‘SHUFFLE,’ the tale of a man that begins to experience his life out of order, took home Best Picture at the 2012 Phoenix Film Festival’s Awards Ceremony on Sunday night, April 1st. The film, which stars TJ Thyne, also picked up the award for best director, which went to Kurt Kuenne. The Cox Audience Award, given to the film that received the highest grade from festival goers, went to Gary King’s ‘How Do You Write a Joe Schermann Song’ which also earned King the Dan Harkins Breakthrough Filmmaker Award.
Other notable awards given out Sunday included Best Documentary, won by ‘We Run Shit,’ and Best Ensemble to the film ‘Searching for Sonny.’ ‘Sonny’ writer, Andrew Disney, also picked up the Festival’s Best Screenwriter Award. From the International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival, which featured some of the best genre specific cinema from around the world, ‘Pig’ won for best Sci-Fi feature, and ‘It’s In The Blood’ took home the award for best horror feature. “I was blown away by the quality of films this year,” said festival director, Jason Carney. “In our twelve year’s of existence, this is the best line-up that we’ve had. Congratulations to the filmmakers!”
A full list of winners from Sunday night’s ceremony is featured below:
International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Fest Awards
Best Sci-Fi Short Film
Secret Identity
Best Sci-Fi Feature Film
Pig
Best Horror Short Film
Brutal Relax
Best Horror Feature Film
It’s In The Blood
Short Film Awards
Best Grade/HS Short Film
Trolley
Best College Short Film
The Life Smugglers
Best Arizona Short Film
Parallax
Best Documentary Short Film
Sacred Poison
Best Live Action Short Film
Play By Play
Best Animated Short Film
Masks
World Cinema Awards
World Cinema Short Film
La Media Pena
World Cinema Documentary
Wolves Unleashed
World Cinema Director
Ruggero Dipaola, Apartment in Athens
World Cinema Best Picture
Apartment in Athens
World Cinema Audience Award Winner
Lidice
Foundation Awards
Arizona Filmmaker of the Year
Diane Dresback
Volunteer of the Year
Tiffany Hutson
Board Member of the Year
Lori Alderfer
Feature Film Awards
Dan Harkins Breakthrough Filmmaker Award
Gary King, How Do You Write A Joe Schermann Song
Best Documentary
We Run Sh*t
Best Ensemble
Searching for Sonny
Best Director
Kurt Kuenne, Shuffle
Best Screenwriting
Andrew Disney, Searching for Sonny
Cox Audience Award
How Do You Write A Joe Schermann Song
Best Picture
Shuffle
The 12th Annual Phoenix film Festival continues at Harkins Scottsdale 101 Theaters located at 7000 E. Mayo Blvd. Phoenix, AZ 85054 until Thursday night, April 5th. The Festival will continue to feature the winners and other popular films at various screenings throughout the week.