And the 2019 Shnit Cape Town winners are...

Two Audience Awards, the Grand Jury prize and four Special Jury Award categories were presented during the ceremony that saw jurors Dr John Kani, Lauren Beukes, Kagiso Lediga and Gaopie Kabe (via remote) speak enthusiastically about the level of local filmmaking on show at the festival and the challenge in selecting their winning films.

Shnit’s International Awards will be presented in New York City late in 2019. National Award ceremonies took place over the official festival weekend in Bern, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Hong Kong, Moscow and San Jose.

All in all, over 200 films were eligible in competition in 2019. Shnit will return in October 2020.

Take a look at the nominees and winners

Made In South Africa Jury Award

Winner: “The Letter Reader” by Sibusiso Khuzwayo

• "Miracle" by Bongi Ndaba
• "Vossie Vergas Homself" by Philip Nolte
• "The Bull" by Kelsey Egan
• "Skaap" by Mzonke Maloney

Made In South Africa Audience Award

Winner: “The Lost Carts Of The Karoo” by Timothy Gabb

• “Miracle” by Bongi Ndaba
• “The Letter Reader” by Sibusiso Khuzwayo
• “Camcopy” by Rob Smith
• “Billy Monk: Shot In The Dark” by Craig Cameron-Mackintosh

Local Flavour Audience Award

Winner: “Ons Albertinia” by Chantel Clark

• “Queer” by Priya Jeeram Patel
• “The Company’s Garden” by Will Nicholson
• “Far From The Castle” by Julia Jansch
• “Cowboy Dan” by Wynand Louw

Special Jury Awards

Best Cinematography In A Shnit Short – “The Bull” by Kelsey Egan. Cinematography by Christian Denslow

• Best Screenplay In A Shnit Short – “Camcopy” by Rob Smith
• Best Direction In A Shnit Short – “Axis Mundi” by Sean Steinberg and Matthew Jankes
• Best Performance In A Shnit Short – Linda Sokhulu in “Miracle” by Bongi Ndaba

The festival and jury paid tribute to Andile Gumbi, a leading performer in Shnit’s Made In South Africa Jury Award-winner, “The Letter Reader”. The star of stage and screen was announced to have passed away after suffering a tragic heart attack in Israel one week prior. His talent and passion will be missed by the South African film industry.