Deniz & AliceThe Los Angeles AFI Festival, presented by Audi, ends tonight with the premiere of Paramount's The Big Short with it's all star (male) cast. But two women we're instant new fans of were the winners. First time feature director Deniz Gamze Ergüven and second time feature director Alice Winocour both had films in the fest (Mustang, which they cowrote and Ergüven directed, and Disorder, which was titled Maryland when it first debuted at Cannes, which Winocour wrote and directed.) Mustang opens in NY & LA a week from tomorrow. Disorder is due in March next year. They're both very much worth seeing so keep an eye on these two very talented women. I know we will.
NEW AUTEURS AWARDS
Jury: Inkoo Kang (TheWrap), Sheri Linden (The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times) and Nigel M. Smith (The Guardian).
New Auteurs Grand Jury Award: Land and Shade (César Augusto Acevedo)
The jury cited it's "visual eloquence, formal rigor and emotional power" in painting a portrait of a rural family in Colombia and its observations about the explotation of the poor and environmental degradation
Special Jury Mention for Direction: Alice Winocour for Disorder
The Jury honored her for her "taut and muscular direction" as well as for subverting genre expectations. Kieran reviewed the film for us here... and I'm also an instant fan of this director. (This is her second full length feature)
Special Jury Mention for Screenplay: Lorenzo Vigas for Desde Allá
This LGBT drama about a wealthy closeted gay man and a young thief who robs him but keeps returning, previously reviewed at TIFF by Amir, was honored for its heartbreaking authenticity and "keen insights" into relationships.
GRAND JURY AWARDS, LIVE ACTION AND ANIMATED SHORT
special jury mention of "Teeth," an animated short
AFI is an Oscar qualifying festival for the Oscars which means you might see these winners pop up again on the finalist list or as nominees. The jury: filmmaker Janicza Bravo, producer Keith Calder and the British Film Commission’s Tara Halloran.
Grand Jury Award for Live Action Short: Boys (Isabella Carbonell)
Grand Jury Award for Animated Short: World of Tomorrow (Don Hertzfeldt)
The jury called this one “Funny. Scary. Heartbreaking. Original." You can watch it online. You may recall that our former team member Michael Cusumano, alas not writing anymore and we miss him, was quoted in the original commercials from this review from Sundance.
Live Action Short Special Mention for Innovative Storytelling: Rate Me (Fyzal Boulifa)
Live Action Short Special Mention for Nonfiction Filmmaking: The Reagan Shorts (Pacho Velez)
This triptych of shorts about Ronald and Nancy Reagan was honored by the jury for shining a light on "the marriage of politics and performance.”
Animated Short Special Jury Mention for Screenwriting: Teeth (Tom Brown & Daniel Gray)
Animated Short Special Jury Mention for Creative Vision: Manoman (Simon Cartwright)
And finally the...
AUDIENCE AWARDS
James White, a compelling mother/son drama with great performances
World Cinema Audience Award: Landfill Harmonic (Brad Allgood, Graham Townsley, and Juliana Penaranda-Loftus)
New Auteurs Audience Award: Mustang (Deniz Gamze Ergüven)
Previously raved right here by both Nathaniel and Amir. The film opens on November 20th in NY and LA. Will it make the Oscar list? It's a tough call.
American Independents Audience Award: James White (Josh Mond)
Kieran loved it hard in his AFI review and I can attest that Cynthia Nixon, who is just an Oscar short of an EGOT, is sensational in it. We expect her nominated at the Spirit Awards. She didn't factor in at the Gothams but they don't have a supporting category. The film opens in NY tomorrow and will be in LA shortly, too.
Breakthrough Audience Award: Ma (Celia Rowlson-Hall)
Of the four winners, three were directed or co-directed by women! How about that? Diversity in directing really is the topic of 2015.