The Syracuse University in Florence Award for Best Short Film goes to “Left Side of the Face” by Martin Bortkiewicz (Poland 2013) for its excellent camerawork and montage and in support of a highly original photographic project which illuminates issues of time, ageing, and loneliness through a variety of individual accounts.
This is the “verdict” of the SUF “Fab 4” judges of the first edition “Syracuse University in Florence Award” for the “54 Festival dei Popoli 2013 – Reality is More Exciting than Fiction” November 30/December 7 2013 – http://www.festivaldeipopoli.org/festival/giuria_premi/2013 www.festivaldeipopoli.org
Firenze – December,7th “Festival dei Popoli” cerimony – Hannah Stanley (left), Drayton Benedict, Carlotta Fonzi Kliemann, Anna Behrens, Shannon O’Connor
Due to the high quality of the selected films, they felt compelled to assign two special mentions: the first one to” La Parka“ by GaThis briel Serra (Mexico 2013), illustrating with empathy and sensitivity the hard life of a Mexican worker, displaced in both his alienating job and in his family. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wS7YDoPaW90&autoplay=1&desktop_uri=%252Fwatch%253Fv%253DwS7YDoPaW90%2526autoplay%253D1
The second Special Mention goes to “Quand Passe le Train” by Jeremy Reichenbach (France 2013), as it best represents the essence of documentary cinema thanks to its unique subject matter and a personal style.http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=plpp&list=UU8D6vtVubsQZrFHXJKYdClA&v=dcDHUFwhRuc
The Jury members – Anna Behrens, Drayton Benedict, Shannon O’ Connor, and Hannah Stanley coordinated by Carlotta Fonzi Kliemann, professor of Film Studies watched tens of short movies in one week.
“I did not expect such a variety of films: subject matter, locations, technique, running time were as diverse as could be, and the task to select a winner forced us to weigh the importance of different film components” (Drayton);
“Serving on the jury has been an extremely 
rewarding experience, and the fact that the community values our opinion is an honor. The films selected are truly international, which made our choice particularly challenging” (Anna);
“It was very interesting to take part in the process of narrowing the number of possible winners, forcing us to explore the documentary film genre from a new perspective” (Hannah).
The short films, coming from Europe, China, Mexico, and South America, all deploy a distinctive style, with subject matters at once contemporary and universal such as family memories and collective memory, daily chores in affluent and economically depressed milieux, and the representation of power, all of them sharing the crucial theme of the relation individual-society.
In short, a thrilling, formative experience for the young jury and a fantastic opportunity for a significant cultural exchange between Syracuse University in Florence and the local community in the name of cinema.
*Who are they?
ANNA BEHRENS, Junior at Santa Clara University, double major in Communications and Art History. I am very excited for the Festival dei Popoli, as I greatly enjoy watching film for academic study and for fun. The international selection of the shorts seems particularly attractive, and I’m looking forward to evaluating them with the other members of the Jury.
DRAYTON BENEDICT, Senior at University of Southern California, Film Studies major I am grateful for the chance to be on this year’s panel, it is a unique surprise! I look forward to searching these short film submissions for the qualities I think the best movies have — richness, poignancy, and maybe even a life of their own. I hope to do my best watching them, open to understanding international perspectives. I like to design, run, eat cookies, and of course watch or research movies in my spare time.
SHANNON O’CONNOR, Senior at Syracuse University, major in Communication and Rhetorical Studies, minor in Drama. I have loved movies since my parents introduced me to my first movie-going experience of “Dances With Wolves”. I recall spending my weekends in the movie theatres with my father attempting to see as many movies as we could in one day. Also, I’m an actress, I love theatre and hope to be in many films in the future.I am honored to be on the judging panel for the Festival and cannot wait to see what the directors have come up with.
September, 25th SUF Campus – “The Fab 4 Judges” waiting for the Festival dei Popoli Drayton (right), Hannah, Anna, Shannon,
HANNAH STANLEY, senior at University of Colorado at Boulder, Film Studies major. As I love to travel and watch movies, this seems like the perfect opportunity to explore other countries and cultures through the short films of the international competition. I also appreciate the challenge of being exposed to a film genre that is quite neglected by the average distribution.
