BRIFF Winners 2020

BEST FILM

'Is That All There Is?' by Asa Gartland

​"Light & dark, funny & sad, absurdist yet true to life – superb cinematography, mise-en-scene and sound to boot. Asa Gartland is a director to watch!"
  
In a strange place between life and death, a familiar face urges Albert to change his ways and embrace the absurdity of life. At its core, ‘Is That All There Is?’ is a darkly humorous look at the absurdity of modern life, a tongue in cheek study of one individual’s response to the existential anxiety we all feel from time to time. The audience gets an insight into the drab existence of Albert Smith, a lonely and depressed parking attendant. We join his story at its darkest hour, moments before his attempt at suicide. For Albert, his life is meaningless, not worth living. The film sets out to offer an alternate perspective - life is what you make of it, meaning is yours to give, yours to take away. Yet this truth is not always as straight forward as it sounds.

Animation

Comedy

Coronadiary

Documentary (short)

Documentary (feature)

Drama

Fantasy/Horror/Sci-Fi

Made in Brighton

Micro Movie

Student Film

Comedy

Coronadiary

Documentary (short)

Documentary (feature)

Drama

Fantasy/Horror/Sci-Fi

Music Video

No-Low Budget

Phone Movie

BEST FEATURE FILM:     AMARYLLIS ​ written & directed by Tom Lawes

"Bursting with talent, Amaryllis delights with its camera-on-the-run cinematography, infectious score, cool vibe and above all, visual storytelling. As retro as it is futuristic ..."

In a bid to escape her overbearing, alcoholic mother, a talented teenage skater reaches out to a charismatic drug dealer, but is his affection all that it seems?

​Tom Lawes is best known for owning and restoring UK’s oldest working cinema, The Electric in Birmingham, and for directing the critically acclaimed documentary ‘The Last Projectionist' that charts the history of cinemas, focusing on the role of the projectionist during the digital switchover. The film received UK theatrical distribution, playing in over 80 cinemas along with many international festival screenings. The film was critically acclaimed, becoming Mark Kermode’s film of the week on his BBC show, along with Tom collecting two Royal Television Society Awards in 2012. 

Following up 'The Last Projectionist', Tom directed his first narrative feature, 'Monochrome', a thriller starring James Cosmo, Jo Woodcock and Cosmo Jarvis. Tom then directed 'Amaryllis', the UK’s first silent film for 80 years, and the first feature length film to be conceived as a live performance from the outset. More recently he has produced short films for Channel 4’s Random Acts and the BBC New Creatives scheme where he mentors young writer directors. 

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Additional Awards

AUDIENCE AWARD
'At Risk: Surviving a Pandemic with HIV'
 
BEST ACTOR
Martin Payne for 'Gray Haze' & 'Philia' (& Trash Arts Collaboration)
 
BEST ACTRESS
Sally Mortemore in 'The Silence After Life'
(Special Commendation to Supporting Actresses Emma Spearing & Lucy Alfred)
 
BEST YOUNG PERFORMANCE
Archie Sanders as Billy in 'The Boy Who Thought He Could Fly'
 
BRIGHTON ROCKS SPIRIT AWARD
'I see you now' (Directed by Tara Godomski)
 
CINEMATOGRAPHY
'Thirty for an Eight' (Director Oliver Ward, DP: Murray Cohen)
(and Special Commendation for “Frigid”)
 
COSTUME DESIGN
'Eat the Rainbow' (Directed by Brian Benson)

​DIRECTOR
Andrei Konst for 'MOTR'
 
EDITING
Marcus Marcou & Paulyne Antoniou for 'Office Song'
 
MISE-EN-SCENE
'Andros' (Directed by Doris Tääker)
 
ORIGINAL SCORE
'AMARYLLIS' (Composed, performed, written & directed by Tom Lawes)
 
SCREENPLAY
'A Final Goodbye' (Written by Steven Lancefield)
 
SPECIAL EFFECTS
'Second Hearing' (Directed by Stuart Black)