The 2021 San Luis Obispo International Film Festival announced this year’s filmmaker award winners with Xuan Liu’s Bloom winning Best Narrative Feature; and Lisa Molomot and Jeff Bemiss’ Missing in Brooks County along with Paul Michael Angeli’s Medicine Man: The Stan Brock Story tie for Best Documentary Feature.
Audience Award winners were topped by Silje Salomonsen and Arild Ostin Ommundsen’s Sisters: The Summer we Found our Superpowers, chosen as Best Narrative Feature, Judith Ehrlich’s The Boys Who Said NO!, Best Documentary Feature, with Missing in Brooks County taking the Best of Fest award.
San Luis Obispo International Film Festival Director Skye McLennan, said, “We were thrilled to welcome back so many from our film festival family and have the opportunity to see several at the drive-in and in-person, just as it was exciting to once again introduce people from all over the state of California to see our films and get a taste of what makes SLO Film Fest so special. We look forward to some of them making the trip to join us in beautiful San Luis Obispo next year.”
Additional winners in the George Sidney Independent Film Awards category included; Meital Cohen Navarro’s Over My Dead Body (Best Narrative Short Film); Jacob Reed’s Full Picture and Dana Frankoff’s Voice Above Water (tied for Best Documentary Short Film); Best Animated Film selection Kapaemahu from directors Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer, and Joe Wilson; and Best Student Film, Sous La Grace, from the directing team of Luce Grosjean, Ismail Berrahma, Flore Dupont, Laurie Estampes, Quentin Nory, and Hugo Potin.
Other films to win the audiences’ favor included; Jacob Reed’s GUM (Best Narrative Short Film); Kris Bowers and Ben Proudfoot A Concerto Is a Conversation (Best Documentary Short Film); Miranda Winters and Rocky Romano’s We Can’t Breathe (Best Music Video); and Justice Whitaker’s Restrictions Apply (Best Central Coast Film).
Winners of the Central Coast Filmmaker Awards were; Chris Hite and Dennis Ford’s FireStorm ’77: The True Story of the Honda Canyon Fire (Best Feature Length Film); Alix Angelis’ comedy Seance-ing (Best Narrative Short Film); Nick Cavalier’s Bodega de Edgar (Best Documentary Short Film); and Jo Anna Edmison’s stylish documentary Stoke Chasers (Best Student Film). The Music Video category was singled out for awards including Miranda Winters and Rocky Romano’s We Can’t Breathe (Best Overall); Taisia Deeva’s Parachute with music by Paul Kalkbrenner (Best International); and Casey Wieber’s Insufferable with music by Heart to Heart (Best SLO County).
The San Luis Obispo International Film Festival also continued its traditional support of the development of student filmmakers with SLO’s Filmmakers of Tomorrow Showcase. Award winners included; Jacob Pincus’ Last Stop (Best Narrative Film); Akash Dewan’s We Are The Revolution (Best Documentary Film); Emmanuel Li’s Music For The End Of The World (Best International Film); Phoebe Mitchem’s Amplitude Of Thoughts (Best SLO County Film); and Piotr Kazmierczak’s System Error (Best Animated Film).
2021 San Luis Obispo Film Festival Award Winners
GEORGE SIDNEY INDEPENDENT FILM AWARDS
BLOOM – Best Narrative Feature
Director: Xuan Liu
MEDICINE MAN: THE STAN BROCK STORY – Best Documentary Feature (TIE)
Director: Paul Michael Angeli
MISSING IN BROOKS COUNTY – Best Documentary Feature (TIE)
Directors: Lisa Molomot, Jeff Bemiss
OVER MY DEAD BODY – Best Narrative Short Film
Director: Meital Cohen Navarro
FULL PICTURE – Best Documentary Short Film (TIE)
Director: Jacob Reed
VOICE ABOVE WATER – Best Documentary Short Film (TIE)
Director: Dana Frankoff
KAPAEMAHU – Best Animated Film
Directors: Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson
SOUS LA GRACE – Best Student Film
Directors: Luce Grosjean, Ismail Berrahma, Flore Dupont, Laurie Estampes, Quentin Nory, Hugo Potin
AUDIENCE AWARDS
MISSING IN BROOKS COUNTY – Best in Fest (Highest Score)
Directors: Lisa Molomot, Jeff Bemiss
SISTERS: THE SUMMER WE FOUND OUR SUPERPOWERS – Best Narrative Feature
Directors: Silje Salomonsen, Arild Ostin Ommundsen
THE BOYS WHO SAID NO! – Best Documentary Feature
Director: Judith Ehrlich
GUM – Best Narrative Short Film
Director: Jacob Reed
A CONCERTO IS A CONVERSATION – Best Documentary Short Film
Directors: Kris Bowers, Ben Proudfoot
WE CAN’T BREATHE – Best Music Video
Directors: Miranda Winters, Rocky Romano
RESTRICTIONS APPLY – Best Central Coast Film
Director: Justice Whitaker
CENTRAL COAST FILMMAKER AWARDS
FIRESTORM ‘77: THE TRUE STORY OF THE HONDA CANYON FIRE – Best Feature Length Film
Directors: Chris Hite, Dennis Ford
SÉANCE-ING – Best Narrative Short Film
Director: Alix Angelis
BODEGA DE EDGAR – Best Documentary Short Film
Director: Nick Cavalier
STOKE CHASERS – Best Student Film
Director: Jo Anna Edmison
MUSIC VIDEOS
WE CAN’T BREATHE – Best Overall
Directors: Miranda Winters, Rocky Romano
PARACHUTE – Best International
Director: Taisia Deeva
Music: Paul Kalkbrenner
INSUFFERABLE – Best SLO County
Director: Casey Wieber
Music: Heart to Heart
FILMMAKERS OF TOMORROW SHOWCASE
LAST STOP – Best Narrative Film
Director: Jacob Pincus
WE ARE THE REVOLUTION – Best Documentary Film
Director: Akash Dewan
MUSIC FOR THE END OF THE WORLD – Best International Film
Director: Emmanuel Li
AMPLITUDE OF THOUGHTS – Best SLO County Film
Director: Phoebe Mitchem
SYSTEM ERROR – Best Animated Film
Director: Piotr Kazmierczak