2020
UNDEREXPOSED
FILM FESTIVAL yc
AWARDS
GRAND JURY AWARD
2020
UNDEREXPOSED
FILM FESTIVAL yc
Experimental | 2019 | 10 min. 09 sec.
Official Selection
Suggested Rating | PG
Country | United States
Language | English
Producer | John Williams
Director | John Williams
Writer | John Williams
Cast | Ana da Costa, Lester Gonzales, Kitten Marie Clayman, Jessica DiSalvo, Marilla Wex
[InShadow - Lisbon Screendance Film Festival • Dance On Screen Festival • Polish International Film Festival • Clones Film Festival • Austin Arthouse Film Festival • Movimiento en Movimiento • Screendance IMZ Festival • Festival International VideoDanzaBA • Moving Images International Video Dance Festival • Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema • 10th Underground Cinema Film Festival • International Dance Film Festival Brussels • Bucharest ShortCut CineFest • Lago Film Festival • R.E.D International Film Festival • Braga International Video Dance Festival]
Set in a surreal world of giant TV’s, talking flowers and dancing Ravens, two mannequins discuss the controversial race between Mr. Tortoise and Ms. Rabbit after allegations surface that the race was rigged by the Ravens.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
John T. Williams is an award-winning screen dance filmmaker. His films have been presented in over 100 film festivals throughout South America, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia and the United States. His most recent film, "Jilava" has received over 12 awards and nominations, including awards for "Best Experimental/Avant-garde Film," "Best of Festival," and "Best Director." The film was recently presented at a lecture on "Dance and Spirituality" at the University of Theology in Graz, Austria.
His most successful dance film, “Black Train is Coming”, is based on the 1926 sermon, “Death’s Black Train is Coming” by Rev J.M Gates, one of the most prolific black preachers in the US. The film was presented in the lecture at the joint conference of Society of Dance History Scholars/Congress of Research on Dance at UC Riverside as part of the presentation, “Bodies Among the Ruins: Dance Films Emerging Legacy” and is also included in The ReelDance Moving Image Collection archive at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia for cultural research and curricula in dance and film studies.
John received his BA in Cinema at San Francisco State University. He also wrote, produced and directed several stage ballets featuring dancers from the San Francisco Ballet, Alonzo King LINES Ballet and Oakland Ballet.
RELATED LINKS
Website | http://www.johntwilliams.com
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/johntwilliamsfilmmaker/
Vimeo | https://vimeo.com/johntwilliams
BEST ANIMATED FILM
2020
UNDEREXPOSED
FILM FESTIVAL yc
Animation | 2019 | 14 min. 44 sec.
Official Selection
Suggested Rating | PG
Country | Czech Republic
Language | No Dialogue
Producer | Zuzana Roháčová (FAMU)
Director | Daria Kashcheeva
Writer | Daria Kashcheeva
Editor | Alexander Kashcheev
[92nd Annual Academy Awards | Nominee • Annecy International Animation Film Festival]
In a hospital room, the Daughter recalls a childhood moment when as a little girl she tried to share her experience with an injured bird with her Father. A moment of misunderstanding and a lost embrace has stretched into many years all the way to this hospital room, until the moment when a window pane breaks under the impact of a little bird.
Eligible for Specialty Award:
-
Woman to Watch
-
Best Student Film | Collegiate
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Daria Kashcheeva studies animated film at FAMU in Prague. Her student films have been featured at many international festivals. Daria’s original To Accept won the Nespresso Talents 2017 film competition in Cannes.
RELATED LINKS
Website | http://dariakashcheeva.com
IMDB | https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10923134/
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM
2020
UNDEREXPOSED
FILM FESTIVAL yc
Sankofa
Documentary | 2018 | 27 min. 53 sec.
