An eventful day in Los Angeles found the Los Angeles Film Festival announcing its award winners amidst gatherings of far different sorts. A massive Iranian march took over much of Westwood; impromptu rallies protesting the Honduran military coup sprung up across the city, and here and there were still pockets of moon-walking, white-gloved Michael Jackson mourners. But in the relative wine-sipping calm of an intimate Westwood locale, the festival hosted a small awards ceremony to announce the winners of this year's competitions.
The Target Filmmaker Award, which rewards the finest narrative film in competition at the Festival (and comes with $50,000) went to the directing duo of
Sam Fleischner and
Ben Chace for their Brooklyn-by-way-of-Jamaica odyssey
Wah Do Dem (
What They Do) (pictured above). Following a endearingly goofy young hipster (nearly the whitest man in Brooklyn) as he staggers across the beaches, mountains, and cities of Jamaica in order to reunite with a cruise ship he barely enjoyed anyway, the film fashions its seemingly haphazard travelogues and accidental encounters into a very concise sense of narrative movement, one mixed with an embrace of the sheer pleasure of opening oneself to strangers, chance, and life itself. For the jury (comprised of producer Albert Berger, actress Rosemarie DeWitt, and film critic Elvis Mitchell),
Wah Do Dem was "“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."
The Target Documentary Film Award, given to the finest documentary film in competition (and which also comes with a suitcase filled with $50k), went to
Those Who Remain (
Los Que se Quedan) (pictured right), by
Juan Carlos Rulfo and
Carlos Hagerman. The flipside to the multiple documentaries on Mexican immigrants in the USA, this poetic documentary instead unveils the lives of "those who remain" in Mexico; many have loved ones in the U.S., and see them only once every few years, while others steadfastly refuse to follow the economic trail north, preferring instead to appreciate what they have. Rulfo and Hagerman's eye for details both poetic and utterly realist—a wrinkled hand picking crops, fireworks sparkling in a darkening sky, a battered telephone receiver that's the only connection between a father and daughter—give the film a power that's rare in documentary. The jury (film critic David Ansen, writer-director Anna Boden, and director Darius Marder) stated, “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.” The film's Saturday evening screening offered up a further surprise, with one family that had been interviewed in the film finally reunited here; the mother and daughters had made it successfully to the United States, to join the father who had been separated from them for years. "I am so happy to finally see my father," said one of the young daughters, to barely a dry eye in the house; "I hope that no families have to be separated like we have."
A new (and much deserving) award this year was the Target "Dream in Color" Award, given to the Best Short in the "Future Filmmakers" Section (a showcase for high-school student filmmakers) was given to
Sam Lubin for
Lipstick. During the presentation, the jury proclaimed, "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.”
Other awards given include:
The Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature went to the topical
The Stoning of Soraya M., directed by
Cyrus Nowrasteh, which followed the struggles of a Iranian widow, and ignited a fascinating post-screening seminar with the director, lead actress
Shohreh Aghdashloo (who has become a kind of accidental spokeswoman on Iranian women's rights during the film's release), and novelist
Khaled Hosseini on women's rights under Islamic regimes, the rise of fundamentalism, and the dichotomies between Islamic scripture and practice.
The Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature went to Soul Power, directed by Jeffrey Levy-Hinte. Eva Norvind’s Born Without (Nacido Sin), part of the festival's intriguing spotlight on the Mexican documentary festival Ambulante, won the Audience Award for Best International Feature.
The award for Outstanding Performance in the Narrative Competition went to
Shayne Topp for his performance in
Suzi Yoonessi’s
Dear Lemon Lima. Given to an actor or actors from an official selection in the Narrative Competition, this is the sixth year the award has been given at the Festival.
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.
Jérémy 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
Patrick Eklund.
Grapevine Fires, directed by
Walter Robot won the Audience Award for Best Music Video for
Death Cab for Cutie.
# posted by Jason Sanders @ 6/29/2009 03:08:00 PM
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