Melbourne International Film Festival 2020 Shorts Awards Winners Announced

MIFF-Da-YieThe Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) has announced the recipients of the 2020 MIFF Shorts Awards, which sees $35,500 awarded to five short films featured in this year’s digital festival – MIFF 68½.

In a ceremony hosted by comedian and presenter Jo Stanley, this year’s awards were judged by a jury consisting of acclaimed screen practitioners and MIFF Ambassadors: Aaron Pedersen, Chris Pang and Rachel Griffiths.

Winners of the 2020 MIFF Shorts Awards include Anthony Nti’s Da Yie (Ghana/Belgium), Jon Bell’s The Moogai (Australia), Eeva Mägi’s The Weight of All the Beauty (Estonia), Élodie Dermange’s Inès (France/Switzerland) and Nevena Desivojevic’s Outside the Oranges Are Blooming (Portugal/Serbia).

This year saw Australia’s oldest and most prestigious film festival made available to audiences right around Australia for the very first time. The festival streamed 44 shorts, largely presented within five distinct bundles and provided to audiences for free: Australian Shorts, International Shorts, Documentary Shorts, Animation Shorts, and the MIFF Shorts Retrospective: Connections.

One of the most prominent short film competitions in the Southern Hemisphere, the MIFF Shorts Awards are Academy Awards accredited, with the winners of the Best Short Film, Best Australian Short Film and Best Documentary Short Film awards eligible to submit their film for the 93rd Academy Awards® in 2021.

“As the world around us shifts, it is pertinent that every winner this year tells a unique story of social consciousness,” says Shorts Programmer Mia Falstein-Rush. “MIFF is so grateful that each of these storytellers has chosen to share their personal experiences with us, no matter how confronting or intimate.”

The 2020 Melbourne International Film Festival, MIFF 68½ continues to Sunday 23 August. For more information, visit: www.miff.com.au for details.

Image: Da Yie (film still) – courtesy of Melbourne International Film Festival


2020 MIFF SHORTS AWARD WINNERS:

City of Melbourne Grand Prix for Best Short Film:
Film: Da Yie (Ghana/Belgium) Director: Anthony Nti

  • With a Jury Award for Best Performance awarded to Matilda Enchil from Da Yie.

Film Victoria Erwin Rado Award for Best Australian Short Film:
Film: The Moogai (Australia) Director: Jon Bell

  • With a Special Mention awarded to Day in the Life by the Karrabing Film Collective.

Abercrombie & Kent Award for Best Documentary Short Film:
Film: The Weight of All the Beauty (Estonia) Director: Eeva Mägi

HP & Storm FX Award for Best Animation Short Film:
Film: Inès (France/Switzerland) Director: Élodie Dermange

Blackmagic Design Award for Best Cinematography in a Short Film:
Film: Outside the Oranges Are Blooming (Portugal/Serbia) Director: Nevena Desivojevic