A WORLD NOT OURS
The winners of the 2014 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival’s Feature, Big Sky, Short and Mini-Doc categories were announced before an energized and packed house last night at the Top Hat Lounge in downtown Missoula. The Best Feature award went to A WORLD NOT OURS, described as an intimate and funny portrait of three generations of exile in the refugee camp of Ain el-Helweh, in southern Lebanon. “Through his unique sensibility and keenly perceptive eye, filmmaker Mahdi Fleifel gives us a fascinating glimpse into the world of the Palestinian refugee camp where he grew up,” read the judges’ statement. “In so doing, he creates a remarkable cinematic journey that is both highly personal and strikingly universal.”
The Big Sky Award was earned by URANIUM DRIVE-IN, described as the gripping story of a once-booming Colorado mining town as it grapples with the prospect of a return to the mining industry that offers a conflicting mix of economic prosperity and environmental and health challenges. The film was directed by Susan Beraza. “We chose URANIUM DRIVE-IN for the Big Sky Award because of its balanced and raw look at the realities of mining,” said the jury. “The filmmakers took great care with the subject and the characters and the result is a powerful story about life in the west.” URANIUM DRIVE-IN also took home a cash prize of $1000 sponsored by the Montana Film Office.
The Best Short award winner was THE RECORD BREAKER, described as the funny and surprisingly heartfelt tale of Ashrita Furman, the man with the most Guinness World Records of all time. The film’s director is Brian McGinn. “THE RECORD BREAKER is witty, fast-paced and accomplished, with an engaging character who has found his own personal quirky passion in life,” said the judges. “Underneath the fun, the film grapples with deeper, even profound issues such as the nature of obsession and changing relationships between parents and child.”
And finally, the winner of the Best Mini-Doc award went to EUGENE, directed by Jordan Olshanksy and Jason Stanfield. The 13-minute film, shot over the course of several months, tracks the last days of a homeless man living in the outskirts of San Francisco. The judges’ statement was not available as of press time.
The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival’s status as a qualifying festival for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the Short and Mini-Doc categories means that THE RECORD BREAKER and EUGENE are now eligible for consideration for next year’s Oscars.
In addition to the category winners, judges were given the option of presenting an Artistic Vision award in each category. In each case, the jury found a film so deserving. They are: TRUCKER AND THE FOX (Feature), directed by Arash Lahooti; TRANSMORMON (Big Sky), directed by Torben Bernhard; PRISON TERMINAL (Short), directed by Edgar Barens; and ADRIFT (Mini-Doc), directed by Frederik Depickere.
The award screenings will cap a busy final weekend of the nine-day festival. In addition to Friday evening’s full slate of films, screenings will be held in all four festival venues throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday, including a slate of “Movies You Missed” made up of some of the most popular films screened during the previous week. Film schedule and information can be found at bigskyfilmfest.org.