We weren't able to attend the AFI this year due to lack of funds but we shan't skip sharing the winners. The literal winners we mean. Obviously the AFI is a great last second Oscar launching pad for the big titles (like American Sniper and Selma and such in year's past) ...
Divines
On that front: Rules Don't Apply and Patriot's Day had their first screenings. Also on the Oscar beat were Jackie, Lion, and La La Land continuing to win new fans on their 'every festival under the sun' tours. And there were tributes to both Annette Bening and Isabelle Huppert, both of them eyeing the highly competitive Best Actress shortlist which has about 8 extremely viable choices but only 5 of them will still be standing when the dust settles.
But on to the juried awards. It was an especially good day for a film called Divines about a French Moroccan girl aligning herself with a ruthless drug lord. It won the Camera D'Or at Cannes and now picks up three more prizes at AFI. Another notable recipient was the Danish Oscar submission Land of Mine which won the Audience Award
NEW AUTEURS AWARDS
New Auteurs Grand Jury Award: The Future Perfect (Nele Wohlatz)
Special Jury Mention for Acting: Oulaya Amamra for Divines (Houda Benyamina)
New Auteurs Audience Award: Divines (Houda Benyamina)
Both of the winning films here are by women and about racial minorities, Divines about a Moroccan girl in France and The Future Perfect about a Chinese girl trying to learn Spanish in Argentina
GRAND JURY AWARDS, LIVE ACTION AND ANIMATED SHORT
Grand Jury Award – Live Action Short: Icebox (Daniel Sawka, AFI Class of 2015)
Grand Jury Award – Animated Short: Pussy (Renata Gasiorowska).
Live Action Short Special Mention for Comedic Narrative: Hounds (Omer Tobi)
Live Action Short Special Mention for Documentary: The Send-Off (Ivete Lucas & Patrick Bresnan)
Live Action Short Special Mention for Acting: Clark Genet and Owen Kanga for Dreaming of Baltimore (Lola Quivoron)
Live Action Short Special Mention for Cinematography: A Thousand Midnights (Carlos Javier Ortiz)
Live Action Short Special Mention: Speaking is Difficult (AJ Schnack)
Animated Short Special Jury Mention: Summer Camp Island (Julia Pott)
Animated Short Special Jury Mention for Mixed Media: Deer Flower (Kangmin Kim)
Animated Short Special Jury Mention for Visual Aesthetics: Superbia (Luca Tóth)
AUDIENCE AWARDS
World Cinema Audience Award: Land of Mine (Martin Zandvliet)
American Independents Audience Award: Donald Cried (Kris Avedisian)
Breakthrough Audience Award: Divines (Houda Benyamina)
Breakthrough Audience Award First Runner-Up: One Week and a Day (Asaph Polonsky, AFI Class of 2012)
Breakthrough Audience Award Second Runner-Up: The Red Turtle (Michaël Dudok de Wit)