Dave Boyle’s
Man From Reno, Debra Granik’s Stray Dog
& Damian John Harper’s
Los Ángeles Win Jury Awards
Kerem Sanga’s
The Young Kieslowski,
Geeta V. Patel and Ravi V. Patel’s
Meet the Patels and
Pernille Fischer Christensen’s
Someone You Love Win Audience Awards
Best Performance, Short Film and Music Video Award Winners Also Revealed
Sloan Fast Track Grant Awarded to
Operator
Winner of the Funny Or Die Competition Also Announced
LOS ANGELES (June 19, 2014)
– Today the Los Angeles Film Festival, in conjunction with Presenting
Media Sponsor the Los
Angeles Times and Host Partner Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE announced the
jury and audience award winners for the 2014 Festival at the Awards
Cocktail Reception. Actor Vincent Piazza of
Jersey Boys was on hand to present the awards. The Awards
Cocktail Reception was sponsored by Loyola Marymount University’s School
of Film and Television. The Los Angeles Film Festival ran from
Wednesday, June 11 to Thursday, June 19 in downtown Los
Angeles.
“This year the Los
Angeles Film Festival reached a new high, thanks to the audiences who
packed theaters in support of the films. We’re so proud of every single
film and celebrate the winners!”
said Festival Director Stephanie Allain.
The juried awards of the
Los Angeles Film Festival are the Narrative Award, the Documentary
Award and the LA Muse Award, each carrying an unrestricted $5,000 cash
prize for the winning
film’s director. The winners of the short film awards each receive a
$1,500 cash prize. The awards were established by the Festival to
encourage independent filmmakers to pursue their artistic ambitions.
“Huge thanks to our
wonderful juries, whose enthusiasm and diligence was remarkable. There
were so many outstanding movies in the competition this year, which made
the jurors’ job difficult.
Congratulations to the winners—and to all the filmmakers who helped
make the Festival a rousing success,” said Artistic Director David
Ansen.
The Narrative Award recognizes the finest narrative film in competition at the Festival and went to
Dave Boyle for Man From Reno, which made its World Premiere at the Festival. The
Documentary Award recognizes the finest documentary film in competition at the Festival and went to
Debra Granik for Stray Dog, which made its World Premiere at the Festival. An honorable mention was also bestowed upon
Eliza Kubarska's Walking Under Water, which made its US premiere at the Festival. The inaugural
LA Muse Award sponsored by Fox Audience Strategy goes to Damian John Harper
for his film Los Ángeles, which had its International Premiere at the Festival.
The Los Angeles Film Festival also awarded an unrestricted $1,500 cash prize to each short film category. The recipient for the
Award for Best Narrative Short Film went to The Runaway, directed by
Jean-Bernard Marlin. The Award for Best Documentary Short Film went to The Queen, directed by
Manuel Abramovich. The Award for Best Animated or Experimental Short Film
went to Butter Lamp, directed by Hu Wei. The Shorts Program Awards are funded by HBO.
The Audience Award
for Best Narrative Feature went to The Young Kieslowski, directed by
Kerem Sanga, and the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature went to
Meet the Patels, directed by Geeta V. Patel and Ravi V. Patel. Someone You Love by
Pernille Fischer Christensen won the Audience Award for Best International Feature.
The Audience Award for Best Short Film went to
The Gunfighter, directed by Eric Kissack. Turn Down For What: Lil John and DJ Snake, directed by
Daniels with music by Lil John and DJ Snake, won the Audience Award for Best Music Video.
