10th Shnit Worldwide Shortfilmfestival Announces 2019 Winners

Last night, Thursday 24th October, VIP guests, film fans and filmmakers packed into Long Street's newly relaunched 44 On Long Theatre to celebrate the presentation of the 10th shnit Worldwide Shortfilmfestival's South African Awards in seven categories.

Two Audience Awards, the Grand Jury prize and four Special Jury Award categories were presented during a vibrant ceremony that saw shnit 2019 jurors John Kani (head of the panel), Lauren Beukes, Kagiso Lediga and Gaopie Kabe speak enthusiastically about the excellent standard of local filmmaking on showcase at this year's festival and the challenges they faced in selecting the winning films. (Kabe joined the proceedings via video link up).

Award winners in attendance gave heartfelt acceptance speeches. Jury and Audience Award winners received the coveted shnit National Faun trophy as well as prizes worth R30,000 from Media Film Service and Final Draft, Inc. In addition, the Special Jury Prize winners received goods and service prizes worth thousands of Rands from Media Film Service, The Writers' Guild of South Africa, renowned acting coach Tamryn Speirs, Sean Shannon Photography, and Final Draft, Inc., the gold-standard software choice of professional screenwriters and filmmakers around the world.

The Awards were followed by a celebration into the night at the exclusive Selective Live lounge, where VIPs and filmmakers mingled into the early hours.

The shnit International Awards will be presented at a ceremony in New York City late in 2019. Global National Award ceremonies took place over the official festival weekend in Bern, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Hong Kong, Moscow and San Jose. All in all, over 200 films were eligible in Competition this year.

In another year that saw thousands of entries into the festival, shnit's exponential growth continues and the festival, both in SA and around the world, continues to make its mark as one of the planet's most exciting short film platforms.

shnit Cape Town, South Africa's foremost event of its kind, is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. The festival opened at the Labia Theatre on 17 October, and closes officially on 27 October. It is an exceptional non-profit transnational film festival hosted simultaneously on five continents in cities such as Bern, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Cape Town, Hong Kong, Moscow and San Jose. Driven by a passion for locally produced cinema, excellence and embodying cultural exchange, diversity and originality, shnit Cape Town, like its global counterparts, screens high quality shortfilms that have between one to forty minutes to get the message across. Aside from the Labia Theatre in Gardens, screenings and numerous special events such as panel discussions and script readings take place across the city at venues such as Isivivana Bertha House, Kelvin Corner, the Raptor Room, Selective Live and at 44 on Long.

shnit capetown will return in October 2020. The festival is made possible by the support of the National Film and Video Foundation and the City of Cape Town. http://capetown.shnit.org/

THE FULL LIST OF NOMINEES AND WINNERS:

MADE IN SOUTH AFRICA JURY AWARD

WINNER: THE LETTER READER by Sibusiso Khuzwayo (28 mins/Fiction)

Nominees:

MIRACLE by Bongi Ndaba

VOSSIE VERGAS HOMSELF by Philip Nolte

THE BULL by Kelsey Egan

SKAAP by Mzonke Maloney

MADE IN SOUTH AFRICA AUDIENCE AWARD

WINNER: THE LOST CARTS OF THE KAROO by Timothy Gabb (15 mins/Doc)

Nominees:

MIRACLE by Bongi Ndaba

THE LETTER READER by Sibusiso Khuzwayo

CAMCOPY by Rob Smith

BILLY MONK: SHOT IN THE DARK by Craig Cameron-Mackintosh

LOCAL FLAVOUR AUDIENCE AWARD

WINNER: ONS ALBERTINIA by Chantel Clark (21 mins/Fiction)

Nominees:

QUEER by Priya Jeeram Patel

THE COMPANY'S GARDEN by Will Nicholson

FAR FROM THE CASTLE by Julia Jansch

COWBOY DAN by Wynand Louw

SPECIAL JURY AWARDS

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A shnit SHORT

THE BULL by Kelsey Egan. Cinematography by Christian Denslow (15 mins/Fiction)

BEST SCREENPLAY IN A shnit SHORT

CAMCOPY by Rob Smith (10 mins/Mock-doc)

BEST DIRECTION IN A shnit SHORT

AXIS MUNDI by Sean Steinberg and Matthew Jankes (23 mins/Fiction)

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A shnit SHORT

ELINDA SOKHULU in MIRACLE by Bongi Ndaba (24 mins/Fiction)

Photo credit: Hadlay McClea

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