Announcing the Winners of the Papaya.Rocks Film Festival28.02.2019

The first Papaya.Rocks Film Festival drew over 200 filmmakers and proved so popular with the audience that the ticket pool for screenings at London’s Genesis cinema was sold out in record time. From all the submissions, the jury picked thirty-six finalists, from which they later selected eight winning titles. 

The festival, focused on promoting young and independent filmmakers, featured films representing a wide variety of different styles and formats. The event was a great opportunity to everyone interested in creatively approaching the language of film. The festival was open to filmmakers working in a variety of fields and genres: feature films, documentaries, animations, and music videos. The festival comprised two sections: Micro Shorts and Short Films. By November 30, 2018, we had received 200 submissions from all over the globe. From the submissions, the jury picked thirty-six finalists, of which twenty-six had their world premiere at the festival. 

We were overjoyed at the success of the festival. What made it so special was the amount of filmmakers who came to see their film on the big screen. There was a great thread to the festival that blended hard hitting fictional films with insightful and thought-provoking documentaries.

Programmer, Niger Asije

Aqsa Altaf’s One Small Step took the prize for Best Short Film, whereas Mariela, a one-shot film directed by Victoria Romero, received awards for Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography. The award for Best Director was given to Alex Widdowson, who floored the jury with his astonishing animation Music & Clowns. 

Below is the full winners list:

Best Short Film: One Small Step, dir. Aqsa Altaf (read the interview)

Best Micro-Short: Trifle, dir. Ted Fisher(read the interview)

Best Music Video: Fade, dir. Ainhoa Rodríguez

Best Animation: Talent Scout, dir. José Herrera

Best Screenplay: Mariela, dir. Victoria Romero

Best Editing: Fried Eggs

Best Cinematography: Mariela, dir. Victoria Romero

Best Director: Alex Widdowson for Music & Clowns (read the interview)