Cork Film Festival

‘Made In Cork’ Award for Best Short Film
Uisce Beatha / Shaun O’Connor
This is a film that showed panache, poise and sharpness, that had the freshness we were looking for, and a lightness of touch and a spareness, with no padding whatsoever. It also had a genuine warmth and engagement, and a subtle, gradual release of the information it was revealing. In short, it was a film, we felt, that could have been clichéd or clumsy in lesser hands. We are very happy to choose it and recommend it.

‘Made In Cork’ Jury: Pat Kiernan, Jane Lee, Matthew Sweeney.

Best Irish Short Film
Left / Eamonn O’Neill
A film about two childhood friends who choose different paths, Eamonn O’Neill’s Left is a simple yet complex and mature animation with great depth of characters.

Special Mention:
A Removals Job / Nicholas Keogh
This film has a unique and creative approach, where the demolition of a building and the process of its reconstruction becomes a metaphor for the craft of cinema.

Claire Lynch Award: Best First-time Irish Director of a Short Film
Two Wheels, Good / Barry Gene Murphy
This director uses a clever mix of style and form with live action and animation to portray an inspiring insight into different lives on two wheels.

Special Mentions:
Solitude / Sean Breathnach
This film displays a brave and accomplished attempt at creating a tensions experiences by both the audience and the lead character.

Buried In Light / Siobhan Perry
Perry’s film stands out for its difference in theme and its elegant yet form approach to its subject.

National Jury: Rita Figueiredo (Portugal), Liz Harkman (England), Danny McCarthy (Ireland).

Best International Short Film
All Hallows Week (Hiljainen Viikko) / Jussi Hiltunen / Finland
A film that manages to capture the trauma following a random act of violence. Highly authentic, showing guilt, hate and blame, all skillfully encapsulated within eighteen minutes.

Special Mentions:
Ballet Story / Daria Belova / Germany
A film that carefully reveals a world of jealousy amongst young girls, with lyrical cinematography and a relaxed pace.

Premature (Prematur) / Gunhild Enger / Norway
A tragicomedy of discomfort and prejudice, and an interweaving of different perspectives, all told in one single take.

Cork Short Film Nominee for the European Film Awards
Morning / Cathy Brady / England, Ireland
A devastatingly nuanced drama, which mixes a power struggle alongside grief and ambition, with two superb lead performances, and shot in a minimalist and realistic style. Cathy Brady is an exciting new Irish talent.

International Jury: Per Fikse (Norway), Nicky Gogan (Ireland), Philip Ilson (England).

Audience Award for Best Irish Short Film
Motion Sickness / John McIlduff and Jessica Kennedy

Audience Award for Best International Short Film
Rhinos / Shimmy Marcus / Ireland

OutLook Award for Best LGBT Short Film
Next Door Letters / Sascha Fülscher / Sweden
Fülscher’s animation is a sweet and tender short that reaches audiences both young and old with its authentic message of unrequited love.

Award of the Festival for Best Short Film
Oh Willy… / Marc James Roels, Emma de Swaef / Belgium
Surreal, gentle, emotionally charged, the film encompasses themes of love, belonging, identity, ‘the human condition’ and hunger. Above all else, Oh Willy… is a beautifully textured, meticulously-crafted animation.