Byron Bay International Film Festival announces award winners

The award winners across all categories in the 2024 Byron Bay International Film Festival were announced on Sunday night, bringing the festival’s ‘enormously successful’ 18th year to a close.

Festival director J’aimee Skippon-Volke said the judges faced their usual challenges, selecting the Best Of from an exceptionally high-quality range of films from Australia and the world.

The decisions were made a little easier by the fact that BBFF advocates for and supports independent filmmakers, Ms Skippon-Volke said, meaning the field of potential award winners was narrowed somewhat by the exclusion of films submitted to the festival through a mainstream distributor.

‘A core principle of the Byron Bay International Film Festival’s mission is to encourage and enable independent filmmakers, whether emerging or established,’ she said. ‘An award from BBFF is designed to give a boost to their professional career.’

2024 winners

BEST FILM and BEST SURF FILM: The Life & Death of Westerly Windina

This documentary succeeded in two categories, Ms Skippon-Volke said. ‘Not only is it a sensitive and humane story of a complex and extraordinary person but also an intriguing record of a uniquely gifted athlete. Peter Drouyn was a remarkable surfer, bringing an unprecedented aesthetic quality to the sport.

‘And he was a very interesting human being, hyper-masculine, extroverted and ambitious in his early years, before transitioning into a shy and vulnerable woman. The Life & Death … documents all of these facets of his life. It is intelligent, serious, and respectful, as well as a courageous examination of what is often an unseen and shunned phenomenon.

‘So much more than “just” a surf film – the fact that it played to packed houses despite how challenging the story is for the more traditional surf community is testament to its value and significance.’

BEST DRAMATIC FEATURE: Backstage

‘A brave entry from the Middle East, where the inclusion of at times erotic avant-garde dance, same sex attraction, drug use and bohemian values were integral to the storyline,

‘Backstage is also bold in its artistic ambition – with a prolonged and passionate dance scene at the beginning, followed by a semi-mystical odyssey through a magical forest, where matters of memory, identity and the creative responsibility are teased out and questioned. It is artful, in the best sense of the word,’ Ms Skippon-Volke said.

BEST DOCUMENTARY and BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Porcelain War

‘A documentary that not only has great significance as an examination of a desperate contemporary issue, but also successfully compares and contrasts two extremes: the mindless destructiveness and brutality of war and the finely considered, meaningful pursuit of a creative ideal, represented by that most delicate of artworks, porcelain.

‘The protagonists are inspiring, both as artists sticking to their work while under bombardment, and as armed defenders of their country, and the filming under dangerous conditions is remarkable: there is war footage, exquisite moments of peace and domesticity, and for good measure some beautiful animation to bring both the art and the horrific true-life story to life.’

Nominees for Best Documentary: Art & Life: The Jim Phillips Story, Blak Douglas, The Most Australian Band Ever, Life & Death of Westerly Windina, Porcelain War, Unlikely Allies.