“When the LAPD Blows Up Your Neighborhood” by director Nathan Truesdell won TheWrap’s ShortList Film Festival Industry Award Wednesday night at The Culver Theater in Culver City, California.
Truesdell, who was also a producer and cinematographer on the Oscar-nominated doc “Ascension,” documented the disastrous LAPD operation of 2021 that devastated South Central after police accidentally blew up a truck full of confiscated fireworks. The 19-minute doc follows local residents, many of whom are still homeless two years later.
“For its experimental, bold truth-telling and for pushing the form of what a documentary can be while balancing tremendous narrative tension, this film brings to light issues of oppression while challenging us to find solutions,” the festival’s jury said in a statement explaining their decision.
The jury was comprised of producer Amy Baer, Killer Films co-founder Christine Vachon and “The Inspection” director Elegance Bratton.
The Audience Award went to Sean Wang’s heartwarming documentary “Năi Nai & Wài Pó,” a film about his two grandmothers. The film’s Composer, Giosue Greco, accepted the award on Wang’s behalf.
The Student Audience Award was given to Ralph Parker III’s black-and-white short “Sammy, Without Strings” of University of North Carolina’s School of the Arts.
Parker said in his acceptance speech, “I’m really glad that the work that my incredible team put in is getting recognized.” He dedicated it to his grandmother, who died before the second weekend of filming, saying she and his grandfather would be proud.
The other nominated films include “Birds” by Katherine Propper; “Cousins” by Karina Dandashi; “Love, Barbara” about pioneering lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer by Byrdie O’Connor; “Meantime” by Michael T. Workman; the animated short “More Than I Want to Remember” by Amy Bench; and “Nowhere to Go But Everywhere,” about a man searching for his wife after the 2011 tsunami in Northern Japan by Japanese filmmakers Masak Tsumura and Erik Shirai.
Also nominated: Canadian filmmaker Justine Martin’s “Oasis,” about twin brothers Raphaël and Rémi; Swiss filmmaker Jonathan Laskar’s animated “The Record” about a magic vinyl record; Crystal Kayiza’s “Rest Stop,” which follows a young Ugandan-American girl on a road trip; and Luchina Fisher’s “Team Dream,” which documents friends Ann Smith and Madeline Murphy Rabb as they prepare for the 2022 National Senior Games.
The 2023 ShortList Film Festival was sponsored by Kodak, The Los Angeles Film School, Scriptation, The Camera Division, Blackmagic Design and New York Festivals.
You can watch all the nominated films here.
