The winning short film in this year’s Bermuda International Film Festival was what one might call a “runaway” hit.Spanish film ‘The Runaway’ was selected by BIFF jury members British film producer Nike Powell, Bermudian Emmy Award-winning illustrator, writer and producer, Michael Frith, film critic Leslie Taubman and local film buff Keith Caesar.The 11-minute film is about how simple items like chewing gum, a dog leash, an Australia-shaped stain on the wall and a bent traffic light all combine to make a story. The film has already picked up numerous awards including the NexT Trophy at the Short and Medium Length Film Festival in Romania. Because BIFF is a short film Oscar qualifying festival, ‘The Runaway’ will now be considered for an Oscar in 2013.“I was so delighted to be asked to participate,” said Mr Frith, creator of television programme ‘Fraggle Rock’. “Thank you BIFF for this opportunity. It’s a cliché to say that the standard throughout was exceptional, but it truly was; we really did have to struggle to select a single winner.“‘The Runaway’ stood out, simply as an example of the pure joy of filmmaking: the shots, the pacing, the narration, the editing, the sound design it’s just giddy. It’s amazing what it packs into just 11 minutes and how skilfully it takes all these wildly disparate images and ideas and hurtles you toward a climax that weaves them all together. Congratulations to Victor Carrey and his team. I wish them every success when it comes to the Short Film Oscar next year.”‘The Runaway’ was chosen from more than 50 short film entries. The jury also gave honourable mentions to ‘Speed of the Past’, from France, directed by Rocher Dominique; ‘Grandmothers’ from the United Kingdom, directed by Afarin Eghbal; ‘Night Shift’ from Germany, directed by Jan Haering, and ‘Tooty’s Wedding’ from the United Kingdom directed by Frederic Casella.“Let me extend my appreciation and admiration to every filmmaker in the competition,” said Mr Frith. “Filmmaking is an art form with so many, many elements, writing, designing, acting, shooting, lighting, directing, and on and on. Getting all of those elements right takes enormous talent and determination. And it was such a pleasure to meet so many of the short filmmakers at BIFF and hear firsthand the stories that led them to this point. On behalf of the jury, to all the BIFF 2012 short filmmakers, all the very best for the future. There are sure to be many success stories.”In addition, two Audience Choice Awards were presented, for the best feature and short film. The most highly rated feature by cinema-goers was a documentary.‘The Island President’ follows Mohamed Nasheed, the charismatic young leader of the Maldives who rose from the trenches of democratic activism to become head of state of the nation most urgently threatened by climate change. It was closely followed by the sold-out closing film, ‘Hysteria’, starring Academy Award nominee Maggie Gyllenaal and Hugh Dancy; and Best Foreign Film Oscar nominee, ‘In Darkness’, a survival story set in a Nazi-occupied city in Poland.American film, ‘The Candidate’, directed by Burton Grunzer, took the Audience Choice Award in the shorts category. ‘Tooty’s Wedding’ was selected as a runner-up. In third place was the popular, ‘Trusting Rain’, a documentary about Bermuda’s unique methods of water conservation. Its American director Kristin Alexander attended BIFF.