The Face of a Stranger
Winner: Best Film

52 minutes

Directed by: Geneviève Turcotte

Produced by: Découverte, Radio-Canada

Written by: Danny Lemieux (Canada)

After a 2011 hunting accident, this Quebec man thought he’d live forever with half a face. Then a confident young surgeon made an extraordinary offer. Face of Stranger takes us on a medical journey of epic proportions – where the odds of success are less than ideal. That didn’t bother the prospective patient, 65-year-old Maurice Desjardins, who desperately needed a facial transplant operation.

Jury comment: Story telling at its best with layers of brilliant cinematography, amazing human connections; emotionally charged and totally engaging.

Vitamania
Winner: Best Documentary

90 minutes (excerpt only)

Directed, produced and written by
Sonya Pemberton (Australia)

Almost one billion people take a regular dietary supplements, mainly vitamin tablets, but how safe are these products, how are the regulated, and how can we make the right choices for our health? These surprisingly urgent questions are investigated by scientist Dr Derek Muller.

Jury comment: A riveting tale uncovering the madness of enormity of the supplements industry.

Smart Slime?
Winner: Award For Scientific Merit

10 minutes

Directed by Juliette Martineau (United Kingdom)

It’s neither plant, animal or fungus, but a giant single cell that crawls around eating dead matter. Beautiful and mesmerizing time lapse videography, Smart Slime? introduces us to the quirky work of two high profile slime researchers.

Jury comment: Exceptional technical detail and a great way to explain the network of a cell. 

700 Sharks
Winner: Award For Technical Merit

88 minutes (excerpt only)

Directed by Luc Marescot (France)

In a ground breaking experiment, five of the world’s most experienced underwater scientists dive among 700 starving sharks.

Jury comment: This film is technically brilliant. Exceptionally well-made.

The Most Unknown
Winner: Special Jury Award

118 minutes (excerpt only)

Directed by Ian Cheney (United States)

This epic documentary film sends nine scientists to extraordinary parts of the world to uncover unexpected answers to some of humanities biggest questions. How did life begin? What is consciousness? How much do we really know?

Jury comment: This film addresses some of the most fundamental questions in science.  

A Tiny Spark
Festival Entry

26 minutes

Directed, produced and written by Niamh Heery

(Ireland)

This film examines how research into blood clots and stroke could bring about big changes for people and medicine.

Jeremy the Lefty Snail and Other Asymmetrical Animals
Festival Entry

15 minutes

Produced by Dr Robert P Cameron and
John Andrew Cameron (United Kingdom)

This is the fascinating story of Jeremy, one in a million snail whose shell coiled to the left rather than to the right.

Why This Skateboarding Trick Should Be Impossible
Festival Entry

9 minutes

Directed, produced and written by Dianna Cowern (United States)

Skateboarding legend Rodney Mullen teams up with Physics Girl to explain the unusual physics behind skateboard tricks.