Janis Nords’ Mother,
I Love You and Ryan McGarry’s Code
Black
Win Jury Awards
Destin Daniel Cretton’s Short Term 12, Grace Lee’s American
Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs and
Haifaa Al Mansour’s Wadjda
Win Audience Awards
Best Performance, Short Film and Music Video Award
Winners
Also Revealed
Sloan Fast Track Grant and Millennium Entertainment Fellowship
Given out in Part of Film Independent’s Fast Track Program
Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that
produces the Los Angeles Film Festival and the Spirit Awards, announced the
jury and audience award winners for the 2013 Festival at the Awards Brunch,
hosted by CHAYA Downtown for the fourth year. Actor Mary
Elizabeth Winstead was on
hand to present the awards. The LA Film Fest, presented by Film Independent, in conjunction with
Presenting Media Sponsor Los Angeles Times, Host Partner L.A. LIVE and Premier
Sponsors DIRECTV and American Airlines, ran from Thursday, June 13 to Sunday,
June 23 in downtown Los Angeles.
“Every
single film in the Festival rocks and I love that an international film and a
local film received kudos today. They represent the breadth of our programming
and our commitment to supporting unique voices around the world,” said Festival Director
Stephanie Allain.
The two top juried awards of the Los
Angeles Film Festival are the DIRECTV Narrative Award and DIRECTV Documentary
Award, each carrying an unrestricted $10,000 cash prize, funded by DIRECTV, for
the winning film’s director. The awards were established by the Festival to encourage
independent filmmakers to pursue their artistic ambitions.
“Our
jurors had hard choices to make this year and their discussions were at an
incredibly high level. I thank them for
their thoughtful work and salute the winners.
I think we had a banner crop of competition films at the festival. All
our filmmakers are winners in my book,” said Artistic Director David Ansen.
The DIRECTV Narrative Award recognizes the finest narrative film in
competition at the Festival and went to Janis Nords for Mother,
I Love You, which made its
United States premiere at the Festival. The
DIRECTV Documentary Award recognizes the finest documentary film in
competition at the Festival and went to Ryan
McGarry for Code Black, which
made its world premiere at the Festival.
The award for Best Performance in the Narrative Competition went to Geetanjali Thapa for her performance in Kamal
K.M’s I.D, which made its North
American premiere at the Festival. Given to an actor or actors from an
official selection in the Narrative Competition, this is the tenth year the
award has been given at the Festival.
The LA Film Fest also awarded an
unrestricted $1,500 cash prize to each short film category. The recipient for the
Honolulu Film Office Award for Best
Narrative Short Film went to Walker, directed by Tsai Ming-Liang. The recipient for the Honolulu Film Office Award for Best Documentary Short Film went to Kevin Jerome Everson for Stone.
Emma De Sweaf and Marc James Roels’ Oh Willy… won the Honolulu Film Office Award for Best
Animated or Experimental Short Film.
The Audience Award for Best
Narrative Feature went to Short Term 12 directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature
went to American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs,
directed by Grace Lee. Sony Pictures
Classics’ Wadjda, directed by Haifaa Al Mansour won the Audience Award for Best International
Feature.
The Audience Award for Best Short Film went to Grandpa and Me and a Helicopter
to Heaven, directed by Åsa
Blanck and Johan Palmgren. Katachi, directed by Kijek/Adamski with music by Shugo Tokumaru won the Audience Award for Best Music Video.
The DIRECTV Narrative Feature
Competition jury was comprised of Film Independent Spirit Award-winning
producer Gina Kwon (Me and You and
Everyone We Know, Chuck & Buck), Spirit Award-nominated director Sean
Baker (Starlet, Take Out, Prince of Broadway) and actor-producer Harry Lennix (Man of Steel, Titus, the upcoming NBC series The
Blacklist.). The DIRECTV Documentary Feature Competition jury was comprised
of the 2010 LA Film Fest Grand Jury award-winning
director Clay Tweel (Make Believe), award-winning
producer Lesley Chilcott (Waiting For
Superman, An Inconvenient Truth),
and New York Times contributing
culture writer and former film and television critic Carina Chocano. The Honolulu Film Office Award Shorts Competition Jury was
comprised of Los Angeles Film Critics Association Vice President Tim Grierson, author
Sandi Tan (The Black Isle) and
Independent Spirit-nominated writer and director David Fenster (Trona, Pincus).
