On December 6th-8th, the HollyShorts Film Festival held its very first iteration outside of the United States, with HollyShorts London making waves over in Europe with its inaugural entry. With dozens of films on display for those few days, those who were able to attend or watch online were given a chance to see some incredible work by talented filmmakers, with the efforts of some being rewarded with the prestige of being declared a winner in their category. Below is the list of winners, which includes a big congratulations for director Jamie O’Rourke and their film Calf, which took home the big award of the night, winning the Best Short Film Grand Prize, which also included a £20,000 Camera Lens Package from Panavision.
Other awards winners include:
Best Comedy – My Week With Maisy by Mika Simmons
Best Drama – Clodagh by Portia A. Buckley
Best Documentary – Anäis by Hélène Hadjiyianni
Best Cinematography – Presented by Shotdeck: Anuja, DP Akash Raje, directed by Adam J. Graves
Best Shot on Film – Presented by Kodak: Clodagh by Portia A. Buckley
Best International – The Masterpiece by Alex Lora
Best Director – Presented by Cotrini: Sister Wives by Louisa Connolly-Burnham
There were also Honoree awards bestowed during the festival, which indluded Tom Berkeley and Ross White, OScar winners last year for the excellent An Irish Goodbye; The Silent Child director Chris Overton, who won the same award in 2018; Misan Harriman, whose film The After was nominated for the 2024 Academy Awards; and Jamie Donoughue, who was also recognized by receiving an Oscar in 2016 for his film Shok.
Also given an award was James Martin, who received the Trailblazer Award for his performance in An Irish Goodbye, a performance so strong it gave Martin the honor of being the first actor with Down’s Syndrome to ever be bestowed with a win at the prestigious Academy Awards ceremony.
HollyShorts has been a leader in this medium of film, with, as of last year, four Oscar Qualifying categories for filmmakers to submit themselves in as a part of inclusion in the festival, with Documentary Short joining the list at this past year’s ceremonies. And now for the first time, BAFTA eligibility will be available as well, with films being selected also being granted the ability to submit for the heralded British film awards.
With the success of this first iteration of the festival in London, it’s set to return next year to build a tradition of holding the festival in England, with its continued presence in America set to remain, with the 21st Annual HollyShorts Film Festival set sometime next fall.
HollyShorts London sponsors include Cotrini Skin, Kodak, Panavision, JeanBookNerd, Miller Insurance, Company 3, Alta Global Media, 88th Street Productions, Shotdeck, IMGN and Kevork Law.
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