Night Shift Wins A Firebird

Curious Film director Zia Mandviwalla’s Night Shift has walked away with top honours at the 37th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) winning the Short Film Competition Firebird Award. The festival selected 20 entries and the winners were revealed at an award ceremony held at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in Hong Kong, China.

 

The festival jury lauded Mandviwalla’s film for having “a sharp look for social differences and for psychological details”, and the judges also applauded the film for its “excellent camera work and an outstanding performance from the protagonist”.

 

Night Shift tells the story of an airport cleaner named Salote and follows her on one of her long nightly shifts. She carries out her duties whilst trying to draw minimal attention to herself, as she carves out her survival from what commuters leave behind. Amidst the comings and goings, Salote struggles to find her way back home. 

 

"It was so exciting to be at the Hong Kong International Film Festival and have the film premiere in Asia. We are honoured and delighted to receive this prestigious award," said Mandviwalla. 

 

“We are very proud of Zia’s achievement in this competitive festival category,” said Curious executive producer Peter Grasse. “This recognition is testament to the film’s growing global following and Zia’s ability to tell engaging social stories with universal appeal.”   

 

Selected to screen at Cannes last year, Night Shift also made headways in 2012 at the Sundance Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, New Zealand International Film Festival and Show Me Shorts, where it won a host of awards. 

 

Night Shift is award-winning director Mandviwalla’s fourth short film. Over the past few years,

 

Mandviwalla has been named SPADA’s New Filmmaker of the Year, Best Director and Best Short Film at Fitzroy Shorts, Melbourne and a Grand Jury nomination at the South Asian International Film Festival in New York. Her work has screened at global festivals in London, Australia, New Zealand and Pusan.

 

The HKIFF awards are judged by an independent jury consisting of industry figures such as Araki Keiko, festival director of Pia Film Festival Tokyo; veteran Hong Kong director YIM Ho; and former director of International Film Festival Rotterdam and Cannes Film Festival award-winning producer, Simon Field.