Also announced at the festival were the
Fast Track grants winners which Film Independent selects and Alfred P. Sloan
Foundation and Millennium Entertainment sponsor. The Fast Track program is an intensive,
three-day film-financing market that connects participants with established
financiers, production companies, agents, managers and other film industry
professionals who can move their current projects forward. Writer/director/producer Christopher Munch’s
film Frank’s World: And Tales of the
Fearless Brothers O won the Sloan Fast Track Grant, a $15,000 production
grant. The $10,000 Millennium
Entertainment Fellowship grant was awarded to Vincent Harris and Amy Hobby for
their film Third Girl from the Left.
Now in its nineteenth year, the Los Angeles
Film Festival, supported by L.A. LIVE and the Los Angeles Times, showcases the
best in new American and international cinema and provides the movie-loving
public with access to some of the most critically acclaimed filmmakers, film
industry professionals, and emerging talent from around the world. The 2013 Festival screened nearly 200 feature films, shorts
and music videos, representing more than 30 countries.
The LA Film Fest kicked off on
Thursday, June 13 with the North American premiere of Pedro Almodovar’s I’m So Excited, sponsored by American
Airlines, and will close tonight with the world premiere
of Oscar® winners Nat Faxon and Jim Faxon’s The Way, Way Back, sponsored by DIRECTV.
Gala Screenings included the world premiere of Doug Pray’s Levitated Mass: The Story of Michael Heizer’s Monolithic Sculpture,
the North American premiere of Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives and the
Los Angeles premiere of Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale
Station. 2013 Guest Director and recipient of this
year’s Spirit of Independence Award was David O. Russell and Artists in
Residences were actress Maya Rudolph and composer Gustavo Santaolalla.
DIRECTV is proud to be a first-year partner with the LA Film Festival
as sponsor of the Festival's Closing Night, Narrative and Documentary
Competitions and Jury Prizes, reflecting its commitment to supporting
established and
emerging filmmakers. DIRECTV Cinema's premium pay-per-view movie service
for DIRECTV customers offers access to exclusive new releases before they
premiere in theaters, a library with thousands of movies to watch
instantly with DIRECTV On Demand, and the most movies available in 1080p
HD. DIRECTV the world's leading providers of digital television
entertainment services delivering an unparalleled video experience through
state-of-the-art technology and unmatched programming to more than 35
million customers in the U.S. and Latin America.
Stunning
locations, great crews and generous tax credits are why Honolulu and Oahu are
known as 'Production Center of the Tropics.' Host to countless feature
films, television series and new media projects including Jurassic Park, The
Descendants, LOST and Hawaii Five-0, 2013 marks 100 years of film production in
Hawaii. To celebrate, the Honolulu Film Office has enhanced their tax
credits. (www.filmhonolulu.com/)
CHAYA restaurants have remained
one of the city’s most beloved and iconic dining destinations for 30 years.
Lead by Corporate Executive Chef Shigefumi Tachibe—the creator of
the original tuna tartare, CHAYA restaurants are renowned for their modern
Euro-Asian cuisine and influence on the Los Angeles dining scene. Chef
Tachibe creates an inspired menu by infusing exotic ingredients and honored
culinary traditions from his native Japanese roots. All CHAYA
restaurants, including three locations in Los Angeles and one in San Francisco,
highlight their menu with local and sustainable ingredients fresh from the
farmers’ market with seasonal menus.” (www.thechaya.com)
****
Awards were given out in the following categories:
DIRECTV
Narrative Award (for Best Narrative Feature)
Winner: Mother, I Love You directed by Janis
Nords
Producer: Alise
Gelze
Cast: Kristofers
Konovalovs, Matiss Livcans, Vita Varpina, Indra Brike,
Haralds Barzdins
Film
Description: Like a lot of children, 12-year-old
Raimonds has his quiet side, his talented side (he plays saxophone at a music
school), a mischievous streak and a resourcefulness born of desperation. Often
on his own while his single mom works, and routinely at odds with her when they
do spend time together, Raimonds finds thrilling companionship in Peteris, a
boy who steals money from one of the apartments his mother cleans. Raimond's increasingly dangerous decisions
will have thorny repercussions for him and those close to him. Latvia
The
Narrative Award carries an unrestricted cash prize of $10,000 funded by DIRECTV,
offering the financial means to help filmmakers transfer their vision to the
screen. The award recognizes the finest narrative film in competition and is
given to the director. A special jury selects the winner, and all narrative
feature-length films screening in the Narrative Competition section were
eligible.
