The International Festival of Cinema and Technology Tour Announces Award Winners

The International Festival of Cinema and Technology announces its award winners from its IFCT 2002-2003 World Tour which took place in London, Paris, Toronto, Los Angeles and New York.

The International Festival of Cinema and Technology announces its award winners from its IFCT 2002-2003 World Tour. The tour began December 2002 in Paris, France and concluded August 24th in New York City. Tour locations included the CN Tower, Canadian Broadcast Centre, La Defense (La CNIT), and the Los Angeles Sony Culver Studios. The IFCT 2002-2003 World Tour is designed to give exposure to indie films many of which previously had been underexposed to the public. Many of the tour films incorporate themes of technology; however, technology also comes into play in how the films are showcased at the event itself.

In addition to showcasing indie film talents, the IFCT 2002-2003 World Tour repeatedly broke new technological ground. The IFCT London and IFCT Paris events became the first film festival to take advantage of recent breakthroughs in miniaturization. Employing a newly developed ultra-lightweight DLP projector and lightweight DVD playback system, the IFCT London and Paris system weighed less than 5 lbs, yet yielded vivid and stunning image quality. IFCT Toronto 2003 expanded upon the miniaturization concept with the advent of a complete playback system that included projector, DVD playback system and sound system that weighed a mere ten lbs. IFCT Los Angles featured a display of new technology which converts regular interlaced digital video to 24p with stunning results.

The winners of the tour were selected by a panel of over 50 judges who are based in London, Paris, Toronto, Los Angeles and New York. These judges consisted of film reviewers, magazine editors, music composers, acting teachers, and award winning directors.

IFCT 2002-2003 World Tour Winners

Best Short
WINNER: The Innocent Bystander (Directed by Chris Nixon)

Best Documentary
WINNER: bangkok zigzag (Directed by Robert Kirwan and Michael Dougherty)

Best Short (under 5 minutes)
WINNER: Gear (Directed by Michael Spence)

Best Director of a Short
WINNER: Joseph Ambrosavage for Sunday Dinner

Best Cinematography in a Short
WINNER: The Laughter of God (Directed by Dylan Verrechia)

Best Animation
WINNER: Limboscape (Directed by Tim Finn)

Best Computer Animation
WINNER: An Apple a Day (Directed by Juan Duque)

Best Student Short
WINNER: Mississippi Nedervetil (Directed by Heikki Kossi)

Best Experimental Project
WINNER: Leave Luck to Heaven (Directed by Todd Lincoln)

Best Original Score in a Short
WINNER: Cold (Directed by James Joel Holmes)

Best Documentary Score
WINNER: Mississippi Nedervetil (Directed by Heikki Kossi)

Best Cutting Edge Use of the Documentary Format
WINNER: Sweet Nothings (Directed by James W. Taylor)

Best Comedic Short
WINNER: Bad Assassin (Directed by Don Knowlton)

Best Use of Irreverent Humor in a Short
WINNER: Venus and Lola: Behind the Phenomenon (Directed by Tina Fallon)

Best Actor
WINNER: Pierre O'Farrell (for The Laughter of God)

Best Actress
WINNER: Andrea Diviasky (for Airtime)

Best Short Editing
WINNER: Leave Luck to Heaven (Directed by Todd Lincoln)

Best New Talent (first time filmmaker)
WINNER: Christopher Nixon (for The Innocent Bystander)

Best Use of Technology in a Live Action Short
WINNER The Binding (Directed by Greg Lane)

Best Microbudget Short
WINNER: Peter and the Wolf (Directed by Jessica Childs)

Best Music Video
WINNER: Poem Rocket "Box" (Directed by Liz Bustamante)

The multiple winners from the tour were "The Laughter of God," a drama about an Algerian Journalist in exile which won Best Actor and Best Cinematography; "The Innocent Bystander" about an American who stumbles into a Mexican village to find there has been a rabies epidemic, which won Best Short and Best New Talent; "Leave Luck to Heaven" "a series of vignettes about human loneliness struggling to find its destiny in video games and suburban gated communities" which won Best Experimental and Best Editing; and "Mississippi Nedervetil" a documentary from Finland about a young Finnish blues musician who learns about the blues from an old Mississippi blues master, which won Best Student Film and Best Soundtrack in a Documentary.

Stay tuned for new developments from the International Festival of Cinema and Technology for 2004!