By Steph Moore

“Choices,” the comedic short film by Uxbridge, Massachusetts writer/director Skip Shea, whom we profiled in March of this year (www.thepulsemag.com/wordpress/2012/03/03-12-pulseflicks-2), won the Best New England Film Award in the 2012 Massachusetts Independent Film Festival (massachusettsindependentfilmfestival.com).

Written, produced and directed by Shea, “Choices” was also nominated for Best Short, Best Actress (Sarah Nicklin) and Best Screenplay. “Choices” was screened Sept. 28 the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge.

Shot on location in Worcester, “Choices” is about Michael, a football fantasy league player and avid sports and professional wrestling fan who is in a relationship with Sarah, an arts enthusiast who is searching for the more refined things in life. They both must make choices to decide the future of their relationship. As Michael says, “Albert Camus said life is the sum of all your choices. I made the choice to quote him. Sarah likes it when philosophers are quoted. I like it when football stats are.”

“I can’t express how grateful I am to the Massachusetts Independent Film Festival for this award. It is particularly gratifying winning at this festival because it truly celebrates independent film. A lot of festivals claim that but here it holds true. I am truly honored,” said Shea. “And ‘Choices’ could not have won without the amazing performances by the cast of Michael Reed, Niki Luparelli and Sarah Nicklin, who was nominated for Best Actress. The Elm Park location in Worcester also added to the quality of the film.”

Shea has accumulated a long list of awards and accolades for his films and screenplays, including his recent “Microcinema,” produced by Massachusetts-based Harvest Tide Productions and written and directed by Shea, the co-founder of the production company.  “Microcinema” recently won the fan-based 2012 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award Honorable Mention for best Short Film (www.rondoaward.com). A feature length screenplay for “Microcinema” was a semi-finalist in this year’s Shriekfest in Los Angeles and Shea’s comedic short screenplay “The Bar” took runner- up in the Comedy Short Script category at the 19th Annual Woods Hole Film Festival in 2010.

Congratulations to Skip, Niki, and everyone involved in “Choices.” We can’t wait to see what you do next!

To view “Choices,” go to: https://vimeo.com/50234178. Password: choices