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Outstanding Filmmaking Talent Recognised at

Aesthetica Short Film Festival Awards Ceremony 2014

The last night of the BAFTA Qualifying Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF) saw

filmmakers and filmgoers alike gathered in the beautiful ballroom of the De Grey Rooms

on Sunday evening to celebrate the past four days of international short film screenings

and industry events. Originally an officer’s mess for the Yorkshire Hussars and a Grade II

listed building, it was a fitting finale for a festival that continues to open the doors of York’s

most iconic and beautiful buildings and invite visitors to explore the city’s hidden treasures

whilst indulging in some of the world’s best short filmmaking.

It was a fantastic night and emotions ran high as the top films in each genre were

recognised with an award. BAFTA-nominated director Michael Pearce took home the

prize for Best Thriller with his sensational film, Keeping Up with the Joneses starring

Maxine Peake (Silk, Shameless) and Adeel Akhtar (Four Lions, The Dictator) while Alan

Holly won Best Animation for his beautiful hand-drawn film, Coda.

Holly’s Coda was also awarded Festival Winner, chosen for its sophisticated composition

combining fluid animation and an accomplished score to create a piece of work that

touches upon the collective understanding of existence and is both hopeful and wistful.

The characterful The Wolf, the Ship and the Little Green Bag by Kathryn MacCorgarry

Gray stole the heart of the viewers to win the People’s Choice Award and the York Youth

Vote award, a new initiative to introduce young students to independent cinema in

collaboration with Film Hub North, went to Phil Drinkwater and Tim Woodall for their

resonant and sympathetic How to Disappear Completely supported by Creative England.

Two new strands for this year’s festival – advertising and fashion, the latter sponsored by

London College of Fashion – attracted a startling number of high quality entries and the

competition was fierce with films by top brands such as Vivienne Westwood, Swarovski,

Louis Vuitton, Trager Delaney, River Island and Topshop. Alex Turvey received the Best

Fashion prize for his observations on the model collective Justanorm with designs by

Joseph Turvey for River Island produced by White Lodge while Ben Marshall took home

the Best Advertising award for The Directors Project, an exploration of photography with

Jigsaw. The winner of Best Experimental was Léthé, an invitation by director Harald Hutter

to go astray and embark with a vagrant protagonist to forget one’s self.

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Best Artists’ Film was awarded to Danilo Godoy for his compelling work Forgotten

Memories from the End of the World that interrogates narrative structures and Robert

Hackett won the Best Music Video for the song Night Mail by Public Service Broadcasting.

With its stunning landscapes and wry charm, Lindsay Blatt’s Herd in Iceland took the

award for Best Documentary while the elegant Eine Gute Geschichte (A Good Story) by

Martin-Christopher Bode won Best Drama. The Best Comedy was awarded to Benjamin

Bee for his dark look at the underworld of the publishing industry in Girl Power, starring

Alice Lowe and Dakota Blue Richards.

As a prominent international festival, ASFF is a great ambassador for film culture in the

North of England and across the UK. The new Meet the Film Festivals event took place in

the stunning surrounds of Middletons Hotel and brought together programmers from

Raindance, Sheffield Doc/Fest, London Short Film Festival, Castellinaria, Short Shorts

Film Festival & Asia and more leading to new collaborations and providing an opportunity

for filmmakers to meet those behind some of the world’s most acclaimed film festivals.

With special programmes from the Yorkshire Film Archive, Creative England iShorts,

Japan, Lebanon and Iraq this year the festival brought together different cultures and

experiences whilst promoting and celebrating the art of short filmmaking. The fourth

edition of ASFF welcomed thousands of visitors to the city including a diverse mix of

industry professionals, young families, film fans, students, tourists and more, some

travelling from as far afield as Brazil, USA, Australia and Japan.

Cherie Federico, Festival Director, concludes: “At ASFF we champion films that

demonstrate innovation and excellence and through our events this year we have

provided opportunities for filmmakers to meet industry leaders and build their contacts list,

creating new collaborations across nations to extend filmmaking communities around the

world. We are thrilled with the amount of filmmakers, professionals, families and tourists

who have taken part in this year’s festival ensuring a resounding success for our fourth

edition.”

Notes to Editors:

1. ASFF 2014 ran 6 - 9 November across the city of York. Visit www.asff.co.uk and

@asffest and www.facebook.com/aestheticamagazine

2. ASFF 2014 screened over 350 films from 40 countries worldwide, including USA,

Canada, Australia, Japan, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Switzerland,

France, Germany and the UK.

