Dec 13, 2021 - Last week marked the inaugural edition of the Super Shorts Los Angeles Film Festival, showing an eclectic selection of 39 U.S. and international independent shorts. “There was so much excitement in the air when we opened the doors on our brand new film festival in Los Angeles,” says festival manager and host Maarten Cornelis. “Super Shorts Los Angeles was a great success, not only in attendance but the amazing work we were able to share with the audience and jury members. We found a home at The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute and will be back next year at its beautiful Marilyn Monroe theatre. Super Shorts Los Angeles is beyond excited for the warm welcome we received and as we grow our festival, we will make sure we stay with our true intentions. And to quote Paul Kwo, lead actor of Magic Kingdom: “Fun festival and I love their concept of promoting films and not trying to make money. It was all free with free drinks and snacks.” See you next year LA! We can’t wait!”

The festival is pleased to share with you today the winners of its inaugural edition. A special thank you to this year's jury members Brigitte Tamar, Ross Denyer and the international online jury members.

Best Narrative Film: NEIGHBOUR (Georgia) by David Borchkhadze. “A family is disrupted by an intrusion of two construction workers from the neighboring flat, who accidentally smash down a part of the common wall. When Ana’s little brother Ika disappears, she suspects that he was abducted by the workers.”

Best Documentary Film: FULL PICTURE (U.S.) by Jacob Reed. “Santina has been in a wheelchair since she was six years old. With meetings, hangouts, and classes happening virtually due to the Coronavirus quarantine, she's experiencing something new: choosing when (or if) to disclose her disability.”

Best Experimental Film: SPONTANEOUS (U.S.) by Lori Felker. “You never know when someone is miscarrying; it could be happening right next to you.”

Best Animated Film: RHINO N' BIRD (U.S.) by Bradley Oliver Wilkinson-Vega, Tamir Rawlings. “A symbiotic relationship between a parasitic bird and a grumpy rhino, stuck together on the open plains of Africa. Their family kinships goes back generations, bringing them to modern day. Discussing topics like family, grooming, disease, and survival.”

Best Underground Film: A.WAY (Belgium) by Glenn Dumortier. “A journey into lost memories of youth, purely constructed with archive material. A nostalgic reverie that transitions into a feeling of melancholy and unease. The beauty of life and the fear of death as a universal sentiment.”

Best Music Video: ATLAS (France) by Jim Vieille. “Dark and poetic, this music video depicts a rite of passage: the liberation of an inhibited personality.”

Best LA Film: SNAKE DICK (U.S.) by David Mahmoudieh. “Jill's got the snake. Julia's got the flute. Alone, they have nothing. But together, they have a secret weapon to fight the darkness...”

Best Super Short Film: BARKING ORDERS (U.S.) by Alex Tullo. “When the entire British Royal family tragically dies, the Queen’s corgi finds himself next in line for the throne and in the seat of power.”

With annual film festivals in Los Angeles, London and New York, Super Shorts Film Festival highlights independent short film talent from around the globe. Talent Circle in London founded the Super Shorts International Film Festival in 2003, to focus explicitly on short films in all its forms and shapes. In its original incarnation, the festival came to an end in 2014. Inspired by that original movement, the Super Shorts Film Festival London was revived in 2018 at the Stephen Street location of the British Film Institute, and continued to emphasize lesser known, vanguard cinematic works and further its tradition of galvanizing budding talent. This year, under the wings of Cinematory LLC, Super Shorts Film Festival brought to life two new festivals at new exciting locations in New York and Los Angeles.

Super Shorts Film Festival creates an intimate atmosphere and space for unique visionaries and voices. True to their history, the different festivals screen films of both novices and veterans—with medium and low budgets—from all over the globe. Super Shorts Film Festival's goal is to create a warm, open atmosphere in which filmmakers, fans, critics, and producers can watch the films of emerging talents, explore new cinematic techniques and styles, and award cinematic excellence.

See you all next year!