The Ballad of Madd Dogg Quinn, a short film by Invercargill-based film-maker Matt Inns, has won three awards at the Madeira Fantastic FilmFest: Best International Short Film, Best Production Design (for Steven Woller) and Best Visual Effects (for Frank Rueter).
The 15-minute sci-fi western tells the story of an unlikely outlaw who wrecks havoc across the dusty dystopia of The State on a wild quest to save what is held most dear.
In October last year, it was selected to be shown on the big screen at the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival in Spain.
Last week it was shown at the Tampere Film Festival in Finland.
Mr Inns said it was always nice to have his work recognised in the circuit.
"It was a bit of a long haul, this particular short film - we had a wee bit of a rough road getting it made, so if anything we were just happy to finally get it done.
"Getting it out there and into festivals is really just a bonus."
It was production designer Steven Woller’s first time being recognised individually for his production work.
He admitted he was chuffed to wake up to the news.
A huge number of hours had gone into sitting with Matt drawing pictures and putting ideas down for the design of the film.
"It was quite fun with that challenge of creating an entire world, but also trying to stick to what helps tell the story, ... what achieves Matt’s vision and what that world is while I’m including some of my own ideas and keeping things exciting.
"It’s really cool to have something like this to be recognised internationally for something, even if it’s not the biggest festival in the world.
"All that couldn’t be done without a really fantastic team, from all the people that help in the art department, which was a lot, to all of the cinematography and post-production and costume.
"It was just a huge job and I’m really excited that our wee film struck a chord with a few people."
Wellington-based visual effects supervisor Frank Rueter, who has also worked on large budget films such as M3GAN, X and Iron Man 3, won the award for Best Visual Effects for his work on the film.
The Ballad of Madd Dogg Quinn is set to screen in the coming weeks at the Landshut Short Film Festival in Germany and Les Intergalactiques in France.
