AIFF Announces the Winners of the 6th Annual Festival
The Arlington International Film Festival (AIFF) is proud to announce the award winners of the 6th annual Festival during the screenings on Tuesday, October 24 at Capitol Theatre. The fourth awards will be announced from the 85 films that competed in the categories of short narrative, short documentary, shorts animation and shorts experimental.
The AIFF Grand Finale is the premiere event for student filmmakers around the globe, offering opportunities to network, additional screenings, and chances to win a Camera – HR24 Glidecam Industries.
This year’s the festival willbe screening great films produced by talented high school filmmakers from Massachusetts, New York, California, South Africa, Italy, Iran, Russia and Canada. AIFF is thrilled to announce and share with all of you the winners of the 2016 Arlington International Film Festival:
Best of Festival: “Attached At The Soul”
Director, William Leon
A film about the bond between two kind souls, of different backgrounds. Beginning when they first met, their meaningful journey, and ending with their departure from this world, together. The film promotes friendship, diversity, equal rights, compassion, love and acceptance.
Best Short Documentary: “Todo Tiene su Tiempo”/”Everything Has Its Time”
Director, Marylys Merida.
A woman opens up about her struggles and how her hard work manifests into her life’s accomplishments. According to Michael Mahin he chose “Todo tiene su Tiempo” as Best Short Doc of Festival 2016 for its simplicity, technical efficiency, and pertinent message. In an age of growing anti-immigrant sentiment, the film acts as an important reminder that these are people, families, human beings that we’re discussing. Without pretension or artifice, “Todo tiene su Tiempo” explores what it means to make a new home in a new place with those closest to us.
Best short Narrative: “Teach Me Fish”
Director, Asa Minter.
A lonely boy obsessed with geology gets more than he asks for when he goes out on one of his daily rock hunts.
“It tells a cohesive visual story and is also very funny and likable. All of the performances work well, especially that of the alien visitor. The sound production, sound editing, and music choices all work wonderfully. The cinematography is also a highlight. All the shots seem carefully composed and there is a consistent style throughout the film. Overall this film is an accomplishment to be proud of, and the filmmakers should not hesitate to create new work.”
– Kevin Wetmore.
Best Short Experimental: “I don’t Need U”
Director, Alyssa Peguero.
A girl who grew up without her father, writes a letter about her deepest most sincere feelings about him.
“With simple but elegant camerawork and effective voice-over narration, ‘I Don’t Need U’ subtly but powerfully underscores the primordial bond between parent and child – and the pain that can be caused the absence of this bond.”
– Michael Mahin.
Additional highlights for this year:
A WAY OUT (3 min)
Ayanna Marte, Director | Experimental | 2015 | Massachusetts
The way dance makes your heart go boom. boom. boom.
Breath (3 min)
Sara Test, Director | Experimental | 2015 | Massachusetts & Group POV Massachusetts.
Drowning in the stress of a busy life, in this visual poem, a girl remembers the beauty of her experiences to keep herself above water.
Colour (2 min)
Taryn Birkett, Director | Experimental |2015 | Canada
In 2015, Reel Youth and the Nia Centre partnered with filmmaker and facilitator, Ella Cooper, to create Visual Eyes. This project offered a unique, Afro-centric film and video camp for young Black women based in the Greater Toronto Area. This film is one of nine created by the young women in the program to celebrate their individual life stories and the issues most pertinent them.
DANCING MACHINE (3 min)
Linwood Giles III, Director | Experimental | 2016 | Massachusetts
A dancer tells his story through motion against the Boston backgrounds.
Electric Love (3 min)
Isaac Eliot, Megan Faretta, Micah Richardson, Ethan Crain and Akai Fitzpatrick, Directors | Experimental | 2016 | Massachusetts
A man has a great relationship with his IPhone. What happens when he gets too close? Students: Isaac Eliot, Megan Faretta, Micah Richardson, Ethan Crain and Akai Fitzpatrick.
