The winners of the Haapsalu Horror & Fantasy Film Festival
And the Melies d’argent winner of HÕFF 2024 is…
Méliès d’argent Award Winner – Short Films @ HÕFF 2024
The winner of the Méliès d’Argent Award for Best European Fantasy Genre Short Film at the HÕFF film festival is “Wander to Wonder” by Nina Gantz (Netherlands, Belgium, France, United Kingdom, 2023, 14 min).
Mary, Billybud and Fumbleton are three miniature, human actors who perform in an eighties kids TV series called “Wander to Wonder”. After the creator of the series has died, they are left alone in the studio. With their slowly decaying costumes and growing hunger, they continue to make increasingly strange episodes for their fans.
The Silver Méliés of the biggest genre festival in Baltics went to Wander to Wonder by Nina Grantz. The jury said: “We award the Méliés d’argent to this daring mixture of comedy, tragedy and even horror. Meticulously crafted, yet still effortlessly chaotic, it carries an underlying creepiness that serves as a perfect background to the flawed humanness of the characters. The filmmaker managed to blend all these elements, while still retaining an intimate scale.”
Solstice-5 by Paul Chadeisson got a special mention. According to jury, the film is “An allegorical tale of humanity’s future in the age of machines, with fantastic special effects. Precise attention to detail and breathtaking scale. A powerful and thought-provoking short film from first to last.”
The jury consisted of Niels Bourgonje (the winner of HÕFF Silver Méliés 2023, Shut), Rain Rannu (the director of HÕFF’s Best Estonian Genre Film 2023, Child Machine) and Estonian screenwriter Livia Ulman (Compartment Nr 6).
The competition is organized in collaboration with the Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF). The winners of the competitions also win the nomination to the Méliès d’or annual competition.
Don’t forget to watch the MELIES D’ARGENT Special Programs on our Méliès Fantastic Hub!