Martinique International Film Festival
2015 Winter Edition

Martinique Snake Award 'best of the fest' & Best Experimental Film: Ridden by Nature by Kathi Von Koerber. "Ridden by Nature", is a film about humanities encounter with the Natural world in her most extreme, critical state. It is a culmination a ten-year collaborative relationship between filmmaker and creator, Kathi Von Koerber and butoh master Atsushi Takenouchi. Kathi Von Koerber began producing the film in 2004, joining forces with popular wildlife documentarian James Ewan (creator of EarthMedia), to document live butoh dance, performed on some of the harshest and most remote areas in the United States, including Colombia Glacier in Alaska, Red Rocks in Moab, Utah; and lava geysers in MacKenzie State Recreation Area in Hawaii.

Best Narrative Feature Film: Ana's journey by Pamela Varela. Between France and Chile, the journey of a young woman following in the footsteps of Chilean poet Francisco Contreras' exiled wife jostles fiction and reality.

Best Documentary Feature Film: Sanskriti by Melissa Balan. Titled from the ancient Sanskrit word for "culture", Sanskriti is a documentary filmed around the world, that captures the human experience in today's digital age. Following the lives of four young adults from China, Kenya, Finland, and the USA, the film chronicles the day-to-day experiences of Millennials coming of age in the digital era. Acting as a portrait of a generation, the film celebrates human progress, and encourages re-examination of our relationships with each other, and our iPhones.

Best Narrative Short Film: It's snowing by Lu Pulici. Could the mood of a person changing weather? The sun has not come out for 40 days in the village. During this time Nina has not been the same. At work, at home and in the village, the behavior of the old woman reflects that she is hiding something deep and mysterious. Those that care for her do not understand the reason for her sadness. Meanwhile the sky in the country is getting gray...

Best Documentary Short Film: Pearl & Werther by Stefan M Pavlovic. Through the eye of nostalgia the cleaning and washing of a car named Pearl is shown as the camera allows us a glimpse into the birth of a first love and a long lasting relationship.

Best Animated Short Film: Shadows by Isaac Kerlow. Life as usual is interrupted when a band of intruders decide to destroy the centuries-old rain forest in a single day. Unaware that one of their own has betrayed them, the villagers are unable to protect the forest until an unexpected ally uses her powers to help.

Best Carribean Film: Guao by Eduardo Velazquez. Set in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Guao tells the story of Luperon, a Caribbean immigrant, a naive and shy boy and his profound love for Catherine Deneuve. Luperon, who has lived protected by his sister Ana, an aspiring actress and waitress is a caregiver to Luperon due to a mysterious brain degenerative disease. Luperon decides to transition and become Catherine Deneuve and falls in love with Federico, a religious fanatic.

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