The following films were also honored by the festival: Best Dramatic Short - “Wasted Talent,” directed by Derrick Benton (Oswego / Brooklyn, NY) Best Comedic Short- “Buona Notte,” directed by Victor Bindefeld Gregoire Bensimon (France) Best Animated Short - “The Statue,” directed by Mohsen Salehi Fard (Iran) Best Foreign Language Short - “Deaf,” directed by Nuria Muños-Ortín & Eva Libertad (Spain) Best Documentary Short - “Wild Side,” directed by Brian Hansen (Milwaukee, WI)

Frozen Out, written and directed by Hao Zhou, wins the Grand Prize at the 8th Annual Snowtown Film Festival held February 19-27, 2022. The five minute short film depicts an emigre retreating to frozen prairies and forests, hoping to find a meaningful story and escape the anxieties of dislocation. Delivered as a “film letter” to the protagonist’s sister in rural China, the film considers his queer self-exile and the vulnerable nature of home, relationships, and the self. Froze