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 Lift-Off Facebook Page.
Festival Winners
Best Short Doc
(next screening with Lift-Off in London)
Tribe of Ghosts
Dir. Almicheal Fraay
Synopsis: ‘Tribe of Ghosts’ is a documentary that takes place within a government-run shelter; here we see how children with albinism live alongside children with visual and auditory problems. We follow a group of children with albinism on their daily rituals as they struggle with their burden and we witness their fragile childhood. Armed guards watch over the children 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The children with albinism cannot leave the shelter because they are likely to be subjected to torture and ill-treatment or worse death. In this documentary we will observe the innocence of these young children and learn about the consequences of these superstitions.
Will they ever be free of their oppressors or does the cycle of pain continue, in the land of the supernatural?
Best Local Film
(next screening with Lift-Off in Sydney)
On Air
Dir. Bastiaan Rook
Synopsis: Brian, who got stuck in a rut, receives a call during his broadcast that doesn't turn into a pleasant conversation.
Special Mentions
Special Mention
(next screening with Lift-Off in London)
The Mermaid of Mevagissey
Dir. Luc Mollinger
Synopsis: A village misfit and his brother find an extraordinary creature in their fishing net, and seizing their chance for fame and fortune, hide it in the local aquarium, but their dreams capsize as it awakens their own personal monsters. Inspired by a Cornish folk tale.
Online Winners
Yet to be announced...
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.
Guest Artist
Dir. Timothy Busfield
Synopsis: Joseph Harris (Jeff Daniels), a legendary but troubled playwright arrives at a small Michigan town at Christmastime to mount his latest play. Greeting the cynical New Yorker is a young aspiring writer who challenges his literary hero to be the icon he’d hoped for. Harris wants no part of Michigan, being the young man’s hero, or the theatre he’s come to work with. No sooner than he arrives Harris makes plans to return to NY on the next train out. Desperate and scrambling to keep him in town, the young man must face his hero and explore the tangled relationship between the dreams of youth and the wisdom of age.
Nominated for Best Feature Live Action Narrative
One, No One, 100.000
Dir. Karlijn Milder
Synopsis: Lynn, a young girl, stranded in a countryside manor. A storm raging outside gives her no other option than to stay. During this stay, she mingles with the inhabitants of her new environment, many like herself seeking refuge from the storm. One morning Lynn becomes intrigued by a mural depicting a utopian world. Staring around a room of vacant faces she can't help but notice the stark dissonance from her own reality. Is it all coherent or just a coincidence?
Nominated for Best Art Direction
