What a weekend! The 16th annual San Jose International Short Film Festival wrapped up Sunday night at Cinemark’s CineArts Theatre at Santana Row, and our jury has handed out this year’s awards. Taking home the top prize, Best of the Fest, is I’m Not a Robot, a sharp, funny and slightly unsettling short from Dutch writer-director Victoria Warmerdam.
Here’s a closer look at our Best of the Fest winner and all nine of this year’s jury award winners.
Best of the Fest: I’m Not a Robot
Directed by Victoria Warmerdam (Netherlands)
Lara is a successful music producer with a very modern problem: she keeps failing those “I’m not a robot” CAPTCHA tests online. Again. And again. What starts as a mildly annoying glitch turns into a full-blown existential crisis as Lara becomes obsessed with one question: what if she actually is a robot? Warmerdam plays the premise completely straight, which is exactly why it’s so funny, and a little unnerving. It’s a perfect example of what a short film can do that almost nothing else can: take one simple idea and run with it all the way.
Best Comedy: Maggie’s Not Okay
Directed by Vance Smith (USA)
Maggie is a lifelong people pleaser, so when she finds a lost cat, returning it should be the easiest good deed of her life. Instead, one completely unreasonable demand from the owner pushes her past her limit, and for the first time ever, Maggie pushes back. Written by and starring Mouzam Makkar, this dark comedy kicked off our Opening Night screening and came back for the Make ’Em Laugh block before taking home Best Comedy.
Best Sci-Fi: Factory Drop
Directed by Petja Pulkrabek (Germany)
In the year 2118, the Factory reigns and every emotion is numbed, until a magical music box breaks the silence and two people risk everything for the freedom to dance. It’s a gorgeous, music-driven piece of world-building, and one of the most striking films in this year’s The World Beyond program.
Stills from Factory Drop.
Best Animation: Magic Candies
Directed by Daisuke Nishio (Japan)
From Toei Animation and based on picture books by Korean author Heena Baek, Magic Candies follows Dong-Dong, a lonely boy who plays marbles by himself until a bag of colorful candies lets him hear voices he never noticed before. It’s warm, beautifully animated and a little bit magical, and a highlight of our Return of the Ink & Paint Club animation program.
Best Family Film: LUKi & the Lights
Directed by Toby Cochran (USA)
LUKi is an upbeat little robot who loves living life to the fullest, until he’s diagnosed with ALS and has to decide how to face what comes next. Created to help kids and families understand ALS, it’s a tender, hopeful film and a standout in this year’s Family Films program.
Stills from LUKi & the Lights.
Best Drama: Thomasville
Directed by Alex Woodruff (USA)
Trapped in a car during a downpour, a young man and his ailing father confront their fractured history before it’s too late. Thomasville is an intimate, powerful psychodrama about Black legacy in Atlanta, and it stayed with us long after the lights came up.
Best of World Cinema: Medicine
Directed by William Amos McKegg (New Zealand)
Two young backpackers on a bus through rural India offer to hold a baby while the child’s grandmother steps off, and then the bus keeps moving. Shot in Raipur with a mix of Indian and New Zealand cast and crew, it’s a tense, funny and surprisingly moving film about trust between strangers.
Best Documentary: Village of Death: Oradour-sur-Glane 1944
Directed by Tim Gray (USA)
On June 10, 1944, a German SS division massacred 643 civilians in the French village of Oradour-sur-Glane, and the ruins have been preserved ever since. Narrated by Jeff Daniels, Tim Gray’s documentary for the World War II Foundation is a haunting, essential piece of history.
Best Student Film: Where the Heart Lies
Directed by Brianna Chapman (USA)
Made as a Chapman University senior thesis film, Where the Heart Lies tells the true story of Hunter Lewis, who disappeared off the coast of Northern California while creating an extraordinary treasure hunt for his friends and family. It’s a heartfelt tribute made by a filmmaker who knew him, and a big step forward for a promising new director.
Congratulations to All Our Filmmakers
Thank you to every filmmaker who shared their work with us this year, and to everyone who packed the theater all weekend. You can see the full list of winners and every film from this year’s festival on our 2024 Award Winners page. See you next October!
