Short films don't really get a lot of buzz at Sundance-- there's a lot of other stuff to drown it out, of course-- but the one short I've consistently been hearing about is "Drunk History," in which Will Ferrell and Don Cheadle re-enact history after a few bottles of wine. Now that buzz has paid off-- the Sundance Film Festival has announced the winners of the short filmmaking prizes, and "Drunk History" took home the jury prize for the United States.
The international winner was "Six Dollar Fifty Man," which I know not a single thing about, and there's a list of honorable mentions as well. It does seem a bit of a shame that one of the few short films featuring actual stars is the one that won-- shorts are often a way for young filmmakers to make a name for themselves with absolutely no access to budget or stars-- but hey, what's good is what's good. The list of winners, including honorable mentions, is below; if you're still here in Park City, try to catch some of these before you leave town. The Shorts Programs will be playing all the way through Sunday.
Jury Prize in US Short Filmmaking: Drunk History: Douglass & Lincoln (Directed By: Jeremy Konner, Screenwriter: Derek Waters)
Jury Prize in International Short Filmmaking: Six Dollar Fifty Man (Directed By: Mark Albiston & Louis Sutherland)
Honorable Mentions: Born Sweet / USA (Director: Cynthia Wade), Can We Talk? / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Jim Owen), Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No / USA (Director: James Blagden), How I Met Your Father / Spain (Director and screenwriter: Álex Montoya), Rob and Valentyna in Scotland / USA, United Kingdom (Director: Eric Lynne; Screenwriters: Eric Lynne and Rob Chester Smith), Young Love / Australia (Director and screenwriter: Ariel Kleiman), Quadrangle / USA (Director: Amy Grappell)