The narrative jury consists of director Destin Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12,
I Am Not A Hipster), who won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature in 2013, producer Stuart Cornfeld (Zoolander, Blades of Glory, Kafka, Dodgeball, The Fly, Tropic Thunder) and film critic Ella Taylor
(NPR, Variety, The Wrap, The New York Times Arts & Leisure,
LA Weekly, The Village Voice). The documentary jury is comprised of editor Lynzee Klingman
(Hearts and Minds, A River Runs Through It, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, War of the Roses), Spirit Award-winning director Margaret Film Independent (The Great Invisible, The Order Of Myths, Be Here To Love Me: A Film about Townes Van Zandt)
and film critic and author Justin Chang (LAFCA, Variety). The LA Muse
jury includes award-winning composer/singer-songwriter Kathryn Bostic (Middle of Nowhere, Make a Wish, I Will Follow, Dear White People), writer/director/producer Maryam Keshavarz
(Circumstance, Dog Sweat, The Day I Died), Executive Vice President, Fox Audience Strategy Nicole Bernard and director Kevin Bray (Walking Tall, All About the Benjamins, Linewatch). The shorts jury consists of screenwriter/actor/director Todd
Berger (It’s a Disaster, The Scenesters), Film Independent Spirit Award winning writer/director Kyle Patrick Alvarez (C.O.G., Easier with Practice) and casting director Julia Kim (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Get Shorty, Bedazzled, But I’m
a Cheerleader), who won the Film Independent Spirit Awards Robert Altman Award for Casting Director and Best Ensemble Cast for the film
Starlet in 2013.
Also announced earlier
at the festival were the Fast Track grants winners which Film
Independent selects and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation sponsors. 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. Filmmakers
Logan Kibens and Felipe Dieppa’s Operator
won the Sloan Fast Track Grant, a $15,000 production grant. In addition
to participation in Fast Track, as part of the Sloan Foundation grant,
the filmmakers will also receive year-round
support from Film Independent.
This year marked a special collaboration with Funny Or Die for the
Make ’em LAFF internet talent competition to discover content
creators of color and underrepresented voices who specialize in comedy.
The winner was selected by a jury comprised of Funny Or Die founder
Chris Henchy, writer/producer/director Issa Rae
(Awkward Black Girl) and comedians Hannibal Buress and Kumail Nanjiani. The winner is
Suzi Yoonessi’s Olive and Mocha: Fast Times at Sugar High.
Yoonessi will have her next video produced by Funny Or Die and receive a
talent hold deal with a cash prize presented by Fox Audience Strategy.
Under the deal, she will be presented
across the Fox entertainment businesses.
Now in its 20th
year, the Los Angeles Film Festival showcases diversity, innovation and
uniqueness of vision in new American and international cinema and is
produced by Film
Independent, the nonprofit arts organization that also produces the
Film Independent Spirit Awards and Film Independent at LACMA Film
Series. The 2014 Festival screened nearly 200 feature films, shorts and
music videos, representing 40 countries, along with
signature programs such as the Filmmaker Retreat, Music in Film at The
GRAMMY Museum®, Master Classes supported by the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences and launching at this year’s festival is a
special section called LA Muse focused on the city
of Los Angeles as an inspiration for filmmakers and artists.
The Los Angeles Film Festival kicked off on Wednesday, June 11 with the North American premiere of
Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer and will close tonight with Clint Eastwood’s
Jersey Boys. Gala Screenings included Love is Strange,
The Two Faces of January and Dear White People. The 2014 Los Angeles Film Festival Guest Director was Lisa Cholodenko; she was also the recipient of the inaugural Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award.
This year’s Spirit of Independence Award was bestowed upon Sony Pictures Classics’
Tom Bernard and Michael Barker.
The Los Angeles Film
Festival is a qualifying festival in all categories for the Film
Independent Spirit Awards and for the Narrative and Animated Short Film
categories at the Academy Awards.
****
Awards were given out in the following categories:
Narrative Award (for Best Narrative Feature)
Winner:
Man From Reno,
directed by Dave Boyle
Producer: Ko Mori
Cast: Ayako Fujitani, Pepe Serna, Kazuki Kitamura
Film Description: A
stranger in the increasingly strange city of San Francisco, Japanese
crime novelist Aki is unsure of precisely what role she has to play in a
real-life murder mystery
involving ambiguous MacGuffins and amorphous identities. Unfolding in
lonely places such as bookshops and hotel bars, Dave Boyle's moody
thriller uncovers exhilarating new takes on genre conventions.
Consequently, it's an alluring
homme fatal who supplies Aki with the breadcrumb trail of clues
that entices her into a labyrinthine plot of sinister dealings. In turn,
the aging sheriff (veteran character actor Pepe Serna, fantastic in a
rare leading role), who should rightfully be
riding to her rescue, proves to be equally out of his depth. The game
is afoot, the chase is exhilarating and the stakes are perilously high
in this inspired neo-noir.
