Out of the Fire from Bishari Film Productions of Toronto triumphed at the Golden Sheaf Awards, taking the best of festival award as well as the prize for best documentary history. The project’s director, Shelley Saywell, won a Golden Sheaf for best direction for a documentary, while Brian Wall won for best original music score.

Organizers stress the Golden Sheafs, presented Saturday, May 26 as part of Saskatchewan’s Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival, are intended as national awards and even have several international categories. ‘The winners are from all over,’ says Fay Kowal, executive director of the festival.

Regina-based Partners in Motion carried off the Best of Saskatchewan cash award of $750 for 13 Seconds: The Kent State Shootings, while Trevor Aikman was honored with Golden Sheafs for best editing and best sound for his work on the project.

Other big winners were Toronto’s Momentum Productions for Moon Palace, which came away with awards for best drama, best direction for a drama (David Weaver) and best male performance (Henry Chan).

A Feeling Called Glory from Vancouver’s Cracked Pot Films won for best script (Coreen Mayrs) and best female performance (Shauna Kain).

Five films won jury prizes – a discretionary prize awarded to films that might not otherwise have been honored. They were: Argentina’s Dirty War, a coprod from Barna-Alper Productions and Connections Productions, both Toronto; Hollow Water from the National Film Board; Language of Love from Combustion Inc., Calgary; Missed from Rockin’ Babe Production, Toronto; and The Lines I Draw Upon My Body from (r)evolution media, Vancouver.

Kowal calls this year’s festival a great success. ‘There was a lot of participation from filmmakers this year – attendance numbers were up at all events. We’re quite happy with it. We got a lot of feedback and we think it went really well.’

Registered attendees this year stood at 179 compared to 136 last year. *

-www.yorktonshortfilm.org