Naples International Film Festival 2023 Winners Report
The 2023 Naples International Film Festival announced the filmmaker award winners during the Closing Night Awards Ceremony on Sunday, October 29. The jury prize for Best Narrative Feature (and a cash prize of $2,500) went to Vivian Kerr’s Scrap, and the jury prize for Best Documentary Feature (and $2,500) was given to Miranda Yousef’s Art For Everybody. Audience Awards went to RJ Daniel Hanna’s Hard Miles (Best Narrative Feature), Maggie Contreras’ Maestra (Best Documentary Feature) and Timothy Blackwood’s Infraction (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 2023 edition of the juried competition included journalists Brian Tallerico (RogerEbert.com), Chris Vognar (Los Angeles Times, New York Times and Rolling Stone) and Jonita Davis (The Black Cape Magazine, FilmsGoneWild.com).
Additional filmmaker awards selected by the festival programmers included Denny Tedesco winning NIFF’s signature Focus on the Arts Award and $1,500 for his film, Immediate Family; Shaun Dozier’s The Problem of the Hero winning the Impact Award; Michael Selditch’s Happy Clothes: A Film About Patricia Field selected as the Programmers’ Choice honoree; and Sara Friedman’s Heightened taking Best First Feature honors.
Brendan Hall received the Rising Star Award for his film Out There: A National Parks Story; Christian Cicerone’s Duelers won NIFF’s Indie Spirit Award and Tara Calligan’s The Face of Immokalee: Public Art for Social Change took the Florida Film Award. Each of these filmmakers also received a $250 cash prize.
The awards ceremony was an exciting evening with several filmmakers overcome with emotion as they recounted the efforts to make their films and find their way through the independent film world, expressing appreciation for the uniquely supportive nature of the Naples International Film Festival staff, patrons and filmgoers. NIFF’s reputation as a place to forge friendships and find support among fellow filmmakers was very much in evidence once again as the filmmakers repeatedly referenced their appreciation and admiration for other films they had seen during the festival weekend. On Monday, October 30, MovieMaker Magazine reinforced the special nature of this festival by naming NIFF as one of the 20 Great Film Festivals in Vacation Destinations.
NIFF began with its famous Opening Night red carpet celebration featuring Hanna’s Hard Miles, which included appearances by the director, the film’s stars Matthew Modine and Jahking Guillory, co-writer and producer Christian Sander and executive producer Scott Sander. In-person screenings and filmmaker panels followed over the subsequent days, including more than 15 sold-out screenings at Paragon Theaters – Pavilion and large, enthusiastic audiences experiencing Screenings Under the Stars in Norris Garden on the Artis—Naples Kimberly K. Querrey and Louis A. Simpson Cultural Campus. NIFF concluded by highlighting the multidisciplinary style of the festival with a special closing night presentation of E. T. the Extra-Terrestial in Concert presented in Hayes Hall with thefilm’s score performed live by the Naples Philharmonic, conducted by Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly.
For more information, visit artisnaples.org/niff.
(Duelers and Sandpaper), Drew De Four (Duelers), Vivian Kerr (Scrap), Michael Selditch
(Happy Clothes: A Film About Patricia Field), Miranda Yousef (Art For Everybody),
John Hermann (Hightened), Timothy Blackwood (Infraction), Rendy Ramos (The Face of
Immokalee: Public Art for Social Change), Nick Reid (Infraction), Tara Calligan (The Face of
Immokalee: Public Art for Social Change), Ayana Johnson, David zum Brunnen,
J. Mardrice Henderson, and Selena Ebhardt (The Problem of the Hero),
NIFF’s Shannon Franklin, and David Filner (Photo by Nate Lane)
The 2023 Naples International Film Festival Award Winners:
NIFF JURY AWARDS
Best Narrative Feature – $2,500
Scrap
Director: Vivian Kerr
Best Documentary Feature – $2,500
Art For Everybody
Director: Miranda Yousef
NIFF PROGRAMMERS’ AWARDS
Focus on the Arts Award – $1,500
Immediate Family
Director: Denny Tedesco
Impact Award – $250
The Problem of the Hero
Director: Shaun Dozier
Indie Spirit Award – $250
Duelers
Director: Christian Cicerone
Programmers’ Choice Award – $250
Happy Clothes: A Film About Patricia Field
Director: Michael Selditch
Best First Feature – $250
Heightened
Director: Sara Friedman
Rising Star Award – $250
Director: Brendan Hall
Out There: A National Parks Story
Florida Film Award – $250
The Face of Immokalee: Public Art for Social Change
Director: Tara Calligan
NIFF AUDIENCE AWARDS
Audience Award Winner, Narrative Feature – $1,000
Hard Miles
Director: R.J. Daniel Hanna
Audience Award Winner, Documentary Feature – $1,000
Maestra
Director: Maggie Contreras
Audience Award Winner, Best Short Film – $500
Infraction
Director: Timothy Blackwood
