This evening the 59th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 21 - May 5), presented by the San Francisco Film Society, announced the winners of the juried Golden Gate Award (GGA) competitions at an event held at Gray Area. This year the Festival awarded nearly $40,000 in prizes to emerging and established filmmakers. For nearly 60 years, SFIFF's Golden Gate Awards have honored deserving filmmakers and their projects, heralding unsung excellence and exposing local and international audiences to unique and innovative filmmaking. Among the most significant awards for emerging global film artists in the United States, the Golden Gate Awards embody the Film Society's commitment to global storytelling independent filmmaking. GOLDEN GATE NEW DIRECTORS (NARRATIVE FEATURE) PRIZE The Golden Gate Awards New Directors jury was composed of film critic Justin Chang, producer Benjamin Domenech, and IFP's Executive Director Joana Vicente. Winner: The Demons, Philippe Lesage (Canada) * Receives $10,000 cash prize In a statement, the jury noted: "The Demons is an extraordinarily perceptive and structurally daring exploration of childhood in all its terrors and anxieties, both real and imagined." Special Jury Prize: Mountain, Yaelle Kayam (Israel/Denmark) The jury noted: "The film provides a rigorous and multifaceted character study that becomes a bold statement about the role of women in physical and psychological confinement." GOLDEN GATE AWARDS FOR DOCUMENTARY FEATURES The GGA Documentary feature competitions jury was comprised of journalist, film critic and programmer Eric Hynes; Sundance Institute's Director of the Documentary Film Program Tabitha Jackson; and documentarian Jeff Malmberg. Documentary Feature Winner: Cameraperson, Kirsten Johnson (USA) * Receives $10,000 cash prize The jury noted in a statement: "We honor Cameraperson for its compassion and curiosity; for its almost tangible connection to subjects and humble acknowledgment of its own subjectivity; for its singular enfolding of memoir, essay and collage; for its perfect expression of the vital collaboration between director and editor; and for its disarming invitation for us to participate in the meaning and construction of the work, and by extension the meaning and construction of documentary cinema itself." Special Jury Prize: Notes on Blindness, Peter Middleton, James Spinney (UK/France) The jury noted: "We extend a special mention to Notes on Blindness, in recognition of an audaciously ambitious, formally inventive and yet fully realized film that somehow manages to translate an intensely interior experience into compelling, even revelatory cinema, ingeniously articulating what it means to see and be seen." Bay Area Documentary Winner: The Return, Kelly Duane de la Vega, Katie Galloway (USA) * Receives $5,000 cash prize The jury noted: "We are honoring a film that starts where others would stop, that addresses the inhumanity of America's criminal justice system through patient and humane observation, handling the complexities of its subjects not as matters to work around, but to embrace as a pathway to deeper feeling and understanding." GOLDEN GATE AWARDS FOR SHORT FILMS The GGA Short Film jury consisted of festival programmer Laura Thielen; Fandor's Vice President of Film Acquisitions Amanda Salazar; and independent media writer, producer and creative consultant Santhosh Daniel. Narrative Short Winner: Night Without Distance, Lois Patiño (Portugal/Spain) * Receives $2,000 cash prize Documentary Short Winner: The Send-Off, Patrick Bresnan, Ivete Lucas (USA) * Receives $2,000 cash prize Animated Short Winner: Manoman, Simon Cartwright (UK) * Receives $2,000 cash prize Special Jury Prize: Glove, Alexa Lim Haas, Bernardo Britto (USA) New Visions Short Winner: My Aleppo, Melissa Langer (USA) * Receives $1,500 cash prize Bay Area Short First Prize Winner: Extremis, Dan Krauss (USA) * Receives $1,500 cash prize Bay Area Short Second Prize Winner: In Attla's Tracks, Catharine Axley (USA) * Receives $1,000 cash prize The shorts jury noted: "These well-wrought miniatures connected us to the world and our own humanity in urgent and unexpected ways. We were impressed by the 29 storytellers in competition, and we thank them for sharing their visions with San Francisco audiences. We look forward to seeing what they do next." GOLDEN GATE AWARD FOR FAMILY FILM The Family Film jury consisted of Betsy Bozdech, Executive Editor, Ratings & Reviews at Common Sense Media; animator and filmmaker Jim Capobianco; and animation director Simon J. Smith. Winner: Bunny New Girl, Natalie van den Dungen (Australia) * Receives $500 cash prize The jury noted: "Bunny New Girl was recognized for its great, relatable message of acceptance and solidarity in a new community -- as well as technical achievement, strong talent direction, and able storytelling that builds to a powerful and entertaining ending." Special Jury Prize: Simon's Cat: Off to the Vet, Simon Tofield (UK) The jury noted: "We recognize this film for its pure entertainment value, great observational comedy, laugh-out loud jokes, and clear cat knowledge." GOLDEN GATE AWARD FOR YOUTH WORK The Youth Works jury was comprised of bay area high school students Sophia Anderson, Karla Mandujano and Kyle Wolfe, with adult supervisor Aldo Mora-Blanco of Film School Shorts at KQED. Winner: Elliot, Dennis Kim (South Korea/USA) * Receives $1,000 cash prize -- including $500 donated by Vancouver Film School. The winner will also receive a one week scholarship, including tuition and accommodation, to one of the Vancouver Film School's Summer Intensive Programs. The jury noted: "In another filmmaker's hands, the story may have been an old hat. But in this filmmaker's craft, what emerges is a meticulously crafted, well thought-out narrative that is engaging and beautiful to look at." Special Jury Prize: Lucky Numbers, Chester Milton (USA) * Receives $500 cash prize donated by Vancouver Film School The jury noted: "Lucky Numbers is a crowd pleasing black comedy that managed to balance humor and morbidity perfectly." GOOGLE BREAKTHROUGH IN TECHNOLOGY AWARD The Google Breakthrough in Technology Award jury was comprised of members of Google's Computer Science in Media and Industry Relations teams, including: Courtney McCarthy, Strategist in Computer Science in Media and Julia Hamilton Trost, Account Executive, Google Media Sales. Google presents the Breakthrough in Technology Award for the best use or display of technology and innovation. The award honors filmmakers who go the extra mile to highlight the use of technology to solve a problem and make the world a better place, and aspires to promote diversity in tech while disrupting negative stereotypes in STEM fields. Winner: From My Head to Hers, Maria Alvarez (USA) * Receives $500 cash prize donated by Google Inc. Access photos from the Golden Gate Awards event here (starting noon 5/5). For general information visit festival.sffs.org. To request interviews or screeners, contact your Festival publicist. For photos and press materials visit sffs.org/pressdownloads. |