Official Selection
Suggested Rating | PG-13
Country | United States
Language | English
Producers | Deanna Starr, Madiah Gant, Sarah Harris
Director | Princess Garrett
Writers | Sarah Harris, Clif Porter
Cast | Godsway Anderson, Marcquis Graham, Chiji Akoma, Amari Johnson, Eric Owusu Ansah, Wanluv the Kubolor
[46th Student Academy Awards | Gold Medal for Documentary • San Francisco Black Film Festival • San Antonio Black International Film Festival • Black Film Festival Atlanta! • The Black Gatsby • Spotlight Documentary Film Awards • Black Film Festival of New Orleans • Denton Black Film Festival • San Diego Black Film Festival • Dividing Lines Symposium • Toronto Black Film Festival • LA Black Film Festival • Philly Film Showcase • Media Film Festival • Global University Film Awards •
This documentary is about the loss of identity and its systemic impact on black males. By exploring the complexities of mental slavery, Sankofa calls its audience to free themselves from the system in which they were born.
Eligible for Specialty Award:
-
Woman to Watch
-
Best Student Film | Collegiate
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Reigning from the city of brotherly love, Princess Garrett is a recent graduate with degrees in Communication and Global Interdisciplinary Studies from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Film and television has always been something that Princess has been passionate about, but the representation of women in the media is one that fascinates her the most. Through experiences like making this documentary in Ghana, Princess hopes she can learn how to change the misconceptions and stereotypes that exist within society through film. As the director of the film, Princess hopes to use her abilities and experiences to help make this film as impactful and amazing as possible.
RELATED LINKS
Website | https://riptidepictures.weebly.com/
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/riptide.pictures/
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/marco.g.lerin/
YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvQWSYPoB17dQ7jqlfoiV0w
BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
2020
UNDEREXPOSED
FILM FESTIVAL yc
$200 Cash Prize
Experimental | 2019 | 10 min. 09 sec.
Official Selection
Suggested Rating | PG
Country | United States
Language | English
Producer | John Williams
Director | John Williams
Writer | John Williams
Cast | Ana da Costa, Lester Gonzales, Kitten Marie Clayman, Jessica DiSalvo, Marilla Wex
[InShadow - Lisbon Screendance Film Festival • Dance On Screen Festival • Polish International Film Festival • Clones Film Festival • Austin Arthouse Film Festival • Movimiento en Movimiento • Screendance IMZ Festival • Festival International VideoDanzaBA • Moving Images International Video Dance Festival • Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema • 10th Underground Cinema Film Festival • International Dance Film Festival Brussels • Bucharest ShortCut CineFest • Lago Film Festival • R.E.D International Film Festival • Braga International Video Dance Festival]
Set in a surreal world of giant TV’s, talking flowers and dancing Ravens, two mannequins discuss the controversial race between Mr. Tortoise and Ms. Rabbit after allegations surface that the race was rigged by the Ravens.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
John T. Williams is an award-winning screen dance filmmaker. His films have been presented in over 100 film festivals throughout South America, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia and the United States. His most recent film, "Jilava" has received over 12 awards and nominations, including awards for "Best Experimental/Avant-garde Film," "Best of Festival," and "Best Director." The film was recently presented at a lecture on "Dance and Spirituality" at the University of Theology in Graz, Austria.
His most successful dance film, “Black Train is Coming”, is based on the 1926 sermon, “Death’s Black Train is Coming” by Rev J.M Gates, one of the most prolific black preachers in the US. The film was presented in the lecture at the joint conference of Society of Dance History Scholars/Congress of Research on Dance at UC Riverside as part of the presentation, “Bodies Among the Ruins: Dance Films Emerging Legacy” and is also included in The ReelDance Moving Image Collection archive at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia for cultural research and curricula in dance and film studies.
John received his BA in Cinema at San Francisco State University. He also wrote, produced and directed several stage ballets featuring dancers from the San Francisco Ballet, Alonzo King LINES Ballet and Oakland Ballet.
RELATED LINKS
Website | http://www.johntwilliams.com
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/johntwilliamsfilmmaker/
Vimeo | https://vimeo.com/johntwilliams
BEST NARRATIVE FILM
2020
UNDEREXPOSED
FILM FESTIVAL yc
Song Sparrow
Experimental, Narrative
2019 | 11 min. 43 sec.