3. ASFF 2014 categories: advertising, animation, artists’ film, comedy, documentary,

drama, experimental, fashion, music video and thriller as well as a Family Friendly

Programme.

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4. Special events included Yorkshire Film Archive: Filmed and Not Forgotten, Creative

England iShorts as well as screenings by guest countries: Iraq, Japan and Lebanon.

There were also official selections from leading short film festivals Internationale

Kurzfilmtage Winterthur and Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival.

5. Industry events included masterclasses with BAFTA, Channel 4, Ridley Scott

Associates, Revolution Software, Beggars Group, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Mark Herman,

Kathryn Ferguson, Association of Camera Operators, Indiegogo, Anna Smith,

Blinkink and Double Negative. Plus daily networking sessions with industry leaders,

Meet the Film Festivals event and Meet the Filmmakers panel discussion.

6. Festivals in attendance at ASFF 2014 included Animated Exeter, Berwick Film &

Media Arts Festival, Borderlines Film Festival, Bradford Animation Festival, British

Urban Film Festival, Cabriolet Film Festival, Castellinaria, Edinburgh International

Film Festival, Encounters Short Film and Animation Festival, European Animated

Festival Balkanima, Flatpack Film Festival, Garden State Film Festival, Internationale

Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen, Kendal Mountain Festival, London Short Film Festival,

Pennine Film Festival, Raindance, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Short Shorts Film Festival &

Asia.

7. The festival is produced by Aesthetica Magazine. Visit www.aestheticamagazine.com

8. ASFF’s main sponsor is York St John University. Other sponsors include BFI, City of

York Council, Arts Council England, The Guild of Television Cameramen, The Great

British Sasakawa Foundation, Japan Foundation, Embassy of Switzerland in the

United Kingdom, Creative England, Thirteen Thirty One, Brandy Brown’s Little

Cinema, York Means Business, University of the Arts London, London College of

Fashion, Film Hub North, Reel Cinema, Middletons Hotel, The National Centre for

Early Music, National Trust, Grand Central, One&Other, York Theatre Royal, City

Screen Picturehouse York and Visit York. To see the full list visit

www.asff.co.uk/partners

For quotes, images and interviews please contact Alexandra Beresford on 01904 629

137 or email alexandra@aestheticamagazine.com

The Wolf, the Ship and the Little Green Bag.Kathryn MacCorgarry Gray (Chaos). People’s Choice Winner of ASFF 2014.

The images below are available under the following terms and conditions:

• Images are accompanied by the name of the director, the title and date of work, the owner credit line and photocredit as provided below.• Images are not cropped, overprinted, tinted or subject to any form of derogatory treatment without the prior approval of the copyright owner.• Images are only reproduced to illustrate an article or feature reviewing or reporting on ASFF

(section 30 (i) and (ii) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988).• Reproductions that accompany an article are not used for marketing or advertising purposes.

High-res images available upon request: contact Alexandra Beresford at alexandra@aestheticamagazine.com

Press Images

The Directors Project.Ben Marshall (Jigsaw). Best Advertising of ASFF 2014.

Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF).York, UK.6-9 November 2014.

Coda.Alan Holly (and maps and plans). Best Animation of ASFF 2014.

Coda.Alan Holly (and maps and plans). Best Animation of ASFF 2014.

How To Disappear Completely.Phil Drinkwater & Tim Woodall (Creative England).York Youth Vote of ASFF 2014.

Herd in Iceland.Lindsay Blatt (Herd in Iceland, Inc).Best Documentary of ASFF 2014.

Eine Gute Geschichte (A Good Story).Martin-Christopher Bode (Media Boutique Munich / Panda Pictures GmbH). Best Drama of ASFF 2014.

River Island x Joseph Turvey feat. Justanorm.Alex Turvey (White Lodge).Best Fashion of ASFF 2014.

Public Service Broadcasting: Night Mail.Robert Hackett (Antagonist Films). Best Music Video of ASFF 2014.

Léthé.Harald Hutter (Scotland Screen Academy). Best Experimental of ASFF 2014.

Girl Power.Benjamin Bee (Attercop Productions). Best Comedy of ASFF 2014.

Keeping Up With The Joneses.Michael Pearce (Incendiary Pictures & Agile Films).Best Thriller of ASFF 2014.

Forgotten Memories from the End of the World.Danilo Godoy (Independent). Best Artists’ Film of ASFF 2014.