Reno, NV - May 5, 2008-
The winners of the 2008 Independent Shorts competition were announced at the Reno Film Festival’s 8th gala dinner Saturday, May 3rd at the Prospector’s Club in Harrah’s Hotel and Casino.
Each award was presented by one of the festival’s attending celebrities—actress Dee Wallace (E.T.), actor Dean Jones (The Love Bug), and sound re-recording mixer and Oscar award winner, Michael Semanick.
Keep’n It Reno was so well received for the Adventure category, that no other finalists were in the running. Directors Danny Reyes and Jon Epsteyn were present to receive the award for their short film.
The finalists in the Animation category were First Memories, Raccoon and Crawfish, and Simulacra, with the award going to Simulacra, directed by Tatchapon Lertwirojkul.
Pic Six, The Professional Interview, and Whitebread and Goatman were up for Comedy, with the director of Pic Six, David Breckman, taking home the award.
The competing Documentaries included American Outrage, Best Intentions:Wildfire and People in Yosemite National Park, and Northland:Long Journey. Northland and director Edie Steiner received the award.
For Drama/Fiction, Paper Angels, directed by AJ Ingoglia and Bob O’Reilly won the nod over Hejira and Mai Tai.
For Family, The Miracle, directed by Jeffrey Jon Smith was selected. The other finalists were Jakob and The Angels, and Longshots.
Foreign finalists included Doves — from Greece, English Language (With English Subtitles) — from the United Kingdom, and Lounas — from Finland. Director Tim Plester received the award for English Language.
Watch the World directed by Jesse Schroeder, won the Music Video category. The other finalists were Beachwood Music Video, and Moving Along.
The specialty category, Nevada, celebrates filmmakers with a connection to our state in that the director or producer is a Nevadan, the film is set or filmed in Nevada, or the subject is related to a Nevada issue. The three finalists were Demption, Rabia, and Wedding Day, with director Jason Neudecker of Demption accepting the prize.
The final category, Science Fiction, included L’amie de Zoe, Outsource, and Simulacra. The award for Outsource was accepted by Daniel Trezise, director.