2019 Kat Award winners

The 2019 Kat Awards are supported by Free@Last TV and Bectu and are named in honour of the late great artist-filmmaker Katherine Araniello. The winners are:

BEST FIRST FILM

Ill, Actually. Celestine Fraser and Zoe Hunter Gordon. UK. 2019. 12:05. Ill, actually is a short documentary exploring the challenges of being young and chronically ill in a carefully curated online culture. A real life “superhero”, a YouTuber and a camgirl explain why they choose to share — or hide — their chronic illnesses online. Online you can be anyone: why be ill? English, no captions. Available to watch free online at https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-ill-actually-2019-online FFF DDD


BEST ANIMATION

Carlotta’s Face. Valentin Riedl and Frederic Schuld. Germany. 2018. 5m. As a child, Carlotta didn’t expect the people around her to have faces. She even didn’t recognize her own face. This animated short shares her journey as she learns about her difference through isolation and cruelty until she later finds that art offers her a way to finally recognize herself. Available to watch free online at: https://vimeo.com/374351388 German with English captions. F D Screened in association with SuperFest Disability Film Festival Showcase.


BEST DANCE FILM

We are Here. Sima Gonsai. UK. 2018. 5:10. A short dance film that explores notions of identity where the search to belong unites you as one. “We are Here” is a pioneering new dance film that connects and contrasts two contemporary forms of ballet performed by Freefall Dance Company and Birmingham Royal Ballet principal dancers. No Dialogue. Available to watch free online at: https://vimeo.com/299437852  FF D


BEST DRAMA

HAPPY FACE. Alexandre Franchi. Canada. 2018. 1:37:00. A teenaged boy pretends to have a facial injury in order to join a support group, in a misguided attempt to reconnect with his mother who is living with cancer. This drama  features people with facial differences playing fictionalised versions of themselves, including David Roche, who is the subject of Jo Streit’s Love at Second Sight (in Short Docs from 3pm), and who performed live at the original Together! 2012 Festival led by the UK Disabled People’s Council (UKDPC) in East London. English, no captions. D.


BEST DOCUMENTARY

Delta 7even. Rosie Baldwin. UK. 2019. 45m. London Premiere. A post-punk band made up of adults with learning difficulties discover their resilience, united strength and the power of creativity following the heart-breaking suicide of one of their band members. English with English captions. FF D


BEST NON-ENGLISH FILM

Nothing Is Impossible – Hari Budha Magar. Shanta Nepali. Nepal. 2019. 5m. International Premiere. After losing both legs fighting in Afghanistan, Hari Budha Magar is determined to defy the social stigmas in Nepal about what a Disabled person is meant to do, living an active public life and planning to be the first above-knee double-amputee to climb Everest. Available to watch free online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faXB64szfno F D Nepali with English captions.


BEST ACCESSIBLE FILM

Technology for Talking. Jemima Hughes. UK. 2019. 5:27. A bright cut-out animation which introduces voice output communication aids and explains how and why some people talk using assistive technology. Using the electronic voice and perspective of its filmmaker, it challenges stereotypes about what non-speaking Disabled people can do and raises awareness of their contribution to society. English with English captions. Available to watch free online at: https://www.bbc.com/ideas/videos/how-to-speak-when-you-dont-have-a-voice/p07693kc?playlist=redefining-disability  FFF DDD


LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

Sick Bitch Crip. When artist filmmaker Katherine Araniello died earlier this year, she left behind a body of unique artists’ films. Rude, sexy, surreal and always subversive, YouTube pioneer Araniello used absurdist humour to challenge views of her life as not being worth living, as well as commenting on a wide range of issues from a disability perspective. Click here to view the playlist of Katherine Araniello’s films created by Disability Arts Online Editor Colin Hambrook.