Many thanks to everyone who participated in this year’s Sydney 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 Sydney 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 Local Film
(next screening with Lift-Off in Manchester)
Campesinos
Dir. Matias Bolla
Synopsis: A glimpse into the secluded lives of Patagonian cowboys (Gauchos) living at the end of the world in isolation.
Best Short Film
(next screening with Lift-Off in Berlin)
Bad People
Dir. Giorgi Tavartkiladze
Synopsis: 1991 Tbilisi, Georgia after the collapse of the USSR, in the midst of a civil war, Gia tries to find medicine for his son when he meets an old friend who fights on the opposite side.
Special Mentions
Special Mention
(next screening with Lift-Off in Berlin)
Ghost of Chance
Dir. Manes Duerr
Synopsis: Ghost of a Chance is a snapshot into the relationship of a young working class American couple. Two individuals bonded together through the expectance of a newborn baby, yet with different priorities - racing through their lives, we question whether one man’s childhood dream is more important than three people’s reality.
Special Mention
(next screening with Lift-Off in Berlin)
Punch It!
Dir. Perrier Oliver
Synopsis: Tom, a young skater, roams with its board in an outer-urban environment. He penetrates into a carnival closed to the public and stops in front of a punchball in working order. He gets hooked and after several fruitless attempts typing of all his strengths then manages to activate the jackpot.
Sydney Lift-Off Film Festival Online 2019 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.
The Last Witness
Dir. Piotr Szkopiak
Synopsis: THE LAST WITNESS is a political thriller based on the harrowing true events of the Katyn Massacre in Spring 1940. In post-WW2 England, ambitious journalist Stephen Underwood (Alex Pettyfer) comes across a disturbing spate of suicides by Polish soldiers. Sensing a story, his first port of call is Colonel Janusz Pietrowski, a Liaison Officer for the re- settlement of Polish troops under British command, but the meeting with Pietrowski leaves Stephen unsettled, and from here his investigation escalates as he finds himself embroiled in a dangerous, multi-layered conspiracy concerning the execution of 22,000 Polish military and civilians by Stalin's secret police.
Nominated for Best Feature Live Action Narrative
Widow's Walk
Dir. Alexandra Boyd
Synopsis: Eve has lost her husband in Afghanistan. She takes her young son to a remote Suffolk beach house to grieve, but there's someone else in the house grieving her loss from another war...
Nominated for Best Feature Live Action Narrative
