ANNOUNCING THE 2022 PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD WINNER!

Drumroll please… the 2022 People’s Choice Award Winner is…

Atali'i O Le Crezent (Sons of the Crezent)
Directed by Brendan Canty
Written by Villa Junior Lemanu and Brendan Canty
Produced by Valentine Taylor, Roberto Nascimento, Belinda Bradley, Perry Bradley

Atali'i O Le Crezent (Sons of the Crezent) is a mesmerizing dance film that won two other awards at the 2022 Show Me Shorts Film Festival. Atali'i O Le Crezent (Sons of the Crezent) took out both the Toi Whakaari Best Actor award for Villa Junior Lemanu, and DEGANZ Best Director for Brendan Canty. It’s the second time Villa Junior Lemanu has won the Best Actor award at Show Me Shorts, having previously won for My Friend Michael Jones in 2018.

The judges were impressed with the nostalgic, poetic dance film, saying of Atali'i O Le Crezent: “This cultural connection story is held true by Villa Junior Lemanu’s uncompromised ability to unfold the layers of the characters' experiences. He delivers an exceptional performance, creating dynamic tension for us in the moment of each scene through his acting and physicality on screen. Villa transports and challenges us to connect to the inner workings, anxieties, emotions and dreams of the changing realities of the characters life. This performance heralds an actor to watch out for.”

Villa had this to say: "Whoa!! This is really humbling to receive! Thank you, thank you, thank you so much to everyone that's taken the time to see the film and that's voted for us. It's a work that is really dear to us and so to receive such an award lets me know that the heart of it is resonating with the audience. I'm just filled with thank you's. Fa'afetai lava."

While Brendan said: "I'm blown away! This was my first film set outside of Ireland and it was so important to me that it felt authentic to Kiwis and especially to the Pacific Island community. So to win the People's Choice Award means so much to me."

The film obviously wowed audiences, raking in the most votes. But it was hotly contested with Small Waves (Directed by Matthew Walker), Warsha (Directed by Dania Bdeir), Datsun (Directed by Mark Albiston), and Hand in Hand (Directed by Shelley Waddams) getting lots of support too.

Thanks to everyone who voted in the People’s Choice Awards - it was so great to see everyone’s passion for short films!