26 June 2017 - Hong Kong Arthouse Film Festival Summer 2017 winners:

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Best Narrative Feature Film: Past Imperfect (Belgium) by Nathalie Teirlinck. "When Alice’s ex-boyfriend dies in a car accident, she’s unexpectedly confronted with her six-year-old son, whom she had abandoned at birth. His presence not only threatens her routine existence as a luxury escort but also exposes strongly suppressed emotions. Doubt strikes again. Will she be able to be a mother this time?"

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Best Documentary Feature Film: My Best (United Kingdom) by Luigi Maria Perotti. "George Best is one of the greatest footballers to have played the beautiful game. His tragic death at the hands of alcohol left many issues unresolved within his family, none more so than with his only child Calum. Mirroring his father's lifestyle, Calum has gone down a path that has left him lost, without direction. On the 10th anniversary of his father's death, Calum decides to embark down a new road to discover the real George Best. Calum believes that by going through this process he will learn what really made his father tick, and in so doing discover who he really is as his father's son."

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Best Narrative Short Film: Stray (United States) by Jingyuan Wang. "Dodge has a fight with Ashley and leaves the house. Ashley runs away with her lover while Dodge is out. In the street, Dodge meets a homeless man. The homeless man pees in front of him and then falls asleep. He says everything that he wants to tell his wife to the asleep homeless man. When he returns home, he finds out that his wife has already left the house."

Best Documentary Short Film: Eloy (United Kingdom) by Harry Woollacott. "Eloy Morales might be one of the best in the world at hyperrealistic oil painting. It ceases to be representation at this point, as the renderings are an almost exact copy. This mini doc looks gives you a small glimpse into his world, observing his process and watching his creations unfold."

Best Animated Short Film: The Scarlet Whale (Colombia) by Jimmy Cho (Cho Jim San). "This is the story of a whale hunter, Coming from a family that for generations has been dedicated to kill this giant and noble creature. A series of unfortunate events will make lose the most precious: his wife and son. At the same time, he gets a second chance, he suffers a transformation that makes him into a whale, this way he see the world differently and begins to understand why his punishment. The last flashes of memory that still remain, give him a reason to stay alive in their new condition of cetacean. The daily subtracts a portion of his humanity, and as a last desire embarks on a journey to the sea in search of his destiny."

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Best Experimental Film: Vernae (United States) by Ethan Folk. "An arresting and immersive inundation of transgressive images and hypnotic sound. Vernae queers the concept of human sacrifice - particularly the death dance of Le Sacre du Printemps (Stravinsky's iconic 1913 ballet) - to examine violence arising from communal constructs..."

Best Music Video: Mr. Shady (Finland) by Henrik Sundström, Mia-Irene Sundqvist.

The song Mr. Shady is inspired by the relationship between neighbors, both good and bad. It is about how people perceive you and your own self reflection. The tune has a warm lo-fi feel, that resonates well with the music video. The story takes place in a dollhouse in the 70’s, and it’s about living close to your neighbors, jealousy and revenge starring the three characters Brian, Steve and Dolly.

Best Underground Film: Saga, a Black Metal Viking Biker-film with Zombies (Norway) by Jorn Steen. "A group of Black metal rockers advances from making music videos to a full viking film. In the ancient norse sagas they find a viking zombie story and they start shooting with the help of their biker friends. In a parallell crime story their managers arsons a church in order to get the band to pose in front of the flames. The band refuses, as it is too nineties. But a gang of christian biker chicks sets out on a rampant revenge."

Best Hong Kong Cinema: Hourglass (Hong Kong) by Wilkins Ho. "The epilogue and prologue of a breakup."

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