NIFF

Naples International Film Festival 2022 announces filmmaker awards after “hurricane recovery” fest

By John Wildman 3 years ago

The 2022 Naples International Film Festival announced the filmmaker award winners during the Closing Night Awards Ceremony on Sunday, October 30. The jury prize for Best Narrative Feature (and a cash prize of $2,500) went to Alex Lehmann’s Acidman, and the jury prize for Best Documentary Feature (and $2,500) was given to Amy Bandlien Storkel and Bryan Storkel’s The Pez Outlaw. Audience Awards went to Balbinka Korzeniowska’s Playing Through (Best Narrative Feature), Eric Bendick’s Path of the Panther (Best Documentary Feature) and Diane Moore’s Conducting Life (Best Short Film). Both feature films received cash prizes of $1,000 and the short film winner received a cash prize of $500.

Naples International Film Festival announces Call for Entries for 2022 fest in October

By John Wildman 4 years ago

Call for entries is now open for the 2022 Naples International Film Festival (NIFF), which will take place October 27-30. The 14th iteration of the popular regional film festival, named one of the “Top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World” by MovieMaker Magazine in 2019, will feature the signature NIFF “fun-under-the-sun” style that has made it a favorite destination for filmmakers, industry vets, influencers, and film fans for more than a decade. The deadline for early-bird submissions is May 13, regular deadline is June 16, and the final deadline is July 6, 2022.

Lissette Feliciano’s Women Is Losers leads Naples International Film Festival 2021

By John Wildman 4 years ago

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.