Show Me Shorts 2022: DEGANZ Best Director and Best Editor Winners
Congratulations are in order for the winners of the DEGANZ Best Director and DEGANZ Best Editor awards at the 2022 Show Me Shorts Film Festival. Best Director went to Brendan Canty for Atali’i O Le Crezent (Sons of the Crezent), while Richard Shaw took home the prize for Best Editor for his work on Breathe.
Stephen Kang’s Breathe follows a gifted twelve-year-old who develops an unorthodox healing method that propels her into conflict with her overbearing father.
The judges commented that “whilst cinematography, sound design and the compelling talent of the young lead actor all stand out, the key to this film’s achievement is its editing: it solidifies the film’s initial unease as an ever-growing force that triggers all the intended reactions in the audience.
“However, even more importantly so, it does not overshadow the film’s underlying main story line, the father and daughter relationship, and the negotiation thereof – it treads the very fine line that unites them both.”
Brendan Canty’s poetic dance film, Atali’i O Le Crezent (Sons of the Crezent) follows a young man as he recalls his youth and upbringing when his neighborhood is under threat from gentrification. Lead actor Villa Junior Lemanu also won the Toi Whakaari Best Actor award, and accepted the award on the director’s behalf as he was overseas.
The judges wrote that “Atali’i O Le Crezent (Sons of the Crezent) is directed, with a strong visual sense of surroundings and connection. This abstract narration of a young man’s changing life and community presents an original solo storytelling journey.
“Brendan Canty’s choice of location, choreography and trust in his actor takes the complexities of this young man’s sense of what has been and allows us into those memories using movement and solid character development. Through his direction we can engage in the internal mindset of a young Pacific Man and his emotional response to his changing life.”
Since 2009, the Guild has proudly sponsored both of these awards at Show Me Shorts, an Academy Awards-accredited festival.
See the full list of winners here.
Last updated on 20 October 2022
