Film Independent Announces Award Winners of 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival
NEW TARGET DREAM IN COLOR AWARD ESTABLISHED
“One of our goals at Film Independent is to help filmmakers build an audience for their work, and the
The two top juried awards of the
“Target has been a major supporter of the Festival since 2001, and their partnership has allowed us to expand dramatically in that time,” said Festival Director
The Target Filmmaker Award recognizes the finest narrative film in competition at the Festival and went to
New this year, the Festival and Target established the Target Dream in Color Award to recognize a short film in the Festival’s Future Filmmaker Showcase for high school students that inspires audiences to dream without boundaries and share culture in a unique and positive way. The prize includes a Target Gift card for the winning director and a desktop editing system for the winner’s school media arts program. The Target Dream in Color Award was presented by
The Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature went to The Stoning of Soraya M., directed by
The award for Outstanding Performance in the Narrative Competition went to
The award for Best Narrative Short Film went to Antonio Mendez Esparza’s Time and Again. The award for Best Documentary Short Film went to Anna Gaskell’s Replayground. Jeremy Clapin’s Skhizein won the award for Best Animated Short Film.
The Audience Award for Best Short Film went to Instead of Abracadabra, directed by
The Narrative Feature Competition jury was comprised of producer
The 2009
The Festival kicked off on
In addition to the Festival’s Coffee Talks, Tech Talks, Poolside Chats, Film Financing Conference, and other special events, the Festival held the Los Angeles Premiere of DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures’ Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
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Awards were given out in the following categories:
Target Filmmaker Award (for Best Narrative Feature)
Winner: Wah Do Dem (What They Do) written and directed by Sam
Fleischner & Ben Chace
Producers: Sam Fleischner, Katina Hubbard, Ben Chace, Martha
Lapham, Henry Kasdon
Cast: Sean Bones, Norah Jones, Kevin Bewersdorf, Carl Bradshaw
Film Description: Max's dream Caribbean cruise becomes a solitary odyssey
after his girlfriend dumps him days before their
departure. Now, he'll have to go with the Jamaican flow
in this disarming and incisive debut feature.
The Target Filmmaker Award carries an unrestricted cash prize of
In bestowing
“A film that could feel anecdotal but through its musical shifts and tone, and its vision of the world as a newly optimistic place, Wah Do Dem (What They Do) creates a strong and profound emotional narrative.”
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Target Documentary Award (for Best Documentary Feature)
Winner: Those Who Remain (Los Que se Quedan) directed by Juan
Carlos Rulfo and Carlos Hagerman
Producers: Juan Carlos Rulfo, Carlos Hagerman, Martha Sosa
Elizondo, Nicolas Vale
Film Description: (Mexico) This intimate and discerning depiction of the
impact of migration on families left behind by loved
ones who travel north emerges as a nuanced portrait of
"the other side" of the immigration story.
The Target Documentary Award carries an unrestricted cash prize of
In bestowing
“With its generosity of spirit and lyrical grace that illuminates a human landscape with fresh eyes, Those Who Remain reminds us that documentaries can be both journalism and poetry.”
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Target Dream in Color Award (for Best Short in the Future Filmmaker Showcase)
Winner: Lipstick directed by Sam Rubin
Producer: The Film Workshop of SF Art & Film
Cast: Sam Rubin
Film Description: A boy locks himself in a bathroom. His mother wants to
know if he is OK.
The Target Dream in Color Award was given to
In bestowing
“We congratulate all the filmmakers on their extraordinary work. While we were impressed with the scope and diversity of all the high school shorts, we select Lipstick, a simple and powerful film, which can inspire other future filmmakers to make movies with very little. Using just two props, one location, and two actors, the filmmaker creates a compelling story about a character dealing with personal yet universal issues of identity and communication. It is a visual film with a strong point of view. In Lipstick, we see both a present and future filmmaker.”
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Outstanding Performance in the Narrative Competition
Winner: Shayne Topp in Suzi Yoonessi's Dear Lemon Lima,
Film Description: "As sweet and colorful as a snow cone, this delightful
happy-sad confection follows an awkward Alaskan teen as
she discovers her Yup'ik heritage while rallying her
fellow misfits to compete in her school's Snow-storm
Survivor competition."
In bestowing
“For his sophisticated and nuanced comic performance in a role that is often played in less subtle ways by more experienced actors, the award goes to
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Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature
Winner: The Stoning of Soraya M. written by Betsy Giffen
Nowrasteh and Cyrus Nowrasteh and directed by Cyrus
Nowrasteh
Producers: Stephen McEveety, John Shepherd
Cast: Shohreh Aghdashloo, Mozhan Marno, Jim Caviezel
Film Description: Based on Freidoune Sahebjam's international bestseller,
this visceral drama, which tells the true story of a
tragic incident of oppression, conspiracy and betrayal,
gathers tension and outrage as it builds to its
inevitable conclusion.
