SHORTSFEST 2015 AWARDS

ASPEN SHORTSFEST 2015

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION AWARDS

Aspen Shortsfest 2015 was held April 7-12, at the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen and the Crystal Theatre in Carbondale. More than 3,100 submissions from around the world were considered and 68 short films, representing thirty countries, were selected for this year's International Competition. The 2015 edition showcased an eclectic mix of comedy, drama, animation and documentary shorts. Over 50 filmmakers from around the world plus other special guests attended.

The 2015 International Competition jury was composed of esteemed film professionals Larry Andries, Elias Davis, Lisa Kennedy and Kevin Ott (see below for Jury Biographies).

At the Aspen Shortsfest 2015 Awards Ceremony, held Sunday, April 12, at Rustique Restaurant in Aspen, the following awards were given. (You may also download the Shortsfest 2015 Awards List and Press Release in PDF format here. )

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INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION JURY AWARDS

* = Academy Award® qualifying

BEST ANIMATION* ($2,500)
DISSONANCE
(Till Nowak, Germany)


BEST COMEDY* ($2,500)
TWO DOSAS
(Sarmad Masud, UK) NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE


BEST DOCUMENTARY* ($2,500)
THE CHAMPION
(Patrick McGowan and Brett Garamella, USA) WORLD PREMIERE


BEST DRAMA* ($2,500)
SHOK
(Jamie Donoughue, UK/Kosovo) WORLD PREMIERE


BEST SHORT SHORT* ($1,000)
THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE
(Mark Kunerth, USA) WORLD PREMIERE


BEST STUDENT FILM ($1,000)
Sponsored by KQED's Film School Shorts
MEND AND MAKE DO
(Bexie Bush, UK)


SPECIAL JURY RECOGNITION

DE SMET
(Thomas Baerten and Wim Geudens, Belgium/Netherlands)

LISTEN
(Hamy Ramezan and Rungano Nyoni, Denmark/Finland)

LUCY
(Zoe Lubeck, USA)

RABBIT
(Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, France/USA)

RUN FAST
(Anna Musso, USA)

WE CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT COSMOS
(Konstantin Bronzit, Russian Federation)

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AWARDS DETERMINED BY OTHER JURIES

THE ELLEN ($2,500)
BOOGALOO AND GRAHAM
(Michael Lennox, UK)

YOUTH JURY PRIZE ($500)
SHOK
(Jamie Donoughue, UK/Kosovo) WORLD PREMIERE

AUDIENCE AWARD ($500)
HOW I DIDN'T BECOME A PIANO PLAYER
(Tommaso Pitta, UK)

AUDIENCE SPECIAL RECOGNITION
SHOK
(Jamie Donoughue, UK/Kosovo) WORLD PREMIERE

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ABOUT THE OTHER JURIES

THE ELLEN AWARD Established to honor Aspen Film Founder, Ellen Hunt, this award recognizes originality in film.

YOUTH JURY PRIZE A jury of local high school students honor a film that opens a window on their understanding of the world in important, unexpected ways.

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2015 INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION JURY

LARRY ANDRIES

LARRY ANDRIES, a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, has been writing professionally for over twenty years. In 1994, he wrote Kangaroo Court. Starring Gregory Hines and Michael O'Keefe, it marked actor Sean Astin's directorial debut and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short. Laurence has written and produced an eclectic mix of hour drama television including Six Feet Under, Boomtown, Alias, andSupernatural. He was also one of the writers of HBO's The Pacific, the companion miniseries to Band of Brothers. Most recently, Laurence served as Co-Executive Producer on BET's first drama series, Being Mary Jane.

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ELIAS DAVIS

Among ELIAS DAVIS' many credits shared with his writing partner David Pollock are The Mary Tyler Moore Show, All in the Family, Cheers, Frasierand M*A*S*H. Credits also include the films Bad Boys and Toy Story 2. Elias is a recipient of the WGA, the Emmy, the Peabody and the Humanitas awards. He taught comedy writing at USC. Formerly an officer on the Writers Guild of America West board, Elias is currently the Writers Guild Foundation's Treasurer.

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LISA KENNEDY

LISA KENNEDY became chief film critic for the Denver Post in 2003. In 2012, she donned a second hat and began covering theater. She is a member of the National Society of Film Critics. She has served on the jury for the Pulitzer Prize–Criticism, has been a juror for Film Independent's Someone To Watch Spirit Award as well as the Gotham Awards and the American Film Institute's Best Films. Her articles have appeared in a number of anthologies, including: Rock She Wrote, The Rolling Stone Book of Women in Rock, and Black Popular Culture.

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KEVIN OTT

KEVIN OTT is the communications director for the Writers Guild Foundation, which operates the only library in the world devoted entirely to film and television writing. He hosts Genre Smash! every month at the world-famous NerdMelt Showroom in Los Angeles, where he interviews the writers and producers behind some of the hottest stories hitting our screens.

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