2020 ShortFest Archive
Award Winners
An index of ShortFest 2020 award winners.
For Your Sake
Nepal is facing a generational change. Two daughters of a Tamang family are preparing to study abroad. Their hopes for a better life are high, but the price is immeasurable. They have to leave behind what is the Tamang people's greatest good: their family.
WINNER: Best Student Documentary Short
Read More
Running Time: 38
Give Up the Ghost
Salam’s dream of becoming a mother shatters when she finds out that she is unable to have children with her husband. As she searches for the silver lining, she finds herself in a battle to save her marriage. A lifetime of convictions and beliefs are put to the test as Salam realizes she must make a choice. WINNER: Vimeo Stafff... Read More
Running Time: 15
Gold Plated
Inès, 16 years old, is determined to find a job when she meets Martin, a boy from the nice neighborhoods of Brussels. Feeling something between shame and fascination, she becomes brutally aware of social injustice.
SPECIAL MENTION: Young Cineastes Award
Read More
Running Time: 25
Heading South
8-year-old Chasuna travels from her home in the grassland to visit her father who lives in the big city. However, during her father’s birthday party, she finds out he has remarried to a Chinese woman. Chasuna has to learn how to accept her as part of the family.
WINNER: Best Student U.S. Short
FILMMAKER FAVORITE
Read More
Running Time: 13
The Heart Still Hums
A documentary short following five women as they fight for their children through the cycle of homelessness, drug addictions and neglect from their own parents. Unique, yet undoubtedly familiar to many; a story about fear, sacrifice and the unconditional love between a mother and her children.
WINNER: Best Documentary Short
Read More
Running Time: 29
Henet Ward
Halima, a Sudanese henna painter, and her seven-year-old daughter Ward get caught up in the craziness at a Giza home as they prepare a bride for her wedding.
SPECIAL MENTION: Best Live-Action Short Over 15 Minutes
Read More
Running Time: 23
Huntsville Station
Every weekday, inmates are released from Huntsville State Penitentiary, taking in their first moments of freedom with phone calls, cigarettes, and quiet reflection at the Greyhound station up the block.
SPECIAL MENTION: Best Documentary Short
Read More
Running Time: 14
Kama'aina
A queer sixteen-year-old girl, Mahina, resides in the predominantly Native Hawaiʻian neighborhood of Wai’anae, Oahu. After suffering abuse from her stepfather, Mahina must navigate life on the streets, until she eventually finds refuge at the Pu’uhonua o Wai’anae––Hawaiʻi’s largest organized homeless encampment. WINNER: Best... Read More
Running Time: 17
