Female directors swept the Cinefondation, the student competition at Cannes.
Annie Silverstein’s Kickstarter-funded “Skunk” won top honors. The University of Texas at Austin student will receive a prize of 15,000 Euros and her first feature has a guaranteed screening at Cannes. “Skunk” centers on a young girl’s search for her dognapped pit bull.
Landing in second place was Atsuko Hirayanagi’s “Oh Lucy!” The short focuses on a middle-aged office lady’s crisis of identity after she creates a blond alter ego named “Lucy.” The NYU Tisch School of the Arts Asia student will receive 11,250 Euros as part of her award.
Sharing the third-place honor with another film is Daisy Jacobs’ animated short “The Bigger Picture.” It is unknown whether the National Film and Television student from the United Kingdom will have to share the 7,500 Euro prize with her joint winner, Fulvio Risuleo (“Lievito Madre”).
The Cinefondation jury was led by Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami and included writer-directors Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Daniela Thomas, Joachim Trier, and Noemie Lvovsky.
[h/t The Wrap]
