Winners of Fastnet Film Festival's 2021 €40,000 prize fund announced

The winners of this year's Fastnet Film Festival's €40,000 prize fund have been announced. Sister This (pictured), directed by Claire Byrne, took home €5,000 for Best Irish Film, while A Sister, directed by Delphine Girard, took home the most awards since the festival began in 2009, for Best International Film, The Jack Gold Prize for Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Sound Design by Luis Trinques and Best Editing by Damien Keyeux.

The Fastnet Film Festival 2021 took place online due to Covid-19, from May 26-30. Gerard Stembridge, the Master of Ceremonies, was joined online by several of the judges, including Bronagh Gallagher who announced the Best Comedy Winner, and David Puttnam who announced the Puttnam Award.

The €20,000 Puttnam Award funds the production of one live-action drama short film, of a maximum of 10 minutes, to be made on Cork's Wild Atlantic Way, with a theme reflecting ‘The New Normal'. The award went to Brian Dwyer for pitching his short script Wireless. The premiere of the resultant film will be screened in Schull in May 2022.

Following Saorise Ronan’s welcome address, 350 short films were made available to view on the Festival’s Short Film Platform. This year also featured the innovative ‘In Short’ series of 24 bite-sized tutorials, by a wide variety of industry professionals, advising on their particular field of expertise. These included Ed Guiney (Producing), Joan Bergin (Costume), Kate McCullough (Cinematography), Mike Ahern (Directing Comedy), Ros & John Hubbard (Casting), Mark O’Halloran (Scriptwriting), Ray Ball (Production Design), Ross Whitaker (Directing Documentary), Cara Holmes (Film Editing), Maurice Seezer (Music), Cian McElhone (Legal Issues) – and many more. These mini tutorials will remain accessible on the FFF site for the foreseeable future.

See the full list of awards presented on the night below:

WINNER OF THE PUTTNAM AWARD
Cash Prize of €20,000
Jury: Judy Bollinger, Kirsten Sheridan, Patsy Puttnam, Dominic Treadwell-Collins & Ian Power
Brian Dwyer for Wireless

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Cash Prize of €5,000
Category Panel: Sue Howes, Sandy Lieberson & John Kelleher
A Sister Directed by Delphine Girard from Belgium

BEST IRISH FILM
Cash Prize of €5,000
Category Panel: Patsy Puttnam, Hilary Durman & Jeff Wright
Sister This Directed by Claire Byrne

BEST IRISH LANGUAGE FILM
Cash Prize of €2,000
Category Judge: Róisín Kelleher
An Gadhar Dubh |The Black Dog Directed by Pádraig Fagan

BEST IN CORK
Cash Prize of €1,000 – Sponsored by Cork County Council
Category Judge: Gerard Stembridge
4X4 Directed by Ayla Amano

BEST STUDENT OF MEDIA & FILM STUDIES
Cash Prize of €1,000
Category Judge: Donal Beecher
Clara’s Room Directed by Pippa Molony Ireland

BEST YOUNG FILMMAKER (U19)
Cash Prize of €500
Category Judge: Martin Levis
JOINT WINNERS
Horizons Directed by Seán Treacy, Ireland
L’Argomento! Directed by Reuben Harvey, Ireland

BEST DRAMA
Cash Prize of €500
Category Judge: Maureen Hughes
One | Uno Directed by Javier Marco Rico, Spain

BEST COMEDY
Cash Prize of €500
Category Judge: Bronagh Gallagher
All In Good Time Directed by Bonnie Dempsey

THE TONY BARRY PRIZE FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY
Cash Prize of €500
Category Panel: Paul Stekler & Pratap Rughani
JOINT WINNERS
Converted Directed by Suzie Keegan, Ireland
Welcome to a Bright White Limbo Directed by Cara Holmes, Ireland

BEST ARTHOUSE
Cash Prize of €500
Category Judge: Mike Ahern - Team DADDY
When We’re Gone Directed by James Skerritt, Ireland

BEST ANIMATION
Cash Prize of €500
Category Judge: Steve Baker
Her Song Directed by Éabha Bortolozzo & Jack Kirwan, Ireland

THE JACK GOLD PRIZE FOR BEST DIRECTION
Cash Prize of €500
Category Judge: Carmel Winters
JOINT WINNERS
A Sister Directed by Delphine Girard, Belgium
Detours Directed by Christopher Yates, Belgium

BEST SCREENPLAY
Cash Prize of €500
Category Judge: Gaby Smyth
A Sister Written by Delphine Girard, Belgium

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC
Cash Prize of €500
Category Judge: Maurice Seezer
JOINT WINNERS
Boat Boy composed by Anthony Willis, Ireland
Pretty Bonnets Composed by Antoni M March UK

BEST SOUND DESIGN
Cash Prize of €500
Category Judge: Kieran Horgan
A Sister Sound Design by Luis Trinques, Belgium

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Cash Prize of €500
Category Judge: Chris O’Dell
JOINT WINNERS
Flora Cinematography by Michal Babinec, Spain
Sleepless/Repeat Until Death Cinematography by Nicholas Chin, Mongolia

BEST EDITING
Cash Prize of €500
Category Judge: Sam Connor
A Sister Edited by Damien Keyeux, Belgium

For further information, see fastnetfilmfestival.com