In
bestowing Janis Nords with the DIRECTV Narrative Award, the Jury stated:
“As
filmmakers ourselves we are finely attuned to the processes of making a
film and sometimes find it difficult not to analyze a film on a purely
technical or esoteric level. In the case of our selected film, we
found ourselves absorbed so completely in its world that we removed
our critical eye. Its story is simple, deftly executed, and features
a prodigious central performance. The careful escalation of dramatic
tension, the truthful portrayal of a strained mother-son relationship, the
stunning night time photography of an urban landscape and the confidant
direction - never sacrificing substance for style - thoroughly won us over.
It is with a deep appreciation for its delicacy, emotional resonance
and assured control of craft that we award the Grand Prize to Mother, I
Love You.”
****
DIRECTV Documentary Award (for Best Documentary Feature)
Winner: Code
Black directed by Ryan McGarry
Producer: Linda Goldstein Knowlton
Film
Description: Continually understaffed,
under-budgeted and overrun with patients, public hospital ER waiting rooms are
by definition seas of misery. The ER of the old L.A. County Hospital+USC
Medical Center, which was the first academic Department of Emergency Medicine
in the US was, by all accounts, a war zone.
Code Black follows
a team of young, idealistic and energetic ER doctors during the transition from
the old to the new L.A. County as they try to avoid burnout and improve patient
care. Why do they persist, despite being under siege by rules, regulations and
paperwork? As one doctor simply states, “More people have died on that square
footage than any other location in the United States. On a brighter note, more
people have been saved than in any other square footage in the United States.”
The Documentary Award carries an
unrestricted cash prize of $10,000 funded by DIRECTV, offering the financial
means to help filmmakers transfer their vision to the screen. The award
recognizes the finest documentary film in competition, and is given to the
director. A special jury selects the winner, and all documentary feature-length
films screening in the Documentary Competition section were eligible.
In bestowing Ryan McGarry with the DIRECTV
Documentary Award, the Jury stated:
“It’s
unusual for a first-time filmmaker to integrate complex, multifaceted ideas so
seamlessly into a visceral, action-packed and character-driven story that they
end up creeping up on you, as if you’d thought of them all by yourself. With a
strong point-of-view rooted in personal experience, and without judgment, this
year's winning film deftly disarms a hot-button political issue by reframing it
as a human issue and shows us, instead of telling us, why we should care.
Instead of rehashing familiar arguments, it drills down to find the universal
in the specific. It's heart warming, and also heart stopping. The winner of the
2013 Los Angeles Film Festival Documentary Competition Grand Jury Prize is Code
Black directed by Ryan McGarry.”
****
Best Performance in the
Narrative Competition
Winner: Geetanjali
Thapa in Kamar K.M’s I.D.
Film Description: The feature directorial debut from Indian filmmaker Kamal
K.M. may be called I.D., but this drama has less to do with individual
identity than it does our shared personal connection. A carefree young woman
living in Mumbai named Charu is visited by a painter who's been hired to do a
touch-up to one of her apartment walls. But when the man falls unconscious,
Charu discovers that she alone must attend to this stranger, first getting him
to the hospital and then trying to discover who he is. India
In
bestowing Geetanjali
Thapa with the Best Performance Award, the Jury
stated:
“The
Narrative Competition Jury gives an award for Best Actor to the very
talented Geetanjali Thapa for her portrayal of Chara in Kamal K.M.'s I.D. Thapa's performance is
recognized in part for her ability to win over the audience's empathy for
a character that initially lacks, indeed even resists, empathy. Rarely
conversational, her ability to speak volumes with gesture and silence is a
revelation to the audience. With an onscreen presence that commands
attention, we see her rising star as something that excites us as
filmmakers, and we are privileged to bear witness to the start of Thapa’s
very promising career.”
****
Audience Award for Best
Narrative Feature
Winner:
Short Term 12, directed by Destin Daniel
Cretton
Producers:
Maren Olson, Asher
Goldstein, Joshua Astrachan, Ron Najor
Cast: Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr., Kaitlyn
Dever, Keith Stanfield,
Rami
Malek
Film Description: Working with at-risk youth in a foster care
facility, Grace never knows when things might suddenly go sideways. Likewise,
Destin Daniel Cretton's film keeps viewers off-balance starting with its
brilliantly staged opening scene, rarely allowing a moment's peace before
another crisis erupts. Having reached a critical juncture in her relationship
with her boyfriend Grace is pushed to her breaking point by the arrival of
Jayden, a girl whose troubled home life parallels the one she endured.
This award is given to the
narrative feature audiences liked most as voted by a tabulated rating system.
Select narrative feature-length films screening in the following sections were
eligible for the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature: Narrative
Competition, International Showcase, Summer Showcase, Community Screenings and
The Beyond.
