Award Winners Announced for 2015 Flickers: RI International Film Festival
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Flickers: Rhode Island International Film Festival has announced its 2015 award winners from its 19th Festival, on Sunday, August 9th at the annual Awards Ceremony that was held at The Metcalf Auditorium in downtown Providence.
This year's festival ran fro August 4-9th at venues across the state of Rhode Island, from Newport to Woonsocket, with Providence serving as the hub for the activities.
"Thanks to Steven Feinberg, the Rhode Island Film & Television Office, Kristen Adamo at the Providence/Warwick CVB, and Lynne McCormack with the City of Providence, we knocked the ball out of the park, raising the bar for the future and next year’s 20th Anniversary edition of the Festival. We hosted over 250 international filmmakers who experienced true Rhode Island hospitality," said George Marshall, RIFF's Executive Director.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe Festival showed 265 feature length, documentary and short films, from 54 countries, and 34 states across the U.S. Films were selected from a record entry base of 5,713 submissions with 73 World, North American, and U.S. premieres.
The winner of the RIFF Best Short and Best Documentary Grand Prize become the festival's nominee for Academy Award consideration. The 2015 Grand Prize winners are "Picnic," directed by Jure Pavlovic from Croatia and the documentary "The House is Innocent," directed by Nicholas Coles.
Picnic
Picnic takes place in Sarajevo during rush hour. The story is about Emir who is on his way to meet his father for a weekend picnic at Igman, a semi-open penitentiary, but is late due to traffic.
The House is Innocent
The House is Innocent is about Tom and Barbara's new home that has a notorious past and it's going to take more than a fresh coat of paint to whitewash its history.
See the Full List of Winners Below
BEST SHORT FILM
GRAND Prize: (RIIFF’s Official Academy Nomination)
“Picnic” | Directed by: Jure Pavlović, Croatia, 2015
First Prize: “Monstre” (Monster) | Directed by: Delphine Girard, Belgium, 2014
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
GRAND Prize: (RIIFF’s Official Academy Nomination)
“The House is Innocent” | Directed by: Nicholas Coles, USA, 2015
First Prize: “We Live This” | Directed by: James Burns, USA, 2015
Tied With: “The Beauty of Barbara Allen” | Directed by: Jackson Anthony, USA, 2015
BEST FEATURE
GRAND Prize: “Now We’re Alive” | Directed by: Thibault Arbre, Belgium/France, 2014
First Prize: “Fourth Man Out” | Directed by: Andrew Nackman, USA, 2015
BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
GRAND Prize: “Madina’s Dream” | Directed by: Andrew Berends, USA, 2014
First Prize: “She’s The Best Thing In It” | Directed by: Ron Nyswaner, USA, 2014
Tied With: “CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap” | Directed by: Robin Hauser Reynolds, United States, 2015
BEST COMEDY SHORT
GRAND Prize: “Rest Stop” | Directed by: Kate Herron, United Kingdom, 2014
First Prize: “Timmy II” | Directed by: Imran J. Khan, USA, 2014
Tied With: “Dynamic Double Standard” | Directed by: Luke Patton, USA, 2015
BEST ANIMATION
GRAND Prize: “Mi ne mozhem zhit bez kosmosa (We Can’t Live Without Cosmos)” | Directed by: Konstantin Bronzit, Russian Federation, 2014
First Prize: “Chez Moi” | Directed by: Phuong Mai Nguyen, France, 2014
Tied With: “Golden Shot” | Directed by: Gokalp Gonen, Turkey, 2015
BEST CHILDREN’S ANIMATION
GRAND Prize: “Eloise, Little Dreamer” | Directed by: Myriam Obin, Canada, 2015
First Prize: “Soar” | Directed by: Alyce Tzue, United States, 2014
BEST EXPERIMENTAL
GRAND Prize: “Teeth” | Directed by: Tom Brown, Daniel Gray, United Kingdom, Hungary, 2015
First Prize: “Tupilaq” | Directed by: Jakob Maqe, Denmark, 2013
BEST DIRECTOR
GRAND Prize: “More Than God” | Directed by: Kev Cahill, Ireland, 2015
First Prize: “All the Pain in the World” | Directed by: Tommaso Pitta, United Kingdom, 2014
DR. J. GERALD LAMOUREUX AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
Presented to a filmmaker and artist who represents the spirit of cultural exchange between the United States and Canada.
“Dogs Don’t Breed Cats” | Directed by: Cristina Martina, Canada, 2015
SOLDIERS AND SACRIFICE AWARD
Celebrating Stories That Commemorate America's Heroes.
