I don't spend a lot of time on Facebook. So I only just found out last night that the Anchorage International Film Festival Awards was at noon today. But you can watch the Awards now.
I'd note that there were so many films - many of them shorts - that it's hard to keep them all straight. And a number of winners are films I just didn't get too. But the website is still up and you can browse through the titles with one screenshot each and a short description to jar your memory. The Trailers are also still up.
Jury Awards - Jurors are selected by the festival to review and choose the best films in the festival. While trying to pick 'the best' is often fraught with personal biases (what one judge likes or relates to compared to what another likes) and often means great films aren't chosen, they also help film makers get attention of funders and distributors.
Made in Alaska Short Films
2nd Runner Up Pebble Redux Yáa at Wooné
Runner Up - Who We are
Winner: To Keep As One
Made in Alaska Features
Winner: Classic
Animated Shorts
2nd Runner Up: Just for the Record
Runner Up: Diminuendo
Winner: Gon, the Little Fox
Horror Shorts - Late Night Chills
2nd Runner Up - Antique
Runner Up - History of Monsters
Winner - The Burden
Feature Documentaries
2nd Runner Up - Everything That Could Have Been/ On Our Own Island
Runner Up - Race To Alaska
Winner - Never Too Late: The Doc Severinsen Story
Narrative Short
2nd Runner Up - Undercut
Runner Up - Masel Tov Cocktail
Winner - Jane
Short Documentaries
2nd Runner Up - Let's Go To Antarctica
Runner Up - Sky Aelans
Winner - Reclamation: Rise at Standing Rock
Narrative Features
2nd Runner Up - Last Days of Capitalism
Runner Up - The Woman In the Photographs
Winner - Dinner in America
Screenplay Competition
2nd Runner Up - Bloodletters
Runner Up -Brook Farm
Winner - The Orchestra’
Audience Awards - Film makers often say these the the most important awards. These are the films the audience enjoyed most. In a number of cases, I think the audience chose better than the jurors.
After School Special
2nd Runner Up - Son of Salvation
Runner Up - Fragments
Winner - Where Did She Go?
Made in Alaska
2nd Runner Up -To Keep As One
Runner Up - Pebble Redux
Winner - Bad River
Made in Alaska Feature
Winner - Classic
Animated Shorts
Narrative Feature -
2nd Runner Up - Sad Little Fact
Runner Up - Just For The Record
Winner - Grab My Hand: A letter To My Dad
Documentary Shorts
2nd Runner Up - Sky Aelans
Runner Up- Keep Saray Home
Winner - Hysterical Girl
Narrative Shorts
2nd Runner Up - Rebel
Runner Up - Kama’aina (Child of the Land)
Winner - Masel Tov Cocktail
Documentary Feature -
2nd Runner Up - Never Too Late: Doc Severinsen Story
Runner Up -Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in High School
Winner - Race To Alaska
Narrative Feature -
2nd Runner Up - Paper Spiders
Runner Up -Foster Boy
Winner - Dinner in America
I'll try to do another post looking at the winners and comparing them to my favorites. But I would mention a couple of narrative features that got left out that should have been recognized, but this was probably the strongest category and the films recognized were strong.
The Subject
My Son
My two top picks for the festival - Masel Tov Cocktail and Grab My Hand - both got top honors from the Audience. Both were 'perfect' films - that is they told their stories using film techniques to make their points beautifully. Everything worked - the content and the filmmaking. They wouldn't have the same impact in another medium.
I'll focus more on them in a follow up post.
