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London Lift-Off Winners 2017

Here are the winners...

Many thanks to everyone who participated in this year’s London Lift-Off. It was great to see so many filmmakers and film enthusiasts filling the Arthouse Crouch End, in support of both local and international indie film.

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. A special well done to the following films.

Photos from the event can be seen on the London Lift-Off Facebook Page.

Best Short - Mausoleum (next screening with Lift-Off in Berlin)

Dir. Lauri Randla
Synopsis: Lauri Randla’s short film tells a dark satire of the pathologist Aleksei Abrikosov who embalmed Lenin’s body and in theory managed to overcome death… so his further existence will be permanently attached to caretaking of the Lenin’s corpse. The story follows Abrikosov’s and his apprentice’s critical night, when they have to solve a problem with Lenin's body, just prior to the holy celebration of the First of May. Welcome to Moscow of 1936 and into the world of Stalinist terror where a human is less worthy than a fly.


 

Best Doc - Service Update (next screening with Lift-Off in Manchester)

Dir. Olly Sindle
Synopsis: Meet London Transport employee Carl Downer. Armed with a mic and a heart of gold, he's on an unwavering mission to spread the love in one of London's busiest train stations


 

Best Feature - Die Tochter - Dark Blue Girl (next screening with Lift-Off in Berlin)

Dir. Mascha Schilinski
Synopsis: When JIMMY and HANNAH finally find a buyer for their holiday home on the Greek volcano island Santorini, the ex-couple returns to the place where they broke up two years ago. In tow: Their seven-year-old daughter LUCA whose love the parents compete for. Hardly arrived on the island, old tensions and conflicts appear despite every effort to make it right. Above it all is Hannah, who is jealous of the close father-daughter-relationship she is not able to reach. But the upcoming sale of the house triggers something in Jimmy as well – the irrefutable end of his former dream: to have a future as a family.


 

Special Mentions


 

The Peculiar Abilities of Mr. Mahler (next screening with Lift-Off in Berlin)

Dir. Paul Philipp
Synopsis: East Germany, 1987: The special investigator Mahler is said to have paranormal abilities. The police assigns him to solve the case of the 6-year-old Henry Kiefer, who is missing for weeks now, before this issue leads to political tensions with the West. But then he brings something to light that makes this family tragedy especially political...


 

Fighter (next screening with Lift-Off in Manchester)

Dir. Bugsy Steel
Synopsis: Ten minutes before a boxing match, a teenage boxer with downs syndrome fights for his right to get in the ring.


 

The Happy Genius (next screening with Lift-Off in Berlin)

Dir. Hannah McKibbin
Synopsis: Late one night, while his perfect family sleep upstairs, an ageing businessman struggles with the suppressed tensions of his day. Longing to break out, he is drawn to his garden shed, where he finds his own particular form of release, locked away from prying eyes.


Online Winners


In (Silence) (next screening with Lift-Off in Manchester)

Dir. Moritz Valero
Synopsis: A young man, Konrad, reflects about his own death.


 

Automaton (next screening with Lift-Off in Berlin)

Dir. Sydney O'Haire
Synopsis: Automaton is a story about grief, passion but most importantly forgiveness. After the death of her father, Eva returns home to attend to his life’s work; his automata. They shared a passion for mechanical clockwork figurines, but his was one so great and all-consuming that he lost sight of the most fundamentally human part of himself. He neglected his love for his daughter. This is the story of Eva’s appropriation of her grief; a journey of discovery and self-attunement.

Inspired by concepts of spirituality and philosophical thinking, this work is a meditation on the internal choices and decisions we must all come to make in life, despite our own setbacks and judgements. Through creating a dialectical relationship between audio and the visual; narration and unspoken action, our stylistic technique carries the enchanting world of automata into a vibrant and enigmatic existence.


Season Awards Nominations


Mausoleum

Directed by Lauri Randla

The Peculiar Abilities of Mr. Mahler

Directed by Paul Philipp

Best Short Live Action Narrative
Best Acting Ensemble
Best Screenplay
Best Art Direction
Best Cinematography - Peter Salovaara
Best Post Production
Best Director - Lauri Randla

Best Short Live Action Narrative
Best Acting Ensemble
Best Actor - André Hennicke
Best Screenplay
Best Art Direction
Best Cinematography - Jann Doeppert
Best Post Production
Best Director - Paul Philipp


The Ones That Stay

Directed by Loïc Paillard

Die Tochter - Dark Blue Girl

Directed by Mascha Schilinski

Best Feature Live Action Narrative

Best Feature Live Action Narrative


Right Between Your Ears

Directed by Sheila Marshall

The Accomplice

Directed by Jon Hoeg & John F. Beach

Best Feature Documentary

Best Short Live Action Narrative


Wraps

Directed by Frank Tamburin

Service Update

Directed by Olly Sindle

Best Short Live Action Narrative

Best Short Documentary


Fighter

Directed by Bugsy Steel

State of Emergency

Directed by Tarek Roehlinger

Best Acting Ensemble
Best Post Production

Best Acting Ensemble


The Silent Child

Directed by Chris Overton

ALL of me

Directed by Daphne Schmon

Best Acting Ensemble

Best Actor - Chereen Buckley
Best Cinematography - Diana Olifirova


Edge

Directed by Billy Rees & Doug Kirby

Day of Reckoning

Directed by Gideon van Eeden

Best Screenplay

Best Art Direction


The Happy Genius

Directed by Hannah McKibbin

The Super Recogniser

Directed by Jennifer Sheridan

Best Music Score - Casper Leopard

Best Post Production