MUFF Award Winners

Melbourne Underground Film Festival concluded last night (Sunday 30th August 2009) at the Noise Bar with standing room only (full house).  The closing night program featured:

Herman: Am I Proud (Australia), directed by Sascha-Rene Karner,  a short ten minute documentary about a Germany migrant who was a German solider during WWII.  The film was a personal tale about the filmmakers grandfather who claimed to be German solider during the war.  Unfortunately, Herman was a quirky character insisting on appearing in his underwear the whole film which the audience found amusing.  The film was well made, but certainly didn't provide anything confronting and was on safe ground!

The Un-Australian (Australia), directed by Jon Lucas, fourteen minute comedy, the director is a close personal friend and I am not comfortable writing a comment about his film except to say the person who laughed the loudest was the director himself, Mr Jon Lucas, he wasn't the only one who enjoyed the show!

The Tumbler (Australia), directed by Marc Gracie, a thriller that never achieves the levels that should have been attained.  This film had a budget the size of every film that played at MUFF and doesn't really set the world on fire.  Gary Sweet held the film together for the entire 79 minutes and without his performance this film would have been simply a bad film with great ideas.  The choice to close the festival with The Tumbler was an ideal choice with a film that has been floating around for a couple of years and has only recently raised it's head in 2008. The creators behind this film are great industry people who you just wish it had lived up to it's potential.

After the screenings, Richard Wolstencroft held the award ceremony for MUFF X:
Lifetime Achievement - Frank Howson & John La Monde

Best Australian Film - 'Into the Shadows' & 'Eraser Children'

Runner Up Best Australian Film - 'The Tumbler

Best Australian Director - Marc Gracie (The Tumbler)

Best Australian Male Actor - Gary Sweet (The Tumbler)

Best Australian Female Actor - Sandra Casa (Bad Habits) & Kristen Condon (The Beautiful & Damned)

Best Supporting Male Actor - Shane Nagle (Eraser Children)

Best Supporting Female Actor - Georgii Speakman (Carmilla Hyde)

Special Jury Prize - 'Seeking Wellness - Suffering in Four Movements'

Special Jury Prize (Short) - 'Herman: Am I Proud'

Best Guerrilla Film - 'Carmilla Hyde'

MUFF Producers Award - Prey - Robert Galinsky & Elizabeth Howatt-Jackman

Best Documentary - 'The Nigel Diaries' & 'Burn City'

Best Cinematography - Justin Brickle (The Tumbler)

Best Screenplay - Jack Ketchum (Offspring) & Dominic Deacon (Bad Habits)

Best Short - 'The Marina Experiment' & 'Matinee'

Runner Up Best Short - 'Higher Plane'

Best Foreign Film - 'Impolex'

Best Foreign Director - Zach Clark (Modern Love Is Automatic)

Best Foreign Male Actor - Riley O'Brien (Impolex)

Best Foreign Female Actor - Melodie Sisk (Modern Love Is Automatic)