- Two-week online selection of movies sees awards handed out for the fourth annual Indy Film Library Student Short Showcase
- ‘Blue Coast’ scores hat-trick of Best Film, Best Director and Best Script for slow burning meditation on alienation of migrant workers
- Dual-screen relationship drama ‘Is It Over?’ scoops brace of Best Editing and Audience Choice garlands
Since Monday 11th December 2023, 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 25th 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.
The list of accolades distributed sees Best Film handed to Blue Coast. Taking place during off-season at a Greek resort town, the film follows an ageing migrant worker as he struggles to maintain contact with his family, while being ruthlessly exploited by his employer. It also picked up Best Director and Best Script for the work of Eleni Stavridou– who won praise for a hands-off story that shows how “the peace we have come to fetishise as consumers can become just as alienating and maddening as the eternal noise we seek to escape.”
Meanwhile, Luca Jonas Müller picked up Best Actor for his work on Momo or Moses – who “moves from wry gallows humour, to gut-wrenching, hacking coughing fits” in the LGBT+ drama’s central performance – in which an AIDs patient considers the meaning of life, and what role religion has played in his final days.
Cinematographers Zhibin Geng, Ruoyu Wang and Zhengyang Du were awarded Best Cinematography for their work on Tian Yu Liu’s documentary Searching for Shambhala. As the director travels to Tibet seeking spiritual guidance, the cinematographers’ work was praised for “picking out some stunning images” amid the Himalayas. Jackson Chen was also given the wreath for Best Score for his work on the film, which helped to underline its themes of peaceful self-reflection.
Finally, Julian Cruiming’s dual-screen drama Is It Over? claimed the prize for Best Editing – for telling the story of an off-and-on relationship through two simultaneous lenses. The film also clinched the Audience Choice award, after edging a three-way race with Blue Coast and Momo or Moses.
IFL Chief Editor Jack Benjamin commented, “As always, I have to thank every single artist involved in the films, for helping make this year’s Student Short Showcase such a success. 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 as we go into a new year, they tell stories of self-discovery, evaluating relationships which may or may not be healthy, and thinking about how their characters might try to change their behaviour and lives in the coming months.”
– ENDS –
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.
For regular updates for reviews, interviews, commentary and news from Indy Film Library, follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.