UK short film takes major prize at Mobile SIFF awards

A short film from the United Kingdom won the major prize at the Mobile SIFF awards ceremony last night at Shanghai International Film Festival.

A total of 25 short films in the features, documentary and animation categories were nominated for competition this year.

The prize winning UK short Full Time received the Grand Short Award. The 15-minute production is about a photographer\'s delicate emotional connection with his father and football. Its actor Chris Langham also took the Best Performance award.

Best Feature award went to Malakim, a 12-minute Belgian film about a lonely 11-year-old boy\'s affinity with a street artist.

Circus Song from Brazil won the Best Documentary award for its touching portrayal of a group of old opera singers and dancers who return to the theater to retrieve the passion of old times.

Chinese animation Entrance Examination won the Best Animation award. It tells the story of how three little mice struggle to get through the entrance exam of a Taoism school.

Chinese film Pork & Luna was named Micro Movie of the Year. The heart-warming film is about love, understanding and the pains of growth.

Dan Sachar from Israel won the Best Director award for Last of You while Swiss filmmaker Maria Brendle received the Best Scriptwriter award for The Stowaway.

French film Bang Bang!, an incredible story about hunting, garnered the Jury Special Award.

The jury panel for the competition included Chinese director Teng Huatao, Chinese actor Wang Jingchun and South Korean film critic Darcy Paquet.

Panel chair Teng said he was thrilled to see so many short films that are mature and diverse in genre.
"However, compared with foreign productions, the stories domestic directors tell and the characters in their films are not that strong," he said.