With record entries from all over Australia – and the world – $50,000 in prizes were awarded – in 40 categories – and the magic of smart phone filmmaking celebrated in style!
Winner of the Best Film Award (and Best Screenplay) was Canada’s Big Dumb Animal by Schuyler Willson and Megan Sipos, with China’s Paco Wen, Chris Lee and Hardy Hu scoring Best Director for After Songs.
Sydney’s Paul Beattie picked up Best Cinematography for Who I Was Before I Forgot – a film by Sutherland filmmaker Naomi Sequeira – who was also crowned Best Actress and First Time Filmmaker winner. Tallebudgera Valley, QLD’s Rob Layton won Best Documentary with Beneath the Lonesome Skye. Sydney’s Tristan McKinnon (One Yarn) shared Best Actor with Canadian Willson.
Young local Kamilaroi woman and previous winner Kara Rose of La Perouse was awarded Best Female Creative for Songlines of Change and the NSW Central Coast’s Harlisha Newie-Joe won the First Nations Award for Roots. SF3 Founders’ Flick Pick award was shared between Dimitri Ellerington of Bondi, NSW (Wake) and Andrew Robb of Sunshine, VIC.
Top SF3 Kids film (high school) was Deadly Dining by Asia Dunstone of Newtown School of Performing Arts (who also snared Best Director) and Masters of Persuasion by Mila and Lula Kazantzidis (Bilgola Heights) won the primary school division. Other young Newtown and Castle Hill talent picked up more of the ‘gongs’ too!
Best Australian ‘Mini’ Film (up to 3 mins with the theme ‘Free’) was How Hard is it to Upload a Video to Youtube on the Queen Mary 2? by Robert Braiden of Beenleigh in Qld. Runner up was Ode to Wild Horses by Billie Dean of Braidwood, NSW. And Juundaal Strang-Yettica of Corrimal, NSW won the Community & Diversity Award for the wild and wonderful The Monstering: Sister GlitterNullius the Monster Speaks!
Three international films from USA and Nigeria won awards for their extraordinary Feature Films with the top prize going to Desconocidas (Unknowns, USA) featuring Venezuelan film icon Mimi Lazo!
Festival co-founder and director Angela Blake said this year’s huge international success was a tribute to the creativity and tenacity of filmmakers across Australia and around the world. “After two years of unprecedented challenge, it has been an incredible thrill to share the talent, imagination, resourcefulness and pure joy of these wonderful filmmakers… of all ages!” Co-director Ali Crew added that the rise and rise of the festival was as a fixture in the international film-world calendar was truly gratifying.
Films will continue to be available online until 20 Nov at www.sf3.com.au
THE SF3 GALA AWARDS
SF3 Best Film Award – Big Dumb Animal by Schuyler Willson and Megan Sipos (Canada)
SF3 People’s Choice Award – TBC
SF3 Best Director Award – After Songs by Paco Wen, Chris Lee & Hardy Hu (China)
SF3 Best Cinematography Award – Paul Beattie for Who I Was Before I Forgot
SF3 & ACS Best Cinematography Runner-Up Award – Megan Sipos for Big Dumb Animal (Canada)
SF3 Best Screenplay Award – Big Dumb Animal by Schuyler Willson
SF3 Best Documentary Award – Beneath the Lonesome Skye by Rob Layton (Tallebudgera Valley, QLD)
SF3 Best Editing Award – Big Dumb Animal by Schuyler Willson (Canada)
SF3 Best Original Score Award – WAKE by Alexander Ellerington
SF3 Best Actress Award – Naomi Sequeira for Who I Was Before I Forgot (Sutherland, NSW)
SF3 Best Actor Award – Schuyler Willson for Big Dumb Animal
SF3 Best Actor Award – Tristan McKinnon for One Yarn (Sydney)
SF3 & Luma Touch Finished on Mobile Award (for films both shot and edited on a mobile device) – The Unseen by Tom Major (London, UK)
SF3 & WIFT NSW Best Female Creative Award – Kara Rose for Songlines of Change
SF3 First Nations Award supported by Dolby – Roots by Harlisha Newie-Joe
SF3 Founders’ Flick Pick – WAKE by Dimitri Ellerington (Bondi, NSW) & Karl Heinz by Andrew Robb (Sunhine, VIC)
#FILMBREAKER Award – Naomi Sequeira for Who I Was Before I Forgot (Sutherland, NSW)
SF3 and Chicken & Chips Casting Award – V by Tallulah Remond-Stephen
SF3 KIDS
The NIDA SF3 Kids Best Film Award High School – Deadly Dining by Asia Dunstone (Newtown School of the Performing Arts)
SF3 Kids Best Film Award Primary School – Masters of Persuasion by Mila Kazantzidis and Lula Kazantzidis (Bilgola Heights, NSW)
SF3 Kids Best Director Award – Asia Dunstone for Deadly Dining
SF3 Kids Best Cinematography Award – Elodie Kliendienst for Thief vs Thief (Newtown School of the Performing Arts)
SF3 Kids Best Screenplay Award – The Rose Scam by Sophia Budd (castle Hill, NSW) – from Hills Drama
SF3 Kids Best Editing Award – Thief vs Thief by Elodie Kliendienst (Newtown School of the Performing Arts)
SF3 Kids Best Documentary Award – The Magic in Liberia by Oliver Hamm & Lucas Hamm (Melbourne, VIC)
SF3 Kids Best Actor Award – Noah Kennedy for Birthday Fail (Beaumont Hills, NSW) – Hills Drama Student
SF3 Kids Best Actress Award – Aurora Iler for Victim Impact (Coomera, QLD used to live Campbelltown)
SF3 MINI
SF3 Mini Best International Film – Mild Symptoms by Darshan K (India)
SF3 Mini Best Australian Film – How Hard is it to Upload a Video to Youtube On the Queen Mary 2? by Robert Braiden (Beenleigh, QLD)
SF3 Mini International Runner-Up Award – Out of Thin Air by Alexandra Guillossou (USA)
SF3 Mini International Runner-Up Award – CROSSED by Jean-Charles Fritz (France)
SF3 Mini Australian Runner-Up Award – Ode to Wild Horses by Billie Dean (Braidwood, NSW)
SF3 Mini Australian Runner-Up Award – Move Me by Joshua Belinfante (Eastern Suburbs, Sydney)
SF3 & Spineless Wonders Best Adaptation Mini Award – NONNO by Rev Howley (Balwyn, VIC)
SF3 & Spineless Wonders Best Micro-Fiction Award – Gayelene Carbis
SF3 Community & Diversity Award – The Monstering: Sister GlitterNullius the Monster Speaks by Juundaal Strang-Yettica (Corrimal, NSW)
SF3 FEATURE FILM
SF3 Best Feature Film Award – Unknowns by Luis Fernandez (LA,USA)
SF3 Feature Film Runner-Up Award – Sunday Sunday Sunday by Anthony Natoli (NY, USA)
SF3 Feature Film Runner-Up Award – iWant by Oladipo O’Fresh (Nigeria)
SF360
SF360 Best Film – The Virtual Circle by ReVerse Butcher (Melbourne, VIC)
