'Cold Wallet' and 'Porcelain War' Win Top Awards at Inaugural Boise Film Festival

Cutter Hodierne’s Cold Wallet won Best Narrative Feature award, while Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev’s Porcelain War received the prize for Best Documentary at the inaugural Boise Film Festival.

In the Pacific Northwest category, recognizing films created and shot in the region, Eric Esau’s Saturn won Best Pacific Northwest Feature , and Jacob Ronnow’s Mankind won Best Pacific Northwest Short Film.

Additional award winners included a very special presentation to Esther Simplot with the first Esther Simplot Excellence in the Arts Award, named in her honor. The presentation inspired a standing ovation as she accepted her award. Best Director awards for La Cocina’s Alonso Ruizpalacios for Best Director – Narrative Feature, and Linda Perry: Let It Die Here’s Don Hardy for Best Director – Documentary. Esteban Pedraza’s Bogota Story won both the Best Short Film prize, as well as the Best Director – Short Film award.

Jury members for the inaugural edition of BFF include Academy Award-nominated producer David Permut, Academy Award-winning actor Octavia Spencer, Emmy Award-winning actor Paul Walter Hauser, Talent Agent David Boxerbaum, Manager/producer Andrew Wilson, and Boise State Film Professor Ryan Cannon.

BFF Founders and Executive Directors, Christine, and Mark Holder, said, “We couldn’t be happier with the reception our filmmakers received from our local film fans, as well as how much our film festival was embraced by the city of Boise. From a supremely supportive Board to an amazing list of sponsors, to the last volunteer, there was an enthusiastic energy that swept up everyone throughout the past four days. Filmmakers bonded with audiences during our Q&As, aspiring writers, directors, and producers received insider knowledge during our master classes, and everyone immersed themselves in the world of cinema with Boise providing a flawless backdrop to it all.”