- Two-week online selection of movies sees awards handed out for the third annual Indy Film Library Student Short Showcase
- Gloria Haoyu Guo wins Best Director for slow burning story of young love Mirage Though Light
- Patriarchal drama Text Me When You Get Home xx scoops Best Film wreath
Since Monday 12th December 2022, Indy Film Library (IFL) has been streaming some of the best student short films it has received over the last year. All the films selected are still available to view via the IFL website. They will remain on the platform for free, until Monday 26th December 23:00 CET.
As the showcase prepares to draw to a close, however, IFL has announced the winners from the Student Short Showcase shortlist, selected by IFL’s jury.
The list of accolades distributed sees Best Film handed to Niklas Bauer’s tension-filled Text Me When You Get Home xx. Taking place during an ominous taxi ride, the film follows a young woman on her journey home alone, after dark. It also picked up Best Actor for the performance of lead Lennora Esi – who won praise for “conveying a huge depth of feeling wordlessly” in the film.
Meanwhile, Gloria Haoyu Guo won Best Director for her work on Mirage Though Light – a tragi-comic tale of doomed young love, and a hopeful conversation unknowingly being lost in translation.
Keyan Miao’s subversive fairytale Touch of Freedom picked up two prizes in technical categories. The Chinese LGBT+ fantasy was handed Best Cinematography and Best Score. As noted in IFL’s review of the film, it is shot on multiple formats – including 35mm and digital 4K – with black-and-white cinematography rendering a gorgeous environment of “dark, twisted trees framing shots of the sunlit riverbank, or looming high above our protagonist during moments of vulnerability.”
Best Screenplay was presented to Julie Holst Nielsen-Man for her film Huldre. IFL’s evaluation of the film praised the film as an “intelligent, minimalist production is taken to remarkable heights by a patient script, and the emotionally-charged performances of its two leads.”
Finally, Miranda Namicheishvili’s migrant-crossing drama The Load claimed a narrow victory in the Audience Choice category. After a close race throughout most of the event, the film eventually finished just a handful of votes ahead of its nearest rival, Samuel J Punto’s The Holding Room. Both films received more than 40% of votes cast – earning them each an honourable mention.
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 our most successful yet. It is a privilege to be able to champion the next generation of film talent to new audiences around the world.
“Second, I must congratulate the winners. These filmmakers are the best of the best, and I am so excited to see what they go on to achieve in their future careers. In terms of the films themselves, I think it’s especially fitting that in the continued social alienation and hardship so many people are enduring right now, these films seem to have a common thread running through them: reminding us of the importance of reaching out to support each other through the coldest, darkest months of the year.”
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Indy Film Library
Based in Amsterdam, Indy Film Library is a film-criticism platform, which delivers insightful feedback to independent filmmakers. 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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