raye)
• A Godless Country (Nerida Tyson-Chew)
• Erwin (Kae M Black) [WINNER]
Best Youth Short FIlm
• The Watcher (Dir: Kasey Vesperman, Prod: Shania Anderson)
• Clear History (Dir: Caitlin Soennichsen, Prod: Tom Matthews, Angus Kiel)
• The Odyssey (Dir, Prod: Emmanuelle Mattana) [WINNER]
