Sunday, March 9, 2008 -- The 2008 Cinequest Juries selected winners from over 150 films from 34 countries. Cinequest Executive Director and Co-founder Halfdan Hussey read the following statement: “They discovered myriad worlds that challenged, excited and surprised. Their job to find the top films was not an easy one, and reaching a unanimous vote was nearly impossible because the films truly affected them in many ways and heated debates were sparked because of the passion each felt for the stories that were revealed.”
NARRATIVE FEATURESUPERHEROESMaverick Spirit Award (Cinequest's top prize)
SUPERHEROES
Director: Alan Brown (USA)
Best First Feature
IT'S BETTER IF GABRIELA DOESN'T DIE / MEJOR ES QUE GABRIELA NO SE MUERA)
Director: Sergio Umansky (Mexico)
Special Jury Award for Narrative Feature
A BETTER LIFE / UNA VIDA MEJOR
Director: Andrew James (United States/Mexico)
DIRECTORS AWARDSTHE TRAP / KLOPKAGlobal Visions Award
THE TRAP / KLOPKA
Director: Srdan Golubovic (Serbia)
New Visions Award
WHO IS K.K. DOWNEY?
Directors: Darren Curtis and Pat Kiely (Canada)
DOCUMENTARY FEATURESAUTISM: THE MUSICALBest Documentary Feature
AUTISM: THE MUSICAL
Director Tricia Regan (USA)
Special Jury Award for Documentary Feature
DEAR ZACHARY: A LETTER TO A SON ABOUT HIS FATHER
Director: Kurt Kuenne (USA)
SHORTS
Best Student Short Film
MAMITAS
Director: Nick Ozeki (Chapman University)
Best Documentary Short Film
BROADCAST COWBOY
Director: David Washburn
Best Animated Short Film
PAPIROFLEXIA
Director: Joaquin Baldwin
Best Narrative Short Film
CENTIGRADE
Director: Colin Cunningham
AUDIENCE AWARDS
Audience Award for Best Short
PERSONAL SPECTATOR
Director: Emmanuel Jespers
Audience Award for Best Feature (tie-vote between)THE VILLAGE BARBERSHOP
SHERMAN'S WAY
SHERMAN'S WAY
Director: Craig Saavedra
THE VILLAGE BARBERSHOP
Director: Chris Ford
Audience Award for Best DocumentaryDEAR ZACHARY
DEAR ZACHARY: A LETTER TO A SON ABOUT HIS FATHER
Director: Kurt Kuenne
MAVERICK SPIRIT AWARD RECIPIENTS
The following individuals received Maverick Spirit Awards at Cinequest 18 forMICHAEL KEATON their Maverick careers in the film industry:
MICHAEL KEATON
MICHAEL ARNDT
BOBBY MORESCO
DANNY GLOVER
SCREENPLAY COMPETITION WINNERS
First Place
SWITCHBACK
Writer: Bill Schreiber
Second Place
VERA
Writer: Caitlin McCarthy
Third Place
THE ORCHARD
Writer: Diane Stredicke
In addition, THE BRITISH ACADEMY OF FILM & TELEVISION ARTS / LA continues to celebrate the filmmaking artistry of the short film by selecting top winners at festivals around the world. For the 2008 Cinequest Film Festival, the members of BAFTA / LA have chosen:
First Place Winner British Academy of Film & Television Arts / LA
SOFT
Director: Simon Ellis
Runners Up - Certificates of Excellence British Academy of Film & Television Arts / LA
RATTLESNAKES
Director: Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson
CHIEF
Director: Brett Wagner
-- Susan Tavernetti
10.03.2008 | Cinequest's blog
Cat. : Alan Brown Alan Brown American film directors Andrew James Audience Award awards BAFTA Bill Schreiber Second Bobby Moresco Brett Wagner British Academy Caitlin McCarthy Third Centigrade Chapman University Chris Ford Cinema of the United States Cinequest 18 Cinequest Film Festival Colin Cunningham Craig Saavedra Danny Glover Darren Curtis David Washburn Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father Diane Stredicke DIRECTORS AWARDSTHE TRAP / KLOPKAGlobal Visions Award Emmanuel Jespers Audience Films Gunnar Sigurdsson Halfdan Hussey Human Interest Human Interest James Joaquin Baldwin Kurt Kuenne Maverick Mexico Michael Arndt Michael Keaton Nick Ozeki Pat Kiely Sergio Umansky Sherman's Way Simon Ellis Runners Up Susan Tavernetti the 2008 Cinequest Film Festival Tricia Regan United States Vida Mejor World Health Organization Year of birth missing AWARDS