After many weeks of similarly containing our excitement, Long Distance Film Festival is finally ready to announce its 2020 festival prize recipients.
In our original statement regarding prizes, we mentioned that our three jury prize winners would be granted distribution deals on festival sponsor Kinoscope‘s streaming service and that the – alongside our three audience award winners – would receive year-long access to the platform itself, as well as that of Mubi.
We are excited to announce that our selection was strong this year – to the point where our esteemed jury felt it necessary to also grant three other films honorable mention awards. Furthermore, Kinoscope, in sharing with the sentiments of our passionate jury, will be extending its distribution grand prize to all nine of our winning films! Each selection will be followed by a brief statement made by the jury. comprised of entertainment lawyer Steve Holmgren, Spirit Awards nominations manager Setu Raval, and Cannes programmer Leo Soesanto, with the audience award statements from us on the team.
The votes have been tallied and the jury has been consulted! Without further ado, the winners of Long Distance Film Festival’s 2020 edition’s jury prize, honorable mentions, and the audience awards are:
HAPPY ENDING (DIR. MEI LIU) (USA/CHINA)
“The jury chose to award this film for shining a light on characters often unseen. Director Mei Liu handles the tough emotional journey of these characters with delicate camerawork, a singular perspective and elegance.”
THE MAX HEADROOM INCIDENT (DIR. TUCKER DRYDEN) (USA)
“The film is a clever and funny use of found footage and vintage aesthetics. Rather than rehashing the current 1980s fetish, it adds another layer of mystery to an already-creepy mystery.”
DIMENSIONS (DIR. ALESSIO DEL POZO TEMOCHE) (PERU)
“This beautiful animated top-prize-winning movie clocking in at just over 2 mins 30 secs from Peru has a closing title card that reads ‘a shortfilm made in quarantine by Alessio del Pozo Temoche)’. A poetic look at life during our present isolated moment. Dreamy pastel colours highlight an interior world looking out as the viewer wonders what dimension we are in presently in, and what that means to the characters who are like, not all of us, but many of us — prompted by provocative accompanying text to these images… as an ambulance picks up an elderly neighbor.”
ZOOM PARTIES SUCK (DIR. LACHIE ROSS) (AUSTRALIA)
“The film is a surreal, humorous take on the Zoom craze which kept us busy – and is still going on – with friends and colleagues during the Covid-19 Pandemic. A DIY dystopia we hope not to see too much in the future.”
ONE BY TWO (DIR. RAGHAV PURI) (INDIA)
“An honorable mention is warranted for this fresh, witty and thought-provoking look at relationships and the expectations we seek from life.”
NOVELTY (DIR. SAUNDER LYNNE BOYLE) (USA/FRANCE)
Audience Award:
Culture: THE FISHMAN (DIR. LETO S. MEADE & AGATA LENIARTEK) (UNITED KINGDOM)
“The journey of a dying fish’s last moments. The Fishman formally embodies the transitory, shape-shifting nature of life and the inevitability of change by plunging its disembodied anthropomorphic protagonist between different mediums and styles. It is an elegantly animated gem that constantly challenges expectations, combining seemingly opposing aural and visual aesthetics to visionary effect.”
Connection: SUPERSTAR (DIR. GAURAV KRISHNA) (CZECH REPUBLIC/INDIA)
“An audience favorite for a reason, Superstar commits to an absurd, culture-distorting premise that creates a fascinating and balanced discourse on media escapism, while staying true to its genre values. To echo our enthusiastic Twitch chat audience: K6 forever.”
Covid: ETERNAL SUNDAY (DIR. RODRIGO BUSCATO) (BRAZIL)
“Eternal Sunday and its thoughtful consideration on the impacted significance of our day of rest employs a crisp analog aesthetic and an introspective demur to form a bittersweet and melancholic reflection of the (changing) times.”
These films will all be made available on Kinoscope’s website in the near future! We hope you take the time to revisit them if you get the chance — they’re certainly worth further viewings!
Finally, thank you once more to everyone who tuned in, voted for audience awards, or supported us at all throughout this endeavor. An especially big thank you to our jury Steve, Setu, and Leo, as well as the good people over at Spectacle Theater, Mubi, and Kinoscope! It has been a fantastic inaugural year, and we cannot wait to continue to celebrate diversity, solidarity, and empathy in film throughout the future.
We hope to see you all next year!