The 2021 Fargo Film Festival proudly announces the thirty-nine films — representing many states and countries — selected to screen in the annual 2-Minute Movie Contest, one of the longest-running festival presentations of its kind.

The 2-Minute Movie Contest films will be available to view as a single session during the virtual Fargo Film Festival from March 18 to 28. First, second, and third place winners will be announced at the conclusion of the festival.

Congratulations to all the moviemakers.

20 Mississippis (Eduardo Moreno Fernandez)
99 Days (Alberto Calvet)
414 Years Later (W. Scott Olsen)
Abscessed (Isaac Rodriguez)
Alestorm Shit Boat (Simon Norton)
Bet (Luis Alberto Martin)
Betula (Jenni Nelson)
Breath (Armin Monibi)
Cabin by the Bay (Freddy Moyano)
Cautionary Tales for Wayward Children (Scott Farrell)
Coronavirus Lockdown with a Baby (Lyr Ben-Ari) 
Dark Passage (Roshni Bhatia)
Deerly Beloved (Laurie Garner)
Dental Cleaning (Thomas Pickarski)
Dog’s Life (Edoardo Maria Brighenti)
Don’t Shoot the Messenger (Bianca Malcolm)
Dream Song: The Tao of Bobo (Daniel Appleby) 
Durga’s Lockdown (Mitesh Take)
Ghost Inc. (Sidney Thompson)
The Guard at the Entrance of the Train Station (Maya Yadlin)
In Perpetuity (Myra Vitela)
Life of a Soap (I.B. Karthikeyan)
Milicent (Laurie Garner)
The Monkey (Allesandro Sassi)
Mother (Kevin McGuiness)
The New World (Hong Ning and Zhao Xiaofeng)
Paddy’s Day ‘90 (Jonny Farrelly)
Pelican Spirit (Freddy Moyano)
Powerlessness (Neno Belchev)
Quarantine (I Keep You Company) [Massimiliano Nocco]
Regeneration (Cameron Carr)
Sad, But True (Lutz P. Kayser) 
Schism (Valerie Steinberg and Jack McDonald)
The Seeker (Rassoul Edji)
Sometimes It’s Just Not Your Day (Naama Freedman)
Stage (Kazuya Ashizawa)
Stay Home, Stay Safe, Stay Sane? (Nick Hales)
Sundae Afternoon (Lauren Hammersly)
Theater in Dramatic Time (Aaron Crume)

The Fargo Film Festival is proud to announce the winners of the Best in Show Awards for the 2021 Virtual Fargo Film Festival:

Best in Show Best Picture: PAPER TIGER (Narrative Feature)

Best in Show Best Director: Anthony Giacchino for COLETTE (Documentary Short)

Best in Show Best Cinematography: Lukas Gut & Ramón Königshausen for THE GAME (Documentary Short)

Pat Hansen Award for Best Screenplay: Deepak Sethi for COFFEE SHOP NAMES (Narrative Short)

Best Actor: Pablo Schreiber in LORELEI (Narrative Feature)

Best Actress: Krisha Fairchild in FREELAND (Narrative Feature)

The Ruth Landfield Award is presented to ALINA (Narrative Short)

The Rusty Casselton Award is presented to MY OTHER SUIT IS HUMAN (Student Short). 

Congratulations from all of us at the Fargo Film Festival!

For the health and safety of our community, the 2021 Fargo Film Festival will be held virtually. The Festival will once again be hosted on the streaming platform Eventive. The 2021 Virtual Fargo Film Festival will run March 18th to March 28th.

Every year, the Fargo Film Festival commissions an original piece of cover art from a local or regional artist. This year, the FFF Cover Artist is Jack Machacek. The Fargo Film Festival is proud to reveal the official Cover Art for the 2021 Virtual Festival. 

Festival Director Emily Beck says, “We are extremely proud to showcase the work of such a talented young artist based right here in Fargo-Moorhead. Jack’s vibrant interpretation of the Fargo Film Festival reflects the dynamic joy and exciting energy the festival brings to our community every year.”

