Martin Rosete’s “Voice Over” and Ritesh Batra’s “Café Regular, Cairo” were named the winners of TheWrap’s second annual ShortList Online Film Festival during a Thursday night awards ceremony at the Santa Monica Airport.
“Voice Over,” a 10-minute narrative from Spain that features four stories woven together by dramatic narration, won the Audience Award — a prize decided by votes from viewers on the “ShortList” website.
“Café Regular, Cairo,” an 11-minute Egyptian short about a couple at odds over sex, won the Industry Award, which was decided by a distinguished panel of seven industry professionals.
See Photos: Pictures From TheWrap’s Shortlist Film Festival 2013
Judges on the jury included UTA agent Bec Smith, “Short Term 12” director Destin Cretton, Super Crispy Entertainment president Jonathan Schwartz, “The Lifeguard” director Liz Garcia, Relativity Media exec Richard Potter, “ShortList” director of programming Mike Plante and San Francisco Film Society executive director Ted Hope.
Following a screening of a selection of four films from the 12 finalists, Cretton and Garcia presented “Café” with the Industry Award. Batra, who was not in Los Angeles to attend the ceremony, accepted the award in a pre-recorded video.
“Thanks for this wonderful news. It’s a wonderful honor. Thanks to the Jury, I’m so glad this resonated with you. This short is really close ot my heart,” Batra said. “Things are not as ideal in Cairo as they were when I made this short, so this goes out to my friends in Cairo who are still there making art.”
Also read: Finalists Announced In TheWrap’s ‘ShortList’ Film Festival 2013 – Watch Now!
Steve Pond, TheWrap’s awards editor and columnist, presented the “Voice Over” producers in attendance with the Audience Award, while Rosete — who was also not able to make it to the ceremony — appeared via video.
“I’m in New York right now, so it’s a pity I couldn’t be wtih you tonight,” Rosete said. “I have to say I couldn’t be happier that ‘Voice Over’ won the Audience Award at TheWrap’s film festival, so I just have to thank the audience for voting for the film. Thank you so much.”
Both winning films will be aired on MTV’s film network, while directors Rosete and Batra will receive a first-look deal with independent movie distributor Cinedigm, as well as a pitch meeting with Greg Segal, SVP, Entertainment Development, Break Media.
“Magnesium,” Sam de Jong’s 20-minute short produced in the Netherlands, received an honorable mention from the jury, along with Goran Dukic’s 4-minute animated short “What Do We Have In Our Pockets.”
The 12 ShortList finalists competed and won awards at major festivals around the world, including the Sundance Film Festival and LA Film Festival.
Here’s a video from the awards evening: