The 15th Rhode Island International Film Festival concluded last week with several awards. The festival narrowed down 4,537 submissions to just over 200 films, with 18 world and 21 North American/United States premieres.
Paul Sorvino was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award, while “Sailcloth,” “As If I’m Not There” and “Marathon Boy” took home the grand prizes for best short and best narrative feature and best documentary feature, respectively.
The complete list of film awards follows:
BEST SHORT
GRAND: Sailcloth, Directed by Elfar Adalsteins, United Kingdom
First: Going Nowhere, Directed by Rene Frelle Peterson, Denmark
Tied with: Henry, Directed by Yan England, Canada
Honorable Mention: The Telegram Man, Directed by James F. Khehtie, Australia
BEST FEATURE:
GRAND: As If I’m Not There, Directed by Juanita Wilson, Ireland, Sweden, Macedonia
First: Fort McCoy, Directed by Kate Connor, U.S.A.
Tied With: Inuk, Directed by Michael Magidson, France, Greenland
BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY:
GRAND: Marathon Boy, Directed by Gemma Atwal, United Kingdom, U.S.A.
First: The Pipe, Directed by Risteard O’Domhnaill, Ireland
Honorable Mention: Holly Rollers: The True Story of Card Counting Christians, Directed by Bryan Storkel, U.S.A.
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
GRAND: Incident in New Baghdad, Directed by James Spione, U.S.A.
First: Sun City Picture House, Directed by David Darg, Haiti
Honorable Mention: Johnny and Lyman: A Life Together, Directed by Paul Detwiler and Michael Chen, U.S.A.
Tied with: Two Sides of the Moon: The Honor Killing of Hatun Anyur Surucu, Directed by David Gould, Germany
BEST COMEDY SHORT
GRAND: Tooty’s Wedding, Directed by Frederic Casella, United Kingdom
First: Gin and Dry, Directed by Oscar Plewes, United Kingdom
Tied with: dik, Directed by Christopher Stollery, Australia
Second: Two’s A Crowd, Directed by Jim and Tom Isler, U.S.A.
BEST ANIMATION
GRAND: The Maker, Directed by Christopher Kezelos, Australia
First: Fluffle, Directed by Stephanie Franz, U.S.A.
Honorable Mention: Hairoes, Directed by Jesse Emerson and Gaetan Raspanti, Australia
BEST EXPERIMENTAL
Snovi, Directed by Resad Kulenovic, Herzegovina, U.S.A.
BEST DIRECTOR
GRAND: Terry George, The Shore, United Kingdom, Ireland
First: Daniel Gillies, Broken Kingdom, Colombia, U.S.A.
Honorable Mention: Halima Ouardiri, Mokhtar, Canada
BEST FEMALE ACTRESS
GRAND: Melissa Leo, The Sea is All I Know, U.S.A.
First: Kate Hartcourt, Pacific Dreams, New Zealand
Tied with: Annabeth Gish, Commerce, U.S.A.
BEST MALE ACTOR
GRAND: Andrew Simpson, All That Way For Love, Kenya, United Kingdom
First: Michael Cuomo, Happy New Year, U.S.A.
Tied with: Ciaran Hinds, The Shore, Ireland, United Kingdom
DIRECTORIAL DISCOVERY AWARD
Happy New Year, Directed by K. Lorrel Manning, U.S.A.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
GRAND: Pillow, Directed by Gabe Mayhan, U.S.A.
First: Little Angel, Directed by Ginny Loane, New Zealand
Tied with: Dark Side of the Lens, Directed by Mickey Smith and Allan Wilson, Ireland
BEST EDITING:
GRAND: Steve, Edited by Tania Clarke, Directed by Rupert Friend, United Kingdom
First: Brot [Bread], Edited Anne Kristina Kliem and Monika Schindler, Directed by Ahmet Tas, Germany
BEST SCREENPLAY
GRAND: Face to Face, Written by Michael Rymer, Australia
First: A Wake, Written by Penelope Buitenhuis and Krista Sutton, Canada
Honorable Mention: Stranger Things, Written by Eleanor Burke and Ron Eyal, U.S.A.
RISING STAR AWARD
College: Jeremy, Directed by Brian Faye, U.S.A.
High School: Onion Skin, Directed by Joseph Procopio, Canada
RIIFF INTERNATIONAL AMBASSADOR AWARD
A Balloon for Allah, Directed by Nefise Özkal Lorentzen, Norway
Presented to a filmmaker whose work fosters communication, education and cultural understanding
“HELPING HAND” INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN AWARD
Hand Held, Directed by Don Hahn, U.S.A.
Given annually to a film or filmmaker that inspires social change, community outreach and a better of the world in which we live
PROVIDENCE FILM FESTIVAL
GRAND: Leh Wi Tok, Directed by John Lavall, Sierra Leone, U.S.A.
First: Atomic Mom, Directed by M.T. Silvia, U.S.A.
Presented annually to films made by filmmakers from the southern New England region
RIIFF’S 15th ANNIVERSARY AWARD
The Wholly Family, Directed by Terence Vance Gilliam
Presented to a filmmaker whose work exemplifies the best of the short film genre – a category of film that has come to define RIIFF
ALTERNATIVE SPIRIT AWARD (GLBT)
GRAND: The Green, Directed by Steven Williford, U.S.A.
First: Love Is All You Need?, Directed by K. Rocco Shields, U.S.A.
Tied with: Judas Kiss, Directed by J.T. Tepnapa, U.S.A.
BEST ORIGINAL MUSICAL COMPOSITION (SCORE)
GRAND: Jealous of the Birds, Composition by Aleksy Igudesman and Hans Zimmer, Germany, Poland, U.S.A.
First: Hollow, Composition by Christopher Slaski, United Kingdom
Honorable Mention: Crazy Beats Strong Every Time, Composition by John Jenning Boyd, U.S.A.
KIDSEYE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL GRAND PRIZE
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, Directed by William Joyce, USA
VORTEX SCI-FI & FANTASY
GRAND: Digital Antiquities, Directed by J.P. Chan, U.S.A.
First: Pinion, Directed by Asuka Sylvie, Australia
FILMMAKER OF THE FUTURE AWARD
Hollow, Directed by Rob Sorrenti, United Kingdom
Presented to a filmmaker whose vision excites audiences and judges alike about the potential to produce compelling and successful films in the future
RIIFF YOUTH JURY AWARDS
BEST DOCUMENTARY
With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story, Directed by William Hess, U.S.A.
BEST FEATURE FILM
Broken Kingdom, Directed by Daniel Gillies, Colombia, U.S.A.
BEST SHORT FILM
Hollow, Directed by Rob Sorrenti, United Kingdom
HONORABLE MENTION
Judas Kiss, Directed by J.T. Tepnapa, U.S.A.
VIOLA M. MARSHALL AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS
Most Popular
Grand Prize:
“Atomic Mom” Directed by M.T. Silvia, USA, 2010
Best Documentary
Grand Prize:
“Family Band: The Cowsills Story” Directed by Louise Palanker and Ian Broyles, USA, 2011
First Prize: “Fambul Tok (Family Talk)” Directed by Sara Terry, USA/ Sierra Leone, 2011
Best Feature
Grand Prize:
“Inuk” (Le Voyage d’Inuk) Directed by Michael Magidson, France/Greenland, 2010
First Prize: “Take Me Home” Directed by Sam Jaeger, USA, 2011
Best Short
Grand Prize:
“La Historia de Siempre (The Same Old Story)” Directed by Jose Luis Montesinos, Spain, 2009
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