CFC ALUMNI TAKE HOME TOP PRIZES AT WORLDWIDE SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

OVER $80,000 IN CASH AND PRIZES AWARDED TO FILMMAKERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

TORONTO, June 16, 2008 – Presented by TELUS, CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival (June 10th – 15th) proudly presented 10 awards and over $80,000 in cash and prizes to this year’s top filmmakers at the 2008 CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival Awards Picnic. 

Offering one of the largest prize packages for short film in the world, the WSFF honoured this year’s exceptional filmmakers in the presence of over 400 industry delegates and filmmakers from around the globe.

One of only three Canadian festivals accredited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences®, WSFF Canadian award winners are eligible for Genie Awards, while winners of the awards for Best Live-Action Short and Best Animated Short become eligible for the Academy Awards®.

“This year's selection of award-winning shorts showcases the incredible vision, talent and creativity of emerging and established filmmakers at home and from around the world,” said Eileen Arandiga, Festival Director. 

"The CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival is proud to honour these exceptional creators and we thank them for their contribution in making the 2008 Worldwide Short Film Festival nothing short of remarkable."

The highly anticipated Award for Best Canadian Short Film, presented by Bravo!FACT, was awarded to CFC Alumna Sarah Galea-Davis with a $10,000 cheque, for the expertly crafted dramatic short CAN YOU WAVE BYE-BYE?  The film, about a single woman overwrought with postpartum depression tackled a complex and often taboo subject with sensitivity and subtlety.

CFC Alumna Audrey Cummings received The Jackson-Triggs Award For Best Emerging Canadian Filmmaker and a cash prize of $5,000 for her direction of BURGEON AND FADE, the mother/daughter drama of aging and love, produced through the 2007 CFC Short Dramatic Film Program.

The C.O.R.E Digital Pictures Award For Best Animated Short was awarded to Jay White (Canada), for his hilarious and inventive BOAR ATTACK garnering him $5000 in cash and eligibility for the 2009 Academy Awards®.  An Honourable Mention was handed out to Rune Christensen (Denmark) for DOWN THE ROAD, a stylish animated road thriller.

Best Live-Action Short and a Sony Digital Camcorder was captured by director Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont (France) for the arresting drama MANON ON THE ASPHALT (MANON SUR LE BITUME). 

An Honourable Mention went to director Asaf Korman (Israel) for his emotionally affecting family drama DEATH OF SHULA.

The Best Experimental Short honour along with a Sony digital video camcorder, went to François Bégin and Miryam Bouchard (Canada) for the dance love story ROASTBEEF. 

An Honourable Mention went to director Jean-Gabriel Periot (France) for UNDER TWILIGHT.

The Kodak Award for Best Cinematography in a Canadian Short was presented to Cinematographer Brendan Steacy for the visually stunning THE ANSWER KEY along with a digital camera package valued at $800. An Honourable Mention went to Cinematographer Geneviève Perron (France) for L’ASTRONAUTE.

Best Documentary Award, presented by Stella Artois with a $2,500 cash prize and $1,000 of Stella Artois for the filmmaker’s next production, went to director Bartosz Blaschke (Poland) for his quirky, artful documentary ZIETEK.

CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival is pleased to introduce the inaugural award for Best Performance in a Live-Action Short.   The prize goes to Yosef Corman-Korman  from Israel’s DEATH OF SHULA, who brought to life so vividly the sadness a father experiences when his expectations of family life have changed.  Honourable Mentions go to Kim Kold as “Dennis” in Denmark’s DENNIS and to Chloe Jager Berger in France’s TOMBOY.

A Special Jury Prize for Best Comedy was awarded to director Rob Meyer (USA) for AQUARIUM.  An Honourable Mention went to Dmitry Povolotsky (Russia/USA) for PAL/SECAM

Announced at the packed Awards screening at the Cumberland 4 Cinemas on Sunday evening, this year’s festival goers voted for OUT OF SPJALD (VAEK FRA SPJALD),  directed by Thomas Glud  and Lars Wass (Denmark) to win the TELUS Audience Choice Award and a $5,000 cash prize. 

Chosen out of all 268 films in the festival, the TELUS Audience Choice Award is the only prize in which all films, in both competition and non-competition screenings are eligible to win.

And finally, the Screenplay Giveaway Prize, a package of goods and services worth over $50,000 was awarded to Kris Elgstrand for his script “Big Head” to be directed by CFC Alumnus Dylan Akio Smith.  The prize includes post-production services at Deluxe Laboratories and studio rental from Centennial College @Wallace Studios, along with film stock from Kodak, two programming passes to WIFT-T, and legal advice from Heenan Blaikie Barristers and Solicitors.

Now in its 14th year, CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival is the leading venue for the exhibition and promotion of short film in North America and is one of the premier short film festivals in the world. The WSFF Short Films, BIG IDEAS Symposium offers renowned professional development, while the WSFF Business Centre is home to the largest short film marketplace in North America.

To download photography for all films, please go to:http://www.worldwideshortfilmfest.com/media/image_gallery