A WORLD OF SCI-FI HONOURED AT SYDNEY SCIENCE FICTION FILM FESTIVAL

Two stunning works of artistry and fantasy from young filmmakers from the Middle East have taken top honours at the Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival award ceremony, held overnight at the Actors Centre Australia in the city’s inner-west.

The Ron Cobb Best Feature Film prize was awarded to SCALES, Shahad Ameen’s monochromatic masterpiece of patriarchal defiance hailing from the U.A.E.; the film was also nominated for Best Director and Best Lead Actress in a Feature Film. The Best Short Film honour went to the night’s only dual honouree, THE FABRICATED, from young Iranian director Ali Katmiri. The alternate-reality thriller also earned Best Lead Actress in a Short Film for Sonya Esmaeeli, whose acceptance speech (provided only moments before the event) acknowledged fellow students of acting the world over.

The festival’s goal of bringing a vast international science fiction program roster to Sydney audiences was reinforced, with movies from Italy, Spain, France, Japan and Australia all factoring in the night’s list of winners. Best Lead Actress in a Feature Film went to Denise Fantucci, star of Italian director Emanuela Rossi’s DARKNESS, for her role as the defiant eldest child of a father determined to keep three sisters away from a world he assures them is a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Spanish actor Javier Botet, whose remarkable physique and gentle performance was a perfect fit for the alien visitor in co-directors Juan Gonzalez and Nando Martinez’s QUEEN OF THE LIZARDS, won Best Lead Actor in a Feature.

Directorial honours went to Yuichi Kondo for A.I-themed romancer RYOKO’S QUBIT SUMMER, already bearing the laurels of several festival wins throughout the year; and, to Baptiste Rouvere, whose ANONYMOUS ANIMALS is building momentum as the most buzzed-about horror/fantasy offering on the global circuit.

The biggest cheers of the evening were, of course, saved for the Australian winners. Genre legend Vernon Wells, an iconic film presence since he terrified audiences 39 years ago as the mohawked ‘Wez’ in George Miller’s Mad Max 2, earned the Best Actor in a Short Film gong for STARSPAWN: OVERTURE, the alien abduction action/thriller that also earned nominations for Best Short Film and Best Director (Short) for Travis Bain.

The all-important Audience Award was bestowed upon the inaugural festival’s Opening Night pic, Mark Toia’s killer-robot action epic, MONSTERS OF MAN, which makes its global online platform debut on December 8. 

The full list of winners and nominees are:    

BEST LEAD ACTRESS in a Feature Film
WINNER: DENISE TANTUCCI (‘Stella’ in DARKNESS; pictured, below)
YUHO YAMASHITA (‘Stereo’ in FONOTUNE: AN ELECTRIC FAIRYTALE)
ZARLIA CHISHOLM (‘Maisey’ in STRANGEVILLE)
MIYUU TESHIMA (‘Arika’ in HIDE & SNIFF)
BRUNA CUSI (‘Berta’ in QUEEN OF THE LIZARDS)
BASSIMA HAJJAR (‘Hayat’ in SCALES)

BEST LEAD ACTRESS in a Short Film
WINNER: SONYA ESMAEELI (‘Copy 1’ in THE FABRICATED)
AMELIA CONWAY (‘Alyssa’ in ALYSSA)
EMILY WROLSON (‘Z’ in WAKE ME UP)
SHEILA IVY TRAISTER (‘Sheila’ in REWIND)
NURIA DEULOFEU (‘Niky’ in POLVOTRON 500)
LISE RISOM OLSEN (‘Q’ in Q: GHOSTLY REMOTE EFFECT)

BEST LEAD ACTOR in a Feature Film
WINNER: JAVIER BOTET (‘Javi’ in QUEEN OF THE LIZARDS)
FINT (‘Mono’ in FONOTUNE: AN ELECTRIC FAIRYTALE)
DAVID COOK (’Bruce’ in STRANGEVILLE)
VITO LEO (‘Myles’ in STRANGEVILLE)
KOUTA FUDAUCHI (‘Kouka’ in HIDE & SNIFF)
RINAL MUKHAMETOV (‘Victor’/’The Architect’ in COMA)

BEST LEAD ACTOR in a Short Film
WINNER: VERNON WELLS (‘Randolph’ in STARSPAWN: OVERTURE; pictured, below)
DAVID DOUKHAN (‘Isaac’ in TRANSFERT)
AYMEN BEN HAMIDA (‘Slim’ in MAGNUM OPUS)
LEVI BURGESS (‘Brodie’ in MILK)
DAVID GYASI (‘Elijah’ in LIVING THINGS)
KRIS MAVERICKO (‘Kurt’ in AFTER_LIFE)

BEST DIRECTOR Short Film
WINNER: YUICHI KONDO (RYOKO’S QUBIT SUMMER, Japan)
MERIAM KHEMMASSI (MAGNUM OPUS, Tunisia)
TRAVIS BAIN (STARSPAWN: OVERTURE, Australia)
ALI KATMIRI (THE FABRICATED, Iran)
RICHARD DE CARVALHO (A BLASTER IN THE RIGHT HANDS, Australia)
TRISH HARNETIAUX (YOU WOULDN’T UNDERSTAND, U.S.A)

BEST SHORT FILM
WINNER: THE FABRICATED (Iran)
SPACE PROBE PASSENGER (Poland)
RYOKO’S QUBIT SUMMER (Japan)
AFTER_LIFE (Singapore)
STARSPAWN: OVERTURE (Australia)
THE DAR(k)WIN PROJECT (France)

BEST DIRECTOR Feature Film
WINNER: BAPTISTE ROUVERE (ANONYMOUS ANIMALS, France)
FINT (FONOTUNE: AN ELECTRIC FAIRYTALE, Germany)
EMANUELA ROSSI (DARKNESS, Italy)
KOUSUKE HISHINUMA (HIDE & SNIFF, Japan)
JUAN GONZALEZ & NANDO MARTINEZ (THE QUEEN OF THE LIZARDS, Spain)
SHAHAD AMEEN (SCALES, UAE)

BEST FEATURE FILM
WINNER: SCALES (UAE)
MONSTERS OF MAN (Australia)
DARKNESS (Italy)
FONOTUNE: AN ELECTRIC FAIRYTALE (Germany)
ANONYMOUS ANIMALS (France)
STRANGEVILLE (Australia)
HIDE & SNIFF (Japan)
THE QUEEN OF THE LIZARDS (Spain)
COMA (Russia)
TUNE INTO THE FUTURE (Luxembourg)

AUDIENCE AWARD WINNER:
MONSTERS OF MAN (Australia, Dir: Mark Toia)