- Two-week online selection of movies sees awards distributed for the second annual Indy Film Library Student Short Showcase
- Yael Elbee wins Best Director for meditative self-care story Nothing Important
- Powerful social care drama Lieve scoops Best Film wreath
Since Monday 23rd August 2021, Indy Film Library (IFL) has been streaming some of the best student short films it has received for review, for free. All the films selected are still available to view via the IFL website. They will remain there until Monday 6th September 23:00 CET.
As the showcase prepares to draw to a close, however, IFL has announced the winners from the Student Short Showcase shortlist. The victorious movies were selected by IFL’s jury, which consists of its team of film critics.
The list of accolades distributed sees Best Film handed to Vincent Groos’ social care drama, Lieve. The film follows the life of an over-worked home nurse, whose desire to help everyone puts pressure on her ability to support those closest to her. The film also picked up Best Screenplay for Groos’ intimate and moving script.
Speaking on what the film means to him, Groos recently told IFL, “I hope to shed some light into a world yet unknown to many of us. A story about resilience and the power of vulnerability.”
Meanwhile, Yael Elbee has won Best Director for her work on Nothing Important – a film charting the course of a day in the life of an introverted young woman. As Elbee herself described it, “she’s an outsider to basic social norms and doesn’t speak because the world is doing enough speaking for her.”
Clearly, this laid-back demeanour did not impact on the power of lead actor Gina Henkel’s performance though, as the jury selected her for the award for Best Actor.
Finally, academic melodrama Coo-Coo was handed the prize for Best Cinematography. As noted in IFL’s review of the film, what helped the film stand out was “Director of Photography Dmitry Nagovsky’s imagery… [which] is most arresting when it takes us on unnerving expeditions through the spiralling, eclectic undergrowth of a natural history museum.”
Svetlana Belorussova’s film also claimed a resounding victory in the Audience Choice category. After a close race throughout most of the event, the film pulled clear of its rivals in the last two days, eventually receiving more than half of all votes cast.
IFL Chief Editor Jack Brindelli commented, “First and foremost I have to thank every single artist involved in the films, for helping make this year’s Student Short Showcase even better than the last. We couldn’t have done this without you, and it has been a joy to champion your work to new audiences around the world.
“Second, I have to congratulate all the winners. I think it’s especially fitting amid the ongoing pandemic, our jury picked out films featuring alienated, isolated and exploited individuals from all around the world. Underpaid and overworked care-workers; students placed under huge pressure by uncaring marketised academia; introverts desperate to escape the ever-encroaching noise of modern life; these are all stories which mainstream cinema baulks at addressing – and each show that the current crop not only have the talent, but the guts necessary to tell the stories that need telling in the years to come. Even at a time like this, that’s cause for some hope.”
Indy Film Library
Based in Amsterdam, Indy Film Library is a film-criticism platform, which delivers insightful feedback to independent filmmakers. It is currently open for its third year of submissions.
The organisation also hosts an annual gathering to celebrate the best and brightest up-and-coming talents in the industry. For more information, visit www.indyfilmlibrary.com, or email indyfilmlibrary@gmail.com.
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