The Pink Lagoon directed by Juan Arce and Francisco Gallo took the Best of Fest Audience Choice – Best Film Award at the 31st Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF). The film stars actress Monica Arce as Marian, a fiercely independent, twentysomething young woman with Down’s syndrome who loves ballet, art, and living her best life.
The 22nd Whitaker St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase, an annual presentation of the nonprofit Cinema St. Louis (CSL), serving as the area’s primary venue for films made by local artists, announced the winning films and filmmakers. The Showcase screened works that were shot in the St. Louis region or were written, directed, or produced by St. Louis-area residents or by filmmakers with strong local ties who are now working elsewhere. The Showcase’s 14 film programs ranged from narrative and documentary features to multi-film compilations of fiction, experimental, and documentary shorts.