“Jury Duty,” “Pressure Cooker” Among Winners at Philadelphia CineFest

The Philadelphia CineFest has announced its 2009 award winners. The Jury Award for Best Feature went to Edouard Niermans’ “Jury Duty,” a French psychological thriller set in the 1960s amidst Algeria’s fight for independence, while the Jury Award for Best Documentary was given to Mark Becker and Jennifer Grausman’s “Pressure Cooker,” which follows three culinary students striving to succeed in Northeast Philadelphia.

The complete list of winners:

Jury Awards

Best Feature: “Jury Duty”
Best Documentary: “Pressure Cooker”
Best First Film: Michael Keaton for “Merry Gentlemen”
Best Director: Philippe Falardeau for “It’s Not Me I Swear”
Best American Independent: “Mississippi Damned”

Festival of Independent Awards

Best Feature Film: “Heart of Stone”
Best Feature – Documentary: “See What I’m Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary”
Best Short – Documentary: “Women in War Zones – Sexual Violence in the Congo”
Best Short – Narrative: “Adam and Evan”
Best Short – Animation: “American Terror – Company Man”
Best Short – Experimental: “Subconscious”
Archie Award for Best First Time Director: Nina Paley for “Sita Sings the Blues”

Audience Awards

Best Feature Film: “The Nail: They Story of Joey Nardone”
Best Documentary: “Herb and Dorothy”
Best Danger After Dark: “20th Century Boys: Chapter 2”