Jury members Scott Belyea (top left), Meaghan Brander (lower left), and Gordie Haakstad (lower right) are joined by Festival Director Terry Scerbak (top right) as they announce the award winners and honorable mentions for 2022. Click here to watch the 10-minute announcement video.
All seven juried and audience choice award winners screened in the Best of the Fest film package presented by Big Country and North West Crane.
Reel Shorts 2022 Program (mobile) | Reel Shorts 2022 Program (desktop)
Juried Awards | Audience Choice Awards | Frantic Film Challenge | Awards Announcement | Thanks | Fest Trailer | Intro Reel
Juried Awards
Best Canadian Short – The Hairdresser (La coiffeuse)
The Hairdresser (La coiffeuse) is a 14-minute documentary written and directed by Lorraine Price.
Jury: Simple, poignant, touching, dealt with the end of life with a delicate touch.
Honorable Mention – Frimas
Frimas is a 20-minute drama written and directed by Marianne Farley.
Jury: A thought-provoking film that created a dystopian, yet realistic and familiar world with high stakes and tension.
Honorable Mention – Trophy (Trophée)
Trophy (Trophée) is a 15-minute drama co-written and directed by Sandra Coppola.
Jury: Strong performances in a fresh take on an important message.
Best Documentary Short – The Hairdresser (La coiffeuse)
Also won Best Canadian Short – see above.
Honorable Mention – Snowy
Snowy is a 12-minute documentary from the United States directed by Kaitlyn Schwalje and Alexander Lewis.
Jury: Truthful, humorous, simple but emotionally layered, an absurd subject matter but authentic and universal.
Best Animated Short – Umbrellas
Umbrellas is a 12-minute film from Spain directed by José Prats and Álvaro Robles.
Jury: Beautiful animation with a lot of visual metaphors that leave the interpretation open to the viewer.
Best Live Action Short Under 15 Minutes – The Affected
The Affected is a 13-minute film from Norway co-written and directed by Rikke Gregersen.
Jury: A master class in perspective, it made you connect the dots from so many perspectives, it didn’t prescribe what you should feel.
Best Live Action Short 15+ Minutes – The Criminals (Les Criminels)
The Criminals (Les Criminels) is a 24-minute film from France, Romania, and Turkey written and directed by Serhat Karaaslan.
Jury: Built suspense and tension through fantastic performances. The lead characters were so relatable and we were terrified about what would happen to them.
Audience Choice Awards
Kids Audience Choice – The Dog Who Lost His Bark
The Dog Who Lost His Bark is a 21-minute film from the United Kingdom directed by Viko Nikci.
Youth Audience Choice – Mr. James is Dead
Mr. James is Dead is a 15-minute film from Canada directed by Josh Aries and Daniel Irving.
Audience Choice – Please Hold
Please Hold is a 19-minute Oscar-nominated film from the United States directed by K.D. Dávila.
Frantic Film Challenge
PRIMAA (Peace Region Independent Media Arts Association) and the festival joined forces once again for the Frantic Filmmaking Challenge. Peace Region teams had just nine days to write, shoot, and edit their short films from March 25 to April 3. The completed films, along with a selection of past Frantic48 winners, screened in The Frantic on May 1st. Thanks to Lisa Bennett of Rare Island Media for the photos.
Frantic Film Challenge judges Leanne Bausman and Mariah Braun awarded the Frantic Best Film to The Photographer, a 5-minute film by Team Flickering Lanterns. PRIMAA President Brendan Wiese congratulates team leader Louwrens Olivier.
Death Cake for Cutie by the All Nighters Production team led by Darren Bennett (second from left) won the Frantic Audience Choice award.
Awards Announcement
Our Awards
Grande Prairie sculptor Grant Berg (left) of Grant Berg Gallery designed the award that winners receive. On the right is Mack McDonald who turned Grant’s vision into reality. North West Crane in Clairmont fabricates the awards.
The wood bases are made by D.R. Sales Woodworking in Grande Prairie which then get engraved by Sportswear Plus, so in every respect it’s a creation of the Peace Region like the film festival itself.
The design reflects the fact that the festival takes place in Grande Prairie which is known as the Swan City because trumpeter swans return to the city and surrounding area every spring to nest, and its flame shape symbolizes the passion of the people who put on the festival every year and the filmmakers whose work we celebrate. See below to watch the video of how the award is cut on North West Crane’s water jet table.
Thanks!
Thanks to the City of Grande Prairie, Telefilm, County of Grande Prairie No. 1, and all of the other funders and sponsors who made the fest possible, and a big thank you to everyone who came out for our 15th festival or logged into our 2nd Virtual Fest!
Heartfelt thanks to all the volunteers who contributed their time to the fest! Special thanks to the programming team which sifted through 7,680 submissions from 137 countries!
Big thanks to Monty Simo for the fest trailer and Gordie Haakstad for the intro reel that preceded all 14 screenings, both of which you can watch below!
Fest Trailer
Intro Reel
