24th Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival award winners & attendance results

ST. LOUIS - Nov. 18, 2015 - PRLog -- The 24th Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF), which kicked off on Nov. 5, concluded on Nov. 15. Total attendance was a record-breaking 25,006.

SLIFF screened an unprecedented 447 films: 97 narrative features, 86 documentary features, and 264 shorts. The fest also featured seven special-event programs, including two free master classes and the closing-night party, and 67 free programs. This year’s SLIFF has 270 screenings/programs, with 70 countries represented.

The fest hosted more than 140 filmmakers and related guests, including honorees Alex Winter (Charles Guggenheim Cinema St. Louis Award), Trent Harris (Contemporary Cinema Award), and Rosemary Rodriguez (Women in Film Award).

SLIFF announced the winners of its juried and audience-award competitions at the closing-night party at Urban Chestnut’s Grove Brewery and Bierhall on the evening of Nov. 15. The following awards were presented:

Shorts Awards

Juries choose the winners of seven awards from among the shorts in competition. The SLIFF shorts competition is officially sanctioned by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, making the winners in the Best of Fest, Best Animated, Best Live Action, and Best Documentary categories eligible to submit for Oscar® consideration. The 2015 winners:

Best Documentary Short: "The Surrender" directed by Stephen Maing

Best Local Short: "Ferguson 365" directed by Chris Phillips

Best Short Short: "Deathsong" directed by Malcolm Sutherland

Best International Short: “Levitation" directed by Marko Mestrovic

Best Animated Short: "Borrowed Time" directed by Andrew Coats & Lou Hamou-Lhadj

Best Live-Action Short: "Birthday" directed by Chris King

Best of Fest: "Beverley" directed by Alexander Thomas

Midrash Award

Midrash St. Louis engages myriad aspects of American culture -- hot topics, deep subjects, music, arts, and film -- and seeks to give and receive commentary on the subjects and issues that matter to people in St. Louis and that form and shape our views and lives. The Midrash St. Louis Film Award celebrates St. Louis-related films of honesty and artistry that portray the need or the hope for reconciliation or redemption. These are among the most powerful and worthy themes that films should explore. Eligible work for the Midrash St. Louis Film Award includes feature and short films largely shot in St. Louis or directed by filmmakers with strong local ties. The award comes with a cash prize of $500. The 2015 winner: "Four Way Stop" directed by Efi da Silva

Interfaith Awards

Juries gives Interfaith Awards to both a documentary and a narrative, choosing from among 10 competition films (five in each category), which were selected for their artistic merit; contribution to the understanding of the human condition; and recognition of ethical, social, and spiritual values. The 2015 winners:

Best Documentary Feature: "Thao’s Library" directed by Elizabeth Van Meter

Best Narrative Feature: "Three Windows and a Hanging" directed by Isa Qosja

Alliance of Women Film Journalists’ EDA Award @ SLIFF

The Alliance of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) consists of professional female movie critics, reporters, and feature writers working in print, broadcast, and online media. AWFJ’s purpose is to support work by and about women, both in front of and behind the cameras. The organization presents EDA Awards at various festivals in recognition of outstanding accomplishments by and about women. The EDAs are named in honor of AWFJ founder Jennifer Merin’s mother, Eda Reiss Merin, an actress whose career spanned more than 60 years. At SLIFF, EDA Awards are presented in two feature categories, documentaries and narratives. SLIFF chose five films in each category, and AWFJ juries evaluated the films in competition and chose the winners. The 2015 winners:

Best Documentary Feature: "Once My Mother" directed by Sophia Turkiewicz

Best Narrative Feature: "Fidélio: Alice’s Odyssey" directed by Lucie Borleteau

St. Louis Film Critics Association Joe Pollack and Joe Williams Awards

In conjunction with the St. Louis Film Critics, SLIFF holds juried competitions for documentary and narrative features. The awards are named in honor of the late St. Louis Post-Dispatch critics Joe Pollack (narrative) and Joe Williams (documentary). The winners are picked by two juries composed of six St. Louis film critics. SLIFF chose eight films to compete in each category. The 2015 winners:

Best Documentary Feature: "Romeo Is Bleeding" directed by Jason Zeldes

Best Narrative Feature: "Once in a Lifetime" directed by Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar

New Filmmakers Forum Emerging Director Award (The Bobbie)

The New Filmmakers Forum (NFF) annually presents the Emerging Director Award. Since its inception, NFF was co-curated by Bobbie Lautenschlager. Bobbie died in the summer of 2012, and SLIFF honors her memory by nicknaming the NFF Emerging Director Award as the Bobbie. Five works by first-time feature filmmakers competed for the prize, which includes a $500 cash award. The 2015 winner: "Aram, Aram" directed by Christopher Chambers

Best of Fest Audience Choice Awards

Audience voting determines the winner of three awards from among the films in competition. The 2015 winners:

Leon Award for Best Documentary Film: "Romeo Is Bleeding" directed by Jason Zeldes

TV5MONDE Award for Best International Film: "Unlikely Heroes" directed by Peter Luisi

Best Film: "The Last Mentsch" directed by Pierre-Henry Salfati

More information about SLIFF awards, including nominees and jury members, can be found on the Cinema St. Louis website: www.cinemastlouis.org/awards.