The Fargo Film Festival jurors are proud to announce the slate of movies selected for the 2021 event. Congratulations to all the filmmakers for sharing your talents with our audiences.

Animation 

Winner: The Winter (Xin Li) 

Honorable Mention: Gon, The Little Fox (Takeshi Yashiro) 
Honorable Mention: Grab My Hand: A Letter to My Dad (Camrus Johnson and Pedro Piccinini)

Official Selections
Hudson Geese (Bernardo Britto)
Kapaemahu (Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer, and Joe Wilson)
Sad Beauty (Arjan Brentjes)
Tales from the Multiverse (Magnus Igland Møller, Mette Tange, and Peter Smith)
Waste Away (Elly Stern)
Wet and Soppy (Cliona Noonan)

Documentary Feature 

Winner: Stalking Chernobyl: Exploration After Apocalypse (Iara Lee) 

Honorable Mention: Missing in Brooks County (Jeff Bemiss and Lisa Molomot)

Official Selections
Fighting Over Sioux (Matt Fern) 
Newtopia (Audun Amundsen) 
Red Heaven (Katherine Gorringe and Lauren DeFilippo)
Sleeze Lake: Vanlife at Its Lowest and Best (Andrew J. Morgan and Nick Nummerdor)

Documentary Short 

Winner: The Game (Roman Hodel)

Honorable Mention: Colette (Anthony Giacchino)
Honorable Mention: Garden Shark (Anna Cooley)

Official Selections
The City Behind Us: The Story of the Elmora Troopers (Iwonka Swenson and Bob Burnett)
Crossing Market (Brandon Krajewski and Michelle Opitz)
Dying in Your Mother’s Arms (John Beder)
Quiet No More (Eléonore Hamelin) 
The Red River Runs Through It (Micah Dahl)
Road to Roxham (Cristian Gomes)
Viewfinder (Melody GIlbert) 

Experimental

Winner: Beyond Noh (Patrick Smith) 

Honorable Mention: Haiku (Martin Gerigk)

Official Selections
Ex Nihilo Nihil Fit (Eric Butler) 
Fluorescent (Avner Pinchover)
Two (Vasilios Papaioannu)
Wild Heart 1981/2020 (Zach Dorn)

Invited Films

Abortion Helpline, This Is Lisa (Barbara Attie, Janet Goldwater, and Mike Attie)
Huntsville Station (Jamie Meltzer and Chris Filippone)
Major Robinson (Andrew Klein)
Sing Me a Lullaby (Tiffany Hsiung)

Narrative Feature 

Winner: Paper Tiger (Paul Kowalski) 

Honorable Mention: The Badger (Kazem Mollaie)

Official Selections
Freeland (Mario Furloni and Kate McLean)
Lorelei (Sabrina Doyle)
Murder Bury Win (Michael Lovan) 
The Outside Story (Casimir Nozkowski)

Narrative Short 

Winner: Feeling Through (Doug Roland)

Official Selections
Alina (Rami Kodeih)
Blocks (Bridget Moloney)
Breton (Christophe Switzer)
Coffee Shop Names (Deepak Sethi)
The Devil’s Harmony (Dylan Holmes Williams)
Dustin (Naïla Guiguet)
In the Mirrors (Merlin Camozzi)
Matriochkas (Bérangère Mc Neese)
My Hero (Logan Jackson)
NEUL未知ND: The Unknown (Eddie Shieh)
Photo Op (Dava Whisenant)
Rhinestone Blue (Aisha Schliessler)
So What If the Goats Die (Sofia Alaoui)
Split Second (Julianne Donelle)
Transfer (Sage Mears and Aaron Pagniano)
Under the Lights (Miles Levin)
Where Is the Wolf? (Jonathan Norberg)
You Need Help (Barbara Elbinger)
Zoo (Will Niava)

Student 

Winner: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (Shiyue Xu)

Honorable Mention: Terry (Alexander Hagani)

Official Selections
Bittu (Karishma Dube) 
Heights (Major Dorfman)
Into the Honeycomb (Nick Dugan)
Mirror (Christina Yoon) 
My Other Suit Is Human (Andrew Paul Montague)
Sweet Potatoes (Rommel Villa Barriga)

Reimagined as a virtual event, the 2020 Fargo Film Festival will be held August 26-30.  Pass and ticket holders will be able to stream a selection of FFF 2020 titles using Eventive, a virtual film festival and event platform.  Festival audiences will be able to watch on their TVs with the Eventive  app found on Apple TV and Roku streaming devices.  Viewers can also watch or cast on their computers/other devices.

