Nanaimo filmmaker John Gardiner's comedic flick Reproductive Cycles took home the People's Choice Award during the annual Vancouver Island Short Film Festival.
"It was such an honour to have my film shown at this year's VISFF," said Gardiner in a press release. "Winning the People's Choice Award was an unexpected thrill and I am very proud of my team."
The event, held Feb 10-11 at Malaspina Theatre, attracted nearly 600 attendees. The festival featured short films from around the world including Canada, the United States, Spain, China, Ireland and elsewhere. There was a record-breaking number of submissions this year from 14 countries.
"Many audience members said they were really impressed by the quality of our films this year," said Karla Duarte, Vancouver Island Short Film Festival director, in a press release. "The festival is growing and putting Nanaimo on the map for the quality that the volunteer organizing committee delivers. We can't wait to incorporate more films for next year."
Ingrid and the Black Hole by Canadian director Leah Johnston won Best Writing, Best Editing, Best Technical and Best Film. Drifter by Langara College student Olivia Lingren won Best Student Film, Croissant's Pol Fernandez won Best Performance and Me, Baby and the Alligator won Best Music.
During the awards ceremony the winner of the film festivals new Pitch-A-Flick contest was announced. Charlotte Zhang will receive $1,000 to turn her pitch idea, Christine at Night, into a film with the support of Nanaimo filmmaker Raymond Knight of Knight Studio Productions.
For more information about the film festival, please visit https://visff.com.