ELO Film wins Best Student Film at the Love & Anarchy Shorts Helsinki International Film Festival

Prelude (Murtuma, 2023) by Arman Zafari wins Best Student Film at the R&A Shorts National Competition. The jury thanks the film for its perspective on school bullying through the lens of the bully's parents, who tackles with the thought of their own child being capable of a violent act.

The winners of the competition were selected by the jury: director Emilia Hernesniemi (ELO alumn), actor-screenwriter Eeva Putro and director Mazdak Nassir (ELO alumn). The best short film won the Aurora Award, a cash prize worth 2000€.

Out of the thirty three films that were selected for the R&A Shorts National Competition, seven of them come from ELO Film School. The films range from documentary to animation and fiction. The festival ran through September 24.

The official selection for R&A Shorts National competition:

Leikkejä Eläville (In the Midst of Chaos There was Shape), 2023, documentary, dir. Saarlotta Virri

Missä valo hajoaa sirpaleiksi (Where the Light Breaks into Shards), 2023, documentary, dir. Siiri Vaara, BA film

Kuinka huolehtia undulaateista (How to Take Care of Your Parakeet), 2023, fiction, dir. Roosa Vuokkola, BA film

Jäähyväiset sanoille (Goodbye Words), 2023, documentary, dir. Laura Rantanen

Mammutti (Mammoth), 2023, fiction, dir. Inga Pohjolainen, MA film

Murtuma (Prelude), 2023, fiction, dir. Arman Zafari, BA film

Muut Ihmiset (Other People), animation/documentary, dir. Anni Sairio & Joonatan Turkki, MA film

Congratulations to the winner and the nominees!

For more on the festival: https://hiff.fi/en/

*This article was updated to reflect the winner on 25.09.2023.