The 2013 Florida Film Festival announced the Jury and Audience Awards, and the film THIS IS MARTIN BONNER, directed by Chad Hartigan took the top prize, the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature. The film about fifty-something Martin Bonner (Paul Eenhoorn), a divorced father of two grown kids who’s just declared bankruptcy, and starting a new chapter in his life in Reno, Nevada, was the winner of the audience award for Best of NEXT at 2013 Sundance Film Festival.
Accredited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences®, the Grand Jury Award for Best Live Action and Animated Short films automatically qualifies the winners for entry into the Live Action and Animated Short Film categories of the Academy Awards®.
The complete list of jury and audience award winners of the 2013 Florida Film Festival in the American Independent and International Feature Film, Documentary, and Short Film categories are as follows:
Narrative Features:
Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature – THIS IS MARTIN BONNER, directed by Chad Hartigan
Special Jury Award for Outstanding Ensemble Cast – THIS IS WHERE WE LIVE, directed by Josh Barrett and Marc Menchaca
Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature – THE FORGOTTEN KINGDOM, directed by Andrew Mudge
Documentaries:
Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature – BIG JOY: THE ADVENTURES OF JAMES BROUGHTON, directed by Eric Slade, Stephen Silha, and Dawn Logsdon
Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Short – SKATE YRSELF CLEAN, directed by Janna Jude Brown
Special Jury Award for Outstanding Documentary Directing – SHEPARD & DARK, directed by Treva Wurmfeld
Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature – FAR OUT ISN’T FAR ENOUGH: THE TOMI UNGERER STORY, directed by Brad Bernstein
Shorts:
Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Short – MY NAME IS YOUR FIRST LOVE, directed by Rob Richert
Grand Jury Award for Best Animated Short – BACKYARD JAM, directed by Randall Christopher
Special Jury Award for Outstanding Narrative Short – ASAD, directed by Bryan Buckley
Audience Award for Best Short Film – THINGS YOU DON’T JOKE ABOUT, directed by Viet Nguyen
International:
Audience Award for Best International Feature – STARBUCK (Canada), directed by Ken Scott
Audience Award for Best International Short – HEAD OVER HEELS (UK), directed by Timothy Reckhart