Ben Briand’s short film ‘Apricot’ wins audience gong for best narrative film at 2010 Vimeo Awards

Sydney-based Cherub Pictures’ director, Ben Briand’s critically acclaimed short film, Apricot (starring Ewan Leslie and Laura Gordan) has continued to achieve worldwide success by being voted Best Narrative Film on Vimeo by its community of over 3 million members, at the inaugural 2010 Vimeo Awards.

WATCH APRICOT ON VIMEO

The Vimeo Festival & Awards honour the best in online film and video from around the world in multiple categories, with finalists culled from over 6,500 submissions and voted on by a group of esteemed judges from the global creative community considered the best in the industries of film, art and tech.

The Audience Awards were chosen by online peers and fellow creators on Vimeo, with APRICOT the only “Narrative Film” to win the popular vote.

Vimeo was named this year by Time magazine as the top website for video and moving image content. Its online community is exceptionally active, with upwards of 16,000 new videos uploaded daily, 5,000 comments a day made and its users “liking” approx 30,000 videos daily.

Apricot has also enjoyed considerable festival success having screened on the opening night of the St Kilda Film Festival this year and at the 32nd Moscow International Film Festival 2010. 

But it’s online where the film has really captured the attention of film lovers and industry around the world and has garnered a massive following.

“The online success of the film via Vimeo is a true testament to our release strategy and capacity for the film to reach its audience.” says Briand.

“Apricot really found its audience through non-conventional channels and viewing mediums, with far more people having watched the film online than through the traditional festival environment. It’s now achieved well over 300,000 views online, has been translated into over a dozen languages and has featured on over 200 blogs across a variety of film, photography, fashion and advertising sites worldwide. Attending the inaugural Vimeo festival in New York was an amazing experience but receiving this accolade from the audience and the Vimeo users is pretty overwhelming.”

Sites that have featured Apricot include the prestigious UK film site Director’s Notes; groundbreaking agency Weiden + Kennedy’s influential blog; and pop culture authority, yayeveryday.com. There are also nearly 2,000 fans of the film on Facebook.