VANCOUVER, B.C. (September 29, 2016) – Announced tonight at the Vancouver International Film Festival’s Opening Night Gala, Alex Nagy was awarded with the $20,000 grand prize from the Radcliffe Foundation for his short film Helpful Hand. The award is a result of a months-long short film competition aimed at encouraging Canadians to take action on the global refugee crisis.
Alex Nagy - Helpful Hand
Three finalists -- Alex Nagy, Helpful Hand; Michelé Hozer & Roxana Spicer, Show the World; Zeeshan Parwez, Humanity -- were decided on by a jury, and put to a public vote with Helpful Hand earning the top spot http://refugeestories.viff.org/
Helpful Hand Film-maker Alex Nagy bring his hard-working attitude to the screens of viewers. Born in Romania and raised in Vancouver, Alex knows the importance of diversity and the power of perspective. When not with his family or creating works of animation, Alex can be found in the beautiful mountains of the Pacific Northwest. The winning short film will air from September 30, 2016 to October 27, 2016 in Cineplex and Landmark Theatres across Canada, and on Shaw TV. The award was presented to Alex Nagy by Frank Giustra, founder of the Radcliffe Foundation. On behalf of the jury, I'm pleased to announce the people's choice for winning film, Helpful Hand, by Alex Nagy, said Frank Giustra. This beautiful short animated film delivers at all levels, and will go a long way to bring awareness to this crisis of our generation. I would also like to thank all the film-makers who submitted the 123 entries. Once again, Canadians are leading the world by example. We should all be proud.
The jury members as part of the competition included:
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, Public speaker, Advocate for Women’s issues and former television host
Sarah McLachlan, Award winning Artist, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist
Honourable Louise Arbour, CC, GOQ, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
Craig Kielburger, Co-founder of Free The Children
Ivan Fecan, Executive Chair, Thunderbird Films Inc., and former Canadian media executive
Atom Egoyan, Acclaimed Canadian Director
Frank Giustra, President, Radcliffe Foundation and CEO, Fiore Group of Companies
Ryan Holmes, Founder and CEO, Hootsuite
Nicolas Moyer, Executive Director, Humanitarian Coalition
Photos from the award presentation are available upon request by emailing press@viff.org
Films can be viewed at: http://refugeestories.viff.org/
For more information, or to set up an interview, please contact:
Lauren Stasila
Communications Manager, VIFF
