Raindance Film Festival Awards 2012

The 20th Raindance Festival came to an end on Sunday night with its closing gala feature, Sal closing the curtain on a successful fortnight in the capital. The independent festival achieved record attendance numbers with Londoners out in force to take in the best independent cinema from around the world. Short films, music videos, discussions, workshops, documentaries and debuts made up an eclectic 12 days at Piccadilly’s Apollo cinema.

    For some there was more at stake than merely the enjoyment of seeing your film play out to the masses as the competition element of the festival was decided and the gongs handed out. There was a distinctly Scandinavian tone to the ceremony with the recipients of Best Debut Feature and Best Documentary coming from Finland and Denmark. Scooping the former, Indebted is the downbeat Finnish tale of the lengths people will go to for money while the Danish documentary Ballroom Dancer focuses on esteemed Russian dancer Slavik Kryklyvy striving to regain his status several years after an injury forced him to retire.

    There was success too for Love tomorrow which took home the prize for Best UK Feature. The film has echoes of Sliding Doors’ time concept as it follows the 24 hour period after a chance encounter between two dancers in a London tube station. Laurentie was the only film to pick up a prize away from Europe as the slow burning Canadian film was awarded the Best International Feature accolade.
Full Nomination/Winners List 

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

Dark Hearts
Laurentie [winner]
From Tuesday To Tuesday
Vegetarian Cannibal
A Road Stained Crimson
SAL

BEST UK FEATURE

City Slacker
Confine
Live East Die Young
Love Tomorrow [winner]
String Caesar

BEST DEBUT FEATURE

After School Midnighters
The Ascent
Bad Hair Friday
Indebted [winner]
A Night Too Young
Strings

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Ballroom Dancer [winner]
Despite The Gods
The Lottery of Birth
Orania
Over My Dead Body
Trashed

BEST UK SHORTS

Achele
Bird
For Elsie
Mapmaker
The Pub [winner]
A Thousand Empty Glasses               

BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORTS

Bolero
Buzkashi Boys [winner]
The End
The Foreigner 
Interview Date               
The Old Woman             
            

FILM OF THE FESTIVAL [SHORT]

For the sixth year running we are very excited to announce the Film of the Festival Award. This year’s award is supported by the Independent Film Trust and the winner will make next year's cinema advert.

One of the short films at the festival will be awarded Film Of The Festival. This film will be shortlisted for an 2013 Oscar^TM Nomination for Best Short Film.
The winner is:
Buzkashi Boys

FILM OF THE FESTIVAL [FEATURE]

Awarded to the feature film or documentary that best embodies the spirit of Raindance. The nominations are:
Death
How Do You Write a Joe Schermann Song? [winner]
Corrode
Frank
Consuming Spirits
This Ain't California