The Academy Awards® qualifying 13th Annual HollyShorts Film Festival came to a close Saturday night with the HollyShorts Awards at the Harmony Gold Theater hosted by Entertainment Tonight’s Carly Steel.
The evening kicked off with a special Keynote conversation by Brett Ratner moderated by Steve Bellamy, Kodak’s President of Motion Picture and Entertainment. Following the Keynote HollyShorts Presented Ratner with its 2017 Icon Award. Previous recipients include: David Lynch, Eli Roth, Paul Haggis, Joe Carnahan, and Matthew Modine.
“What an incredible week of celebrating the next generation of storytellers, we’d like to thank all of our filmmakers, sponsors, friends and family for making this the best HollyShorts ever,” said Daniel Sol, Theo Dumont and Nicole Castro in a joint statement. “We’d also like to congratulate all of the big winners from the HollyShorts Awards and thank Brett Ratner and Steve Bellamy for an epic closing keynote that will go down as one of the best ones in our history,” they added.
“We have been a sponsor of Hollyshorts since I became in charge of Kodak Motion Picture and I can truly attest that those are the most productive dollars we spend each year,” said Steve Bellamy, Kodak’s President of Motion Picture and Entertainment. “They have created a community that is unparalleled and they super serve their partners better than anyone. We are planning to be with them for a long time.”
Below is the breakdown of all of the winners:
Best Action
Two Bellman Three
Daniel Malakai Cabrera | Mark David Spencer
Best Animation
POST NO BILLS
Robin Hays | Andy Poon
Best Cinematography
The Ningyo
Miguel Ortega
Best Comedy
Hot Winter: A Film by Dick Pierre
Jack Henry Robbins
Best Coming of Age
A Boy Called Su
Vedrana Music
Best Commercial
Making It On Time – Christian Siriano
Sophia Banks
Best Director
My Nephew Emmett
Kevin Wilson, Jr.
Best Diversity
Il Silenzio
Ali Asgari | Farnoosh Samadi
Best Doc
The Tables
Jon Bunning
Best Drama
Benny Got Shot
Malcolm Washington
Best Editing
Miss World
Georgia Wu
Best Female Director
Waste
Justine Raczkiewicz
Grand Jury Award
Frank Embree
Skinner Myers
Best Horror
Wandering Soul
Josh Tanner
Best International
Pushing Night Away
Jade Aksnes
Best LGBT
In a Heartbeat
Beth David | Esteban Bravo
Best Music Video
“Starman” IAMEVE
Thor Freudenthal
Best Narrative
Fry Day
Laura Moss
Panavision Future Filmmaker
Verano 78
Serapi Soler
Best Period Piece
Hope Dies Last
Ben Price
Best Producer
Oh What a Wonderful Feeling
François Jaros | Fanny-Laure Malo
Best Romance
Just Go!
Pavel Gumennikov
Best Sci Fi
Unbound
Maggie Mahrt
Best Screenplay
Jameson
John Humber
Screenplay Runner Up
Modern Love
Hannah Dillon
Screenplay Runner Up
Echo Chamber
Travis Lemke
Best Shot on Film
Little Bird
Georgia Oakley
Best Short Film Grand Prize
LIMBO
Konstantina Kotzamani
Best Student
Filip
Nathalie Álvarez Mesén
Best Thriller
Midwife
Blake Salzman
Best TV Category
Shoot Me Nicely
Elias Plagianos
Best VFX
Real Artists
Cameo Wood
Best Visionary
The Ceiling
Jussi Rautaniemi
Best VR
If You Go Away
Soheila Golestani
Best Web Series
Gunner Jackson
Christian Strevy
Best Youth
A Birthday Card
Anvar Madraimov
Honorable Mention
Yes, God, Yes
Karen Maine
HollyShorts took place at the TCL Chinese 6 Theaters, Roosevelt Hotel, Lono Hollywood, Adults Only Bar and other venues throughout Hollywood. This year’s festival received an all-time record of over 4,000 submissions from 65 countries. HollyShorts Platinum Sponsors are HBO, Kodak, Peroni, TCL Chinese Theater, Roosevelt Hotel, Evil Slave, and ShortsTV. Additional supporters include Deep Eddy Vodka, Integro, Lexus Short Films, Monster Energy, San Antonio Winery, Color Space, True Vision, Final Draft and Stage 32.