Winners Announced – Two Short Nights Film Festival 2013

‘There really is a lot of amazing local talent.’
DAMO CROSS, COLOURBURN

The winners have been announced for Exeter Phoenix’s Two Short Nights Film Festival 2013. Only five award categories and almost 60 short films screened in two days created a difficult task to for anyone to separate work that had such an eclectic range of styles, themes and approaches.

The Best Film in Screening award went to Host Familie directed by Tom Austin. The film, about a German undergraduate who lodges with an English family, was the first short to be commissioned by Exeter Phoenix Digital on the proviso that it achieved matched fundraising through crowdfunding. Tom Austin said, ‘I’m surprised and grateful. Exeter Phoenix has been really supportive. I feel like I’ve won on penalties. I’m thankful to everyone who helped make the film.’

Best Short Film Commission went to director Carrie Hill for Old, Grey and Fast. Her documentary film tells the story of the ex-professional cyclist Colin Lewis who lives in Devon and at the age of 71 is still riding competitively.

The 48 Hour Film Challenge saw a host of teams write, shoot and edit films in only two days. Team Get Me Rex Krammer won the Best 48 Hour Film award for GSOH, a film directed by Nick Gordon, that explored the challenges of internet dating. Exeter Phoenix Digital and Film Programmer Claire Horrocks said, ‘This year’s 48 Hour Film Challenge has definitely seen the strongest line-up of films we have ever had.’

An incredible 400 short films were submitted for this year’s International Shorts Screenings meaning there was three separate showing comprising over thirty short films. Competition for the International Open Award was high but ultimately Iceberg, a film about a female 22-year-old Chinese drummer, was chosen from a plethora of possible worthy winners.

The final, and much sought after, award was the Audience Choice. Voted for by the public this year’s winner was The Grendel Toots directed by Liam O’Hara and Will Shutt.

The physical awards presented to the winners brought their own theatricality. They were created by the imaginative designer Ben Huggins who made special moulds and then made the awards out of ice. Festival sponsors Colourburn, a creative film and marketing agency, were behind the production of these special awards and their co-founder Damo Cross was on hand to present them. He said, ‘There is such a diverse content inthe films at this year’s festival and there really is a lot of amazing local talent. We are really glad to be involved. The culture of Colourburn is very much about collaborative working, so for us this is a great opportunity to connect with great film makers and story tellers.’

Returning for its 12th year, the Two Short Nights Festival is an event that enjoys strong support from local film enthusiasts. The different screenings, commissions and seminars provide vital opportunities to local filmmakers. Jonas Hawkins, Exeter Phoenix Digital Media Manager said, ‘The festival is all about inspiring and providing opportunities to filmmakers, especially local talent. I believe we continue to achieve that.’