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2023 SUN VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES AWARD WINNERS

• National Geographic Documentary's Wild Life is Audience Award Winner
• Fancy Dance and Nascondino win Best Narrative & Documentary Feature Film 
• Fremont and Bad Press score One in A Million Awards

The 2023 Sun Valley Film Festival (SVFF), announced this year’s juried film award winners during the annual Awards Bash, presented by SVFF. The Awards Bash was hosted at Whiskey Jacques with a performance by Blair Gun.

SVFF Film Awards

Audience Award Winner – Awarded to the film which received the most votes from audience attendees.

WINNER: Wild Life, directed by E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. The National Geographic Documentary film opened the festival.

Best Narrative Feature Film - Awarded to the best narrative feature film in the festival.  

WINNER: Fancy Dance, directed by Erica Tremblay and Produced by Variety’s Creative Impact in Producing Award recipient Nina Yang Bongiovi.

Jury members were Tucker Gates, Ali Larter and Valerie Steinberg.

Best Documentary Feature Film - Awarded to the best documentary feature film in the festival.   

WINNER: Nascondino, directed by Victoria Fiore

Jury members were Jamie Gonçalves, Liza Richardson and Jessica Sanders.

One in a Million Awards - The One in a Million Awards honor feature length stories made for under one million dollars. One narrative and one documentary film are each awarded.  

NARRATIVE WINNER: Fremont, directed by Rachael Fung

DOCUMENTARY WINNER: Bad Press, directed by Joe Peeler

The SVShorty Award - The best short film across all categories. All shorts are eligible for this award.  

WINNER:  Walk Of Shame, directed by Dane Ray

SPECIAL MENTION: A Folded Ocean, directed by Ben Brewer

The Gem State Award - The best short film made in Idaho.

WINNER: A Parent, directed by Eve Weston and Martin McGreevy

Jury members were Araceli Lemos, Marc Mounier and Edson Oda.

SVFF Film & Screenwriting Competition Winners

High Scribe Award - The High Scribe honors an emerging voice in screenwriting with Academy Award Winning screenwriter Will McCormack and co-writers of Fancy Dance, Miciana Alise and Erica Tremblay.

WINNER: The First Michael, written by Michael Buonocore

Sun Valley Junior Filmmaker Awards - Showcases student-made films and encourages students in their craft, storytelling and self-expression. 

HOT SHOT WINNER: Clairvoyant, written by Elijah Anthony Feigner

2nd PLACE: Room 101, written by Jerad Monasch

3rd PLACE: A tie between Ovaryacting written by Jordan Held & Hard Core written by Madeleine Case

The Gem State Jr. Award - The best short film made in Idaho by a Junior Filmmaker. The films in the Idaho Shorts program are eligible for this award.

WINNER: Pong, written by Fynn Erman

Jury Members were Richard Chew, Mort Nathan, David Friendly and Priscilla Nedd-Friendly.

Festival highlights included, Josh Brolin receiving the Vision Award, Emilio Estevez receiving the Pioneer Award, Rising Star Award honoree Sophie Thatcher and Creative Impact Honoree in Producing Nina Yang Bongiovi, presented by Variety. The festival saw the sold-out opening night screening of National Geographic’s Wild Life, and Variety honored this year’s 10 Producers to Watch. SVFF is grateful to have the continued support of longtime festival partners and patrons including National Geographic, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Our Gorongosa, Variety and the community of generous arts supporters.   

About the Sun Valley Film Festival

Since 2012 SVFF has proven to be a concierge of opportunity connecting filmmakers with support both financially and through mentorship. Every spring the festival celebrates with a slate of cutting-edge films and TV premieres, industry panels, engaging Coffee Talks with entertainment luminaries, a Screenwriters Lab led by award-winning writers and a series of parties culminating with the spectacular SVFF Awards Bash. Outside of the spring festival, SVFF hosts programming to bring special projects to the Sun Valley Community throughout the year. The Sun Valley Film Festival is a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization whose mission is to cultivate and promote the art of filmmaking, and to use the power of storytelling to foster meaningful connections. This year’s Sun Valley Film Festival took place March 29 - April 2, 2023.