Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Traverse City Film Festival: Day 6 Recap/Festival Awards

Tuesday, November 10, 2009, 16:40
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Ah, post-film festival life. That heady time where you sleep for 22 hours straight, eat a proper meal for the first time in six days, and sort through a million photos you took over the week, many of which you have no recollection of taking. Then, somewhere on the other side of the fog, you remember it's been four days and you still haven't posted a recap of the last day of the festival on the blog. Aw-kward.

Sunday was something of a blur, but I do remember enjoying - and feeling immensely hungry during - our closing night film, "Julie & Julia." Amy Adams is one of my favorite up-and-coming actresses, and if there's a role Meryl Streep (who was spotted in TC last week, incidentally) can't knock out of the park, I haven't heard about it. The flick goes wide tomorrow - check it out if you get the chance.

After the movie, it was on to the Closing Night Party on the Historic Front Lawns at GT Commons. Closing Night is always a fun one, if for nothing else than the tired abandon with which everyone takes to the dance floor, and for the festival awards Michael & Co hand out. Here is the complete list of this year's winners:

  • Founders Prize for Funniest Fiction Film: "In the Loop"
  • Founders Prize for Best Foreign Fiction Film: "Eden is West"
  • Founders Prize for a First Time Filmmaker: "Salt of This Sea"
  • Founders Prize for Best Overall Documentary: "Rachel"
  • Founders Prize for Best Comedy Documentary: "Winnebago Man"
  • Stanley Kubrick Award for Bold and Innovative Filmmaking, Fiction Film: Bob Byington for "Harmony and Me" and "Registered Sex Offender"
  • Stanley Kubrick Award for Bold and Innovative Filmmaking, Documentary: "Defamation"
  • Best Fiction Film, Audience Award: "Departures"
  • Best Fiction Film US, Jury Award: "The Greatest"
  • Best Fiction Film Foreign, Jury Award: "Mary & Max"
  • Special Jury Prize, First Narrative Feature Film: Gloria La Morte and Paola Mendoza for "Entre nos"
  • Special Jury Prize, Human Spirit: "Everlasting Moments"
  • Special Jury Prize for Original Storytelling: "O'Horten"
  • Best Documentary, Audience Award: "Food, Inc."
  • Best Documentary, Jury Award: "The Cove"
  • Best Foreign Documentary, Jury Award: "The End of the Line"
  • Special Jury Prize for Human Rights: "Which Way Home"
  • Special Jury Prize for Environmental Documentary: "Crude"
  • Special Jury Prize for a New Film Maker: Emily & Sarah Kunstler for "William Kunstler: Disturbing The Universe"
  • Firefighter's Award for Best Comedy Film: "A Matter of Size"
  • Michigan Prize: "Learning Gravity

It was great to hear everyone's memories of the week, including those of the filmmakers, who couldn't say enough good things about TCFF. Some of the Austin crew even delayed their flights so they could stay in TC a few extra days. And when news came in that we broke 96,000 admissions at this year's festival - 16,000 more than last year - it was the cherry on top of an already spectacular sundae (apologies for the decidedly regional metaphor).

The State was closed this week to prepare it for the transition back to day-to-day operations, but tomorrow we'll open the doors again with our new first-run film, "(500) Days of Summer." Coming off the heels of the best festival we've had to date, I can't wait to get back to the movies.

See you at the show!

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