UFFyc Announces 2015 Awards

The Underexposed Film Festival yc announced the jury prizes on Saturday, November 7, 2015. The awards were presented at a ceremony immediately following the final block of films screened at the Community Performance Center located in Rock Hill, SC. The 2015 program was comprised of 38 juried short films, selected from 200 submissions, and 20 Director’s Choice films, curated by Festival Director Karen Collins. The jurors for the 2015 UFFyc were Steve Childs, Michael Cusack, Joanna Davidovitch, Karen Keyes, Michael Rivers, Dr. Karen Stock, Frederick Taylor, Chris White, and Dr. David Wohl.

The Underexposed Film Festival yc presented ten awards in 2015 - the Grand Jury Prize; the best of each category – animation, documentary, experimental, and narrative; Cinema Carolina - awarded to the best independent film made in North or South Carolina, regardless of category, content, or subject; Woman to Watch (best female director); Best Student Film; and the Terry Roueche Audience Choice Award. The Cotton Alley Award, sponsored by Founders Federal Credit Union, is an honorary award, recognizing a filmmaker’s achievements and commitment to the art of independent filmmaking.

Cotton Alley Award

Sponsored by Founders Federal Credit Union

PATRICK FUGIT

The Cotton Alley Award was presented to Patrick Fugit for his achievements and commitment to the art of the independent film throughout his career.

At 16, he made his Hollywood movie debut in the 2000 coming-of-age tale, Almost Famous. Discovered in an international casting search, Patrick became widely known for playing the lead role of William Miller. Already a classic, Almost Famous is touted as one of the 10 best movies of the decade from 2000-2010.

Over following years, Patrick amassed a number of credits in both studio and independent films, including White Oleander, Saved!, Wristcutters, A Love Story, We Bought A Zoo, Thanks For Sharing, Gone Girl, The Strongest Man, The List, and Queen of Earth. His dedication to independent film is not limited to features. Patrick’s commitment to the independent short film can be seen in You’re a Natural, A Night with Little Richard, Isip the Warrior, and Rita Mahtoubian is Not a Terrorist, which screened at the 2015 Underexposed Film Festival yc. The feature version of Rita Mahtoubian is Not a Terrorist is in the final rounds of consideration for the Sundance Creative Producing Lab.

His current project is by the creators of The Walking Dead. Fugit stars as the lead role in Outcast, for Cinemax. Production has caused quite a stir in York County, SC over the past year, where the production has turned historic downtown York into Rome, WV. They have also been seen filming in neighborhoods and on roads in Rock Hill, Fort Mill, Chester, SC and Charlotte, NC. Outcast is set to premiere in 2016.

Grand Jury Award

the birch grove

Experimental | 2015 | 20 minutes 11 seconds

Country: USA

Director: Gabrielle Lansner

Assistant Director: Oni Brown

Executive Producer: Dean Taucher

Producers: Gabrielle Lansner, Roweena Mackay

Co-producer: Darcy Trunzo

Writer: Ellen McLaughlin

Cast: Lonnie Poupard, Jr., Matt Reeves, Colette Krogol, Hannah Tamminen, Hela Glaever

[Festival de Cannes Short Film Corner | Cinedans | Newport Beach Film Festival | San Francisco Dance Film Festival]

Caught between love and death, two brothers wrestle with their past in a dance towards reconciliation. A poetic film about the power of family ties, inspired by the novella of the same name by the Polish author, Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz. more info

Best Animated Film

The Lost Mariner

Animation | 2014 | 5 minutes 45 seconds

Country: Netherlands

Director: Tess Martin

Producers: Warren Etheredge, Brad Hutchinson

Cast: Ruud Aarden, Hank Botwinik, Kieran Dolan, Tjeerd Knoop, Jeff Hoyt

What sort of self is left when you've lost the greater part of your past, and your moorings in time? This animated short uses photographs and cut-outs to describe the life of Jimmie, an ex-Navy man afflicted with a rare neurological disorder. Jimmie experiences life in minutes-long segments, unable to form new memories since his affliction, which also erased his previous two decades of memory. Based on the chapter The Lost Mariner, in Dr. Oliver Sacks' book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. more info

Best Documentary Film

Sponsored by Dr. Susan Collins, DDS

Romanian

Documentary | 2014 | 23:51 minutes

Country: Romania

Director: Artur Boruzs

Producer: Caragiale Academy of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography

