Naples International Film Festival 2021 Announces Filmmaker Award winners
The 2021 Naples International Film Festival announced the filmmaker award winners during the Closing Night Awards Ceremony on Sunday, October 24. The jury prize for Best Narrative Feature (and a cash prize of $2,500) went to Lissette Feliciano’s Women Is Losers, and the jury prize for Best Documentary Feature (and $2,500) was given to Justin Monroe’s Holy Frit. Audience Awards went to Jonathan Keijser’s Peace by Chocolate (Best Narrative Feature), Christopher Chambers’ A Fire Within (Best Documentary Feature) and Maria Brendle’s Ala Kachuu – Take and Run (Best Short Film). Both feature films received cash prizes of $1,000 and the short film winner received a cash prize of $500.
NIFF’s trio of judges for the 2021 edition of the juried competition included Cinema Management Group’s Lydia Ianni, producer Suzanne Warren (Hacksaw Ridge) and journalist/critic Dan Kois (Slate).
The filmmaker awards selected by the festival programmers included Austrian filmmaker Bernadette Wegenstein winning NIFF’s coveted Focus on the Arts Award and $1,500 for her film, The Conductor; Robin Hauser’s $avvy winning the Impact Award for the social and racial awareness explored through her film; Deirdre O’Conner’s One Moment winning the Indie Spirit Award; and Jim Bernfield’s Me To Play selected as the Programmers’ Choice honoree. Roshan Sethi’s 7 Days took Best First Feature honors, while Like the Ones I Used to Know director Annie St-Pierre won this year’s Rising Star Award. Each of these filmmakers also received a $250 cash prize.
The Filmmaker Awards ceremony was an emotional one with $avvy’s Robin Hauser stating that she hoped she would “have the courage to make another film” so she could return to NIFF once again. Christopher Chambers said that following an extensive and successful film festival tour for his film, A Fire Within, he was overwhelmed to see it for the first time with an audience in the theater. Holy Frit’s Justin Monroe concluded the filmmaker awards acceptance speeches with an impassioned thank you to the Artis—Naples/NIFF team and Naples film fans for their support of the filmmakers and their work, emphasizing what the experience—from being accepted into the film festival, to the hospitality and generosity of the organization, to the very vocal approval of the audiences—means to filmmakers and how it helps propel their films’ paths forward.
As part of an overarching theme of celebrating “The Art of the Short,” NIFF opened for the first time with a presentation of five short films for the Naples film fans at Artis—Naples’ Hayes Hall. In-person and in-theater screenings and filmmaker panels, including presentations under the stars in Norris Garden on Artis─Naples’ Kimberly K. Querrey and Louis A. Simpson Cultural Campus and at Silverspot Cinema delighted audiences who were happy to return to the theater to see films on the big screen. Audiences were also able to engage with filmmakers in the way that has made NIFF famous as one of the nationally recognized “Coolest Film Festivals in the World.”
The Naples International Film Festival wrapped things up in entertaining and multidisciplinary style following the filmmaker awards with a special presentation of Robert Zemeckis’ Back to the Future featuring a live performance of Alan Silvestri’s classic score by the Naples Philharmonic, conducted by Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly.
(L to R): Artis-Naples’ Kathleen van Bergen, Allison Chu and Jonathan Keijser (Peace By Chocolate),
Robin Hauser ($avvy), Jim Bernfield (Me To Play), Deirdre O’Conner (One Moment),
Justin Monroe and Tim Carey (Holy Frit), Christopher Chambers (A Fire Within), and Artis-Naples’s David Filner
(Photo by Wildman)
The 2021 Naples International Film Festival Award Winners:
NIFF JURY AWARDS
Best Narrative Feature – $2,500
Women Is Losers
Director: Lissette Feliciano
Best Documentary Feature – $2,500
Holy Frit
Director: Justin Monroe
NIFF PROGRAMMERS’ AWARDS
Focus on the Arts Award – $1,500
The Conductor
Director: Bernadette Wegenstein
Impact Award – $250
$avvy
Director: Robin Hauser
Indie Spirit Award – $250
One Moment
Director: Deirdre O’Conner
Programmers’ Choice Award – $250
Me To Play
Director: Jim Bernfield
Best First Feature – $250
7 Days
Director: Roshan Sethi
Rising Star Award – $250
Like the Ones I Used to Know
Director: Annie St-Pierre
NIFF AUDIENCE AWARDS
Audience Award Winner, Narrative Feature – $1,000
Peace by Chocolate
Director: Jonathan Keijser
Audience Award Winner, Documentary Feature – $1,000
A Fire Within
Director: Christopher Chambers
Audience Award Winner, Best Short Film – $500
Ala Kachuu – Take and Run
Director: Maria Brendle
