The Starz Denver Film Festival (SDFF) concluded Sunday, Nov. 22 and the votes are in for this year's Starz People's Choice Awards and the jury awards.
The 11 days of SDFF 32 yielded 77 sell-outs out of the featured 210 films from 37 countries: 56 documentaries, 124 features and 86 shorts. Attendance exceeded the previous record of 45,000 and ticket revenues were up 24% from last year.
"With record-breaking Opening Night and overall ticket sales in Festival history, our 32nd year of the Starz Denver Film Festival has been the most talked about yet," said Britta Erickson, SDFF director. "Demonstrated in both numbers and response, the Denver community and the inspiring filmmakers and industry professionals who shared their work with our enthusiastic audience were paramount to this being such a successful year."
Check out the winners of the Starz People's Choice Awards after the jump.
Starz People's Choice Awards:
Feature - Harmony and Me
Directed by Bob Byington
Rough-hewn and heartfelt, this 75-minute slice-of-strife centers on 30-year old mope (Justin Rice of indie rock band Bishop Allen) whose girlfriend dumped him. Looking to his slacker friends for solace, he ultimately finds redemption - Austin-style.
Documentary Feature - Still Bill
Directed by Damani Baker and Alex Vlack
It's remarkable that the singer/songwriter behind such timeless hits as "Lean on Me" and "Just the Two of Us" isn't a household name. Equally remarkable is the unique path he took to fame and the shining wisdom of fiercely independent Bill Withers still shows during this documentary.
Short - Likhaya
Directed by Aaron Knopp
An amazing group of people live on a small sustainable farm in Swaziland in southern Africa, the country with the world's worst HIV/AIDS rate. This documentary paints a serene portrait of the women and children who are, in their own small way, turning the epidemiological tide.
Jury Awards
The jurors for the Krzysztof Kieslowski Award for Best Feature Film this year were Mike Goodridge, U.S. editor for Screen International; Basil Tsiokos, programming associate of documentary features for the Sundance Film Festival since 2005 ; and Howard Feinstein, writer for Filmmaker Magazine. The winner is Protektor, directed by Marek Najbrt, selected for its stylish and original use of film noir to tackle an important historical subject.
The Festival's documentary award, the Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary Film, named after the great filmmaker brothers, Albert and David Maysles is presented each year to an outstanding documentary. The jury this year was comprised of Daniel Junge, an award-winning documentary filmmaker; James Faust, senior programmer of the AFI DALLAS International Film Festival; and Laura Thielen, program director for the San Francisco Film Society and San Francisco International Film Festival.
The recipient of the 2009 Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary Film is The Good Soldier, directed by Lexy Lovell and Michael Uys. The film, which is remarkable not only for its incredibly poignant relevance, puts a compassionate perspective on a subject too often not discussed. The film October Country received a Special Jury Prize for Filmmaking for the beautifully realized and incredibly intimate family portrait.
The Fox 31 Emerging Filmmaker Award was awarded to Lee Toland Kreiger from The Vicious Kind, a wry, witty and compelling family portrait that fires on all cylinders. This film deftly explores the complex boundaries of relationships as it deals with love, loyalty and the trappings of machismo. The Fox 31 Emerging Filmmaker is given to a first or second-time director without U.S. distribution who best displays originality, artistic excellence and visual awareness, while maintaining a consistent directorial vision and technical proficiency. An honorable mention was awarded to Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, a poetic musical journey that explores the traditional love story with a fresh voice, taking chances to form a strong, hybrid-genre style.
The award was juried by filmmaker Mike Plante, programmer for CineVegas and Sundance; Stephanie Reuler, independent producer, writer and producer; and Senior Vice President of Film for Gen Art,Jeffrey Abramson.
Spike Lee Student Filmmaker Award includes jury members James M. Phelan, director and cinematographer; Annie Eastman, a producer, director and editor; and Craig Volk, associate professor of theatre and film. Taking home this award is Land Gwennin (Gaining Ground) directed by Marc Brummund for its compelling narrative of an illegal Ukrainian family attempting to hide in Germany. Forced to deny their young son an education, the father and mother ultimately come to risk exposure to allow their son to begin school. With skillful storytelling, engaging cinematography and strong performances, this sympathetic portrayal of a family struggle is heartfelt and universal.
The first annual ASIFA-Colorado Prize for the Best Animated Short Award went to The Necktie by Jean-François Lévesque. It's a simple yet powerful story with visually-enticing characters combined with extremely well-timed and smooth 2D and 3D animations. Jury members for this award include Evert Brown, freelance director and instructor at Art Institute of Colorado; Ed Desroches, an animator, Web designer and instructor; Judy Gardner, professor at Art Institute of Colorado and Metropolitan State College of Denver; Julie Goldstein, chair of Media Arts and Animation at Art Institute of Colorado; and Wes Price, illustrator and animator.
