UFFyc Announces 2018 Awards
From May 9 - 12, the Underexposed Film Festival yc, presented by Morton & Gettys, welcomed filmmakers and movie lovers to Dina’s Place in the DiGiorgio Campus Center at Winthrop University in Old Town Rock Hill, SC. This year’s festival showcased the best in independent filmmaking from around the world, allowing audiences to take a trip around the world without leaving their seat! Films screened from all 7 continents that were as diverse in storytelling as they were in origin.
The 2018 UFFyc included films that have been nominated for Academy Awards, films that are eligible to be nominated for Academy Awards in 2019, and films that have been collecting accolades far and wide. Garden Party was nominated for Short Film (Animated) at the 90th Annual Academy Awards in 2018. The Suitcase was an Oscar-qualifying film for the 2018 Academy Awards. Thus far, four films screened at the 2018 UFFyc are Oscar-qualifying films, eligible to be nominated for Academy Awards in 2019: The Driver is Red, Gaze, Hybrids, and I am the Doorway.
The jurors for the 2018 UFFyc were Avery Carpenter (UFFyc Everyman, Student), Candy Clapp (Scriptwriter), Michael Cusack (Animation Filmmaker), Joanna Davidovich (Animation Filmmaker) Martha (Marty) Elcan (Director, DGA), Richard Feury (Assistant Director, DGA), Carol Green (American Horror Story), Joanne Hock (Purple Dreams, The Ultimate Legacy), Nick Hough (critic, Assistant Director DGA/Writer), Gabrielle Lansner (Director, Choreographer), Ng’endo Mukii (Director), Michael Rivers (Everyman, business owner), Terry Roueche (filmmaker, writer, photographer), Dr. Karen Stock (Winthrop University College of Visual & Performing Arts - Professor), and Dr. David Wohl [Winthrop University College of Visual & Performing Arts - Dean (retired), Director, Actor].
Reflecting on the films screened at the 2018 festival, Karen Collins, Festival Director, notes that as society evolves, so does filmmaking. Films are no longer strictly carbon copies of previous works created with a proven formula. Instead, men and women get behind their camera and dare to push aside the question, “Is this commercially viable?” They now concentrate on making the film that at first was a faint murmur but became a pounding in their chest that burst forth onto the screen. Often taking risks, filmmakers are now staying true to themselves, and in doing so, have helped change the way the audience consumes film.
Ten awards were presented to Official Selections in 2018 - the Grand Jury Prize; the best of each category: animation, documentary, experimental, and narrative; Cinema Carolina - awarded to the best independent film made in North or South Carolina regardless of category, content, or subject; Woman to Watch (best female director); Best Student Film | Collegiate; Best Student Film | High School; and the Terry Roueche Audience Choice Award.
Grand Jury Award | $750
Compartments
Animation | 2017 | 15 min. 00 sec.
Country | Germany, Israel
Language | English
Producer | Eitan Shefer
Directors | Daniella Koffler, Uli Seis
Writer | Daniella Koffler
Cast | Shirly Lev, Micah Lewensohn, Matthias Wagner, Philipp Oehme, Alice von Gwinner
Netta, a young Israeli woman wishes to immigrate to Berlin. Her father, the son of Holocaust survivors, is horrified by her decision to live in the land that killed her ancestors. He refuses to speak to her again if she leaves.
Based on Daniella Koffler’s personal story, Compartments is the first German-Israeli animation co-production that wishes to explore collective memories of the Holocaust in the third generation, and how they shape both sides in ways we cannot predict. | more info
Best Animated Film | $200
Hybrids
Animation | 2017 | 6 min. 22 sec.
Country | France
Language | Silent Film
Producer | MOPA
Directors | Florian Brauch, Matthieu Pujol, Kim Tailhades, Yohan Thireau, Romain Thirion
When marine wildlife has to adapt to the pollution surrounding it, the rules of survival change... | more info
Best Documentary Film | $200
Daddy
Documentary | 2017 | 30 min. 06 sec.
Country | United States
Language | English
Directors | John Gallen, Alex Faoro
Cast | Curtis Malone, DerMarr Johnson, Nolan Smith
Daddy tells the story of beloved youth basketball coach and duplicitous drug trafficker Curtis Malone. In examining Curtis’s life from his childhood to his arrest, the film challenges audiences to decide if he is a calculating criminal or caring mentor. | more info
Best Experimental Film | $200
New World
Experimental | 2017 | 10 min. 00 sec.
