We are pleased to announce that Prosopagnosia by Steven Fraser won best film in its category at the 15th edition of the Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival (SDFF) and has also won a Marvel of Media Award from the Museum of the Moving Image (MOMI).
Academy Award qualification at Sebastopol
This festival is an annual celebration of non-fiction filmmakers from around the world.
Winners of SDFF's Jury Award and Audience Award are academy award qualifying in the short film category.
The short film jury selected Prosopagnosia as best film and the jurors said:
“A personal, vulnerable, and vibrant exploration of a fascinating yet little known topic – face blindness. The jury was impressed by the visually rich design and stop motion animation, poignant narration, and profound questions raised.”
This is great news for the film and for what happens next. Bring on the OSCAR race 2023!
Marvels of Media Award
The Museum of the Moving Image recently unveiled the winners of its inaugural Marvels of Media Awards, which are:
“the country’s very first media awards ceremony, film festival and exhibition celebrating media-makers on the autism spectrum,”
The awards were developed by the museum’s education department and leadership in partnership with Josh Sapan, a longtime member of New York-based MoMI’s Board of Trustees and the executive vice chairman of AMC Networks.
The award for Prosopagnosia
3071 submissions were entered from 117 countries and Prosopagnosia was selected as the winner of the Experimental Film Award.
Director Steven Fraser will attend the ceremony in New York. There is also a screening and exhibition running alongside this with artefacts from the film. More information is available in the Hollywood Reporter article.
The screening and exhibition at MOMI
The screening is via the ReelAbilities Film Festival and takes place on Saturday, Apr 9 at 13:00 in the Bartos Screening Room.
Catch the exhibition from Thursday, Mar 31 - Sunday, May 1 at Amphitheater Gallery.
Future Festival screenings for Prosopagnosia
After all this success, the film is still going strong and we are continuing the festival journey of the film with the following upcoming screenings:
Reel Abilities: New York
We are elated that Reel Abilities supported the film as they are the largest festival in the USA dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expression of people with disabilities. They were also instrumental in the submission regarding the Marvel of Media Award.
These screenings are supported by AMC Network and you can watch the film at Reel Abilities where it is showing both virtually and live across two venues.
The Museum of the Moving Image - Saturday April 9th 13:00
Marlene Meyerson ICC Manhattan - Sunday April 10th, 12:00pm
Steven will be in attendance at the Museum of the Moving Image screening when he receives his Marvel of Media Award.
European Independent Film Festival: Paris, France
On Saturday 9th April - Prosopagnosia heads to Paris for the17th edition of ÉCU – The European Independent Film Festival. The festival’s mantra is to discover, project and promote the best independent filmmaking talent from around the world.
Steven was interviewed by The New Current about his selection at the festival.
Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF): Seattle
Prosopagnosia heads back to North America where it will screen at the 48th Seattle International Film Festival, April 14–24, 2022. Everyman by Bombito will also be screening at the same festival!
Both films will screen as official selections of SIFF's ShortsFest Weekend, April 15–17.
Annecy International Animation Festival: Annecy, France
Showing in competition at Annecy - the premiere Animation Film Festival and Market in France from 13-28 June.
The film
Prosopagnosia uses expressive animation to investigate intimacy, communication and memory.
Prosopagnosia means face-blindness and to understand this neurodiverse behaviour, the contents of a memory box are intricately explored.
Sketchbooks, photographs and diaries unravel to tell a unique and personal story.
Further information
Developed and supported by the Scottish Documentary Institute's Bridging the Gap programme and Screen Scotland
Written, animated and edited by Steven Fraser
Produced by Reece Cargan
Composed, sound designed and mixed by Tom Drew
Colourist: Jack Lang
What's next
As we make plans for a potential Academy Award longlist in the future - there are still more festival selections, award announcements and a very exciting way to watch the film online -coming very soon.