Official Selection
Suggested Rating | PG-13
Country | Denmark, Islamic Republic of Iran
Language | No Dialogue
Producer | Farzaneh Omidvarnia
Director | Farzaneh Omidvarnia
Writers | Farzaneh Omidvarnia, Mehdi Rostampour
[Giffoni Film Festival • Galway Film • Yerevan Golden Apricot International Film Festival • Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival • HollyShorts Film Festival • Vancouver International Film Festival • Aesthetica Film Festival • Segreteria Sedicicorto International Film Festival • Canberra Short Film Festival • Corti in Cortile International Short Film Festival • Adriatic Film Festival • Festival Internazionale del Cortometraggio (CortoLovere) • Asiana International Short Film Festival • Corti di Lunga Memoria • Stockholm International Film Festival • London International Animation Festival • PÖFF Shorts, Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) • Sulmona International Film Festival • St. Louis International Film Festival • Foyle Film Festival]
Based on a real event, in Austria 2015, and in Ireland 2019...
A group of refugees tries to reach a safe country in search of a better life. They pay a smuggler to convey them across the boarders in a fridge truck. However, the freezing temperature of the truck turns their hopes for a better future into a fierce struggle for survival.
Eligible for Specialty Award:
-
Woman to Watch
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Farzaneh Omidvarnia was born in Iran, Graduated from University of Tehran, and faculty of Fine Arts. She received a PhD in Design in 2015 from Technical University of Denmark. Following her graduation, she began to focus on creation of fabric sculptures and writing short stories. Her artworks soon appeared in several art exhibition in Europe and Iran, and she published her first collection of short stories in 2016. In 2017, she directed and produced her first animated film “To Be” (6 minutes, drama). The movie was acclaimed internationally and won prizes in different festivals. Her second film “Song Sparrow” has been completed in June 2019. She is now based in Copenhagen, Denmark.
RELATED LINKS
Website | http://omidvarnia.com/song-sparrow/
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/farzaneh.omidvarnia
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/fomidvarnia/
Twitter | https://twitter.com/F_Omidvarnia
BEST PUPPETRY FILM
2020
UNDEREXPOSED
FILM FESTIVAL yc
Narrative, Puppetry
2019 | 16 min. 25 sec.
Official Selection
Suggested Rating | PG-13
Country | United States
Language | English
Producer | Lisa Henson
Director | Kevin McTurk
Writer | Tab Murphy
Cast | Jason Scott Lee, James Hong, Chistopher Lloyd, Franka Potente
In this handcrafted epic puppet film set in a world of demons and ghosts, a lone samurai and his odd companion, a cursed severed head, seek vengeance in a haunted world.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
A professional creature effects artist, cinematographer, model maker, and puppeteer, Kevin McTurk has been working in the effects industry for over 20 years. A graduate of Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film Production, Kevin moved to Los Angeles in 1992 and began his career in special make-up effects at Stan Winston Studios, working on Batman Returns, Interview with a Vampire, and the Jurassic Park films. He has worked for many effects companies over the years, including the Jim Henson Creature Shop, Amalgamated Dynamics, and Spectral Motion. Kevin also worked at New Deal Studios, where he was involved on the miniature effects shots for the Martin Scorcese films The Aviator, Shutter Island, and Hugo.
In 2004, Kevin was contacted by Weta Workshop in New Zealand and moved to Wellington to work on the films King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, and the gory comedy Black Sheep (in which he also played the Weresheep creature).
In 2011, Kevin received a Project Grant from The Jim Henson Foundation to make his first puppet short film The Narrative of Victor Karloch. The film played in over twenty international festivals, and won the 2012 Best Animated Film Award at the DragonCon Film Festival. His follow-up film, The Mill at Calder's End was the result of a highly successful Kickstarter campaign and played in film festivals around the world. This film has won several awards including the Grand Jury Award for Best Animated Short at Seattle International Film Festival, the Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, and the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Short Film.
RELATED LINKS
Website | http://www.TheSpiritCabinet.com
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/kevin.mcturk
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/thespiritcabinet/
Twitter | https://twitter.com/spiritcabinet/
WOMAN TO WATCH
2020
UNDEREXPOSED
FILM FESTIVAL yc
$200 Cash Prize
Alison James
Judas Collar
Alison James is an award winning director and writer from Perth, Western Australia.
