This year’s Festival winners are a varied bunch, to say the least. From a story about a vivacious young boy from Laos trying to change his destiny to a documentary about the atrocities of the American military machine, you’ll be hearing about our top winning films for a long time to come.
Check out some of the trailers below.
Narrative
The Rocket
World Narrative Competition Winner AND Heineken Audience Award Winner
Set against the lush backdrop of rural Laos, this spirited drama tells the story of scrappy ten-year-old Ahlo, who yearns to break free from his ill-fated destiny. After his village is displaced to make way for a massive dam, Ahlo escapes with his father and grandmother through the Laotian outback in search of a new home. Along the way, they come across a rocket festival that offers a lucrative—but dangerous—chance for a new beginning.
The Broken Circle Breakdown
Best Screenplay - Narrative Award
Punky Elise runs a tattoo shop. Cowboy Didier plays banjo in a bluegrass band. When they meet, it’s love at first sight. When they move into a homey old farmhouse where their daughter Maybelle is born, their happiness is complete. But when a crisis strikes the hopeful new family, these two very different lovers are forced to fight for their marriage together.
Before Snowfall
Best Cinematography Narrative Award- Marius Matzow Gulbrandsen
How far would you go to restore your family’s honor? As the oldest man in his household, Siyar confronts that question with a vengeance after his older sister, Nermin, flees an arranged marriage, and he must atone for the slight. Siyar tracks her from their small village in Kurdistan to the cultural melting pot of Istanbul. His fateful introduction to Evin, a young girl living on the streets, leads to the first cracks in his resolve. Then Nermin escapes into Europe, and Siyar has no choice but to continue a search that will forever change his notions of loyalty, dignity, honor and love.
Whitewash
Best New Narrative Director Award—Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais
Directed and co-written by Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais, yhe brutality of winter and the power of the mind are aptly portrayed in this dark comedy starring Thomas Haden Church. Bruce is lost. His wife has died and he lost his job. He is merely trying to survive a harsh Canadian winter when he meets Paul and only too late realizes the newcomer is more than he appears. When conflict leads to a death, Bruce finds himself even more isolated in the forests of Quebec, grappling with guilt and creating a prison from which he cannot escape.
Documentary
The Kill Team
World Documentary Competition Winner
In 2010, the media branded a platoon of U.S. Army infantry soldiers “The Kill Team” following reports of its killing for sport while stationed in Afghanistan. Two years later, Dan Krauss examines this heinous war crime from the perspective of the accused. Firsthand accounts from four of the implicated soldiers provide insight into the circumstances that inspired the gratuitous killing of Afghan civilians.
