The 2019 Allegra Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film has been awarded to Toronto filmmaker Benjamin Rouse for his provocative and entertaining short film, ROYAL BLOOD.

The film, which premiered Saturday January 26th ahead of the documentary feature TEA WITH THE DAMES, portrays a privileged young woman who tries to find the compassionate higher ground when she is torn between the narcissistic insecurities of her former beauty queen mother, and The Queen, a mentally ill homeless woman who puts on regal airs.

The film was a huge hit with the nearly sold out crowd at the morning screening, setting a comedic tone while addressing serious and timely issues of poverty and privilege.

“All of our eleven short films this year were truly outstanding” noted Festival founder and director Jennifer Smith, “but I think this one stood out because it really packed a lot into 15 minutes of storytelling. The filmmaker managed to create three fully realized characters and drew us into their lives in a very short time, which is the mark of a truly great short film.”

Filmmaker Benjamin Rouse was delighted to learn of the win. “On behalf of myself, writer Richard Scarsbrook, EPs Ann and Rob Ewan, Producer Jeff Hanes and the cast and crew, we cannot overstate how great an experience it was to premiere at the Milton Film Festival. The staff made us feel at home and we screened to an expressive and receptive full house. Winning this award is validation of the work our team put in to tell the story of ROYAL BLOOD.”

Coming of age on a farm in rural Ontario, Canada, Benjamin Rouse was inspired to make his first film at the age of 13. This exploration in visual storytelling became the catalyst for his future career in film. Before teaching himself the art of filmmaking, Benjamin pursued sports and academics, becoming an Academic All Canadian at the University of Toronto. While studying Environmental Sciences, he was scouted as a model. This new path afforded him the opportunity to travel the world extensively, taking in new cultures and developing new perspectives. Eventually landing in New York City, Benjamin decided that media production would be his life-long passion.

Through his production company, Resolve Films, Rouse has written, directed and produced factual films and series, including; Sailing Around the World the series (Documentary Channel, Nautical Channel etc.), and Band Foto (Bite TV, Aux TV). He has directed short films such as Adam’s Day, which screened at several film festivals, including the 25th Sao Paulo International Film Festival.

The Allegra Audience Choice Award is generously sponsored by the Anders family of Allegra Marketing.Print.Mail and includes a $100 cash award. Audience members at each screening are asked to rate the short films from one to five stars on a ballot, and the winner is chosen by the highest average rating.