The Narrative Award
carries an unrestricted cash prize of $5,000. 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 Dave Boyle with the Narrative Award, the Jury stated:
“Man From Reno
tells a complicated story in a straightforward confident manner. Its
exploration of barriers of age, language and success set against a noir
plot line infuses a pop
energy into the well observed portrayal of its unique characters.”
****
Documentary Award (for Best Documentary Feature)
Winner:
Stray Dog, directed by Debra Granik
Producer: Anne Rosellini
Featuring: Ron 'Stray Dog' Hall, Alicia Soriano Hall,
Felipe Angel Padilla Soriano, Felipe de Jesús Padilla Soriano
Film Description:
Winter's Bone director Debra Granik's searching,
stereotype-shattering documentary focuses on Ron "Stray Dog" Hall. At
first glance, this burly, bearded biker looks like one badass dude.
Then, through Granik's incisive, sympathetic eye, we begin
to see his big, battle-scarred heart. The movie follows Stray Dog as he
caravans on his Harley from his rural Missouri home to Washington, D.C.
with his fellow vets to pay tribute to his fallen brothers at the
Vietnam Memorial. Back home, he takes in his Mexican
wife and her two sons, who are, like him, struggling to find a place in
a country that has become foreign.
Stray Dog is at once a powerful look at the veteran experience, a
surprising love story and a fresh exploration of what it takes to
survive in the hardscrabble heartland of America.
The Documentary Award
carries an unrestricted cash prize of $5,000. 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. The Documentary
Competition is sponsored by Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film
and Television.
In bestowing Debra Granik with the Documentary Award, the Jury stated:
“The Documentary Award
goes to a beautifully crafted observational portrait that addresses,
with love, empathy and humor, some of the issues we struggle with as a
country today, such as
PTSD, immigration and poverty. Never lecturing, but instead revealing
an intimate glimpse of a man's family and his compassionate, troubled
heart, the winner of the documentary grand jury prize is Debra Granik's
Stray Dog."
Documentary Award
Honorable Mention:
Walking Under Water, directed
by Eliza Kubarska
Producer:
Monika Braid
Film Description:
In the crystal clear waters off the coast of Borneo, a unique way of
life threatens to disappear forever. For generations, the Badjao were
oceanic nomads, living
in harmony with the sea as fishermen and free divers. Nowadays,
however, only a few Badjao remain, like Alexan, who still remembers the
old ways. He hopes to pass his knowledge along to his ten-year-old
nephew Sari, but time and opportunities are running out.
Sari loves the sea, but it can only offer a hard life of subsistence
fishing, while the nearby tourist resort sings a siren song of easy
money. Through the sensitive direction of Eliza Kubarska and remarkable
underwater cinematography,
Walking Under Water provides a haunting portrait of timeless traditions struggling to survive in the modern world.
In bestowing Eliza Kubarska with the Honorable Mention, the Jury stated:
“For its deeply moving
account of human struggle in the natural and spirit worlds, told with
both harrowing immediacy and stunning visual poetry, an honorable
mention goes to Eliza Kubarska's
Walking Under Water."
****
LA Muse Award
Winner:
Los Ángeles by
Damian John Harper
Producers: Jonas Weydemann, Jakob D. Weydemann
Cast: Mateo Bautísta
Matías, Marcos Rodriguez Ruíz, Lidia García, Daniel Bautista, Donaciano Bautista Matías
Film Description:
The perilous ambitions for a better life weigh heavy on the youth of
a Zapotec community in rural Oaxaca. Young Mateo plans to raise money
for the coyote who will smuggle him across the border and ingratiates
himself with the local gang, seeking protection
on the other side. Yet when his conscience catches up with him, not
even the fearless mothers of their agrarian village can protect
him. Forced to gather his courage and embark on a suicidal journey,
Mateo's goal becomes less a physical destination and more
a dangerous rite of passage. Damian John Harper's directorial debut
subverts the conventions of the gang genre and transcends the
ethnographic approach by knitting together the multiple perspectives of
his diverse characters, who are magnetically played by
non-actors.
The LA Muse Award
carries an unrestricted cash prize of $5,000. A special jury selects the
winner, and all LA Muse films were eligible.
