Reporting on film festivals
The Sound Unseen Film + Music Festival concluded its 20th Anniversary edition of the film festival by giving its Grand Jury Prize for Best Film to Danny Clinch, Taryn Gould, Coleen Hennessy, and Shannon Hoon’s ALL I CAN SAY, and giving a Special Jury Prize for Cultural Significance to Puloma Basu and Rob Hatch-Miller’s OTHER MUSIC.
“There was so much excitement surrounding the competition in 2019 that we wanted to open registration immediately to capitalize on that energy,” said Gregory Kallenberg, founder and executive director of the Film Prize Foundation. “With finalists last year coming from across the country, as well as Australia and London, we also want to ensure that filmmakers have as much time as possible to complete their films.”
CineCina Film Festival Founder and Director Vina Sun, said, “Our first foray into celebrating world cinema with this film festival was incredibly rewarding in too many ways to count. Our ‘road’ theme was beyond appropriate because the journey to celebrate great cinema from all corners of the world in arguably the greatest city in the world, culturally, took us and our audiences to places we could only have imagined prior to the film festival’s screenings, panels, and events. Citing the wonderful work of these filmmakers is a wonderful way to complete that journey.”
The Billy the Kid Film Festival announced the filmmaker award winners for the first edition of the film festival, prior to the Closing Night screening of David Blue Garcia’s TEJANO on Saturday, November 2 at Flacas. Canadian filmmaker Trista Suke’s FOXY received the Best Feature Film Award and a check for $200, with George Meyers’ NOT YOUR DAY, and Jay Pennington and Gerry Olert’s SMILE sharing the Audience Choice Award, with each filmmaker receiving a check for $100.
The 2019 Naples International Film Festival announced the filmmaker award winners during the Closing Night Awards Ceremony on Sunday, October 27. The jury prize for Best Narrative Feature (and a cash prize of $7,500) went to Amber McGinnis’ INTERNATIONAL FALLS, and the jury prize for Best Documentary Feature (and $7,500) was given to Bill Gallagher’s RUNNER. Gallagher’s film also took NIFF’s Audience Award for Documentary Feature (and an additional $2,000), while R.J. Daniel Hanna’s MISS VIRGINIA was the Audience Choice for Narrative Feature (also receiving $2,000).
Sound Unseen Festival Director Jim Brunzell and Producer/Co-Programmer Rich Gill, said, “Our lineup this year is a wonderful mix of films hot on the film festival circuit, classics, and screenings that include appearances by wonderful filmmakers and musicians. We are really excited about this group of films and events built around them that should make our 20th Anniversary edition truly memorable.”
“From South Central LA cowboys to South Korea, our award winners truly demonstrated the international scope of Heartland,” said Craig Prater, Heartland Film President, following the awards presentation.
The Billy the Kid Film Festival today officially announced the film lineup for the first edition of the film festival, taking place in Hico, Texas, on November 1-2. Celebrating independent film, international cinema, and filmmakers with an independent spirit to match the fest’s namesake, the Billy the Kid Film Festival will present films from around the world, films that have a distinctly Texas-flavor to them, and films that will engage, entertain, and surprise audiences.
Naples International Film Festival Producer Shannon Franklin said, “We simply have a wonderful lineup of films this year. From tearjerkers and thoughtful dramas, to sincerely funny and delightful comedies, as well as documentaries that are sure to keep you off guard, our audiences will be riding a roller coaster of emotions over the four days of NIFF. And what could be cooler than that?”
EarthxFilm will give away a total of $20,000 in prize money to award winners selected by juried competition as well as audience determination. Those awards also include the film festival’s unique Earth Catalyst Award and Impact Award, which is given to the subjects and causes that the winning films highlight or introduce audiences to via their screenings at the film festival. It’s another example of how EarthxFilm, extends itself beyond film exhibition to actively support the environmentally-focused causes those films shine a light on.
