The third annual Toronto Motorcycle Film Festival ran last weekend at the Revue Cinema in Toronto, with a lineup of 17 films, including features and shorts.
This year, the festival had a panel of five judges, including Vicki Gray, Kate O’Conner Morris, Sophia Vassiliadis, Scott Wilson and CMG’s own Dustin Woods. Of course, as always, there was also a People’s Choice award, voted on by the viewers.
This year, the People’s Choice win went to Wayne, the “near improbable true story of Wayne Gardner,” detailing his rise from a working-class Australian background to the pinnacle of MotoGP success. As for the jury awards, Best Feature went to Blenio, Utah, the story of Tiziano Vescovi’s participation in “the yearly pilgrimage of motorcycles who come to try and set world land-speed records” at the Bonneville salt flats.
The win for Best Short Documentary went to Fast and Left, a film about flat track racing. As per the promo copy, “Perhaps even more captivating than the bikes and the speeds however are the people that make up this exciting sport.” The judging panel commented it “totally hit the mark on a flat tracker’s / racer’s soul. Nice documentation of the sport with true grit scenes, real-deal people. Story well told.”
The win for Best Short Narrative went to Endless | Mexico, which follows freestyle motocross rider Jimmy Hill in Guadalajara, Mexico during the Dia De Los Muertos festival. The judging panel commented “This is one of the most seamless ads I’ve seen done. It also showed great respect for the culture they were working with — there was a respectful lens of filming and honoring of their space that is rarely seen in the bike world.”
And, Best Canadian Film? It went to Crown Land, a short film by Viktor Radics (one of the co-founders of MotoSocial) and Kyle Topping.
“This year, the festival had a panel of four judges, including Vicki Gray, Kate O’Conner Morris, Sophia Vassiliadis, Scott Wilson and CMG’s own Dustin Woods.”
Uh, count again….
😉
Great event!! Motorcycle Man should have won!!