Thank you to all the filmmakers who participated in the 2024 Toronto Lift-Off Film Festival!
The festival platformed hundreds of films, each project worthy of recognition and celebration. We want to extend a giant thank you to everyone who took part and a special congratulations to all the incredible talent that went into making these projects.
The judges' scores have been combined with the audience's choices, and after careful scrutiny, it's our pleasure to announce the Toronto Lift-Off Film Festival winners!
Winners: Toronto Network Round Shorts
The Wagon Master
Dir. Laura Valencia Cruz
Producer. Paul Cassar
Country of Origin: Canada
Genre: Documentary, Student, Short
Synopsis:Hurst, a former advertising firm owner and part-time cowboy, inspires his community by creating a camp for at-risk youth.
Season Award #15 Shortlist: Best Short Documentary
Soulmate
Dir & Writer. Richard Fenwick
Producer. Joe Binks
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Genre: Sci-Fi, Romance, Thriller
Synopsis:Anna, a lonely computer coder, has been nurturing an illegal romance with an AI in a computer simulation for the past six months. When her company uncovers the affair, she’s forced into a desperate battle to save her precious relationship.
Season Award #15 Shortlist: Best Post-Production
Matterhorn
Dir. & Writer. Anne Madeleine Mancosu
Writer. Marco Lui
Producers. Florian Kasperski, Spandana Patanaik
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Genre: Drama, Short film
Synopsis:Two estranged sisters reconnect during their stay in Switzerland where terminally ill Maggie ends her life by means of assisted suicide.
Emma accompanies her terminally ill sister Maggie on her last days in Switzerland to end her life by the means of assisted suicide. She soon finds herself challenged when she has to overcome her own tumultuous feelings in order to reconnect and embrace Maggie’s final wishes. With their time coming to an end, they embark on a road trip to try to accommodate Maggie’s need to see the Matterhorn in person one final time. It’s both a trip of discovery and a battle of wills.
Season Award #15 Shortlist: Best Short Live Action Narrative, Best First-Time Filmmaker
Kruz'
Dir/Writer/Producer. Loic Zimmermann
Writer.Aymeric Laloux
Producers. Anna Rybchenkov, Jane K Lee, Martina Cloyd Schmidt
Country of Origin: United States
Genre: Art house, Indie, Suspense
Synopsis:The film follows Jonny Favorite (Michael A. Barker) as he struggles to remember the truth about a specific day in his life, all while being questioned by Louise Cypher (Audrey Looye)
Season Award #15 Shortlist: Best Director, Best Art Direction, Best Actor (Michael Andrew Barker)
Won't You Come Out
Dir/Producer. Thomas Chiasson
Writers/Producers. Joshua Zuckermann, Guillaume Forbes
Country of Origin: Canada
Genre: Comedy, Thriller, Music Video
Synopsis:Best friends Millie and Matty challenge the confines of everyday life for a taste of freedom. Their day begins in high spirits, but they are forced to change tack when Millie is locked away by her father. Now Matty becomes her liberator, and leads Millie into a night of unbridled adventure. Together Millie and Matty will test the limits of friendship and discover the price of hedonism.
Season Award #15 Shortlist: Best Music Video
SURVIVING SILENCE
Dir. Ian Simon
Writer. Fareh Malik
Producer. Producer
Country of Origin: Canada
Genre:Non-fiction, Narrative, Drama, Dance
Synopsis:SURVIVING SILENCE is a short film that explores the link between depression and movement. It finds the intersection of one's own painful hope---a journey into joyful thriving---and an invaluable tool of perseverance: dance.
Season Award #15 Shortlist: Best Cinematography
The Cross Sect Inn
Dirs. Mathew Neves, Andrew Strachan
Writer. Jonathan Payne
Producer. Rhiannon Murray-Leung
Country of Origin: Canada
Genre: Student, Short
Synopsis:Two young scoundrels Jay and Robin pose as housekeepers at the Cross Sect Inn Hotel during the 1960’s to plant a bomb in the state governor Mr. Wintz’s room. Meanwhile, undercover detective Raymond with the help of the security guard of the hotel Ellie stakes out the hotel. Unbeknownst to them Mr. Wintz is conducting a secret meeting with the local Mafia led by Angelo and his goons Lance and Benji. During this time Raymond lands Jay in the hands of the Mafia. The Mafia accuse Mr. Wintz of planting Jay as a spy, Robin attempts to retrieve the bomb and Raymond thinks he sent an innocent housekeeper to their death. Jay and Robin try to escape this tough scenario while taking down Mr. Wintz.
Season Award #15 Shortlist: Best Acting Ensemble
Kafka's Doll
Dir/Writer. Bruno Simões
Producers. Humberto Santana, Roger Torras, Celine Fernandes
Country of Origin: Portugal
Genre: Drama, Fantasy
Synopsis:Inspired by an unproven myth, Kafka’s Doll is an animated short film that blends factual research, fiction, fantasy and myth into a single heart-warming story about loss.
Season Award #15 Shortlist: Best Animation
Winners: Toronto Network Round Features
Sunlight
Dir/Writer. Bill E Webb
Producer. Cynthia Buchman Webb
Country of Origin: United States
Genre: Documentary
Synopsis:Donald Gray’s life-long quest to save children trapped in the darkness of economic and social despair began when he honored his spiritual and moral convictions. Turning his back on a lucrative business career, he created an organization to “save one child at a time,” from a cycle of poverty, violence, drugs and family disintegration.
Season Award #15 Shortlist: Best Feature Documentary
The Founder Effect
Dir/Writer/Producer. Justin MacGregor
Producer. Kristopher MacGregor, Jacky Chan, Justin Tang, David Wong
Country of Origin: Canada
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Mystery
Synopsis: A perfect family getaway is suddenly upended when a policeman’s grandson disappears. Jack Rooney (Rick Edwards) has already lost a son. He’s not about to lose his grandson, too. Forced to reckon with family history, he sets out to rescue the boy from the shadows… a journey of conscience rippled by the voice of a visiting missing persons expert (Greg Sestero), whose haunting tales of the vanished illuminate the mysterious phenomena that seem to be in Jack’s way. In a town called Hope, can redemption be found?
Season Award #15 Shortlist: Best Feature Live Action Narrative
15th Annual Lift-Off Season Awards
The Lift-Off Season Awards is an annual event that celebrates the very best of indie film. Following each Lift-Off film festival, films that have excelled in their respective category are short listed for a Season Awards Nomination. At the end of the year, once all the 12 city-based festival have taken place, the shortlisted nominated films are reviewed again by the jury and Official Nominations are designated. Click here for more information about the Lift-Off Season Awards.