The inaugural French Riviera Film Festival (FRFF) https://youtu.be/V0IjgNE4pF4, celebrating short film and short-form content, is pleased to announce its 2019 winners.

FRFF, produced by Cloud21 International (www.cloud21.com) and Kultura PR International (www.kulturapr.com), was held on May 18 and 19, 2019 in Cannes, France at Eden Hôtel & Spa (www.eden-hotel-cannes.com).

Winners were announced at on May 19 at a gala awards ceremony that featured a special Industry Excellence Award presentation to filmfestivals.com founder Bruno Chatelin.

The FRFF 2019 Winners are:

Best Actress:  Behdokht Valian, Tattoo (Iran)

Best Actor: Vincent De Paul, Mattyboy, (USA)/ Gwyr: Reflections (UK)

Best Director: Bertrand Normand, The Photographer (France)

Drama - Tattoo: A young Iranian woman only wanted to renew her driver’s license, but when the officials noticed a scar on her wrist and her tattoo, they began looking at her with suspicion. [Director: Farhad Delaram, Country: Iran, Duration: 15:00]

Comedy - Mis’TIC:A loving father his devoted daughter and his troublesome ‘tic.’ A comedy about misunderstandings and a wonderful heart-warming father / daughter relationship. [Director: Eric Rino, Country: Austria, Duration: 14:00]

Sci-Fi/Horror - The Desolation Prize: The Desolation Prize is a gothic horror that draws its inspiration from old Hammer Films, and the works of Val Lewton, Robert Wise and Jack Layton, combining them all into a sort of John Carpenter aesthetic. [Director: Shane Day, Country: Canada, Duration: 15:00]

Animation - The Tree of Lost Souls: An introverted 11 year old girl uses her imagination as a refuge from the world around her, a world that has been falling apart around her. [Director: Laura Zamora, Country: Spain, Duration: 15:35]

Documentary -A Grand Journey: Kira, who was born with a disability, embarks on a unique, but incredibly relatable, journey to climb the iconic Grand Teton. [Director: Amon Barker, Country: USA, Duration: 15:00]

Experimental - Fictional Characters: Hans is just starting to discover the world. Gretel is a teen, feeling rage to everything. Everyone is in love with the Witch searching for their "virtual I" and trigger for transformation.[Director: Ivana Noa, Country: Belgium, Duration: 10:00]

Music Video - Red Lion: A numinous Red Lion illuminates the path the warrior goddess Metallia must take to align her fragmented selves and restore an ever-present multidimensional vision long lost to humanity.[Director: Olivia Hadjiioannou, Country: Greece, Duration: 5:22]

Fashion - Levi’s Film:  Film about iconic Levi brand. [Director: Ali Murtaza, Country: USA, Duration: 2:25]

Lifestyle - Be Your Own Kind: A young man meets a woman with an abusive past, they fall in love at first sight.[Directors: Amir Zargara, Christian Lat, Country: Canada, Duration: 9:58]

FRFF recognizes and celebrates short-form content created for film, television, Web and all digital platforms. Scheduled during the time period of the Festival de Cannes, FRFF invites filmmakers from around the globe to participate in the two-day event that includes screenings, awards ceremony and closing gala reception. Attendees and participants included filmmakers, industry executives, celebrities, media and influencers. A special highlight of the 2019 event included an out-of-competition screening of the Oscar-winning short “Skin,” in association with Salaud Morisset.

 “We are truly thankful for all of the support we have received for our first annual festival, from our esteemed jury panel, our advisory board that includes some of the top names in the business, our media partners and our sponsors, and especially the amazing filmmakers and their films’ casts who participated,” says festival co-founder Gotham Chandna.

Co-founder Nicole Muj adds, “We sincerely could not have wished for a better turnout by the global film community as we celebrated short film and short form content on the French Riviera during Cannes. We look forward to our second year that is sure to be even bigger and better.”

Event sponsors include Bodvár House of Rosés, My Power of One, Naturalina.ru, The Good Gin, Theta Cameras, Ultimate Provence and Yuzzl.com.

FRFF’s Advisory Board includes Michael Benoraya, Founder, International Film Trust, Bruno Chatelin, COO, filmfestivals.com, both of whom will serve on the festival’s jury, Larry Namer, president/CEO,  Metan Global Entertainment Group, Ana B. Remos, vice president, editorial director & founder, azureazure.com (also on festival jury), and Daphna Edwards Ziman, president, Cinémoi USA.  Jury members include Monica Baca, founder/CEO, B Team Media Group Corp.; Lena Bass, journalist, Hollywood Foreign Press Association; Claude Brickell, filmmaker, screenwriter and educator; Anna Marie de la Fuente, journalist, Variety, Mick Garris, screenwriter/filmmaker; Laura Powers, host/producer, Healing Powers; ;  Eileen Tasca, Managing Director, Alien Films & Task Films; Sue Vicory, founder, Heartland Films and www.womendocumentaryfilmmakers.com; and Dr. Laura Wilhelm, journalist, The Hollywood Times.

Cloud 21 PR International and Kultura PR International have produced numerous successful industry special events, including the “Global Film Showcase” in partnership with ROSKINO during the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and Marché du Film (* “Global Film Showcase” is scheduled for May 20, 2019), “Indie Film Showcase at Park City” in 2018 and 2019,  “Production Without Borders” during AFM in 2018, and “A Salute to Akira Kurosawa” with China’s Jinke Entertainment in Cannes in 2017. The companies have co-produced events and worked with top entertainment and technology brands, including E! Entertainment Television, Eurocinema, Metan Global Entertainment Group, 8K Miles Media Group, Maverick Entertainment, Sony Interactive, Oculus, Cinando, Euromed, ECU Film Festival, Creative Coalition, plus many others.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FRFF.