Smartfone Flick Fest 2022
Image: Big Dumb Animal. Image: film still
By MARTIN FABINYI
The world’s largest and most important festival of films shot on a smartphone or tablet wound up on Sunday 6th November with a gala red carpet event, and the winners taking home $50,000 from 40 categories.
Best Film Award and Best Screenplay went to Canada’s Big Dumb Animal from Schuyler Willson and Megan Sipos, with China’s Paco Wen, Chris Lee and Hardy Hu scoring Best Director for After Songs.
With over 300 entries from around the world for its 8th year, Smartfone Flick Fest (SF3), founded in Sydney, now has a wide international reach. Entries this year came from Kenya and Nigeria for the first time.
As one of Australia’s most innovative and exciting film festivals, with Ambassadors including Phillip Noyce, Kriv Stenders, Stan Grant, Kerry Armstrong and Jon Bell, SF3 inspires filmmakers to tell great stories on small devices.
The online festival continues through to Sunday 20th November, with Festival Ambassador Kriv Stenders (director, Red Dog, Slim & I) conducting a masterclass on Sunday 13th November.
This year will also feature some Highly Commended films. The first “Mobile SF3” event – in partnership with MINA (Mobile Innovation Network Australasia) – is slated for 18-20 November in Melbourne – with screenings, masterclasses and networking events.
Festival co-founder and director, Angela Blake, said this year’s huge international success was a tribute to the creativity and tenacity of filmmakers across Australia and around the world.
“After two years of unprecedented challenge, it has been an incredible thrill to share the talent, imagination, resourcefulness and pure joy of these wonderful filmmakers… of all ages”.
Co-director Ali Crew added that the rise and rise of the festival was as a fixture in the international film-world calendar was truly gratifying.
For more information on the Online Festival go to www.sf3.com.au