Judas Collar is Alison’s most ambitious film to date, following up on two performance based dramatic shorts, You Have Blue Eyes – which recently screened at an Australians in Film showcase in Los Angeles and Sentence which she filmed in West Australia’s only juvenile prison.
Alison has transitioned from factual into scripted after exploring complex ideas and characters in television documentaries over the last decade. She has directed on fifty hours of factual television, working for national and international broadcasters Discovery, National Geographic, ABC, SBS, ITV, BBC, PBS, S4C, 7mate, Sky TV, TV NZ, Arte and The History Channel.
Working across a variety of documentary formats, Alison has gained privileged access into unique subcultures and nurtured a passion for human complexities without judgment.
Highlights include spending countless hours with Indigenous Elders, oil and gas workers, multi-millionaire entrepreneurs, people with intellectual disabilities, Nobel winning scientists, migrants, refugees, prisoners and survivors of terrorism and war.
Most recently Alison was Series Director for the eight-part Railroad Australia (Discovery) following the men and women who run Australia’s vast rail network. Prior to that she was a director on twenty-four episodes of the popular Outback Truckers (Discovery) filming in some of Australia’s most inhospitable and remote areas with some of Australia’s toughest truck drivers.
Alison was field director for the critically acclaimed The DreamHouse (ABC) following three young housemates living with intellectual disabilities. She also co-series directed BoomTown (ABC), examining a year in the lives of seven high-profile multi-millionaire entrepreneurs in Perth. Alison’s series directing debut was the heart-warming Harvest (SBS), tracking the evolution of a community garden at the notorious ‘Suicide Towers’ in Perth.
Alison studied filmmaking and psychology at Curtin University and is a recipient of the prestigious West Australian Young Filmmaker of the Year Award.
RELATED LINKS
Website | https://judascollar.com
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/judascollar
IMDB | https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8005618/
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/judascollar/
Twitter | https://twitter.com/judascollar
Narrative | 2018 | 15 min. 00 sec.
Official Selection
Suggested Rating | PG-13
Country | Australia
Language | English
Producer | Brooke Tia Silcox
Director | Alison James
Writer | Alison James
Editor | Lawrie Silvestrin
[Sydney Film Festival • Austin Film Festival • St. Kilda Film Festival • Heart of Gold Film Festival • Stellar Film Festival • Cape Animal Film Festival • Down Under Berline • Ozsnax Awards • Melbourne International Film Festival • FLickerfest • Interfilm Film Festival • Brooklyn Film Festival • Indy Shorts • Show Me Shorts • Doker Festival • Dumbo Film Festival • Dallas Film Festival • Perth International Arts Festival • Revelation Film Festival • Cinefest Oz • Martha's Vineyard International Film Festival • Astro Rocks Film Festival • Short & Sweet Film Festival • Reel Good Film Festival • Australian Embassy to Russia Screenings • Castlemaine Film Festival •The Valley Film Festival • Oxaca Film Festival • Aesthetica Short Film Festival • Vision Splended Outdoor Film Festival • La Femme Film Festival • Ojay Film Festival • Northern Lights Film Festival • Australian Short Film Today]
In outback Australia a wild camel is captured and fitted with a tracking device known as a Judas Collar. Based on a real life practice, Judas Collar is a scripted, no-dialogue, live action short that explores the story of a camel used to betray her kind.
Eligible for Specialty Award:
-
Woman to Watch
CINEMA CAROLINA
2020
UNDEREXPOSED
FILM FESTIVAL yc
$200 Cash Prize
Documentary | 2019 | 18 min. 06 sec.
Official Selection
Suggested Rating | PG
Country | United States
Language | English
Director | Hamilton Young Ward
Cast | Dann Ward, Andrew Kahrl, Kwame Leo Lillard, J.T. Johnson, Al Lingo
[Carrboro Film Fest]
This documentary explores the urban decay of municipal swimming pools in the Southern United States, due to their closure and abandonment by white officials after desegregation was instituted in America.
Eligible for Specialty Award:
-
Cinema Carolina
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Hamilton Young Ward is a documentary filmmaker and conceptual photographer whose work centers around Americana and the southern United States.