In bestowing Damian John Harper
with the LA Muse Award, the Jury stated:
“Our Jury Award goes to
Los Ángeles, directed by John Damian Harper, for its cinematic,
acute ethnographic observations, featuring an amazing cast of indigenous
actors, whose performances strengthen the mesmerizing story of a
community held hostage by the American dream.”
****
Best Performance in the Narrative Competition
Winner:
The Ensemble Cast of
Recommended by Enrique, directed by Rania Attieh and Daniel García
Producers: Rania Attieh, Daniel García, Ivan Eibuszyc, Mahalia Cohen, Alice Kharoubi
Cast:
Lino Vareia, Sarah Swinwood
Film Description:
An aspiring Hollywood actress working on her first feature--a no-budget
horror flick oddly crewed by enthusiastic teenagers--and a cowboy on a
mysterious job arrive
in the small border town of Del Rio, Texas, each with their own very
clear agenda. When the starlet's film director and the cowboy's
associate both fail to appear, however, there's nothing to do but wait
and see. Dusty Del Rio quickly becomes a strange way
station where time seems to stand still and things are not what they
seem. Basing their film on an amusing, bizarre true story they delight
in elaborating on, filmmakers Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia and their
brilliant cast of newcomers weave a mesmerizing,
witty fable that blurs the borders between dreams and reality.
In bestowing the ensemble cast of Recommended by Enrique with the Best Performance Award, the jury stated:
“We recognize the freshness and wacked-out spontaneity of the ensemble cast of
Recommended by Enrique.”
Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature
Winner:
The Young Kieslowski,
directed by Kerem Sanga
Producers: Seth Caplan, Danny Leiner, Dave Hunter, Ross Putman
Cast: Ryan Malgarini, Haley Lu Richardson, Joshua Malina, Melora
Walters, James Le Gros, Osric Chau, Jessica Lu, John Redlinger
Film Description:
Grand romantic gestures need not apply in this comedic tale of
star-crossed young love. Instead, freshman Brian Kieslowski displays
endless reserves of bumbling awkwardness as he goes home with a girl for
the first time... and then learns that he got her
pregnant... with twins... all while she's going through a rather
inconvenient Christianity phase. Could it be that being the good guy and
doing what's right are two very different things? With writer/director
Kerem Sanga presenting a seriocomic gauntlet for
them to negotiate, Ryan Malgarini and Haley Lu Richardson deliver
delightfully nimble performances, hitting all the right off-notes as two
kids in just over their heads, whose luck seems as bad as their
instincts. The fates may have conspired to prematurely
drag them into adulthood, but they intend on going kicking and
screaming.
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: Galas, Narrative
Competition, International Showcase, Summer Showcase, LA Muse, Community
Screenings and The Beyond.
****
Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature
Winner:
Meet the Patels,
directed by Geeta V. Patel and Ravi V. Patel
Producers: Janet Eckholm, Geeta V. Patel
Featuring:
Ravi V. Patel, Vasant K. Patel, Champa V. Patel
Film Description:
Largely inexperienced in the art of courtship, L.A.-based actor Ravi
Patel is suddenly thrown into the deep end of the dating pool when he
reluctantly consents to letting his parents find him an ideal Indian
bride. As he embarks on a multi-date tour across
North America, however, the self-effacing suitor can't help but wonder
whether his quest represents a laudable acceptance of cherished
traditions or a pathetic surrender to his own deep-seated insecurities.
Co-directed by Ravi and his sister Geeta, this sharp,
funny documentary is fueled by the comic banter and confessional asides
that can transpire only between siblings. Meanwhile, their doting
parents are the sort of larger-than-life characters that most Hollywood
screenwriters can only dream of creating. If only
all family videos were this enthralling and packed with plot twists.
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, LA
Muse and Community Screenings.
****
Audience Award for Best International Feature
Winner:
Someone You Love,
directed by Pernille Fischer Christensen
Country:
Denmark
Producers: Vinca Wiedemann, Sisse Graum Jørgensen
Cast:
Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, Sofus Rønnov, Eve Best
Film Description:
After many years living in L.A., a world-famous, hard-living Danish
singer-songwriter (think a Nordic Leonard Cohen) returns to his homeland
to record a new album. Solitary, self-absorbed and nursing his hard-won
sobriety, he holes up in a luxurious country
home and buries himself in his music, his only passion in life. His
solitude is rudely interrupted by the arrival of his troubled,
coke-snorting daughter, who deposits her 11-year-old son in his lap.
