The May 2021 edition of the Berlin Shorts Award has come and gone. Many awards have been given out to the talented filmmakers in various categories. Here are seven award winners worth taking the time to watch.
AN AMERICAN IN EUROPE – Category: All
Director: Johnny Vonneumann, United States
Get ready for a psychedelic trip. Johnny Venneumann “assembles archival footage into a kaleidoscopic narrative”, which really expresses the feelings of what one American would experience the first time being in Europe. From amazing architecture to Europe’s rich history, the special effects on this film will bring one’s senses alive and full of excitement.
INGRID – Category: Best First Time Short Filmmaker
Director: Raimon Valls, Spain
First-time filmmakers often go the extra mile to creating their masterpiece, and Raimon Valls exemplifies that potential. This film is about a song that represents a girl, Ingrid, who is the protagonist in the film. Good dialogue in Spanish, and decent cinematography that’s worth giving a chance to watch.
PANT HOOT – Category: Best Documentary Short
Director: Richard Reens, United States
Pant Hoot follows a story of “a genocide survivor transcends overwhelming odds to become a master chimpanzee linguist”. Richard Reens’s experience in filmmaking really shines in making documentaries. The interview questions are well thought out and the framing of each scene are well balanced between the interviews and the subjects followed throughout the story.
WHAT’S NEXT? – Category: Best Covid Film
Director: Suman Hanif, United Kingdom
COVID-19 has been around for a year and a half now, and it’s no surprise that many short films will embrace making films under the Covid category. ‘What’s Next’, directed by Suman Hanif, is about a young woman dealing with supernatural events during the lockdown and is trying to convince her friend over the phone about the situation.
PRISONER – Category: Best Web Series
Director: Ingrid Franchi, France
Ingris Franchi has made a wonderful five-part web series of five different characters trying to escape their destinies trapped by families and societies expectations to live a free life. Each episode is shot differently, from one a night club to another in a hospital. All of them were executed beautifully with the theme ‘prisoner’ in mind.
LEAVING DARKNESS – Category: Best International Short Film
Director: Filip Kolarov, Australia
If you like dialogue-heavy drama, Leaving Darkness is one to rope you into their story. Filip Kolarov was able to capture the essence of a young woman pursuing to become a musician, is faced with someone with a tough past looking for the musician’s help and is roped into recurring family issues.
RINGO-APPLE- – Category: Best Student Short
Director: Ren Akiba, United States
Sins and forgiveness. Ren Akiba’s Ringo-Apple- follows a character named Singh who is looking to make amends of his past sins and finds a woman named Eve to guide him through his journey. This short film is shot entirely in black and white, which greatly represents the dark theme tones throughout the story.