****
Audience Award for Best
Documentary Feature
Winner:
American Revolutionary: The
Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs, directed by Grace Lee
Producers: Grace
Lee, Caroline Libresco, Austin Wilkin
Featuring: Grace Lee Boggs
Film
Description: Intimate
and inspiring, Grace Lee Boggs' story is one of a lifelong work for social
justice and equality. Born into a middle class Chinese immigrant family and
educated at Barnard in the 1930s, the young Grace soon noticed the inequities
in American society and spent the next eight decades working to change the
status quo, becoming an icon of the African American movement. Using her advanced
education and intelligence not to accrue vast wealth but to work towards the
betterment of all people, Boggs became a true American hero.
At
97 she continues to work tirelessly to educate and activate Americans, young
and old, to work for the changes in which they believe. Director Lee (no
relation) gives us a writer, activist and philosopher as she works her way
through decades of social and political upheaval, inspiring all the way.
This award is given to the
documentary feature audiences liked most as voted by a tabulated rating system.
Select documentary feature-length films screening in the following sections
were eligible for the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature: Documentary
Competition, International Showcase, Summer Showcase and Community Screenings.
****
Audience Award for Best
International Feature
Winner:
Sony Pictures Classics’ Wadjda,
directed
by Haifaa Al Mansour
Producers:
Gerhard Meixner, Roman
Paul
Featuring: Reem Abdullah, Waad
Mohammed, Abdullrahman Al Gohani,
Ahd, Sultan Al Assaf
Film
Description: This
rousing, pioneering gem--not only the first Saudi Arabian feature shot within
the Kingdom, but the first ever directed by a woman--focuses on a remarkable
10-year-old girl named Wadjda, who sets her sights on buying a beautiful green
bicycle so she can race her friend Abdullah through the suburban streets of
Riyadh. But in this conservative society, virtuous girls don't ride bikes, and
her mother forbids it. The rebellious Wadjda decides to raise the money herself
- by entering a Koran recitation competition at her school. The troublemaker
must pose as a pious, model student to achieve her goal. Germany/Saudi
Arabia/United Arab Emirates
This award is given to the
international feature audiences liked most as voted by a tabulated
rating system. Select international feature-length films, both narrative and
documentary, screening in the following sections were eligible for the Audience
Award for Best International Feature: Narrative Competition, Documentary Competition,
International Showcase, Summer Showcase and The Beyond.
****
HONOLULU FILM OFFICE AWARD for Best Narrative Short Film
Winner: Walker directed
by Tsai Ming-Liang
Producer: Chen Kuan-Ying
Cast: Lee
Kang-Sheng
Description: In
this stunning meditative piece, the walking pace of a monk measures up against
the bustling streets of Hong Kong. China
In bestowing Tsai Ming-Liang with the
Honolulu Film Office Award for Best Narrative Short Film Award, the Jury
stated:
“Great storytelling comes in many different
forms, and like an ancient koan, our winner is deceptively simple and
surprisingly playful. It features the epic odyssey of one man,
seemingly poised against the forces of modernity as he advances -
silently, deliberately -from day to night, from tiny alleys to towering
skyscraper avenues, across the frenetic city of Hong Kong. At journey's end,
we, too, are transformed by the sweet moment when denial morphs into glee: Walker
from Tsai Ming-Liang.”
****
HONOLULU FILM OFFICE AWARD for Best Documentary Short Film
Winner: Stone directed
by Kevin Jerome Everson
Producers: Madeleine Molyneaux, Kevin
Jerome Everson
Description: A
real-time documentary of a street hustler running a betting game of finding the
ball under one of the three caps.
In bestowing Kevin Jerome Everson with
the Honolulu Film Office Award for Best Documentary Short Film Award, the Jury
stated:
“Documentaries can expose us to the world's
harsh realities, but they can also reveal the beauty and mystery of the
everyday. The latter is very true in the case of our winner for Best
Documentary Short, which is only seven minutes long but is filled with
character detail and suspense. Consisting of only one shot, this short
introduces us to an unnamed street hustler as he bets onlookers that they can't
find the ball hidden underneath one of three caps, our winner is filmmaker
Kevin Jerome Everson's Stone.”
****
HONOLULU FILM OFFICE AWARD for Best Animated/Experimental
Short Film
Winner: Oh
Willy… directed by Emma De Sweaf, Marc James Roels
Producers: Ben Tesseur, Nidia Santiago
Description: Fleeing
a nudist colony where he witnessed his mother’s passing, Willy has an
unexpected encounter. Belgium/The
Netherlands/ France
In bestowing Emma De Sweaf and Marc
James Roels with the Honolulu Film Office Award for Best Animated or
Experimental Short Film Award, the Jury stated:
“Several of the animated shorts at this
year's festival were inventive and startling, but our winner was a truly
exceptional piece of work. This humorous, moving and ultimately sublime short
tells a story of life, death and rebirth with wobbly thighs, vomit,
breastfeeding, space travel and bunny rabbits - all against the backdrop of a
nudist colony. The winner of Best Animated or Experimental Short is Oh Willy...”
