Kimberly-Sue Murray and Eric Peterson are the latest winners of the $1,000 Brian Linehan Actors Award in the NSI Online Short Film Festival.

Kimberly-Sue Murray

Jury comments for Kimberly-Sue Murray’s performance in She Came Knocking.

Selina Crammond, director of programming for DOXA Documentary Film Festival: “Kimberly-Sue Murray’s performance is essential for creating the suspenseful tone in She Came Knocking. Subtly, she forces the audience to imagine what they would do if placed in a similar situation.”

Chris Chin, festival and operations manager, Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival and an associate programmer at the Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival: “[She] admirably captures the twists and turns of her character’s arc from bewildered onlooker to steely-minded intervenor.”

Ashley Hirt, award-winning filmmaker known for co-producing indie darling Black Field: “Very honest and beautifully executed.”

Kimberly-Sue said, “In 2011, I was lucky to attend the CFC Actors Conservatory thanks to the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation. During my time there, I met writer/director John Ainslie and that was the start of our collaboration. I am so thrilled and honoured to receive this award for my work in She Came Knocking. Life’s come full circle and I couldn’t be more grateful.”

Eric Peterson

Jury comments for Eric Peterson’s performance in Static.

Martha Cooley, filmmaker and arts administrator: “Eric Peterson’s performance in Static carries the film, capturing the horror of loss through the experience of a deteriorating mind.”

Tarique Qayumi, director whose feature film Black Kite premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2017: “There is a lot of range in such a short film for an actor and also a difficult genre to find the right balance. [Eric’s] experience as an actor and his unwavering commitment is to be commended. It’s a heart-wrenching emotional journey that he takes us on.”

Lina Roessler, recent winner of the A&E Short Filmmakers Award in the NSI Online Short Film Festival for her film Winter: “Eric Peterson masterfully unveils the cracks in his character’s exterior, finally revealing the deep pain, fear and guilt which lie beneath.”

Eric Peterson said, “I am knocked sideways, gobsmacked, very happy and truly honoured by the jury’s decision to award me the Brian Linehan Actors Award. My thanks to NSI for all its fine work, and my profound thanks to Tanya Lemke whose passion, talent and determination is the reason there is a film called Static.”