The South by Southwest Film Festival has awarded its top prizes to “Most Beautiful Island,” directed by Ana Asensio for narrative feature and to “The Work,” directed by Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous, for documentary feature.
“Most Beautiful Island,” a New York-set thriller, is the directing debut of Spanish TV actress Asensio. “The Work” takes place at a group therapy retreat with convicts at Folsom Prison.
SXSW founder Louis Black, who came out despite being very sick, kicked off the show with a political statement: “You may like Trump, and that’s fine. … But most of you are engaged in a humanist battle for the soul of our country, and what you are doing is subversive, it is important, it is about bringing us together and not tearing us apart, it is about inclusion and not exclusion. It’s not about making films that sell popcorn, it’s about making films that save souls.”
Challenging critics who claim that SXSW has “gotten too big” or that the festival has “sold out,” Black insisted on the integrity of the programming team and complimented the independence of the filmmakers invited.
The jury gave a special recognition to “The Strange Ones” for James Freedson-Jackson’s breakthrough performance. The ensemble cast of “A Bad Idea Gone Wrong” was also recognized, including Matt Jones, Eleanore Pienta, Will Rogers, Jonny Mars, Sam Eidson, and Jennymarie Jemison.
In the documentary category, the jury handed out a special recognition for observational cinema to “Maineland,” directed by Miao Wang, and for excellence in documentary story telling to “I Am Another You,” directed by Nanfu Wang.
The 2017 SXSW Film Festival screens 130 features including 84 world premieres, and continues to Saturday.
Full list of 2017 SXSW Film Festival Awards:
Feature Film Grand Jury Awards
NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
Winner: “Most Beautiful Island”
Director: Ana Asensio
Special Jury Recognition for Breakthrough Performance: “The Strange Ones”
Actor: James Freedson-Jackson
Special Jury Recognition for Best Ensemble: “A Bad Idea Gone Wrong”
Cast: Matt Jones, Eleanore Pienta, Will Rogers, Jonny Mars, Sam Eidson, Jennymarie Jemison
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
Winner: “The Work”
Directors: Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous
Special Jury Recognition for Excellence in Observational Cinema: “Maineland”
Director: Miao Wang
Special Jury Recognition for Excellence in Documentary Storytelling: “I Am Another You”
Director: Nanfu Wang
Short Film Grand Jury Awards
NARRATIVE SHORTS
Winner: Forever Now
Director: Kristian Håskjold
Special Jury Recognition for Acting: DeKalb Elementary
Actor: Tarra Riggs
Special Jury Recognition Award: “Laps” Director: Charlotte Wells
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
Winner: “Little Potato”
Director: Wes Hurley & Nathan M. Miller
MIDNIGHT SHORTS
Winner: “The Suplex Duplex Complex”
Director: Todd Rohal
ANIMATED SHORTS
Winner: “Wednesday with Goddard”
Directors: Nicolas Menard
Special Jury Recognition: “Pussy”
Director: Renata Gasiorowska
MUSIC VIDEOS
Winner: Leon Bridges – ‘RIVER’
Director: Miles Jay
Special Jury Recognition: Tame Impala – ‘The Less I Know The Better’
Director: CANADA
TEXAS SHORTS
Winner: The Rabbit Hunt
Director: Patrick Bresnan
TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL SHORTS
Winner: “Better Late Than Never”
Director: Atheena Frizzell
Special Jury Recognition: “Darcy’s Quinceañera”
Director: Sam Cooper
SXSW Film Design Awards
EXCELLENCE IN POSTER DESIGN
Winner: “Fry Day”
Designer: Caspar Newbolt
Special Jury Recognition: “Like Me”
Designer: Jeremy Enecio
EXCELLENCE IN TITLE DESIGN
Winner: “Into The Current”
Directors: Chris R. Moberg and Jared Young
SXSW Special Awards
SXSW LUNA Gamechanger Award – Narrative
Winner: “INFLAME”
Director: Ceylan Ozgun Ozcelik
SXSW LUNA Chicken & Egg Award – Documentary
Winner: “I Am Another You”
Director: Nanfu Wang
SXSW Louis Black “Lone Star” Award
Louis Black “Lone Star” Award
Winner: “Mr. Roosevelt”
Director: Noël Wells
SXSW Adam Yauch Hörnblowér Award
Presented to: “Assholes” directed by Peter Vack
SXSW Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship Presentation
Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship
Presented to: Leigh Johnson
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