The 2018 Seattle International Film Festival is proud to announce this year’s ShortsFest Jury Award winners, with three women filmmakers taking home Special Grand Jury Awards. Each Grand Jury Prize winner receives $2,500 and winners may also qualify to enter their respective Short Film category of the Academy Awards® for the concurrent season without the theatrical run. ShortsFest is sponsored by IMDbPro, the essential resource for entertainment industry professionals.

Every year SIFF is proud to present a collection of short films that make lasting impressions and ignite audience’s imaginations. Short films, though limited in length, are bursting with creativity generated by accessibility, as the filmmakers are often free from the financial constraints of a feature film. The results often break the rules of cinema itself resulting in a completely unique experience. 
ShortsFest Weekend at SIFF ran from Thursday, May 25 through Memorial Day, Monday May 28, 2018 at SIFF Cinema Uptown.

IMDbPro is the essential resource for entertainment industry professionals. ShortsFest Jury Award winners will receive a free one-year membership to IMDbPro, which includes comprehensive information and tools designed to help entertainment industry professionals achieve success throughout all stages of their career.

2018 SIFF SHORTFEST AWARD WINNERS

LIVE-ACTION

GRAND JURY PRIZE
Caroline (USA, 2017), Directed by Celine Held & Logan George

Jury Statement: “Perfect” and “flawless” were two words our team used multiple times to describe this intense drama. A searing portrait of motherhood, it sent our blood pressure through the roof and arrested our attention until the very last second with its clever and powerful ending. The winner of the 2018 Live Action Short Jury Award goes to Caroline by Celine Held and Logan George. 

SPECIAL JURY MENTION
Creme de Menthe (Canada, 2017), Directors Jean-Marc E. Roy & Philippe David Gagné

Jury Statement: Unlike the liqueur for which it is titled, this film is bittersweet and complex, a poignant reminder of every grown child’s desire for parental validation, even posthumously. What the captivating lead finds instead are small victories amidst her “Rush” to judgement and the rubble of her father’s later life. Our special mention award goes to the understated and masterful Creme de Menthe by Jean-Marc E. Roy and Philippe David Gagné.

SPECIAL JURY MENTION
The Victory of Charity (Austria, 2017), Director Albert Meisl

Jury Statement: This Austrian farce manages to create comedic gold with a mismatched pair of music professors: turning an act of charity--however maliciously motivated--into a hilarious treasure hunt around Vienna. For its endlessly humorous crafting of two endearingly ridiculous characters, on an earnest and equally ridiculous quest, we award a Special Mention to the short that left us in stitches, The Victory of Charity by Albert Meisl.

DOCUMENTARY  

GRAND JURY PRIZE
Juck [Thrust] (Sweden, 2018), Directors Olivia Kastebring, Julia Gumpert and Ulrika Bandeira

Jury Statement: An unapologetic, empowering, and affecting call to action that demands attention.


SPECIAL JURY MENTION
The Driver is Red (USA, 2017), Randall Christopher

Jury Statement: An invigorating revelation of an important, lesser known part of history, full of inventive visuals and tension-filled storytelling

ANIMATION

GRAND JURY PRIZE
Between the Lines (Russia, 2017), Director Maria Koneva

Jury Statement: A delightful and whimsical story from a skilled, emerging new voice in animation. 
 
SPECIAL JURY MENTION
The Driver is Red (USA, 2017), Director Randall Christopher 

Jury Statement:  An invigorating revelation of an important, lesser known part of history, full of inventive visuals and tension-filled storytelling.

FUTUREWAVE SHORTS AWARDS

WAVEMAKER AWARD (GRAND PRIZE)
iRony (Australia, 2017), directed by Radheya Jegatheva

Jury Statement: We found that the animation was excellent, smart, and gorgeous. This film was paired with emotional and poignant prose about technology in this new world, sustaining our curiosity and interest throughout.

PRODIGY CAMP SCHOLARSHIP The winner will be awarded a $1000 scholarship to the Prodigy Camp.

Roommate (USA, 2017), directed by Jinho Rhee

2018 SIFF SHORTSFEST JURY

LIVE ACTION JURY

Opal Bennett
Opal programs for several film festivals. She curates shorts at the Nantucket Film Festival and DOC NYC, and is a Programmer with Aspen ShortsFest, Athena Film Festival and an Assistant Programmer with Tribeca Film Festival. Opal is also a Programming Consultant for the March on Washington and Over-the-Rhine Film Festivals. Opal has served on juries for SxSW, NewFest, Leuven ShortsFest and Queens World Film Festival. She has also served on advisory and grant panels. 