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, International Spotlight, Summer Showcase, Outdoor Screenings at the Ford Amphitheatre, Dark Wave, Guilty Pleasures, and Special Screenings.
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Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature
Winner: Soul Power directed by Jeffrey Levy-Hinte
Producers: Leon Gast, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, David Sonenberg
Featuring: James Brown, Bill Withers, B.B. King, The Spinners,
Celia Cruz and the Fania All-Stars, Muhammad Ali, Don
King, Stewart Levine
Film Description: This blazing concert film documents "Zaire '74," the
sister event to the famed Ali/Foreman "Rumbling in the
Jungle," featuring previously unseen performances by
James Brown, B.B. King, Bill Withers, Celia Cruz and
others.
This award is given to the documentary feature audiences liked most as voted on 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, International Spotlight, Summer Showcase, Outdoor Screenings at the Ford Amphitheatre, and Special Screenings.
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Audience Award for Best International Feature
Winner: Born Without (Nacido Sin) written & directed by Eva
Norvind
Producers: Eva Norvind, Nailea Norvind, Donald K. Ranvaud
Featuring: Jose Flores, Graciela Flores, Alejandro Jodorowsky
Film Description: (Mexico) A remarkably frank portrait of the lives and
loves of Jose Flores - a street musician, actor, father
of six, and Romeo who was born without arms and stands
only three feet tall.
This award is given to the international feature audiences liked most as voted on by a tabulated rating system. Select international feature-length films, both narrative and documentary, in the Narrative Competition, Documentary Competition, International Showcase, International Spotlight, Summer Showcase, Outdoor Screenings at the Ford Amphitheatre, Dark Wave, and Special Screenings were eligible for the Audience Award for Best International Feature.
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Best Narrative Short Film
Winner: Time and Again written & directed by Antonio Mendez
Esparza
Producers: Florin Serban, Diana Wade
Cast: Pedro Santos, Erica Heras
Description: Pedro's dreams about his future are challenged by an
unforeseen turn of events.
In bestowing
“For its raw and atmospheric visual palette, bold use of real and rarely seen locations, and cast which brought a refreshing realism, the award goes to Time and Again, an ambitious portrait of an immigrant’s struggle to find love in a new land.”
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Best Documentary Short Film
Winner: Replayground by Anna Gaskell
Producers: Anna Gaskell
Featuring: Brookti Berne, Harris Rosenberg, James Gray
Description: Roles are reversed in this hilarious reenactment of a
children's quarrel.
In bestowing
“The award goes to Replayground. The concept was so fresh and unexpected in its use of children’s visions of their playground actions as content for a play that they would then be entrusted to cast and direct. A case of a brilliant premise carrying a film.”
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Best Animated Short Film
Winner: Skhizein by Jeremy Clapin
Producers: Wendy Griffiths, Stephane Piera
Cast: Julien Boisseller, Theo Grimmelsen, Mado Debrus
Description: (France) After a 150-ton meteorite strikes, Henry's
physical existence is forever altered.
In bestowing
“The award goes to Skhizein, for its use of animation to tell a story no other medium could, that of a character who finds himself literally beside himself, creating an elegant interlocking of story animation and character.”
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Audience Award for Best Short Film
Winner: Instead of Abracadabra by Patrik Eklund
Producer: Mathias Fjellstrom
Cast: Simon J. Berger, Jacob Nordenson, Anki Larsson, Saga
Garde
Description: Tomas attempts to impress his family and the beautiful
Monica with his dazzling feats of magic.
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.
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Audience Award for Best Music Video
Winner: Grapevine Fires by Walter Robot
Music: Death Cab For Cutie
Description: When a wildfire rages through a small suburb, a boy must
save his older brother, and in the process finds what is
really important in life.
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.image.net and search 2009
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ABOUT THE 2009
Now in its fifteenth year, the
The Festival features unique signature programs including the Filmmaker Retreat, Film Financing Conference, Ford Amphitheatre Outdoor Screenings, Poolside Chats at the
More than 70 features, 70 shorts, and 50 music videos, representing more than 30 countries, make up the main body of the Festival.
Awards are given out in the following categories at the conclusion of the Festival: Target Filmmaker Award for Best Narrative Feature with an unrestricted cash prize of
The
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 leader, or a film lover.
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 offers free Filmmaker Labs for selected writers, directors, and producers; provides cut-rate services for filmmakers; and presents year-round networking opportunities. Film Independent’s mentorship and job placement program, Project:Involve, pairs emerging culturally diverse filmmakers with film industry professionals.
Film Independent produces the
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