Short of the Week
Our Short Awards: Category Winners announcement a couple of days back would have given you an insight into the Short of the Week team’s favorite films from our 2021 coverage, but just like last year, we’ve handed the award of our Short of the Year over to an expert jury to decide. Made up of last year’s winner Graham Parkes, POV shorts producer/experienced programmer Opal H. Bennett and producer Scott Glassgold, this accomplished trio viewed our seven category winners and selected the one title they felt stood out from the rest…our Jury Winner:
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Jury Award for Best Short
Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma
dir. Topaz Jones and Rubberband
Puppetry, horror musicals, modern Shakespeare adaptations—the eclectic choice of titles we served to our jury this year meant that narrowing down that impressive seven-film selection to just one outstanding short was never going to be easy. With our commitment to championing innovative storytelling, we hoped our trio of jury members would share our passion for the radical freedom the medium offers and recognize a boldly original film with their pick. They certainly didn’t disappoint.
A 35-minute visual album may not seem like a natural fit on this site, but, as the history of our “Short of Year” selections prove, truly great work often smashes formal and generic boundaries. We believed that Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma is a creative achievement that is impossible to ignore and our jury obviously agreed. Created to accompany Topaz Jones’ album of the same name, the film reimagines the Black ABC’s – a ’70s education initiative created to empower Black youth – as a coming-of-age story that examines the musician’s own exploration of Black identity. Its vignette approach mirrors the concept of an album’s tracks and provides for the structure for an astonishing amount of visual and storytelling creativity.
Co-directed by Jones and directorial duo rubberband, the 35-minute film combines elements of documentary with music video visuals and archival footage to create a dynamic, kinetic viewing experience unlike anything else you watched in 2021. A more than worthy winner of our Jury Award for Best Short, our three judges were also bowled over by the striking originality and visual prowess of the film.
Jury Statement: Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma is staggeringly good. The direction, photography, editorial and narrative coalesce perfectly, like the synchronicity of an elite orchestra, so in command it almost feels casual but it has all clearly been calculated to land precisely with maximum, enthralling effect.
[READ THE REVIEW]
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AUDIENCE CHOICE WINNER
Believe in Ghosts
dir. Courtney Dixon
I’m always eager to see which film tops our Audience Choice vote at the Short Awards, as it’s the one prize that’s out of our hands. With a twelve film shortlist compiled from our most viewed titles of 2022, we handed it over to the public to pick the winner and although it was a very close race (it came down to just two votes in the end!), we’re pleased to announce Courtney Dixon’s engaging short doc Believe in Ghosts as our 2022 Audience Choice victor.
The story of Samantha Winship – a Black female farmer in the US – Believe in Ghosts focuses on this one individual story to convey a message of community, strength, and perseverance. Battling decades of prejudice, racial disparities, and a system that has failed her and her ancestors again and again, it’s no wonder Winship’s inspirational story touched so many of you in 2022 and we’re proud to be able to share it once again, in our annual awards.
[READ THE REVIEW]
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