RELATED LINKS
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SummerHeadstones/
BEST STUDENT FILM
2020
UNDEREXPOSED
FILM FESTIVAL yc
$100 Cash Prize
Sankofa
Documentary | 2018 | 27 min. 53 sec.
Official Selection
Suggested Rating | PG-13
Country | United States
Language | English
Producers | Deanna Starr, Madiah Gant, Sarah Harris
Director | Princess Garrett
Writers | Sarah Harris, Clif Porter
Cast | Godsway Anderson, Marcquis Graham, Chiji Akoma, Amari Johnson, Eric Owusu Ansah, Wanluv the Kubolor
[46th Student Academy Awards | Gold Medal for Documentary • San Francisco Black Film Festival • San Antonio Black International Film Festival • Black Film Festival Atlanta! • The Black Gatsby • Spotlight Documentary Film Awards • Black Film Festival of New Orleans • Denton Black Film Festival • San Diego Black Film Festival • Dividing Lines Symposium • Toronto Black Film Festival • LA Black Film Festival • Philly Film Showcase • Media Film Festival • Global University Film Awards •
This documentary is about the loss of identity and its systemic impact on black males. By exploring the complexities of mental slavery, Sankofa calls its audience to free themselves from the system in which they were born.
Eligible for Specialty Award:
-
Woman to Watch
-
Best Student Film | Collegiate
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Reigning from the city of brotherly love, Princess Garrett is a recent graduate with degrees in Communication and Global Interdisciplinary Studies from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Film and television has always been something that Princess has been passionate about, but the representation of women in the media is one that fascinates her the most. Through experiences like making this documentary in Ghana, Princess hopes she can learn how to change the misconceptions and stereotypes that exist within society through film. As the director of the film, Princess hopes to use her abilities and experiences to help make this film as impactful and amazing as possible.
RELATED LINKS
Website | https://riptidepictures.weebly.com/
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/riptide.pictures/
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/marco.g.lerin/
YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvQWSYPoB17dQ7jqlfoiV0w
TERRY ROUECHE AUDIENCE CHOICE
2020
UNDEREXPOSED
FILM FESTIVAL yc
$100 Cash Prize
The Haunted Swordsman
Narrative, Puppetry
2019 | 16 min. 25 sec.
Official Selection
Suggested Rating | PG-13
Country | United States
Language | English
Producer | Lisa Henson
Director | Kevin McTurk
Writer | Tab Murphy
Cast | Jason Scott Lee, James Hong, Chistopher Lloyd, Franka Potente
In this handcrafted epic puppet film set in a world of demons and ghosts, a lone samurai and his odd companion, a cursed severed head, seek vengeance in a haunted world.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
A professional creature effects artist, cinematographer, model maker, and puppeteer, Kevin McTurk has been working in the effects industry for over 20 years. A graduate of Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film Production, Kevin moved to Los Angeles in 1992 and began his career in special make-up effects at Stan Winston Studios, working on Batman Returns, Interview with a Vampire, and the Jurassic Park films. He has worked for many effects companies over the years, including the Jim Henson Creature Shop, Amalgamated Dynamics, and Spectral Motion. Kevin also worked at New Deal Studios, where he was involved on the miniature effects shots for the Martin Scorcese films The Aviator, Shutter Island, and Hugo.
In 2004, Kevin was contacted by Weta Workshop in New Zealand and moved to Wellington to work on the films King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, and the gory comedy Black Sheep (in which he also played the Weresheep creature).
In 2011, Kevin received a Project Grant from The Jim Henson Foundation to make his first puppet short film The Narrative of Victor Karloch. The film played in over twenty international festivals, and won the 2012 Best Animated Film Award at the DragonCon Film Festival. His follow-up film, The Mill at Calder's End was the result of a highly successful Kickstarter campaign and played in film festivals around the world. This film has won several awards including the Grand Jury Award for Best Animated Short at Seattle International Film Festival, the Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, and the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Short Film.
RELATED LINKS
Website | http://www.TheSpiritCabinet.com
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/kevin.mcturk
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/thespiritcabinet/
Twitter | https://twitter.com/spiritcabinet/