Pony

Kornel Mundruczo’s Cannes award-winning White God (pictured above) took home the Narrative Feature Jury prize at the 2015 Sarasota Film Festival. Walking Under Water, directed by Eliza Kubarska, was the Documentary Jury Prize winner, with  Actors Blythe Danner, Jane Seymour and Rachel Weisz among this year’s festival attendees. Four special jury prizes were awarded; in the Narrative Feature Competition category, Radiator directed by Tom Browne took home two Special Jury Prizes, one for Excellence in Acting to Gemma Jones and one for Excellence in Production Design to Sarah Kane. In the Documentary Feature Competition category, a Special Jury Prize was awarded to Almost There, directed by Dan Rybicky and Aaron Wickenden, for complex hands-on storytelling. A second Special Jury Prize for Artistic Portraiture was awarded to Scott Teems’ Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey. The festival’s Independent Visions Award, presented by FACTORY 25, went to Lamb, directed by Ross Partridge. In addition, the jury gave a Best Ensemble Cast Award to Uncertain Terms, directed by Nathan Silver, and an Excellence in Cinematography Award to Adam Ginsberg for Tired Moonlight. The festival’s Shorts Jury awarded Angel Kristi Williams’ Charlotte for their Narrative Competition, Meg Smaker’sBoxeadora for their Documentary Competition, and Don Hertzfeldt’s World of Tomorrow their Animation Competition. The Terry Porter Visionary Award went to Khalik Allah for Field Niggas, and the Tangerine Juice Award went to Maya Vitkova for Viktoria. This year’s Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature was The End of the Tour, directed by James Ponsoldt. The Audience Award for Best Documentary was presented to The Surgery Ship, directed by Madeleine Hetherton. The Best in World Cinema Audience Award went to The Connection, directed by Cédric Jimenez. Pony and director Candice Carella won the Audience Award for Best Short Film. In addition, I’LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS’ Blythe Danner received the Impact Award, Ondi Timoner received the Dramatic Storytelling in Documentary Award for BRAND: A SECOND COMING. Rachel Weisz presented director Tom Browne the Emerging World Cinema Auteur Award for their film RADIATOR, and Lynda Obst received the Polly Platt Award for Producing.  Charles E. Williams received the Poitier Family Award. “We had a very competitive line up this year.  It is an honor for us to award and spotlight these talented filmmakers for the 17th installment of our festival,” said Mark Famiglio, President of the Sarasota Film Festival. “These films thrive on genuine passion and ambition, which is a sentiment we truly capitalize on at the Sarasota Film Festival.  We continue to lay the groundwork and look forward to many more engaging and exciting years ahead.” Congratulations to the 2015 winners of The Sarasota Film Festival Awards: Narrative Feature Competition Winner White God Director – Kornél Mundruczó Narrative Feature Competition Special Jury Prize for Excellence in Acting Radiator Actor – Gemma Jones Director – Tom Browne Narrative Feature Competition Special Jury Prize for Excellence in Production Design Radiator Production Designer – Sarah Kane Director – Tom Browne Documentary Feature Competition Winner Walking Under Water Director – Eliza Kubarska Documentary Feature Competition Special Jury Prize for Complex Hands-on Storytelling Almost There Directors – Dan Rybicky and Aaron Wickenden Documentary Feature Competition Special Jury Prize for Artistic Portraiture Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey Director – Scott Teems Independent Visions Competition Winner Presented by Factory 25 Lamb Director – Ross Partridge Independent Visions Special Jury Prize for Best Ensemble Cast Uncertain Terms Director – Nathan Silver Independent Visions Special Jury Prize for Excellence in Cinematography Tired Moonlight Cinematographer – Adam Ginsberg Shorts Narrative Competition Charlotte Director – Angel Kristi Williams Shorts Documentary Competition Boxeadora Director – Meg Smaker Shorts Animation Competition World of Tomorrow Director – Don Hertzfeldt Audience Award Winner Best Narrative Feature The End of the Tour Director – James Ponsoldt Audience Award Winner Best Documentary Feature The Surgery Ship Director – Madeleine Hetherton Audience Award Winner Best Short Film Pony Director – Candice Carella Audience Award Winner Best in World Cinema The Connection Director – Cédric Jimenez The Jurors Narrative Feature David Edelstein – Chief Film Critic, New York Magazine Louis Black – Co-founder of SXSW and Austin Chronicle Ilyse McKimme – Lab Director of Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program Documentary Feature Steve Dollar – Feature Film Writer, Wall Street Journal Maureen Masters – Director of Regional Publicity, Magnolia Pictures Jess Weixler – Actor, APARTMENT TROUBLES Independent Visions Matt Grady – Founder, Factory 25 Regina Weinreich – Feature Film Writer, The Huffington Post Alicia Witt – Actress and singer/songwriter Shorts Leah Meyerhoff – Director (Student Academy Award Winner) Robin Fryday – Director (Academy Award nominee) Emily Best – Producer, Founder of Seed & Spark

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