2021 AIFF Indie Winners

I’m an Electric Lampshade | John Clayton Doyle

96 min | Doc | 2020 US | Boston Premiere

Doug McCorkle a buttoned-up, mild-mannered corporate accountant who retires at age 60 to become the world’s least likely rock star is an offbeat doc-narrative-music film that demands a genre of its own. His openness to pursuing dreams well outside of his comfort zone, both in far-away places and with various people and cultures (including LBGTQ) is refreshing and inspiring, and his struggles to achieve his dreams lay bare his inner doubts and fears. By the end of the final concert, filmed before thousands in Mexico City’s La Plaza Condesa, we are in love with Doug, his bravery, and his heart. His journey and final transformation leave us with proof that it is never too late to pursue your dreams!

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE ~

Los Hermanos/The Brothers

Ken Schneider & Marcia Jarmel | 80 min

Doc | 2020 | US/Cuba

Virtuoso Afro-Cuban-born brothers—violinist Ilmar and pianist Aldo—live on opposite sides of a geopolitical chasm a half-century-wide. Tracking their parallel lives in New York and Havana, their poignant reunion, and their momentous first performances together, this film offers a nuanced, often startling view of estranged nations through the lens of music and family.

Featuring an electrifying, genre-bending score, composed by Cuban Aldo López-Gavilán, performed with his American brother, Ilmar, and with guest appearances by maestro Joshua Bell and the Grammy-winning Harlem Quartet.

BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE ~

JACK LONDON’S Martin Eden | Jay Craven

105 min | Nar | 2021 | US | Boston premiere

Filmed exclusively on Nantucket during the pandemic, director Jay Craven mystically takes you back in time to the turn of the century and introduces you to Martin Eden, a poor and unschooled sailor who unexpectedly meets a magnetic young woman of means and education. Based on Jack London’s autobiographical novel, this dynamic film captures the socio-economic class distinctions of the time.

BEST ANIMATION SHORT ~

Times of Plenty | Claudio Costa | 13 min | Animation | 2020 | Italy | US Premiere

Italy is revealed through a satirical comedy told by Cesare, a young boy living with his family in Rome.  TIMES OF PLENTY is a reference to the socio-cultural climate of the ’80s and ’90s in Italy, a time of the Socialist Party and young, upwardly mobile yuppies…a time of Silvio Berlusconi’s privately-owned TV channels, the new agreement with the Holy See…a period in which Italy came to be the fifth leading industrial country in the world, but also a time of spiraling growth in public spending, growth that many knew could not last.

BEST SHORT DOC

Hunger Ward | Skye Fitzgerald | 40 min | Doc | 2020 | US/Yemen | Word Premiere

Nominated for a 2021 Oscar, HUNGER WARD is the third film in the Refugee Trilogy by 2x Oscar & Emmy nominated director Skye Fitzgerald. Filmed from inside two of the most active therapeutic feeding centers in Yemen, HUNGER WARD documents two women health care workers fighting to thwart the spread of starvation against the backdrop of a forgotten war.