Mikael Persbrandt is extraordinary as the gravel-voiced
egotist forced to rediscover his deeply buried humanity in
award-winning Danish director Pernille Fischer Christensen's moving,
immaculately crafted family drama.
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.
****
Award for Best Narrative Short Film
Winner:
The Runaway, directed by
Jean-Bernard Marlin. France.
Producer: Valentine de Bligniéres
Cast:
Adel Bencherif, Médina Yalaoui
Description: A youth worker tries desperately to save an unstable teenage girl charged with multiple crimes.
In bestowing Jean-Bernard Marlin the Best Narrative Short Film Award, the Jury stated:
“We were moved by this depiction of a troubled teenage delinquent through the eyes of her youth councilor.
It gave us unique insight into this world from a different POV. Excellent direction and performances!”
****
Award for Best Documentary Short Film
Winner:
The Queen,
directed by Manuel Abramovich. Argentina.
Description: A young beauty queen endures the pain of getting a massive headdress attached to her head.
In bestowing
Manuel Abramovich with the Award for Best Documentary Short Film Award, the Jury stated:
“We found its use of
unwavering perspective particularly unique and incredibly effective.
It's a documentary with an opinion that avoids didacticism entirely and
offers an often unseen
glimpse into the behind the scenes culture of the Carnival.”
****
Award for Best Animated/Experimental Short Film
Winner:
Butter Lamp, directed by Hu Wei. China/France
Producer: Julien Féret
Cast: Genden Punstock
Description: Cultures clash as traditional Tibetan families pose in front of backdrops of far away locales.
In bestowing Hu Wei with the Award for Best Animated or Experimental Short Film Award, the Jury stated:
“Blurring the line
between fiction and reality and telling a insightful, moving story in an
unconventional way is what really set this film apart. With a camera
that never moves, no named
characters, and no discernible plot, the film manages to take a simple,
experimental idea and in only a few minutes make a powerful statement
about family, tradition, and impending technological changes encroaching
on a small community. ”
****
Audience Award for Best Short Film
Winner:
The Gunfighter,
directed by Eric Kissack
Producer:
Sarah Platt
Cast:
Nick Offerman, Shawn Parsons, Scottt Beehner, Eileen O’Connell, Jordan Black
Film Description: Characters in a Western discover each others' secrets from an evil off-screen narrator.
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,
International Showcase, LA Muse or The Beyond feature-length screenings
were eligible for the Audience Award for Best Short Film.
****
Audience Award for Best Music Video
Winner:
Turn Down For What: Lil Jon and DJ Snake
directed by Daniels
Music: Lil Jon & DJ Snake
This award is given to the music video audiences liked most as voted on by a tabulated rating system.
####
ABOUT THE LOS ANGELES FILM FESTIVAL
Now in its 20th year, the Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by Film
Independent, showcases diversity, innovation and uniqueness of vision in
new American and international cinema, and provides the movie-loving
public with one-of-a-kind events featuring critically
acclaimed filmmakers, film industry professionals, and emerging talent
from around the world. The Festival’s signature programs include the
Filmmaker Retreat, Music in Film at The GRAMMY Museum®, Celebrating
Women Filmmakers, Master Classes, Spirit of Independence
Award, LA Muse and more. Nearly 200 features, shorts, and music videos,
representing 40 countries, make up the main body of the Festival. The
Festival also screens short films created by high school students and a
special section devoted to music videos. The
Festival hosts juried cash awards for best narrative and documentary
features, best narrative, documentary and animated short film, and a
jury award for best performance in the narrative competition. Audience
awards are 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. The Official Host Venue is Regal Cinemas L.A.
LIVE Stadium 14. Subaru is the Official Automotive
Sponsor. Relativity is a Principal Sponsor. Platinum Sponsors include
HBO, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Stella Artois, Dolby Laboratories, Inc., Canon
U.S.A., Inc. and EFILM. The University Sponsor is Loyola Marymount
University’s School of Film and Television. Renwood
Winery is the Official Wine Provider. Tanqueray is the Official Gin
Provider. The 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 non-profit
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. For more information or to become a member, visit
filmindependent.org.
