St. Lawrence International Film Festival Announces 2015 Award Winners

The first annual St. Lawrence International Film Festival came to an end over the weekend with a closing brunch that featured the announcement of several awards. Big winners at the festival — which calls both the U.S. and Canada its home, thanks to its unique location on “The Fourth Coast,” stationed in both Canton, New York and Ottawa, Ontario — included “The Sex Temple,” “Sucker” and “The Preppie Connection.”

“I couldn’t be more excited that ‘The Sex Temple’ and ‘Sucker’ are taking home our top prizes, and representing the international flavor of our festival. They both capture our Beyond Borders theme in more than one way, showcasing stories that force people to reassess the boundaries of propriety, class, and legality. We are very proud that the filmmakers came from Sweden and London to share their films with us,” said Bears Fonte, Director of Programming for the St. Lawrence International Film Festival.

Below are the St. Lawrence International Film Festival award winners.

Narrative Feature

“Sucker,” Writer/Director: Ben Chessell, Co-Writer: Lawrence Leung, Cast: Timothy Spall, Lily Sullivan, Jacek Koman, Jacinta Stapleton, and Eddie Baroo

Documentary Feature

“The Sex Temple,” Director: Johan Palmgren

Narrative Short

“Unspoken,” Writer/Director: George Zaverdas

Documentary Short

“The Rat Slayer of Hillside NJ,” Director: Andrew Keogh Ruotolo

Empire State Filmmaker Award

“The Preppie Connection,” Director/Writer: Joseph Castelo, Co-Writer: Ashley Rudden

Student Film Winner presented by St. Lawrence University

“Face Time,” Director: Sharlene Lee from Clarkson University