Woodstock Film Festival Hands Out Awards During 10th Anniversary

Woodstock Film Festival held another impressive showing of films and panel discussions in the artistic hamlet of Woodstock, NY, in the Catskills, during the festival’s 10th anniversary. Notes from panel discussions and filmmaker Q&As will be posted in the coming days.

Awards were handed out Saturday night during a ceremony at Backstage Studio Productions not far away in Kingston, NY. Giancarolo Esposito MC’d the event, giving kudos not only to Meira Blaustein, one of the festival’s founders, but also to the rest of the staff and to independent film as a whole, so in a way, everyone in attendance received accolades.

But the biggest prizes of the evening were handed out not only to the best films and honorable mentions at the festival, but also to two luminaries in the business – First to producer Ted Hope, who received the Honorary Trailblazer Award, and second to filmmaker Richard Linklater, who received the Honorary Maverick Award, handed to him by six-time star of his films, actor Ethan Hawke.

Below is a list of all of the Woodstock Film Festival awards winners. Congratulations!

- The Lee Marvin BEST FEATURE NARRATIVE AWARD: DON’T LET ME DROWN, directed by Cruz Angeles. DON’T LET ME DROWN tells the story of a blossoming friendship between two New York City high school students whose immigrant families must endure turmoil just after 9/11. (This marks Angeles’ second triumph at the Woodstock Film Festival. In 2003, he garnered top honors for Best Student Short Film with THE SHOW.)

- The Maverick Award for BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY: JUNIOR, directed by Jenna Rosher. JUNIOR chronicles the life of Eddie Belasco, a 75-year-old San Francisco native with a classic Italian-American upbringing who is now facing his future as a retiree.

- The Maverick Award for BEST ANIMATION: THE TERRIBLE THING OF ALPHA-9! (animator Jake Armstrong), presented by animators Signe Baumane and Bill Plympton. Honorable mention to DIVERS by Paris Mavroidis.

- The Diane Seligman Award for BEST SHORT NARRATIVE: ADELAIDE, directed by Liliana Greenfield-Sanders, with an HONORABLE MENTION to MIRACLE FISH directed by Luke Doolan.

- The Diane Seligman Award for BEST STUDENT SHORT FILM: PINHAS directed by Pini Tavger, with an HONORABLE MENTION to THE 4th OF JULY PARADE directed by Miranda Rhyne.

- The Haskell Wexler Award for BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Juan Carlos Rulfo, THOSE WHO REMAIN (LOS QUE SE QUESDAN), directed by Carlos Hagerman and Juan Carlos Rulfo. The award was presented by cinematographer Michael Simmonds.

- James Lyons Award for BEST EDITING of a FEATURE NARRATIVE: Andrew Hafitz for his work on DON’T LET ME DROWN, directed by Cruz Angeles, with an HONORABLE MENTION to Anna Boden for her work on CHILDREN OF INVENTION, directed by Tze Chun.

- James Lyons Award for BEST EDITING of a FEATURE DOCUMENTARY: Kate Hirson and Jessica Reynolds for their work on GARBAGE DREAMS, directed by Mai Iskander.

- The James Lyons Awards for BEST EDITING were presented by accomplished filmmakers Sabine Hoffman and Craig McKay.

- HONORARY TRAILBLAZER AWARD: Producer Ted Hope. Presented by Geoff Gilmore, chief creative officer at Tribeca Enterprises and one of today’s biggest champions of independent filmmakers (award previously announced).

- HONORARY MAVERICK AWARD: Writer and director Richard Linklater. Award presented by his longtime colleague, collaborator and friend, actor/director Ethan Hawke (award previously announced).

And today, these Audience Awards were announced:

BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE
First Place went to DEAR LEMON LIMA, directed by Suzi Yoonessi
Second place went to DON'T LET ME DROWN , directed by Cruz Angeles
Third place went to HARLEM ARIA, directed by William Jennings

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
First Place went to AFTER THE STORM, directed by Hilla Medalia
Second place went to MIGHTY UKE, directed by Tony Coleman
Third place went to WILLIAM KUNSTLER: DISTURBING THE UNIVERSE, directed by Emily Kunstler & Sarah Kunstler