LOS ANGELES, CA (October 2, 2021) — Three films from HollyShorts Film Festival’s 17th edition are moving on to be qualified for Oscar® gold in 2022. On October 1st, the organizers behind the Academy Awards®-qualifying festival presented over 35 awards at the Harmony Gold Theater in Hollywood, CA. Hosted by Kevin Winston, founder and CEO of Digital LA, and internationally-recognized influencer Lizza Monet Morales, the annual awards gala recognized excellence from all over the world. The festival took place this week in-person at the TCL Chinese Theatres, Japan House LA and various locations throughout Hollywood. The online edition of the festival is still currently available on Bitpix TV, the festival’s digital platform.
The films moving on to be Oscar®-qualified include Aneil Karia’s Grand Prix-winning short THE LONG GOODBYE starring Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal), Best Live Action short LITTLE BEAR from director Nicolas Birkenstock, and Best Animation short I AM A PEBBLE from Berteraut Mélanie, Bresson Yasmine, Coulombier Léo, Grondin Nicolas, le Chapelain Maxime, and Massé Louise. Prizes and sponsorships for this year’s awards are presented by: 88th Street Productions, Alta Global Media, ALTER, BECiNE, The Camera Division, Circle of Confusion, Color Space Finishing, Defiant Talent, DUST, Eroin Films, Film Augusta, Final Draft, Hawk Films, HollyShorts, Kodak, Panavision, SAG Indie, Seattle Film Summit with all winners receiving a Klio Studio’s certificate.
The complete winners list is:
- Best Action: Maximus directed by Richard Prendergast
- Best Animation: I Am A Pebble from Berteraut Mélanie, Bresson Yasmine, Coulombier Léo, Grondin Nicolas, le Chapelain Maxime, Massé Louise
- Prizes: Qualified for Oscars® 2022 and management meeting with Alta Global Media
- Best Cinematography: Lasse Ulvedal Tolboll for Under the Heavens
- Prize: Color correction from Color Space Finishing
- Best Comedy: The Deep End directed by Sean Pettis
- Prize: Trip to Augusta, GA from Film Augusta
- Best Commercial: Widen The Screen directed by Kevin Wilson Jr.
- Best Composer: Brian Hall & Jonah Ramey for The Night I Left America
- Prize: Meeting with Defiant Talent
- Best Director: Jayil Pak for Georgia
- Prize: Management meeting with Alta Global Media
- Best Documentary: Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma directed by Topaz Jones & rubberband
- Best Drama: I Would Never directed by Kiran Deol
- Prize: Trip to Augusta, GA from Film Augusta
- Best Editing: David Marks for Electromagnetic
- Best Horror: Lilias Adie directed by Elize du Toit
- Prize: Distribution by ALTER
- Best International: Fabiu directed by Stefan Langthaler
- Best LGBTQIA+: Bracha directed by Mickey Triest & Aaron Geva
- Best Live Action: Little Bear directed by Nicolas Birkenstock
- Prizes: Qualified for Oscars® 2022 and management meeting with Alta Global Media
- Best Midnight Madness: M*therfucker directed by Adam Long & Adam Peterson
- Best Music Video: Tell Me A Story directed by Sasha Solodukhina
- Best Podcast: Carcerem by Shane Salk
- Best Producer: Henry Tumwesigye for The Night I Left America
- Best SciFi: Jack and Jo Don’t Want To Die directed by Kantú Lentz
- Prize: Distribution by DUST, meeting with Circle of Confusion
- Best Screenplay: Dummy written by Andrew Kaberline
- Prizes: Seattle Film Summit & 88th Street/HollyShorts grant of $25,000, and Final Draft software. Finished film will screen at HollyShorts 2022.
- Best Student Film: Team Meryland directed by Gabriel Gaurano
- Best Thriller: Reklaw directed by Polaris Banks
- Prize: Meeting with Circle of Confusion
- Best TV Series: Cronos directed by Michael Middelkoop
- Best TV Screenplay: Half-Assed written by Tracie Laymon
- Prize: 88th Street option and Final Draft software.
- Best VFX: Untitled Earth Sim 64 directed by Jonathan Wilhelmsson
- Best Web Series: Best Before directed by Laura Bergeron & Maxime Robin
- Grand Prix Best Short: The Long Goodbye directed by Aneil Karia
- Prizes: Qualified for Oscars® 2022, $15,000 camera package from Panavision, a sales deal from Eroin Films, and management meeting with Alta Global Media.
