16/09/2024 - The fantasy-horror movie The Wait and the sci-fi comedy Darla in Space have each scooped an Award for Best Director

The 7th edition of Nòt Film Fest has now wrapped, having unspooled between 6 and 11 September in Santarcangelo di Romagna. Artistically directed by Alizè Latini and Giovanni Labadessa, as in previous years, the gathering showcased a rich selection of works – no less than 100 titles - hailing from the global film landscape.

During the awards ceremony held on 11 September in Santarcangelo di Romagna’s evocative open air cinema, Latini and Labadessa were keen to express their affection for all the guests and participants, underlining the important role played by Nòt Film Fest when it comes to creating space for independent film.

In the Moonwalker Features section, jury members Theodore Schaefer, Nicola Smith and Greg Reitman were responsible for assessing the films in competition, while Francis Chapman, Nell Williams and Fridtjof Ryder loaned their expertise to the Shooting Star Features line-up.

The winner of the prize for Best Film was the American autofiction documentary My First Film, directed by Zia Anger, starring Odessa Young and presented in a world premiere in this year’s CPH:DOX. The film explores the director’s disastrous experience of making her first cinematographic film. Spanish filmmaker F Javier Gutierrez, for his part, received the prize for Best Director on account of his fantasy horror The Wait [+see also:
film review
interview: F Javier Gutiérrez
film profile], which was previously screened in Sitges, among other festivals.

The Shooting Star Features section saw The Accident by Italian director Giuseppe Garau awarded Best Film. Set in Turin, the film follows a woman called Marcella who is in the middle of losing everything: her job, her husband, and her daughter too, on account of a car accident. Forced to wrestle with a cynical world which sees her losing hope, despite her perseverance, Marcella buys herself a tow truck to try to remedy the situation. Meanwhile, Eric Laplante and Susie Moon earned themselves the Best Director prize within the same section, thanks to their sci-fi comedy Darla in Space (USA).

The full list of this year’s victors is as follows:

Moonwalker Features

Best Film
My First Film - Zia Anger (USA)

Best Director
F Javier Gutierrez– The Wait [+see also:
film review
interview: F Javier Gutiérrez
film profile] (Spain)

Best Performance
Chase Joilet – Grapefruit (USA)

Shooting Star Features

Best Film
The Accident - Giuseppe Garau (Italy)

Best Director
Eric Laplante, Susie Moon - Darla in Space (USA)

Best Performance
Giulia Mazzarino – The Accident

Special Mentions
Eco Village - Phoebe Nir (Italy/USA)
The Complex Forms - Fabio D'Orta (Italy)

Moonwalker Shorts

Best Film
If You’re Happy - Phoebe Arnstein (UK)

Best Director
Annika Birgel – Porcelain (Germany)

Best Performance
Megan Stalter – ILY, Bye (USA)

Special Mention
Officer Stanley - Scottie Cameron (USA)

Shooting Star Shorts

Best Film
Piss on Patriarchy - Lena Fakler (Germany)

Best Director
Alberto Accettulli – Under the Influence(r) (USA)

Best Performance
Love You Forever - Alexandrea Meyer (USA)

Special Mentions
Under the Influence(r) - Alberto Accettulli
Swollen - Roxy Sophie Sorkin (USA)

Experimental Shorts

Best Film
Hunger - Natalie Spencer (UK/Italy)

Special Mention
Z.O. (Eastern Zone) - Loris G Nese (Italy)

Music Bomb

Best Film
Marguerite (Sheebaba) - Océane Maître (Luxembourg) (music video)

Special Mention
Through the Stew - Sal Redpath, Ben Archer (UK) (short film)

Beyond Form

Best Film
Los cautiverios - Silvia Jiménez (Mexico) (short film)

SuperDoc Short

Best Film
Poquinca - Sasha Gransjean (USA)

Special Mention
You Don’t Mess With James - Weston Auburn (USA)

Feature Length Superdocs

Best Film
All You Hear is Noise - Ned Castle, Matt Day (USA)

Special Mention
Yours in Freedom, Bill Bair - Rebecca Cammisa (Austria)

Shot on Film Shorts

Best Film
Frater - Valentin Guiod (France)

Special Mention
Shadow - Kamell Allaway (USA)
Thursday - Bren Cukier (Poland)

Director’s Cut

Best Film
Amidst - Pia Andell (Finland) (short film)

Special Mention
Id Est - Shayda Frost (USA) (short film)

Emilia-Romagna Filmmakers

Best Film
The Blood Crown - Federico G Cesaroni (Italy) (short film)

Nót a Chance

Best Film
I sogni vivono solo di notte - Christian Dei (Italy) (short film)

(Translated from Italian)