TORONTO  – – The HFPA announced the winners of the second annual Residency Program in partnership with Film Independent. In a ceremony at TIFF, HFPA board chair Meher Tatna announced winners from the festival’s Filmmaker Lab. For the second year in a row, short films from Lab participants were judged by a panel of HFPA jurors who screened an impressive field of works. This year’s winners were the oniric All These Creatures by Australian Charles Williams, darkly absurdist and funny Misterio by Chema Garcia from Spain, and wistfully poetic Measure by Canadian director Karen Chapman.

The announcement came shortly after winners were announced at the Venice Film Festival. These included top honors in the Orizzonti section. The main awards there went to the remarkable Atlantis, by Ukranian Valentyn Vasyanovych, about the dire aftermath of the Russian-Ukranian conflict. Spaniard Théo Court was awarded Best Director for his Blanco en Blanco, a stark portrayal of colonization and genocide in Tierra del Fuego and Filipino Raymund Ribay Gutierrez won the Special Jury Prize for his Verdict, about the labyrinthine in the Philippines.

In January all six directors will participate in a three-week program geared at emerging and mid-career filmmakers created and sponsored by the HFPA as part of our commitment to supporting emerging film talent from around the world. The winners will travel to Los Angeles in January 2020 to participate in the Film Independent Residency fellows will follow an intensive schedule of sessions focusing on both the business and creative aspects of film, with multiple networking opportunities, cultural engagement activities, workshops, field trips, master classes, one-on-one mentoring. The Residency will kick off January 5 when they will attend the official HFPA Golden Globe Awards Viewing Party. In addition, the program includes public screenings of select Fellows’ films at Film Independent’s screening room to share the Fellows’ work with industry professionals and the broader film community.

We look forward to hosting the 2020 class of fellows and congratulate them on their achievement.