The LA Film Festival, produced by Film Independent, announced the winners of the 2016 Festival today at the Awards Cocktail Reception which was hosted by Roya Rastegar, director of programming, and Jennifer Cochis, creative director.
“With all the talk about diversifying Hollywood, the LA Film Festival provides proof that talented filmmakers with new voices are out there, they just need a platform and that’s what we’re providing,” said Stephanie Allain, Festival director. “One of the more satisfying aspects of this job is watching new directors blossom in the spotlight. I’m grateful to our esteemed jurors for their service and congratulate the winners.”
The Festival hosts juried awards including the U.S. Fiction Award, World Fiction Award, Documentary Award, LA Muse Award and Nightfall Award, as well as the Short Fiction Award and the Short Documentary Award. Audience awards are presented for Fiction Feature Film, Documentary Feature Film, Short Film and Web Series.
The U.S. Fiction Award went to Remy Auberjonois for Blood Stripe, which made its World Premiere at the Festival.
The World Fiction Award went to Anaïs Volpé for HEIS (chronicles), which made its World Premiere at the Festival.
The Documentary Award went to Jonah Markowitz and Tracy Wares for Political Animals, which made its World Premiere at the Festival.
The LA Muse Award was given to Heidi Saman for Namour, which made its World Premiere at the Festival.
The Nightfall Award went to Jackson Stewart for Beyond The Gates, which made its World Premiere at the Festival.
The Audience Award for Fiction Feature Film went to GREEN / is / GOLD, directed by Ryon Baxter which made its World Premiere at the Festival.
The Audience Award for Documentary Feature Film was given to Political Animals, directed by Jonah Markowitz and Tracy Wares.
The Award for Short Fiction went to The Beast (Zvjerka), directed by Daina Oniunas Pusić. The Award for Short Documentary went to The Gatekeeper, directed by Yung Chang. The Audience Award for Short Film went to Into Darkness directed by Rachida El Garani. The Audience Award for Web Series went to Instababy, directed by Rosie Haber.
Grants were also awarded to David Saveliev, winner of the Ed Elias Future Filmmaker Award for Narrative Film for Wonderful World and an Ed Elias Future Filmmaker Honorable Mention to Lucky Numbers directed by Chester Milton. Josh Jaffe is the winner of the Ed Elias Future Filmmaker Award for Documentary Film for In Twenty Years: Central District and an Ed Elias Future Filmmaker Honorable Mention was given to The Skin I’m In directed by Rajaiah Jones. Liam O’Connor-Savaria is the winner of the Ed Elias Future Filmmaker Award for Animated or Experimental Film for WorryWart and an Ed Elias Future Filmmaker Honorable Mention went to A Little Love Goes a Long Clay directed by Juliet Buckholdt.
Also announced during the Festival at the Film Independent Fast Track finance market were Alfred P. Sloan Grants given to films that engage with science and technology themes and characters. The Alfred P. Sloan Fast Track Grant was awarded to Mark Levinson for his project The Gold Bug Variations.
The LA Film Festival kicked off on Wednesday, June 1 with the World Premiere of Ricardo de Montreuil’s Lowriders and will close today, June 9, with Jonás Cuarón’s Desierto. Special Screenings included the World Premiere of Zedd True Colors and The Conjuring 2. The 2016 LA Film Festival Guest Director was Ryan Coogler; the recipient of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award was Maryse Alberti; this year’s Spirit of Independence Award was bestowed upon Ava DuVernay and Array Releasing. The LA Film Festival is a qualifying festival in all categories for the Film Independent Spirit Awards and for the Narrative and Animated Short Film categories at the Academy Awards.
Awards were given out in the following categories:
U.S. Fiction Award
Winner: Blood Stripe, directed by Remy Auberjonois
Country: USA
Screenwriter: Kate Nowlin, Remy Auberjonois
Producer: Schuyler Weiss, Julie Christeas, Remy Auberjonois, Kate Nowlin
Cast: Kate Nowlin, Tom Lipinski, Chris Sullivan, Rusty Schwimmer, Rene Auberjonois
Film Description: After a third tour of duty in Afghanistan, a Marine sergeant returns home to find herself hemorrhaging anxiety and paranoia from unseen wounds. World Premiere
The U.S. Fiction Jury awarded the following special mentions:
Special Mention for Comedy: Chee and T, directed by Tanuj Chopra
Country: USA
Screenwriter: Tanuj Chopra, Chee Malabar
Producer: Sohini Sengupta
Cast: Dominic Rains, Sunkrish Bala, Asif Ali, Noureen DeWulf, Rebecca Hazlewood, Bernard White, Karan Soni, Himanshu Suri, Scott Rogers
Film Description: A delirious ride with two hot henchmen, who are tasked with getting their South Asian boss’s out-of-control nephew presentable for his engagement party by day’s end. World Premiere
Special Mention for Visual Accomplishment: Paint it Black, directed by Amber Tamblyn
Country: USA
Screenwriter: Amber Tamblyn, Ed Dougherty
Producer: Wren Arthur, Amy Hobby, Anne Hubbell, Amber Tamblyn
Cast: Janet McTeer, Alia Shawkat, Alfred Molina, Emily Rios, Rhys Wakefield
Film Description: Barely able to process the death of her true love, Josie is drawn into a twisted relationship with the deceased’s mother as irrational grief explodes in beautiful and terrifying ways. World Premiere
World Fiction Award
Winner: HEIS (chronicles), directed by Anaïs Volpé
Country: France
Screenwriter: Anaïs Volpé
Producers: Anaïs Volpé
Cast: Alexandre Desane, Matthieu Longatte, Emilia Derou-Bernal, Akéla Sari, Anaïs Volpé
Film Description: A millennial artist returns to her mother’s home in Paris, only to have her personal ambitions confronted by her family’s expectations in this energetic and visually distinct debut film. World Premiere
