The Toronto Motorcycle Film Festival has announced the winners of this year’s awards.
Best Canadian Film went to No Highway, directed by Virgil Laferté, Best Feature Film went to Daniel Greening’s The Unfamiliar Road, which also won the People’s Choice Award (voted on by the viewers). Best Short Narrative went to Stephen Marino’s The Frozen Few. Black Lightning: The Rollie Free Story won Best Short Documentary.
For an overview of the films at this year’s Festival, check out this preview we ran this summer. Then, ask yourself: What filmworthy moto-stories can you tell? The festival organizers would love to see you submit a made-in-Canada film for next year.
Announcing the TMFF 2018 Award Winning Films
TORONTO – The Toronto Motorcycle Film Festival is proud to announce the award winning films for the 2018 edition of the Festival. With 23 films to choose from, our panel of Judges scored each film based on a number of criteria including direction, originality and creativity, cinematography, pacing, structure and production value. We also tabulated the audience’s votes for the People’s Choice award.
And the winners are…
Best Canadian Film
No Highway, Directed by Virgil Laferté
At the dawn of his fiftieth birthday, Marc Provencher begins his journey that will take him on 6500 km of gravel road, through northern Quebec and the maritimes. What follows is a stream of honest self-reflection and discovery.
Judging Panel comments: “An innovative look at the subject’s personal voyage which seemed to be less about motorcycles and more about his internal discussion with himself.”
Best Feature Film
The Unfamiliar Road, Produced and Directed by Daniel Greening
The Unfamiliar Road follows the overland motorcycle journey from Perth, Western Australia to London in the United Kingdom. A trip that covers 37,000 km and 24 countries.
Judging Panel comments: “This film was truly amazing, inspiring, incredibly well edited, shot, written and assembled especially considering it is a travel documentary. The music really makes the story flow, the dialog is the right amount of information and personal feeling. Extremely well done!”
Best Short Narrative
The Frozen Few, Directed by Stephen Marino
On a cold day in March, a group of men known as the Crazy Eights crossed their American borders towards the Great White North. It was in Sault Ste. Marie where their icy, snow-covered tires finally came to a halt.
Judging Panel comments: “Extremely artful! This film would have made Leonard Cohen proud. Loved the black & white combined with the sax music, giving it a bluesy tone matched with a very creative narrative poem.”
Best Short Documentary
Black Lightning: The Rollie Free Story, Directed by Zach Siglow
It is arguably one of the most intriguing images in motorcycling: the 1948 black and white photograph of a man wearing only a bathing suit and shoes, alone and at one with a speeding motorcycle against a glaring backdrop. This documentary explores the story of Rollie Free and his famous Bonneville land speed record.
Judging Panel comments: “First rate! Absorbing, brilliant, legendary, loved it! Exceptional account of Rollie Free, his life, his passion and the amazing Vincent HRD Black Lightning. I finally know the story about the famed flat out rider in his undershorts! Sigh, I wish I lived during those times and experienced motorcycling at this raw, basic level. This film helped me live a little of that. Champion!”
People’s Choice Award
The Unfamiliar Road, Produced and Directed by Daniel Greening
The Unfamiliar Road follows the overland motorcycle journey from Perth, Western Australia to London in the United Kingdom. A trip that covers 37,000 km and 24 countries.
Judging Panel comments: “It was a realistic, easy to watch, informative, entertaining adventure! Narration was perfect and guided this story along nicely along with the map visuals. Having done some filming while riding, it is painstakingly tedious. I’m surprised he got the shots he did and still managed to accomplish the distance to London within one year!”
Special Jury Award
I Hate Ladies, Produced and Directed by Sofia Wikelid, Vanja Lamm, and Agnes Wentzel Blank
Out of an estimated number of 200 000 ‘boda boda’ drivers in Uganda’s capital city of Kampala there is only one woman: Naume Awero. Naume’s attitude towards women has been affected by her background and daily life in a male-dominated business.
Judging Panel comments: “Probably the most important film in the whole festival, deserves a lot of attention. The lead isn’t exactly a flattering character, but she is fascinating and you do get a sense of empathy for her. Uganda’s inherent misogyny is jarring to me, that’s why the film is important. Great piece, well executed.”
About the Toronto Motorcycle Film Festival
The 2nd annual Toronto Motorcycle Film Festival took place September 27 – 30, 2018 at the Revue Cinema. The Toronto Motorcycle Film Festival combines a passion for motorcycles and storytelling and screens the newest and best motorcycle and moto-culture themed films curated from around the world. The festival includes red-carpet Q&A sessions with attending filmmakers, producers and cast, as well as juried awards and People’s Choice awards.
