Palm Springs – June 23, 2013— Today, the Palm Springs ShortFest International Short Film Festival and Market named That Wasn’t Me from Spain, directed by Esteban Crespo as the winner of 2013 HP’s Bridging the Borders Award, offered by Cinema Without Borders. Tryouts from US/Spain, directed by Susana Casaren, took home Cinema Without Border’s Special Jury Award.
Esteban Crespo, director of That Wasn’t Me, the winner of the 2013 HP’s Bridging the Borders Award, received an HP Elitebook 8770W mobile workstation with a built-in HP DreamColor display, an approximate $5000 value. The award’s generous sponsors, Hewlett-Packard, provided the prize.
This year’s nominees for the award were: Letters From Pyongyang (Canada), Miniyamba (Denmark/France), That Wasn’t Me (Spain), Tryouts (USA/Spain), Unravel (United Kingdom) and Vultures of Tibet (Canada).
The award ceremony for the 2013 Palm Springs ShortFest International Short Film Festival and Market was held at Palm Springs’ Camelot Theatre. Esteban Crespo, director of That Wasn’t Me, accepted HP’s Bridging the Borders Award offered by Cinema Without Borders from Bijan Tehrani, Editor-in-Chief of CWB.
“At Cinema Without Borders, we are proud to be a part of the Palm Springs ShortFest International Short Film Festival and Market’s celebration of the future of world cinema by bestowing our Bridging the Borders Award to a film that helps bring the people of our world closer together. Additionally, our staff has chosen a second outstanding film for a Special Jury Award. The film earned the Cinema Without Borders’ Special Jury Award is
Tryouts from US and Spain, directed by Susana Casaren. Susana Casaren addresses the delicate matter of conflicting cultures and suffering of young people trapped inbetween in a very clever way. The Special Jury Award winner receives a certificate for an upcoming Method Acting Intensive provided by The Lee Strasberg Theater & Film Institute in West Hollywood, CA—valued at $2000. The winner of HP’s 2013 Bridging the Borders Award—presented by Cinema Without Borders —takes the audience on a nightmare-like, shocking journey about young child-soldiers of Africa and what makes a criminal out of an innocent child. The courage of the filmmaker in dealing with such a complex subject inspired CWB to award HP’s Bridging the Borders Award to That Wasn’t Me from Spain. HP is providing the director Esteban Crespo with the latest in mobile computing, the HP Elitebook 8770W, an approximate $5,000 value.” said Bijan Tehrani, Editor In Chief of Cinema Without Borders.
Darryl Macdonald Director of the Palm Springs International ShortFest on the short films winning CWB awards: “Both films are eminently worthy choices for these honors, though they couldn’t be more different in tone and subject matter. That Wasn’t Me is a harrowing filmic journey exploring the plight of child soldiers in contemporary Africa and that of their victims, while the Special Jury Award winner, Tryouts, addresses – in much unexpected ways – our own society’s intolerance regarding diversity and the traditions of others.”
That Wasn’t Me (Aquel No Era Yo)
Spain, 2012, 23 Minute Running Time
Language: Spanish,English English Sub-Titles
A harrowing tale of courage and forgiveness as told from the perspective of the killers. Being a soldier is not difficult: either you get used to it or they kill you. The hardest thing is getting used to living with your memories and being yourself again after doing what you have done.
DIRECTOR: Esteban Crespo
Producer: José Luís Matas-Negrete
Editor: Vanessa Marimbert
Screenwriter: Esteban Crespo
Cinematographer: Angel Amorós
Music: Juan de Dios Marfil
Principal Cast: Alejandra Lorente, Gustavo Salmerón, Babou Cham, Mariano Nguema, Alito Rodgers
Valene Kane, Lalor Roddy.
Tryouts
USA/Spain 2012, 14 Minute Running Time
Additional Countries: Spain – World Premiere
Language: Arabic, English English Sub-Titles
A Muslim-American teenager yearns to join the cheerleading squad, but finds that despite her training and preparation may be for naught in this charming and unique coming of age tale.
Director: Susana Casares
Producer: Susana Casares, Elisa Lleras, Julia Fontana, Pablo Gómez
Editor: Susana Casares, Julio Ramos, Fernando Franco, Olena Kuhtaryeva
Screenwriter: Susana Casares
Cinematographer: Monika Lenczewska
Principal Cast: Kimya Marefat, Joey Naber, Marissa Clifford, Johanna Trujillo, Azzie Amani, Stacy Jorgensen, Katelyn Statton Editor: Kristina Pozenel
Screenwriter: Goran Paskaljevic, Filip David
Cinematographer: Milan Spasic
Music: Vlatko Stefanovski
Principal Cast: Mustafa Nadarevic, Predrag Ejdus, Nebojsa Glogovac, Nada Sargin, Zafir Hadzimanov, Meto Jovanovski