The World Fiction Jury awarded a special mention to:
Special Mention: Lupe Under the Sun, directed by Rodrigo Reyes
Country: Mexico/USA
Screenwriter: Rodrigo Reyes
Producers: Su Kim
Cast: Daniel Muratalla, Ana Muratalla
Film Description: After a lifetime working in the California fields, Lupe learns that he is about to die and desperately struggles to return home to his family in Mexico to make amends—before it is too late. World Premiere
Documentary Award
Winner: Political Animals, directed by Jonah Markowitz, Tracy Wares
Country: USA
Screenwriter: Jonah Markowitz
Producers: Anne Clements
Cast: Carole Migden, Sheila Kuehl, Jackie Goldberg, Christine Kehoe
Film Description: The first openly gay California State Representatives, Sheila Kuehl, Jackie Goldberg, Christine Kehoe, and Carole Migden, had to utilize cunning, strategy and endurance when authoring and introducing the legislation that fundamentally changed the landscape of LGBT rights. World Premiere
LA Muse Award
Winner: Namour, directed by Heidi Saman
Country: USA
Screenwriter: Heidi Saman
Producers: Matthew Keene Smith
Cast: Karim Saleh, Waleed Zuaiter, Mona Hala, Nicole Haddad
Film Description: Set in the City of Angels during the economic recession of the late 2000’s, a twenty-something Egyptian American valet driver must come to grips with his dead-end job, disintegrating family and disappearing relationships in this stylish homage to Los Angeles. World Premiere
The LA Muse Jury awarded a special mention to:
Special Mention: No Light and No Land Anywhere, directed by Amber Sealey
Country: USA
Screenwriter: Amber Sealey
Executive Producer: Miranda July
Producers: Drea Clark, Alysa Nahmias, Amber Sealey
Cast: Gemma Brockis, Jennifer LaFleur, David Sullivan, Kent Osborne, Deborah Dopp, Jade Sealey
Film Description: Grieving over her mother’s death, Lexi abruptly leaves her life and husband in London to come to Los Angeles in pursuit of the father who abandoned her when she was three. World Premiere
Nightfall Award
Winner: Beyond The Gates, directed by Jackson Stewart
Country: USA
Screenwriter: Jackson Stewart, Stephen Scarlata
Producers: Barbara Crampton, Amanda Mortimer
Cast: Graham Skipper, Chase Williamson, Brea Grant, Sara Malakul Lane, Barbara Crampton
Film Description: Two estranged brothers dig through their missing father’s video store, discovering a VCR board game that holds a connection to their father’s disappearance and deadly consequences for anyone who plays it. World Premiere
Award for Short Film
Winner: The Beast (Zvjerka), directed by Daina Oniunas Pusić. Croatia.
Film Description: A complicated relationship between an elderly mother and daughter is forever altered when a bat flies into their lives.
The Shorts jury awarded special mentions to:
Special Mention for Breakthrough Performance: Thunder Road, directed by Jim Cummings. USA.
Film Description: Officer Arnaud loved his mom.
Special Mention for Excellence in Animation: The Lingerie Show, directed by Laura Harrison. USA.
Film Description: A drug addict throws a lingerie show to seduce her boyfriend away from his sugar daddy, which devolves into mayhem.
Award for Documentary Short
Winner: The Gatekeeper, directed by Yung Chang. Japan.
Film Description: A retired police detective patrols Tojinbo Cliffs, a notorious destination for suicides in Japan.
Audience Award for Fiction Feature Film
Winner: GREEN / is / GOLD, directed by Ryon Baxter
Country: USA
Screenwriter: Ryon Baxter
Producers: Anthony Burns, Ryon Baxter
Cast: Jimmy Baxter, Ryon Baxter, David Fine, Liz Clare, Shelley Mitchell
Film Description: After his father goes to prison, a wayward tween has nowhere to live except with his high school dropout brother, who is building—at all costs—a marijuana business. World Premiere
This award is given to the fiction feature audiences liked most as voted by a tabulated rating system. World Premiere fiction feature-length films screening in the following sections were eligible for the Audience Award for Best Fiction Feature: U.S. Fiction, World Fiction, Limelight, LA Muse, and Nightfall.
Audience Award for Documentary Feature Film
Winner: Political Animals, directed by Jonah Markowitz, Tracy Wares
Country: USA
Screenwriter: Jonah Markowitz
Producers: Anne Clements
Cast: Carole Migden, Sheila Kuehl, Jackie Goldberg, Christine Kehoe
Film Description: The first openly gay California State Representatives, Sheila Kuehl, Jackie Goldberg, Christine Kehoe, and Carole Migden, had to utilize cunning, strategy and endurance when authoring and introducing the legislation that fundamentally changed the landscape of LGBT rights. World Premiere
This award is given to the documentary feature audiences liked most as voted by a tabulated rating system. World Premiere documentary feature-length films screening in the following sections were eligible for the Audience Award for Documentary Feature: Documentary and LA Muse.
Audience Award for Short Film
Winner: Into Darkness, directed by Rachida El Garani
Film Description: This documentary gives insight into a deeply religious Moroccan family as they struggle with blindness and extreme poverty.
This award is given to the short film audiences liked most as voted by a tabulated rating system. Short films screening in the Shorts Programs or before feature films in the Festival were eligible for the Audience Award for Short Film.
Audience Award for Web-series
Winner: Instababy, directed by Rosie Haber
Description: Gay adoption is illegal in Mississippi, so Toni and Keeta look for a baby on Instagram.
This award is given to the web-series audiences liked most as voted by a tabulated rating system.