Country | Switzerland
Language | Silent Film
Executive Producer | Filippo Bonacci
Director | Laura Kaehr
Editors | Kirstin Reppas, Daniel Casparis
Cast | Jasmin Sisti, Alessandro Torresin, Luka Ostrez
When Anna runs away from her tribe, she meets an entire new world.
A dystopian love story set in a far future, where love, once more, breaks thought boundaries and limitations. | more info
Best Narrative Film | $200, Cinema Carolina | $200,
and Terry Roueche Audience Choice Award | $100
Crab Trap
Narrative | 2017 | 24 min. 48 sec.
Country | United States
Language | English
Producers | Vanna White, Chip White, Jason McRae Smith
Director | Shea Sizemore
Writer | Shea Sizemore
Cast | Danny Vinson, Rebecca Koon, Grant Goodeve, John Voldstad, Dave Blamy
Crawling back from the edge of society, Thirsty tries to prove he’s a “changed man” to his sister in order to gain access to his daughter once again. | more info
Woman to Watch (Best Female Director) | $200
Of the 47 films screened at the 2018 UFFyc, 40% of the films were directed by women. If the festival were to consider co-ed directing teams, the number increases to 46%. In 2017, women represented only 8% of directors working in television and film.(1) The Woman to Watch Award was established in 2013.
Lorette Bayle
Lorette Bayle is an award-winning filmmaker who first produced and edited documentaries and PBS programs before directing short films. She studied Broadcast Journalism at Brigham Young University and Film Directing at the California Institute of The Arts (CalArts). She has worked for the Sundance Institute and has assisted the producers at American Zoetrope. After CalArts, she worked for FIND on Project/Involve and then for Kodak Motion Picture Film, first running their education programs then working with independent feature filmmakers. As Kodak’s Studio Features Account Manager, Lorette worked directly with production executives at the major studios including Universal, Sony, Disney, MGM, DreamWorks, Lionsgate and LucasFilm.
Bayle just completed Scarlett-Angelina, as part of AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women where she was one of eight women directors chosen for this workshop in 2017. Her last short, The Bake Shop Ghost, starring two-time Emmy winner Kathryn Joosten and Marianne Jean-Baptiste, screened all over the world, winning over a dozen awards for best short film. It premiered in the opening night showcase of the Seattle International Film Festival and the Rhode Island International Film Festival, where it was awarded the Audience Choice Award. The Bake Shop Ghost was also honored with the Best of the Fest Audience Award at Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films.
The Bake Shop Ghost
Narrative | 2009 | 16 min. 48 sec.
Country | United States
Language | English
Producer | Lorette Bayle, Nic Emiliani, Brian Udovich
Director | Lorette Bayle
Writer | Bob Gibbons
Editor | Shilpa Sahi
Cast | Katheryn Joosten and Marianne Jean-Baptiste
In a haunted bake shop, a determined young woman struggles to find the perfect recipe to satisfy a hungry spirit. Based on a best-selling children's book, this film provides enchantment for all ages. | more info
Best Student Film | Collegiate | $100
Garden Party
Animation | 2016 | 6 min. 50 sec.
Country | France
Language | No Language
Producer | MOPA
Directors | Florian Babikian, Vincent Bayoux, Victor Caire, Théophile Dufresne, Gabriel Grapperon, Lucas Navarro
In a deserted rich house, a couple of amphibians explore their surroundings and follow their primal instinct. | more info
Best Student Film | High School | $100
In memory of Amy Lynn Rector
Daydreamer
Animation | 2017 | 4 min. 29 sec.
Country | United States
Language | English
Producer | Kathryne Garrido
Director | Kathryne Garrido
Writer | Kathryne Garrido
Daydreamer features a student who, while falling asleep in class, is awoken by the teacher and is told to do a problem on the board that he doesn’t know how to solve. Embarrassed, the student daydreams of entering a cloud kingdom, where he learns to overcome challenges before waking up. | more info
The Underexposed Film Festival yc is presented by Morton & Gettys, and is made possible by partnerships with Carolina Fresh Farms; Dr. Susan Collins; Concerts at the Courtroom; Comporium Communications; Country Inn and Suites; Founders Federal Credit Union; Friendly Billiards; Hilton Garden Inn; McHale’s Irish Pub; Melton Insurance; Millstone Pizza + Taphouse; Old Town Association; Teresa & David Rector; Sharp Business Systems; Winthrop University; Wells Fargo; White Horse Restaurant; Winthrop University College of Visual and Performing Arts; WRHI AM/FM, Interstate 107, and 104.1 The Bridge.
(1) “Facts to Know About Women in Hollywood,” Women and Hollywood, https://womenandhollywood.com/resources/statistics/, Web, 14 May 2018.