Writer: Artur Boruzs

Cast: Dr. Constantin Lupu

A project, born as a solution to the contemporary existential dystopia, whose finality is consisted mostly often in neuro-psychic disorders, brings to life the myth of the cave, not only to the intercession’s initiator, as Plato suggested, but to all those who wish a moment of harmony. Thereby, the cave from Româneşti turns, from the primary place of culture’s origins, into a space of therapy through art. more info

Best Experimental Film

the birch grove

Experimental | 2015 | 20 minutes 11 seconds

Country: USA

Director: Gabrielle Lansner

Assistant Director: Oni Brown

Executive Producer: Dean Taucher

Producers: Gabrielle Lansner, Roweena Mackay

Co-producer: Darcy Trunzo

Writer: Ellen McLaughlin

Cast: Lonnie Poupard, Jr., Matt Reeves, Colette Krogol, Hannah Tamminen, Hela Glaever

[Festival de Cannes Short Film Corner | Cinedans | Newport Beach Film Festival | San Francisco Dance Film Festival]

Best Narrative Film

Sponsored by Dixie Exterminating Company

Une Libération

Narrative | 2015 | 15 minutes 59 seconds

Country: USA

Director: Brian James Crewe

Producers: Hugh Aodh O'Brien, Brian James Crewe

Writer: Marion Kerr

Cast: Ross Marquand, Marion Kerr, Matthew Temple, Mark Jäger

On the eve of the liberation of Paris from Nazi occupation during World War Two, Juliet, an American resistance member, risks her life descending into the city's underground tunnels to deliver a secret message to fellow fighter Jean. However, a final deadly encounter with a pair of German deserters threatens to destroy the very thing she's been fighting for. more info

Cinema Carolina

Sponsored by Dr. Susan Collins, DDS

Awarded to the best independent film made in North or South Carolina, regardless of category, content, or subject. At least 75% of the principal photography must have taken place in North or South Carolina to be eligible for this award.

The Gospel of Hip Bones

Narrative | 2015 | 12 minutes 10 seconds

Country: USA

Directors: Micah Troublefield, Chris Gervais

Producer: Tim Grant

Writers: Chris Gervais, Micah Troublefield

Cast: Ernest Hinnant, Benjamin Caswell, Erika Chase

[Skyline Indie Film Fest | Indie Grits | Charlotte Film Festival | Orlando Film Festival]

A Mormon teen's reality is called into question when he meets a girl in a bikini and falls in love. more info

Woman to Watch

Sponsored by the Arts Community Service Program of the Woman’s Club of Rock Hill, SC and an Affiliate of GFWC. Awarded to the best female director. Twenty films directed by women were eligible for the 2015 Woman to Watch award.

ANNA MUSSO

Anna Musso, a native of Jefferson Park, Chicago, earned a BFA in Film Directing from New York’s School of Visual Arts. She extends her education working under her mentor, Alexander Payne. In New York, she was a member of The National Board of Review and a videographer for The Actors Studio. L TRAIN, her first solo directorial work, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it was the recipient of the Women in Film Award. L TRAIN went on to screen in festivals around the world, including the Underexposed Film Festival yc, and was awarded The Chicago International Film Festival’s Chicago Award and The Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Oscar qualifying Bruce Corwin Award. She lives in Los Angeles and aspires to experience the world with a film camera.

Run Fast

Narrative | 2014 | 21 minutes 52 seconds

Country: USA

Director: Anna Musso

Producer: Adam Wagner

Executive Producer: Alexander Payne

Writer: Anna Musso

Cast: Robert Forster, Yetide Badaki

[Santa Barbara International Film Festival | Palm Springs Shorts Fest | Aspen ShortFest | Montreal International Black Film Fest]

Vivian is a young Kenyan runner who travels to Los Angeles to compete in her first professional marathon. Her sponsor, Peter, an aging former runner, is thrilled to see his long-shot prospect demonstrate true potential in her first race. But when he eagerly prepares to take their partnership to the next level, Vivian confronts him with the realities awaiting her back in Kenya. more info

Best Student Film

Ten films directed by students were eligible for the 2015 Best Student Film award. The youngest student filmmaker was 12 years old.

father

Narrative | 2014 | 24 minutes 00 seconds

Country: USA

Director: Hanna Västinsalo

Producer: Hana Kazim

Writer: Hanna Västinsalo

Cast: Talyan Wright, Craig Bachmann, Alisha Seaton, Logan Kishi