****
Audience Award for Best
Short Film
Winner:
Grandpa and Me and a
Helicopter to Heaven directed by Åsa Blanck and Johan Palmgren
Producers: Åsa Blanck
Description: An unsentimental young boy goes on a final
excursion with his grandfather to collect chanterelle mushrooms. Sweden
Awarded to the short film
audiences liked most as voted on by a tabulated rating system. Short films
screening in the Shorts Programs or before Narrative Competition,
Documentary Competition, or International Showcase feature-length screenings
were eligible for the Audience Award for Best Short Film.
****
Audience Award for Best
Music Video
Winner:
Katachi directed by Kijek/Adamski
Music: Shugo Tokumaru
This
award is given to the music video audiences liked most as voted on by a
tabulated rating system.
To
download images and clips from the winning films, please visit www.lafilmfest.com
and click on Press, then Press Materials.
ABOUT
THE LOS ANGELES FILM FESTIVAL
Now in its nineteenth year, the Los Angeles
Film Festival, supported by L.A. LIVE and the Los Angeles Times, showcases the
best in new American and international cinema and provides the movie-loving
public with access to some of the most critically acclaimed filmmakers, film
industry professionals, and emerging talent from around the world.
The Festival features unique signature
programs including the Filmmaker Retreat, Music in Film Nights at the GRAMMY
Museum, Poolside Chats, Master Classes and more. Additionally, the Festival
screens short films created by high school students and has a special section
devoted to music videos.
Over 200 features, shorts and music videos,
representing more than 30 countries, make up the main body of the Festival.
The DIRECTV Narrative and DIRECTV Documentary
awards are cash awards for best narrative and documentary features selected by
an esteemed panel of jurors each year. The Honolulu Film Festival awards
cash prizes for best narrative, documentary and animated short films. The
Festival also hosts a jury awards as well as a jury award for best performance
in the narrative competition. Audience awards are also presented to best
documentary, narrative and international feature, short film and music video.
The Los Angeles Film Festival is presented in
conjunction with Presenting Media Sponsor the Los Angeles Times, Premier and
Closing Night Sponsor DIRECTV, Premier and Opening Night Sponsor American
Airlines, Principal and Family Day sponsor Hasbro Studios and Platinum sponsors
Stella Artois, Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE Stadium 14, EFILM, HBO, Volkswagen of
America, Canon U.S.A., Inc. and Dolby Laboratories, Inc. Special support is
provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The Official Screening Venue is
Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE Stadium 14. Stella Artois is the official
beer. Renwood Winery is the official wine provider. Shellback Caribbean
Rum is the official spirit. Los Angeles Athletic Club is the Official Host
Hotel. WireImage is the Official Photography Agency and PR Newswire is the
Official Breaking News Service of Film Independent.
More information can be found at LAFilmFest.com
ABOUT FILM INDEPENDENT
Film
Independent is a nonprofit arts organization that champions independent film
and supports a community of artists who embody diversity, innovation, and
uniqueness of vision. Film Independent helps filmmakers make their movies,
builds an audience for their projects, and works to diversify the film
industry. Film Independent’s Board of Directors, filmmakers, staff, and
constituents, is comprised of an inclusive community of individuals across
ability, age, ethnicity, gender, race, and sexual orientation. Anyone
passionate about film can become a member, whether you are a filmmaker,
industry professional, or a film lover.
Film
Independent produces the Spirit Awards, the annual celebration honoring
artist-driven films and recognizing the finest achievements of American
independent filmmakers. Film Independent also produces the Los Angeles Film
Festival, showcasing the best of American and international cinema and the Film
Independent at LACMA Film Series, a year-round, weekly program that offers
unique cinematic experiences for the Los Angeles creative community and the
general public.
With
over 250 annual screenings and events, Film Independent provides access to a
network of like-minded artists who are driving creativity in the film industry.
Film Independent’s Artist Development program offers free Labs for selected
writers, directors, producers and documentary filmmakers and presents
year-round networking opportunities. Project Involve is Film Independent’s
signature program dedicated to fostering the careers of talented filmmakers
from communities traditionally underrepresented in the film industry.
####