FRUITION TO FRUSTRATION (2 min)
Angaer Arop, Director | Experimental | 2015 | Canada
In 2015, Reel Youth and the Nia Centre partnered with filmmaker and facilitator, Ella Cooper, to create Visual Eyes. This project offered a unique, Afro-centric film and video camp for young Black women based in the Greater Toronto Area. This film is one of nine created by the young women in the program to celebrate their individual life stories and the issues most pertinent them.
The Great Robbing of Randall Cobb (15 min)
Lorenzo Rugerio, Director | Nar | 2016 | Massachusetts
Two high schoolers attempt to rob the school teacher’s pet when they discover he’s selling illegal substances. However, like all great heists, it does not go as planned.
Livin The Lies (11 min)
Annmarie Soba | Nar | 2015b | Maysles Doc Ctr NY
An unflinching portrait of a conflicted Jamaican teenager struggling to be honest to his true identity.
Magical (8 min)
Jack Kelly, Liam Mulcahy, Lizzy Embick, Alayna D’Amico, Taryn Osborne, Directors | Nar | 2015 | Canada
When Will can’t seem to get a girlfriend, his fairy godmother decides to help. Sure enough, they get into wacky hijinks. But, when push comes to shove, can Will still manage to win the heart of Anna and keep his friendship with his fairy godmother intact?
PARK BENCH (3 min)
Thaisha Belis, Jack Eliot, Beatrice Jackson, Danajae Jones, Paul Vekiarides and Johnathan Yannis | Experiemntal | 2016 | Massachusetts
A man with a special gift finds a piece of himself in one the strangest places.
THE TREE OF ME (2 min)
Experimental | 2015 | Canada
In 2015, Reel Youth and the Nia Centre partnered with filmmaker and facilitator, Ella Cooper, to create Visual Eyes. This project offered a unique, Afro-centric film and video camp for young Black women based in the Greater Toronto Area. This film is one of nine created by the young women in the program to celebrate their individual life stories and the issues most pertinent them.
Looking Through the Lens. (3 min)
‘Looking Through the Lens’ is a short but thoughtful rumination on the nature of filmmaking, delicately and poetically marrying striking imagery with effective voice-over narration.”
– Kevin Wetmore
Jury members for the contest include Michael Mahin (Writer, Marketing coordinator for special events at the Arlington Center for the Arts & Film Critic) Kevin Wetmore (Filmmakers & Youth Coordinator at Arlington Community Media, Inc), Jonathan Barbato (Production Manager at ACMi) and Naythen Lowe (Editor and creator of the DIYDS).
The 6th annual festival — held in Arlington, Massachusetts, from Oct. 24-30 — gathered a diverse group of industry professionals from all fields of the business to participate in a panel and Q&A discussions on several topics about the film, television and digital media business.
The Arlington International Film Festival would like to thank all of our judges and participants, guests and sponsors for making 2016 AIFF one of the best student programs of the Arlington International Film Festival.
I want to first congratulate all those who submitted their films this year – I was incredibly impressed with the breadth and diversity of material I saw this year. Each film combined technical excellence with a strong sense of place and character and each filmmaker should be proud of the film they submitted. My best chooses for its simplicity, technical efficiency, and pertinent message. In an age of growing anti-immigrant sentiment, the film acts as an important reminder that these are people, families, human beings that we’re discussing” Michael Mahin
The festival, and the competition, provides students with opportunities as unique as the movies on the screen. It’s a chance for local, national and international students to promote quality movies produced by independent and studio filmmakers.
In addition, this year AIFF will screen films from WAPIKONI MOBIL from Quebec, Canada in Harvard University, Brandeis University as well as UMASS. Also, AIFF invited two films from this year Harvard Film Festival to participate in the festival:
“The Flag” by American director Tyler Parker and “The Baby” by Iranian filmmaker by director Ali Asgari . This year’s AIFF will included honored mentions in the 4 categories, and films from 12 countries.
Partners:
ACMi, Kumon, Glidecam Industries, Inc, WGBH, CyberLink, CineSend, iPitch.tv, Movie-Blogger.com, Capitol Square Businesses,
