AFI Fest announced the features and short films which won Jury and Audience Awards this year. Among the highlights of the competition was director Nele Wohlatz’s The Future Perfect earning the New Auteurs Grand Jury Award. On the Audience Award front, director Houda Benyamina’s Divines copped both the New Auteurs Audience Award and Breakthrough Audience Award. Honors were presented at the AFI Fest’s Awards Brunch on Thursday (11/17). Divines also landed a Special Jury Mention for Acting in recognition of the performance of Oulaya Amamra.
“As the 30th edition of AFI Fest comes to a close, the awards ceremony gives us a chance to recognize the international films that have resonated with audiences and critics,” said Jacqueline Lyanga, director, AFI FEST. “New this year, the Breakthrough Audience Award for first and second time filmmakers now spans the program, enabling us to highlight three talented new filmmakers who’ve made films that our audiences love.”
The other two Breakthrough Audience Award honorees were director Asaph Polonsky (AFI Class of 2012) whose One Week and a Day was first runner-up, and director Michaël Dudok de Wit who earned second runner-up for The Red Turtle.
Here’s a rundown of this year’s AFI Fest winners:
NEW AUTEURS AWARDS
New Auteurs Grand Jury Award: THE FUTURE PERFECT (DIR Nele Wohlatz)
Jury Statement: In her first solo directorial effort, Nele Wohlatz shows us a world we haven’t seen before, one in which cultures blend rather than clash. Her playful dramatization of language as a means of constructing reality, whether actual or imagined, evokes tension, whimsy and mystery in equal measure. With a title that suggests both rules and hopefulness, Wohlatz rearranges the fish-out-of-water story and transcends the conventions of the genre.
Special Jury Mention for Acting: Oulaya Amamra for DIVINES (DIR Houda Benyamina)
Jury Statement: Amamra’s young, wannabe gangster recalls the memorable crime-drama protagonists of yore. We expect this to be a star-making turn for the actress, whose deceptively expansive performance is marked by grit, joy, magnetism and ferocity.
This year’s New Auteurs jury was comprised of Robert Abele (author and critic), Michael Nordine (LA Weekly) and Claudia Puig (President of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association).
GRAND JURY AWARDS, LIVE ACTION AND ANIMATED SHORT
Grand Jury winners in the Shorts categories are eligible for Academy Award® consideration. This year’s Grand Jury Award – Live Action Short went to the AFI thesis film ICEBOX.
Grand Jury Award – Live Action Short: ICEBOX (DIR Daniel Sawka, AFI Class of 2015)
An AFI thesis film
Jury Statement: For its humanizing depiction of a predicament facing many detainees, and for spinning a small personal take on a complex issue, hung on an incredible performance by its young star, the Grand Jury Award for Live Action Short goes to ICEBOX.
Grand Jury Award – Animated Short: PUSSY (DIR Renata Gasiorowska)
Jury Statement: The world has not known, until now, how best to represent an animated, anthropomorphized vagina, but now, thanks to this fun, imaginative and quietly revolutionary short film, we do.
Live Action Short Special Mention for Comedic Narrative: HOUNDS (DIR Omer Tobi)
Jury Statement: For telling a human story with high stakes in a very small, very specific world, and for its unique and witty use of sound as a story device, this Special Jury Mention goes to HOUNDS.
Live Action Short Special Mention for Documentary: THE SEND-OFF (DIR Ivete Lucas, Patrick Bresnan)
Jury Statement: For observing an important occasion without feeling the need to add or subtract, for giving a fly-on the wall glance into a special day for a small community sending off the next generation, this Special Jury Mention goes to THE SEND-OFF.
Live Action Short Special Mention for Acting: Clark Genet and Owen Kanga for DREAMING OF BALTIMORE (DIR Lola Quivoron)
Jury Statement: These two gifted young actors made us believe that the bond of brotherhood between them was real. This Special Jury Mention goes to Clark Genet and Owen Kanga for their roles in DREAMING OF BALTIMORE.
Live Action Short Special Mention for Cinematography: A THOUSAND MIDNIGHTS (DIR Carlos Javier Ortiz)
Jury Statement: For its gorgeous use of black-and-white photography, this Special Jury Mention goes to A THOUSAND MIDNIGHTS, shot by its director Carlos Javier Ortiz.
Live Action Short Special Mention: SPEAKING IS DIFFICULT (DIR AJ Schnack)
Jury Statement: For its presentation of an important subject in a piece that is both very timely and is, at the same time, open-ended, this Special Jury Mention goes to SPEAKING IS DIFFICULT.
Animated Short Special Jury Mention: SUMMER CAMP ISLAND (DIR Julia Pott)
Jury Statement: This film tells the tale of two characters planning a sleepover to reassure themselves that everything is normal, but in this world, nothing is. For giving us a sweet tale in a world of talking marshmallows and bananas who play truth or dare, this Special Jury Mention goes to SUMMER CAMP ISLAND.
Animated Short Special Jury Mention for Mixed Media: DEER FLOWER (DIR Kangmin Kim)
Jury Statement: For its incredible use of both 3D and 2D media to create a world both handmade and utterly transporting, this Special Jury Mention goes to DEER FLOWER.
Animated Short Special Jury Mention for Visual Aesthetics: SUPERBIA (DIR Luca Tóth)
Jury Statement: Of all the wonderful films in this year’s festival, this is the one we wanted to look at, and look at and look at. This Special Jury Mention goes to SUPERBIA.
This year’s Shorts Jury featured filmmakers Emily Carmichael and Andre Hyland and actress/filmmaker Yolonda Ross.
AUDIENCE AWARDS
World Cinema Audience Award: LAND OF MINE (DIR Martin Zandvliet)
New Auteurs Audience Award: DIVINES (DIR Houda Benyamina)
American Independents Audience Award: DONALD CRIED (DIR Kris Avedisian)
Breakthrough Audience Award: DIVINES (DIR Houda Benyamina)
Breakthrough Audience Award First Runner-Up: ONE WEEK AND A DAY (DIR Asaph Polonsky, AFI Class of 2012)
Breakthrough Audience Award Second Runner-Up: THE RED TURTLE (DIR Michaël Dudok de Wit)
