A first prize of €3,000, sponsored by the University of Bradford, was awarded to the winning entry in our European Features competition: Volcano (Eldfjall), a strikingly mature feature-debut from Iceland. For his portrayal of a husband and wife as they deal with age and mortality, Rúnar Rúnarsson has won awards all over the world.
The jury—made up of writer/director Joanna Hogg, Times film critic Wendy Ide and Daily Telegraph film critic Tim Robey—also gave a special mention to Wrinkles (Arrugas), Ignacio Ferreras’ Spanish animation which tells the tale of a retiree and his family coping with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
Tim Robey, who presented the award to Rúnarsson, said:
Volcano had the edge for its subtlety, visual elegance and a towering lead performance from Theodór Júlíusson. It’s the second time I’ve seen it, and I’m pleased the other judges agreed on Rúnarsson’s skill and empathy as a young film-maker. It’s about the estrangement of getting old, an emotionally rich subject which is often sentimentalised—but not here.
The winner of the 14th Shine Short Film Award went to German film Kinderspiel (Child’s Play) by director Lars Kornhoff. Kinderspiel is a touching drama examining the trials of being a young parent.
The Shine Jury—David Wilson, Director of Bradford City of Film; Tom Stewart of Arrow Films; Duncan Petrie, Professor of Film and Television at the University of York; writer and oral historian Irna Qureshi; and our Curator of Photographs Greg Hobson—said of the winning entry:
All the films in this year’s Shine film competition were of a very high standard and well constructed, but three in particular stood out from the rest. The winning film, Kinderspiel, was chosen due to the quality of the production. The film was really well shot and the jury thought it was very well acted. There was a real tenderness to the film and a plot line full of surprises. The music score was also noted for its writing and production and the way it worked with the film.
Congratulations once again. We wish you both the best of luck in your film-making futures.