Nearing the end of the 44th annual Atlantic International Film Festival, several films, actors and industry professionals have been presented with awards in celebration. There will also be a special screening of this year’s Best Atlantic Feature, Jason Buxton’s Sharp Corner.
Taking place at the Park Lane Cineplex from Sep. 11 to 18, AIFF presented nearly 100 films from near and far throughout the week; hosted talks and Q&As with directors and other film industry professionals; and held multiple galas. On Sunday, AIFF announced the winners of this year’s awards, who were chosen by a panel of expert judges.
The first of these winners was welima’q, which won the award for Best Atlantic Short Documentary, receiving $3,000 in prize money and a membership to the Documentary Organization of Canada’s Atlantic chapter. The five-minute film from Shalan Joudry is a visual experience of the Indigenous tradition of sweetgrass picking. The award was presented by 902 Post.
The award for Best Atlantic Short Animation went to Megan Wennberg’s Bloody Mess, an animated documentary of her experience with fibroids and a period that seemingly never stopped. The story follows Wennberg and her Uterus (voiced by Susan Kent) navigating the medical system. The award, presented by AIFF, came with $500 in prize money and a complimentary pass to next year’s festival.
Best Atlantic Short went to Pearls by Mike Simms, a 12-minute thriller in which a young man starts working at a logging camp in the 1930s, only to be overcome by his past traumas. The award netted $11,500 in prize money courtesy of 902 Post and Sunbelt Rentals.
The two awards for Outstanding Performance—the Joan Orenstein and David Renton awards—went to Mary-Colin Chisholm (The Kitchen Sink) and Sean Dalton (Skeet) respectively. Both awards were presented by Sky Talent Group with a $1,000 cash prize.
Kimberlee McTaggart was awarded the Best Atlantic Editor for her work on Monica’s News, the story of a nine-year-old paper carrier who struggles after witnessing a traumatic event. McTaggart will walk away with a $500 cash prize and a one-year membership to Canadian Cinema Editors, who sponsored the award.
Also on the production side, Siobhan Martin won Best Atlantic Original Score in the film Lakeview. Nigel Markham was awarded Best Atlantic Cinematographer for his work on Skeet. The Michael Weir Award for Best Atlantic Screenwriter went to the writer and director of Sweet Angel Baby, Melanie Oates.
The Director’s Guild of Canada Award for Best Atlantic Documentary, paired with a $2,000 cash prize from the organization, went to Seguridad, a film in which director Tamara Segura attempts to piece together the life of her alcoholic father by interviewing three generations of her family.
Nova Scotian filmmaker Jason Buxton made off with two prestigious awards—both the Director’s Guild of Canada Award for Best Atlantic Feature, and the Gordon Parsons Award for Best Atlantic Feature, each coming with a $2,000 cash prize—for his thriller Sharp Corner. The film follows a man obsessed with saving people from car collisions caused by a nasty sharp turn near his house, and the effect this has on him and his family.
If you’re interested in seeing Sharp Corner, you’re in luck. AIFF will be presenting the film for free at the Park Lane Cineplex on Wednesday, Sep. 18 at 5:15pm. Buxton will stick around for a Q&A afterwards, as well.