GRAND Prize: “My Father’s Vietnam” | Directed by: Soren Sorensen, USA, 2015
First Prize: “The Haircut” | Directed by: Alexis Ostrander Korycinski. USA, 2014
Tied with: “Riding My Way Back” | Directed by: Robin Fryday, USA, 2015
DIRECTORIAL DISCOVERY AWARD
GRAND Prize: ”Vanishing Sail” | Directed by: Alexis Andrews, Antigua, Barbuda, Grenada, St. Vincent and Grenadines, 2015
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner of the Panavision Award and recipient of $10,000 in production equipment)
GRAND Prize: “Behind the Wall” | Directed by: Bat-Sheva Guez, Cinematography by: Giacomo Belletti, USA, 2015
RIIFF NEW ENGLAND DIRECTOR'S AWARD
GRAND Prize: “Seven Lovers” | Directed by: Keith Boynton, USA, 2015
RIIFF DIRECTOR'S CHOICE AWARD
GRAND Prize: “D.Asian” | Directed by: Sarah Smith, United States, 2015
First Prize: “Madam Black”| Directed by: Ivan Barge, New Zealand, 2015
HEARTS, MINDS, SOULS AWARD
Celebrating Films that Reflect the Jewish Experience.
GRAND Prize: “Look At Us Now, Mother!” | Directed by: Gayle Kirschenbaum | United States, 2015
First Prize: “Daily Bread” | Directed by: Betsy Tsai, United States, 2015
Tied with: “The Train” | Directed by: Asher Grodman, United States, 2015
BEST EDITING
GRAND Prize: “Breathe” | Directed by: Youssef Ouarrak, Edited by Dorota Nowocien, Poland, 2015
First Prize: “Kali” (Horse) | Directed by: Alban Ukaj, Kosovo, 2014
BEST SCREENPLAY
GRAND Prize: “Outliving Emily” | Written and Directed by: Eric Weber, United States, 2015 (adaptation)
First Prize: “Stunned” | Directed by: Gérard Pautonnier, France, 2015
FLICKERS’ AMBASSADOR AWARD
Presented to a film which inspires and empowers communication and cultural understanding
GRAND Prize: “Help Us Find Sunil Tripathi” | Directed by: Neal Broffman, United States, 2015
FLICKERS’ INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN AWARD
Given annually to films or filmmakers who inspire social change and community outreach and strive to better the world in which we live.
GRAND Prize: “A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story”| Directed by: Sara Bordo, Mexico, Spain, United States, 2014
First Prize: “Angel of Nanjing” | Directed by: Jordan Horowitz and Frank L. Ferendo, United States, China, 2014
PROVIDENCE FILM FESTIVAL AWARD
Presented annually to a New England director whose work brings cinematic excellence to an international audience.
GRAND Prize: “Hope City” | Directed by: David Angell, United States, 2014
First Prize: “Happygram” | Directed by: Julie Marron, United States, 2015
ALTERNATIVE SPIRIT AWARD (LGBTQ) SHORT
GRAND Prize: “Gloria” | Directed by: Luis Hernández de la Peña, Mexico, 2015
First Prize: “Alzheimer's: A Love Story” | Directed by: Gabe Schimmel, Monica Petruzelli, Riani Singgih, United States, 2015
Tied with: “Talking to My Mother” | Directed by: Leon Le, United States, 2015
ALTERNATIVE SPIRIT AWARD (FEATURE)
GRAND Prize: “Counting for Thunder”| Directed by: Phillip Cooper, United States, 2015
First Prize: “Driving Not Knowing” | Directed by: Michael Busza, United States, 2015
Tied with: “Paternity Leave” | Directed by: Matt Riddlehoover, United States, 2015
KIDSEYE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL AWARD
GRAND Prize: “The Epic of Hershey” | Directed by: Douglas McGinness, United States, 2015
First Prize: “Bienvenidos” | Directed by: Javier Fesser, Spain, 2014
Tied With: “The Dance of the Infants” | Directed by: Jokin Pascual and Javier Dampierre, Spain, 2015
GREEN PLANET AWARD
Celebrating the vision of man's shared humanity and achieving sustainability on our planet.
GRAND Prize: “Children of the Artic” | Directed by: Nick Brandestini, Switzerland, 2014
FIRST Prize: “Living with Coyote” | Directed by: Priya Shelly, United States, 2015
VORTEX SCI-FI & FANTASY AWARD
GRAND Prize: “Subterranea” | Directed by: Mathew Miller, United States, 2015
First Prize: “Dive | Directed by: Matthew Saville, Australia, 2014
Tied with: “Zelos” | Directed by: Thoranna Sigurdardottir, United States, 2015
FILMMAKER OF THE FUTURE AWARD
Presented to a filmmaker whose vision excites audiences and judges alike about the potential to produce compelling and successful films in the future.
GRAND Prize: “No Strings” | Directed by: Eoin Maher, United Kingdom, 2014
BEST STUDENT FILM AWARD
GRAND Prize: “Foreign Sounds” | Directed by: Eric Shahinian, United States, 2015
Flickers: Rhode Island International Film Festival
The Flickers: Rhode Island International Film Festival is a non-profit arts organization that supports and promotes the film arts in Rhode Island and all over New England. Over the last two decades, the RI International Film Festival has screened 3,896 independent films and videos out of nearly 43,000 entries.
