Noah Baumbach’s critically-acclaimed relationship drama Marriage Story starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, was named the Best Feature Film of 2019 at the Twin Cities Film Fest.
“This is fearless, unshakable filmmaking,” said TCFF Artistic Director Steve Snyder. “And in the captivating performances from Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, we see two of today’s most talented artists confronting the darkness and disorientation of divorce. It’s an unflinching portrayal of disintegrating love, and in the conversations that followed the screening this year at our festival, it was clearly an experience few in the audience will forget.”
The festival’s top non-fiction award went to A Perfect 14, director Giavonna Morales’s exploration of the fashion industry, body image, and the world of plus size modeling. Best Short Film went to Alex Reeves’s The Automaton, a period drama set in the late 1800’s about a young widow’s shocking discovery that her late husband was building a sentient machine.
The 2019 Audience Awards went to Destin Daniel Cretton’s Just Mercy, a new drama profiling renowned civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson and a notable lawsuit in which he fought to free a wrongly condemned death row inmate; Scream Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street, an eye-opening documentary that spotlights the influential homoerotic subtext of the classic horror film; and Oh My Stars, a new short film from director Cynthia Uhrich set during the Great Depression about one woman’s fight to overcome personal adversity with the help of two friends — one white, one black.
Actress Zora Howard received this year’s Indie Vision – Breakthrough Performance Award for her searing portrayal of a 17-year-old living out her last summer at home before going to college in the coming-of-age drama Premature. Wyatt McGill took home this year’s Indie Vision – Breakthrough Achievement Award for his innovative screenplay for 3 Day Weekend, a thriller told through multiple different perspectives, each one offering a different interpretation of the same chain of events.
Albert Mangoli, the director behind Purple Rain, was bestowed with the 2019 North Star Award For Excellence following a special 35th anniversary screening of the film.
The 2019 Fun Is Good Bill Murray Comedic Shorts Award went to Fairy Tail, directed by Justin and Kristin Schaak.
2019 Twin Cities Film Fest Award Winners
Best Feature Film Award: Marriage Story, directed by Noah Baumbach
The Robert Byrd Best Documentary Award: A Perfect 14, directed by Giavonna Morales
Best Short Film Award: The Automaton, directed by Alex Reeves
Audience Award, Feature: Just Mercy, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton
Audience Award, Non-Fiction: Scream Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street, directed by Roman Chimienti and Tyler Jensen
Audience Award, Short Film: Oh My Stars, directed by Cynthia Uhrich
Indie Vision — Breakthrough Performance: Zora Howard (Premature)
Indie Vision — Breakthrough Achievement: Wyatt McGill (3 Day Weekend)
The Fun Is Good Bill Murray Comedic Shorts Award: Fairy Tail, directed by Justin Schaak and Kristin Schaak
2019 North Star Award For Excellence: Albert Mangoli (Purple Rain)
2019 TCFF Changemaker Award: Isra Hirsi and Rosemary Whipple
2019 Twin Cities Film Fest Finalists
Best Feature Film: Honey Boy, directed by Alma Har’el; Jojo Rabbit, directed by Taika Waititi; Just Mercy, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton; Marriage Story, directed by Noah Baumbach; Saint Frances, directed by Alex Thompson; Waves, directed by Trey Edward Shults.
Robert Byrd Best Documentary Film: A Perfect 14, directed by Giovanna Morales Vargas; Gay Chorus Deep South, directed by David Charles Rodrigues; Like Harvey Like Son, directed by Rudy Harris Jr.; The Truth About Marriage, directed by Roger Nygard; Well Groomed, directed by Rebecca Stern.
Best Short Film: Automaton, directed by Alex Reeves; Black Hat, directed by Sarah Smith; Grace, directed by Alexia Oldini; Master Servant, directed by Julie Koehnen; Our Transition, directed by Connor O’Keefe.
Indie Vision Award for Breakthrough Achievement: 3 Day Weekend (Writer Wyatt McDill); The Field (Cinematographer Tate Bunker); Last Call (Director Gavin Michael Booth); Olympic Dreams (Writer Jeremy Teicher); Premature (Actress Zora Howard); The Protectors (Visual Effects Supervisor Ben Hughes)
Fun Is Good Bill Murray Comedy Shorts Award: Be Right Back, directed by Michael Driscoll; The Do It Up Date, directed by Andrew Barchilon and Emily Ting; Fairy Tale, directed by Justin Schaack and Kristin Schaack.