Many thanks to everyone who participated in this year’s Amsterdam Lift-Off Film Festival. It was great to see so many filmmakers and film enthusiasts filling the screenings in support of both local and international indie films. The judges' votes have been counted and added to the audience's feedback. Huge congratulations to the filmmakers who screened with us, who all did themselves proud. All Amsterdam Lift-Off Film Festival winners will receive complimentary screenings at future Lift-Off Film Festivals. A special well done to the following films.
Photos from the event can be seen on the Amsterdam Lift-Off Facebook Page.
Festival Winners
Best Feature Live Action Narrative
(next screening with Lift-Off in Paris)
Chien de Garde (Family First)
Dir. Sophie Dupuis
Synopsis: JP lives with his brother Vincent, his mother Joe and his girlfriend Mel in a small apartment of Verdun. Constantly walking a tightrope, JP tries to maintain a proper balance between the numerous needs of his family of which he feels responsible for, the collecting job he is doing with his brother and his involvements in his uncle’s drug cartel who he sees as a father figure.
Best Music Video
(next screening with Lift-Off in Paris)
Shores
Dir. Kelly Joanne Jenkins
Synopsis: By the shores of a deep dark lake an hypnotic redhead relives a passionate affair and struggles to let go of her lover as night draws in.
Best Short Live Action Narrative
(next screening with Lift-Off in Sydney)
AINHOA
Dir. Iván Sáinz-Pardo
Synopsis: Ainhoa is 9 years old and she has left home, bringing only her school bag and a Playmobil.
Special Mentions
Special Mention
(next screening with Lift-Off in Paris)
Off Piste
Dir. Jules Pourchet
Synopsis: Is a "good" person safe from a moral slippage? Gaspard, a young seasonal worker in a ski resort, is in love with his new colleague Chloé. He understands that Chloe is not interested, and that she makes fun of him. Through the snow-covered peaks of Jura, which can be as dangerous as they are beautiful, Gaspard, this young man smooth in every respect, find himself confronted with his own nature, more cruel than he thought.
Special Mention
(next screening with Lift-Off in Paris)
La Paix Intérieure
Dir. Cloé Bailly
Synopsis: Jérôme, Michel and Sylvain are FedEx delivery Guy. When their van break down in the middle of the countryside a November 11, their only hope is a shabby bus stop in the middle of nowhere. But Jérome, well determined to go at a personal development meeting, had decided otherwise..
Special Mention
(next screening with Lift-Off in Sydney)
Fucking Drama
Dir. Michael Podogil
Synopsis: A young couple in love experiences an evening of theater that changes their lives dramatically . A brutal confrontation with the zeitgeist.
Officially Selected Screenplays
Season Award Nominations
The Lift-Off Season Awards is an annual event which celebrates the very best of indie film. Following each Lift-Off film festival, films which have excelled in their respective category are nominated and invited to attend the prestigious Lift-Off Season Awards, culminating at the end of the Lift-Off season. Click here for more information about the Lift-Off Season Awards.
Shores
Dir. Kelly Joanne Jenkins
Synopsis:By the shores of a deep dark lake an hypnotic redhead relives a passionate affair and struggles to let go of her lover as night draws in.
Nominated for Best Music Video
Pregnant
Dir. Mascha Halberstad
Synopsis: When Tyn waywardly urinates on the pregnancy test of one of his fellow students in the bathroom of the student house where he lives, he turns out to be pregnant. He is shocked, but when he passes a baby shop he is moved by all the lovely and cheerful baby items. He clicks with the female shop assistant, Jip, and from then on everything suddenly goes super-fast.
Nominated for Best Animation
The next festival on our 2018 calendar is the Paris Lift-Off Film Festival where we will be screening some of the winners and special mentions from Amsterdam amongst a variety of fantastic independent films from France and around the world. Click the link below to view the programme and get your tickets now!
