Winners Announced for the International Student Short Film Festival “Easy to be young?”
With an inspiring awards ceremony at the Latvian Academy of Culture (LAC) National Film School, the international student short film festival “Easy to be young?” has come to a close. Over the course of three days, audiences had the opportunity to explore works by emerging filmmakers from the Baltic and Nordic countries, culminating in a ceremony where an international jury and festival partners honored the most striking and artistically powerful entries.
The award for Best Short Film was granted to the work “Liksom City” (Whatever City) by Norwegian director Tobias Klemeyer Smith. The film earned the jury praise for its ability to speak about a young person's search for identity and sense of belonging in an urban environment through a unique visual language.
In the Best Documentary category, the top prize went to director Bruno Skulte for the film “Anarchy Before Fall” (Anarhija pirms rudens). The jury awarded the film for its authentic portrayal of youth and the unique opportunity to glimpse into the emotions of young people just before major life transitions.
The Best DOP award was presented to Beatrise Zviedre for her work on the film “My First Funeral” (Manas pirmās bēres). The award for excellence in cinematography was presented by festival supporters “B Rental” and “BB PostHouse”, providing the artist with valuable support for equipment rental and post-production services for her future creative projects.
Festival partners also presented several special awards:
- The RIGA IFF Special Awards were presented to two filmmakers: director and cinematographer Aleksandrs Vasks (for his work on the film “Bells” / Zvani) and director Tomas Bardauskas for the film “LŪGNĖ”.
- The “Valga Hot Shorts” Special Awardtravels to Iceland for the creators of the film “This Beautiful Day” (dir. Hanna Hulda Hafthórsdóttir).
- The television platform “Go3” presented special awards to all authors of the Latvian films included in the festival program, providing young directors with the opportunity to stay updated on current industry trends and find inspiration for their next works within a modern content environment.
“These films are stories by young people about what is truly important and relevant to them right now. Through their works, the authors seek answers not only to the question of whether it is still easy to be young but also whether it is easy to create cinema and be heard today,” emphasizes Karīna Kolendo, the festival producer.
This year, the “Easy to be young?” festival brought together a large audience and industry professionals, confirming its place as a significant starting point for emerging filmmakers in the Northern European region.