Philip Burgers' silent comedy 'The Passage' wins Best Short Fiction at LA Film Festival

After stirring waves at this year's film festival circuit, comedian-cum-writer Philip "Phil" Burgers' new silent film - 'The Passage' - has secured yet another win. On Friday, the modern-day silent comedy won the Best Short Fiction at the LA Film Festival in Los Angeles, adding to its recent collection of festival wins over the past few months.
"'The Passage' follows Phil, a sweetly mysterious and childlike wanderer, as he adventures across a surreal multicultural landscape in order to escape the clutches of two bumbling pursuers – all without uttering a single word," the official description reads.
Burgers, who is the mind behind this gripping yet easy-going short film portrays a curious wanderer in 'The Passage,' gathers experience as he meets people from different cultures and across varying landscapes. Kitao Sakurai is the director, who helps bring this realistic short comedy to life along with Burgers.
Here’s a sneak peek at our new comedy, The Passage, premiering at Sundance on January 23, starring Philip Burgers and directed by @kitaosakurai. pic.twitter.com/uFgN3e6pIC
— Spooper Deluxe 👻 (@superdeluxe) January 16, 2018
"Through a comedic lens, 'The Passage' deals with themes of longing for human connection, immigration, and the tragedy of never being able to find peace."
So far, Burgers' short film has already won multiple awards at various film festivals - Best Picture in the Shorts with Legs category at Fantastic Fest, the Grand Jury Prize at the Nashville Film Festival, Best Late-Night at Series Fest, Best Director for Comedy at the New York Television Festival, and Best Comedy at Aspen Shortsfest. And with the latest honor at the LA film fest, 'The Passage' has officially secured its sixth festival win.
The #NYTVF2018 #OfficialSelectionSpotlight is on "The Passage," a delightful comedy created by Philip Burgers and @kitaosakurai, and produced by @timheidecker and @ericwareheim #MakeItHere pic.twitter.com/iJiSBMmaV4
— NEW YORK TV FESTIVAL (@nytvf) July 6, 2018
In the light of the latest win, Super Deluxe president Wolfgang Hammer gushed, "Philip Burgers is one of a kind. He’s a true artist whose physical comedy not only reminds us of brilliant performers from another era but also conveys genuine emotion. Making projects like this is what Super Deluxe was founded to do."
'The Passage' will next screen at the Savannah Film Festival (taking place from October 27 to November 3), following which the silent comedy will premiere on Super Deluxe's multi-platform channels on November 2.