Many thanks to everyone who participated in this year’s Paris 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 Paris Lift-Off Facebook Page.
Festival Winners
Best Shorts Live Action Narrative
(next screening with Lift-Off in London)
Judith Hotel
Dir. Charlotte Le Bon
Synopsis: To sleep forever, that is Remi's dream. Eight years of insomnia have made his life a living hell. By booking a room at the Judith Hotel, a very popular establishment, he is giving himself the opportunity for a new start. In the corridors and the dining room, Rémi meets other patrons looking for answers and freedom: Louis, who eats ink cartridges spritually and Suzy, a deluded ex-influencer. But beyond the spotlessness of the place, reception seems a little disorganized.... In room 212, will Rémi change his mind about his condition?
Best Shorts Live Action Narrative
(next screening with Lift-Off in Melbourne)
King of the Wind Demons
Dir. Clémence Poésy
Synopsis: It’s New Year’s Eve. Sophie, a quasi-burnt-out intern at the psych emergency room, is in charge of admitting Marie, a troubled patient brought by the police following a crisis. Despite her ramblings and her obvious distress, Marie has something special that confuses Sophie. During their conversation, Marie sees right through Sophie and makes remarks that lead Sophie to question deeply her relationship with her boyfriend Vincent. After tonight, nothing will ever be the same.
Special Mentions
Special Mention
(next screening with Lift-Off in Sydney)
The Sound of Slippers
Dir. Lucie Guillemot
Synopsis: Neighbours and libido...
Special Mention
(next screening with Lift-Off in Sydney)
The Sun of the Sleepless
Dir. Akaki Popkhadze
Synopsis: It's a film about a young drug addict who must spend a day with her little sister.
Special Mention
(next screening with Lift-Off in London)
Full English
Dir. Charlie Parham
Synopsis: Why would you want to leave when there's all this?' Join Gwen for some Full English. Hers is the best on the coast. And given that she eats it every morning, she should know. All the other guests may have left. But they’ll be back. When Englishness is the only choice left on the menu, it’s breakfast for one in this dark, comic monologue for film about loneliness, mental health, disenfranchisement and surviving off the unappetising remnants of English identity.
Special Mention
(next screening with Lift-Off in London)
Dunk
Dir. Sophie Martin
Synopsis: Jully, a 14 years old teenager girl with a sturdy character and captain of her city's basketball team, is struck by the tragic car accident of her parents. Overnight, she is placed in a foster care with her little sister Charlie. Jully prefers to hide the truth from her friends, and she is going to learn how to integrate herself and overcome her anger and sadness. Basketball will be the key for her adaptation that seems impossible.
Online Festival Winners
Winning Short Film
(next screening with Lift-Off in London)
KCPK - The End
Dir. Loïc Andrieu
Synopsis: The cinematic video is capturing a teenage girl's worst nightmare through adolescent angst, bathed in underlying sexual tension, and depicts the inevitable end of youth and purity.
Winning Feature Film
(next screening with Lift-Off in London)
Calais Children: A Case to Answer
Dir. Sue Clayton
Synopsis: When the Calais Jungle was taken down in 2016, 2000 lone refugee children were left abandoned. What happened to them next? Sue Clayton takes on the fight to get them to safety.
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. Click here for the current nominations for 2018.
Underdogs
Dir. Teo Frank
Synopsis: An aspiring French director is only 18 when he decides to go to the other end of the Atlantic to start a documentary film on Hip-hop culture. The rappers of his movie? He did not know them yet when he left and yet he never imagined that this meeting could change the course of his life. So, he would never have imagined what happened next...
Nominated for Best Feature Documentary
The Noise of the Light
Dir. Valentin Petit
Synopsis: Pablo and Marius make a disturbing discovery about their childhood friend Lou: she appears to be able to synthesise into sound the light she is exposed to. But as she soon becomes an instrument of their musical experiences, her gift turns into a sort of curse…
Nominated for Best Short Live Action Narrative
The next festival on our 2018 calendar is the Sydney Lift-Off Film Festival where we will be screening some of the winners and special mentions from Paris amongst a variety of fantastic independent films from Australia and around the world. Click the link below to view the programme and get your tickets now!
