Steve Boot’s ‘Once Upon a Blue Moon’ awarded as best independent film; Anni Oja’s ‘Viikset’ (‘The Moustache’) named best student film.
MONTREAL -- The Montreal Stop Motion Film Festival ended in style on Sunday, September 27 with the unveiling of its winners for 2015 and with members of the jury revealing the most distinguished films of the animated weekend. Here are the winning movies:
Best Professional Film
If I Was God...
Cordell Barker, Canada, 2014
Best Independent Film
Once Upon a Blue Moon
Steve Boot, U.K., 2015
Best Student Film
Viikset (The Moustache)
Anni Oja, Finland, 2015
Audience Award
Automatic Fitness
Alejandra Tomei & Alberto Couceiro, Germany, 2015
The seventh edition of the festival was an undeniable success, with a nine percent increase in the number of attendees at conferences and screenings. Among the most popular activities was the presentation of If I was God… in stereoscopic 3D, which was followed by a lively lecture by filmmaker Cordell Barker and his team delivered to a standing-room-only audience. Not to be outdone, the special presentation honoring the artisans behind the film The Little Prince attracted an audience of nearly two hundred, and the short film competitions attracted more than five hundred festival-goers.
For the first time in its seven year history, the festival held a meeting with filmmakers in the short film competitions. A dozen filmmakers from six countries, including South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Germany and Canada, attended the event and its success means there will be a similar event again next year.
Finally, as in the past, the Festival had animation stations where everyone could explore stop motion techniques. This year included puppet and object animation as well as claymation.
Source: The Montreal Stop Motion Film Festival