Closing Dynasty directed by Lloyd Lee Choi won the Grand Jury Prize – Live Action Short at AFI FEST 2023. Other prizes went to Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (Grandma & Grandma) (奶奶跟外婆)directed by Sean Wang won Grand Jury Prize – Documentary Short and Chutes directed by Kenzie Sutton won Grand Jury Prize – Animated Short.
The Grand Jury Award winners for Live Action Short, Documentary Short and Animated Short will be eligible for the 2023 Best Live Action Short, Best Documentary Short and Best Animated Short Academy Awards®.
“By smashing attendance records this year, AFI FEST proves the power of cinema to bring us together in difficult times,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. “For 37 years, AFI has been proud to bring the very best of world cinema to the heart of Hollywood, and we look forward to welcoming even more people to the movies next year.”
Grand Jury Prize
Grand Jury Prize – Live Action Short
CLOSING DYNASTY (DIR Lloyd Lee Choi)
Jury Statement: “Absorbed us completely in a very different New York City – told through the perspective of an enterprising little girl. The expert blend of humor and pain in the writing paired with stunning cinematography blew us away.”
Grand Jury Prize – Documentary Short
NǍI NAI & WÀI PÓ (GRANDMA & GRANDMA) (奶奶跟外婆) (DIR Sean Wang)
Jury Statement: “A tender, comedic portrait of an unconventional family dynamic told with a pronounced sensitivity to quotidian rhythms and the wry perspectives of elders.”
Grand Jury Prize – Animated Short
CHUTES (DIR Kenzie Sutton)
Jury Statement: “A delightful, bizarre rollercoaster of clever visual metaphors that deftly captures the interplay between social relationships and wanton materialism.”
Special Mentions
Special Jury Mention for Editing – Live Action Short
SÈT LAM (DIR Vincent Fontana)
Jury Statement: “A lyrical, deeply affecting edit that transported us into a trancelike state with its rhythmic evocations of dance and community.”
Special Jury Mention for Experimentation – Documentary Short
QUIET AS IT’S KEPT (DIR Ja’Tovia M. Gary)
Jury Statement: “Continually expands its exploration of Black femininity via the works of Toni Morrison and TikTok, burrowing into myriad historical and cultural associations with hypnotic manipulations of sound and image.”
Special Jury Mention for Social Commentary – Documentary Short
ALPHA KINGS (DIR Enrique Pedráza Botero, Faye Tsakas)
Jury Statement: “A striking, observational character portrait of a fascinating, typically invisible world captured with a refreshingly nonjudgmental yet incisive eye.”
Special Jury Mention for Stop Motion – Animated Short
THE MIRACLE (DIR Nienke Deutz)
Jury Statement: “Vivid construction of a unique, hilarious and unsettling world – this animation felt unlike anything we’d seen before and stuck with us.”
Special Jury Mention for 2D Animation – Animated Short
MIISUFY (DIR Liisi Grünberg)
Jury Statement: “It comes out of the gate swinging with its unique and distinct illustrations – it took us through a journey in its world.”
Special Jury Mention for Cinematography – Live Action Short
BASRI & SALMA IN A NEVER-ENDING COMEDY (DIR Khozy Rizal)
Jury Statement: “The unforgettable cinematography added a layer of humor and vibrancy to heavy emotional material, making the most of wide-open landscapes and bright carnivalesque lights and colors.”
Special Jury Mention for Lead Acting – Live Action Short
MADDEN (DIR Malin Ingrid Johansson)
Jury Statement: “A beautifully tender and subtle performance from the lead actor that had us entirely invested in her world.”
Special Jury Mention for Hybrid Storytelling – Documentary Short
DILDOTECTONICS (DILDOTECTÓNICA) (DIR Tomás Paula Marques)
Jury Statement: “Blending two separate sexual explorations (one documentary, one quasi-fanciful reenactment) across the years, this delves into physical and political alternatives to heteronormativity with an offhand, fluid brilliance.”