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Curtain down on film festival

Ribbon Day: Hamilton town crier Ed Christopher photographs City Hall decorations, put up to mark the 20th anniversary of the Bermuda Film Festival, which ended last Sunday.(Photograph by Akil Simmons)

The 20th annual Bermuda International Film Festival wrapped up last weekend with Watu Wote: All of Us taking top honours.

The short film, detailing a Christian family being protected by Muslims at the dangerous border between Kenya and Somalia, took home both the jury prize and the people’s choice awards at the festival.

Based on a true story, the film by German film-maker Katja Benrath is now eligible for consideration for an Oscar.

The award came at the end of seven days of film screenings, including a collection of international movies and a BerMovie Day highlighting local filmmakers. Among the Bermuda-linked films shown were The Night Watchmen, a “campy fright-flick” by a Bermudian company and By Any Means, a thriller starring and produced by Bermuda resident Brooke Burfitt Williams.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the festival said that more than 800 children participated in the Biff Academy, a series of educational programmes held over the course of last week.

The spokeswoman added that the timing and format of next year’s festival would be decided in the coming weeks, but that organisers were already considering hosting a Short Film Weekend this Summer.