- Hawk Films Screenplay Award: Glaciers written by Frank Berry & Matthew Bates
- Prizes: $20,000 production package from Hawk Films UK and Final Draft software. Finished film screens at HollyShorts 2022.
- HollyShorts Honorable Mention: Koreatown Ghost Story directed by Minsun Park & Teddy Tenenbaum
- HollyShorts 3rd Place Screenplay: David written by Jacob Mittlestadt-Raab
- Prize: Final Draft software
- Latinx Award: Nuevo Rico directed by Kristian Mercado Figueroa
- SAG Indie Award: Some Still Search directed by Nesaru Tchaas
- Shot on Film Award: The Archivists directed by Igor Drljača
- Prize: $1,000 for Kodak free film stock
- Shot on Film Honorable Mention: Beity directed by Isabelle Mecattaf
- Prize: $500 for Kodak free film stock
- Shot on Film Award – Super 8MM: Strong Son directed by Ian Bawa
- Prize: $1,000 for Kodak free film stock
- Social Impact Award: Under The Heavens directed by Gustavo Milan
- Prize: $10,000 camera rental package from The Camera Division
- Special Jury Mention: Staff Pick by Mitchell deQuilettes
- Women in Film Award: Dọlápọ̀ Is Fine directed by Ethosheia Hylton
- Women in Film Screenplay Award: Sara written by Jessica L. Hinkson
- Prizes: $1,000 from HollyShorts, BECiNE camera gear rental, and Final Draft software. Finished film screens at HollyShorts 2022.
The 18th Annual Oscar®-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival will take place August 11-20, 2022. Submissions are now open. For more information about HollyShorts Film Festival, please visit: hollyshorts.com
ABOUT HOLLYSHORTS FILM FESTIVAL (HSFF) #HSFF2021
The annual Academy Awards® Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival will celebrate its 17th year in September 2021. HollyShorts (HSFF) brings together top creators, industry leaders, and companies and has launched many filmmakers into the next stages of their careers. HollyShorts, a regular on the MovieMaker Magazine Top 50 Festivals Worth the Entry Fee list, also engages its community and spotlights short films year-round through monthly screenings, panels, and networking events. HollyShorts Film Festival will take place in-person between September 23-30, 2021 at the TCL Chinese Theaters in Hollywood, with the annual Awards Gala set to take place on October 1, 2021.
ABOUT BITPIX
Born out of the Oscar® Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival, Bitpix is a new Premium AVOD platform, featuring the world’s best short films. The platform is already live in alpha mode and available via Bitpixtv.com. Bitpix is streamed through the app for download on Airplay, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, AppleTV, Chromecast, IOS, Roku.
About KEVIN WINSTON
Kevin Winston has moderated HollyShorts panels and pitch sessions for the past decade, including hosting the HollyShorts Film Festival Awards in 2019. He is the award-winning founder and CEO of Digital LA, the largest LA-based organization of professionals in tech; digital entertainment including movies, TV, music, games, VFX; social media, marketing, startups, and advertising. Previously, Kevin worked at Fox Interactive Media and Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment creating integrated digital marketing campaigns. Kevin has spoken at conferences including: SXSW, Cannes Film Fest, VidCon, San Diego Comic-Con, Silicon Beach Fest, and more. He is President of the Yale in Hollywood alumni networking group. You can follow his adventures around Hollywood, beaches and pool parties at @kevinwinston @DigitalLA
About LIZZA MONET MORALES
Lizza Monet Morales, aka @xoxolizza, is an award winning actor, tv host, best-selling author and content creator in both English and Spanish who was named one of the “20 Most Influential Latinos and Latinas” in the United States by ALEGRIA magazine, won the prestigious TECLA award for “Best Live Broadcaster” two years in a row and is recognized in and out of the tech space for her work as a pioneer in the live-streaming space. Amongst the many awards and accolades she’s received, Lizza was named an “agent of change” by FLOTUS Michelle Obama and named one of the top 10 Latino voices in the United States by President Obama. When not working, she serves on a variety of non-profit boards and is a dedicated advocate for diversity inclusion and social justice.
Press Contact | Alta Global Media
Luke Fitterer | luke@altaglobalmedia.net