Congratulations are in order for Daily Planet director Michael Gabriele whose electrifying short film, Get Away has won “Best Horror” at the prestigious Oscar-Qualifyfying film festival LA Shorts International Film Festival.
Gabriele’s film has now qualified for the Academy Awards, the BAFTAs, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television ACCT Canadian Screen Awards, and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Spain Goya Awards
“We Won ????BEST HORROR???? at the Oscar Qualifying LA Shorts International Film Festival ????️ Thank you to the @lashortsfest team for an amazing festival and honoring us with the Best Horror Award!,” Gabriele wrote in his Instagram post.
Shot in 2022, Get Away is a gripping 17-minute short film conceived and directed by Gabriele and produced by Daily Planet for Sony Cine. The film serves as a promotional piece to showcase the cinematic capabilities of Sony’s FX3 camera while delivering a spine-chilling horror experience to its audience.
The plot follows three young women (Erika Lane Enggren, Steph Martinez and Lisa Jacqueline Starrett) who find themselves trapped in the eerie world of a 1970s horror movie. Their unsettling journey begins when they arrive at a rundown vacation home situated on a desolate desert road, where cell phone coverage is non-existent. The interior of the house appears frozen in time, with everything, including the furniture, resembling artifacts from half a century ago. Among the discoveries is a dusty VHS tape labeled Desert Dwellers III, a mysterious movie they decide to watch.
As they start playing the VHS tape, the women are unwittingly drawn deeper into the nightmarish events unfolding on the TV screen. As the plot unfolds, tension builds, and the lines between reality and the movie blur, leaving the viewers on the edge of their seats as they experience the terrifying ordeal alongside the characters. Watch the trailer below:
Gabriele’s film, along with the winners in the Best of Fest, Best International, Best Drama, Best Comedy, Best Experimental, Best Sci-Fi, Best Music Video, Best Web Series, Best High School Film, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Actress categories, have qualified for not only the Academy Awards but also for other prestigious awards such as the BAFTAs, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television ACCT Canadian Screen Awards, and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Spain Goya Awards.
The full list of winners are below:
Best of Fest
Nowhere – (Armenia) Director: Garin Hovannisian
Best International
It Takes a Village… (Armenia) Director: Ophelia Harutyunyan
Best Drama
The Kill Floor – Director: Carlos Avila
Best Comedy
The Avon Lady – Director: Carolina Espiro
Best Animation
The Brave Locomotive – Director: Andrew Pierce Chesworth
Best Experimental
Red Man – Director/Writer: Xinhao Lu
Best Documentary
The Noble Guardian – Director Anna Coren
Best Sci-Fi
Dream Maker (Turkey) – Director: Mohsen Mehri Darouei, Milad Kiaei
Best Horror
Get Away – Director: Michael Gabriele
Best Music Video
Pronto – Light Light (Switzerland) Director Maximilian Speidel
Best Web Series
Space Rats (Australia) – Directors Darwin Schulze, Basil Scott-Mitchell
Best High School Film
Sharing the Floor – Director/Writer Lily Brooks O’ Briant
Best Screenplay
Jimmy Prosser – Korean Shooter
Best Actor
Dusan Brown (All In)
Best Actress
Janessa St. Pierre (Hair or No Hair)
Immaculate Heart Community Cash Prizes
$1,000 CASH PRIZE:
Director: Melika Jamshidabadi
$1,000 CASH PRIZE:
Director: Chloe Campos
$1,000 CASH PRIZE:
Director: Lorena E. Gonzalez
$1,000 CASH PRIZE:
Director: Jasmine Bissete
$1,000 CASH PRIZE:
Director: Tanxuan Shi
The LA Shorts Film Festival has a history of recognizing exceptional filmmakers, and many of its past participants have gone on to receive Oscar nominations and wins. With over 500 films screened and 10,000 attendees each year, the festival attracts both industry professionals and emerging independent filmmakers.
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