Today the Los Angeles Film Festival, which ran from Thursday, June 16 to Sunday, June 26 in downtown Los Angeles, announced the jury and audience award winners for the 2011 Festival.
The Narrative Award recognizes the finest narrative film in competition at the Festival and went to Stéphane Lafleur for the North American Premiere of Familiar Ground. The Documentary Award recognizes the finest documentary film in competition at the Festival and went to Beverly Kopf and Bobbie Birleffi for the World Premiere of Wish Me Away.
The award for Best Performance in the Narrative Competition went to Amber Sealey, Kent Osborne, Amanda Street, and Gabriel Diamond for their performances in Amber Sealey’s How to Cheat.
The award for Best Narrative Short Film went to Saba Riazi’s The Wind Is Blowing on My Street. The award for Best Documentary Short Film went to Susan Koenen’s I Am a Girl!. Mikey Please’s The Eagleman Stag won the award for Best Animated Short Film.
The Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature went to Attack the Block, directed by Joe Cornish and the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature went to Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest, directed by Michael Rapaport. Asif Kapadia’s Senna won the Audience Award for Best International Feature.
The Audience Award for Best Short Film went to Blind Date, directed by Joe Rosen. Can’t Shake This Feeling, directed by The General Assembly’s Adam Littke, Ryan McNeill, Adam Willis won the Audience Award for Best Music Video for Grum.
The Narrative Feature Competition jury was comprised of director Lynn Shelton (Humpday, My Effortless Brilliance), Head/Founder of Giant Robot Eric Nakamura, and screenwriter Daniel Waters (Heathers, Batman Returns). The Documentary Feature Competition jury was comprised of Spirit Award-winning director Jeff Malmberg (Marwencol), Executive Director of the International Documentary Association Michael Lumpkin, and Co-editor of Slake magazine Laurie Ochoa. The Shorts Competition jury was comprised of casting director Margery Simkin, film critic Alonso Duralde, and actress Lisa Gay Hamilton.