The virtual festival will consist of 44 short films and two features. A complete lineup of titles will be announced on Wednesday, August 12.

The programming will be divided into sessions for ticketing purposes. These sessions will consist of either a block of short films or a single feature, and many will include a special pre-recorded Q&A with a filmmaker.  Patrons may purchase tickets for individual sessions ($15) or a comprehensive pass that covers the entire virtual festival ($80).  After purchasing a ticket/pass, patrons can stream the content at their leisure over the next 48 hours. Tickets go on sale on Wednesday, August 19.

The Fargo Film Festival proudly and exclusively accepts entries on FilmFreeway, the world’s best way to enter film festivals. The 21st Fargo Film Festival will be held March 16-20, 2021.

With heavy hearts, we announce the cancellation of the 2020 Fargo Film Festival due to concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and government health officials’ recommendations against gathering large crowds at this time. The 20th annual FFF was scheduled to run March 17-21 at the Fargo Theatre.

“This was a difficult decision, but protecting the health of our audiences, filmmakers, volunteers, and community must always be our top priority” said Fargo Theatre Executive Director Emily Beck.

Fargo Theatre staff and volunteers will plan an event for summer 2020 which will feature a portion of the festival’s film programming and awards presentations.

All online sales will be refunded automatically in the next seven days. Online ticket holders do not need to take any action. Tickets purchased in person can only be refunded in person at the Fargo Theatre’s box office. Patrons must bring their original ticket or receipt for a refund to be processed.

“The Fargo Film Festival is the Fargo Theatre’s largest annual fundraiser. This cancellation will have a significant impact on our organization. If you appreciate the Fargo Theatre or the Fargo Film Festival, we would encourage you to make a donation at www.FargoTheatre.org. We are so grateful to the community sponsors who are standing by us at this challenging time. We hope our beloved hometown stays safe and healthy,” said Beck.

The Fargo Film Festival and Fargo Theatre remain committed to supporting independent film and offering a platform for independent film artists.

For questions regarding ticketing, please call the Fargo Theatre at 701-239-8385

Despite the cancellation of the in-person Fargo Film Festival this year, we proudly honor the movies and moviemakers who received awards from our jurors. Even though we were unable to share our excitement with so many of these wonderful filmmakers in person, the Fargo Film Festival is proud to announce the Best in Show and special award recipient class of 2020.

Best Picture: The Neighbors’ Window

Best Directors: Alexandra Kotcheff and Hannah Leder, The Planters

Best Actor: Hugo Weaving, Hearts and Bones

Best Actress: Rachael Harris, International Falls

Best Cinematography: Peter Nelson, The Pollinators

The Pat Hansen Award for Best Screenplay: Floor Adams, Mind My Mind

The Ruth Landfield Award: The Garden Left Behind

The Prairie Spirit Award: Balkowitsch

The Rusty Casselton Award: Florence

The Margie Bailly Volunteer Spirit Award: Peg O’Neill and Jenny Jensen

The Ted M. Larson Award: Tom Brandau

Despite our disappointment at the cancellation of the 2020 Fargo Film Festival, we express congratulations to the winners of the 2-Minute Movie Contest.

Third place: LAX to Vancouver (Zach Dorn)

Second place: Charlotte’s Daydream (Marlies van der Wel)

First place: La mer a boire (Charlotte Arene)

Thank you again to all the moviemakers who submitted work to the Fargo Film Festival’s 2020 2-Minute Movie Contest. We will return in 2021.