Warren Etheredge
Warren Etheredge is a Storyfinder™. He has conducted over 3,500 interviews. He is one of the founding faculty of TheFilmSchool,helping filmmakers translate their stories for screens big and small, and The Red Badge Project, helping combat veterans work through PTSD and other issues by teaching them the art of storytelling. In the Fall of 2017, he launched a new 30-week screenwriting program at the University of Washington and was appointed the VP of Curation & Acquisitions for Heyou Media. He hosts The High Bar, his Emmy®-nominated television series devoted to “raising the bar,” Scene! & Heard for GreatMovieScenes.org and hosted Reel NW on KCTS.  He served as the Chief Storytelling Officer for Enthrall Sports. He is the Co-founder and Curator for the Walla Walla Movie Crush, America’s most intoxicating blend of short cinema, and the founder of The Warren Report. He is a published author, staged playwright, successful producer, veteran festival programmer and much sought-after public speaker. Additionally, Warren serves on the Arts Council for the Stroum Jewish Community Center and the Advisory Board of Haptic Animation Amplifier. As a producer, his credits include FUREVER (d. Amy Finkel); HUMOR ME (d. Chris Towey), LAST REQUESTS (d. Courtenay Johnson), EVERY BEAUTIFUL THING (d. Sonya Lea), THE LOST MARINER (d. Tess Martin), EVEN THE WALLS (d. Saman Maydani & Sarah Kuck) and the webseries, THE ENCHANTED KITCHEN w/Sasha Graham. 

Meghan Oretsky
Before joining Vimeo in 2014, you could find Meghan cheering on filmmakers in the comments section of countless videos on their site. Today she serves as a member of the Vimeo curation team, for which she watches thousands of videos a year. She is especially proud to support women in film via her channel “Ladies With Lenses” and features their work in a monthly screening series in New York City.

DOCUMENTARY & ANIMATED SHORTS JURY

Missy Laney
Missy Laney works as a producer, distribution strategist, and is the Director of Development at Adult Swim. Laney previously worked at the Sundance Institute growing their #ArtistServices Initiative, a program that focused on how technology is changing the way audiences interact with films, and at BitTorrent Inc leading their film strategy where she launched The Discovery Fund, BitTorrent's first ever artist granting initiative. 

Inga Diev
Inga Diev serves as the General Manager of Ouat Media, where she is responsible for the company’s business operations and oversees all the film sales and acquisitions. To date, Ouat Media has represented eleven Academy Award® nominated short films including three winners. The company is based in Toronto, Canada. 

Abby Dylan
Growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, Abby began her professional acting career   in New York City before moving to Seattle. In New York, She was part of the famed Circle Repertory Theatre where she performed in premieres and productions with writers and directors including Lanford Wilson, Eric Overmeyer, Marshall Mason and Joe Mantello.  She also had recurring roles on the Soap Operas “Another World” and “One Life to Live.”

In Seattle, Abby has performed at some awesome Seattle Theatres; her film and television work includes the award-winning feature “BFE” by Shawn Telford, “Moving” by Megan Griffiths, and the role of Jess Reilly in GRIMM on NBC.

Abby is an elected member of the National SAG-AFTRA Board where she serves as the National Chair of the SAGindie Committee and  Vice-Chair of the Government Affairs Committee; She is also Secretary of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Board.  Abby received a BFA from the Professional Actor’s Training Program at Southern Methodist University and is the Mom of two remarkable UW Juniors.

FUTUREWAVE SHORTS WAVEMAKER JURY

Rachelle Henry
Rachelle Henry is an award-winning actress, producer, director and filmmaker. Rachelle won Best Teen Actress in a Short Film at the 38th Young Artist Awards, as well as Best Young Actress - Short Film at The Young Entertainer Awards. LOSING IT, starring Rachelle as Sarah Newton, premiered at Slamdance Film Festival 2017.

Stefanie Malone
Stefanie is an Emmy®, ADDY® and Telly award-winning producer with over 15 years of developing projects for PBS and producing for companies. Stefanie served as the Executive Director the acclaimed film festival NFFTY (National Film Festival for Talented Youth) and her true passion is documentary film with her films screening at the Seattle International Film Festival, Big Sky Documentary Festival, Rooftop Films NYC, on Alaska Airlines and National Geographic.

Moses Olson
Moses Olson is a Seattle Actor, Screenwriter, Producer, and Director. "It's too hard to choose," which role he loves most and will do all of them (as long as he's allowed). Moses has worked on a diverse array of award-winning projects for NBC, Microsoft, Sony Interactive, Nintendo, E3, and SIFF. 
 

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About SIFF

Founded in 1976, SIFF creates experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world with the Seattle International Film Festival, SIFF Cinema, and SIFF Education. Recognized as one of the top film festivals in North America, the Seattle International Film Festival is the longest, most highly attended film festival in the United States, reaching more than 145,000 annually. The 25-day festival is renowned for its wide-ranging and eclectic programming, presenting over 400 features, short films, and documentaries from over 80 countries each year. SIFF Cinema exhibits premiere theatrical engagements, repertory, classic, and revival film showings 363 days a year on five screens at the SIFF Cinema Uptown, SIFF Cinema Egyptian, and SIFF Film Center, reaching more than 175,000 attendees annually. SIFF Education offers educational programs for all audiences serving more than 10,000 students and youth in the community with free programs each year.