AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Austin Film Festival (AFF), the premier Festival to recognize the writer’s contribution to film, is pleased to announce its 2015 Jury and Hiscox Audience and Courage Award Winners in Film, as well as the Screenplay & Teleplay Competition winners.
The following Jury award winners were selected by category:
Narrative Feature: The Exile, written by Arturo Ruiz
Serrano
Documentary Feature: Monsterman, directed by
Antti Haase
Comedy Vanguard Feature: Baby, Baby, Baby,
written by Brian Klugman
Dark Matters Feature: Sunny Side
Up, written by Willem Bosch
Dark Matters Feature Honorable
Mention: The Lion’s Path, written by Sophie-Anne Beaudry
Narrative
Short: Vainilla, written by Susana López Rubio
Narrative
Student Short: Kimi Kabuki, written by Yoko Okumura
Documentary
Short: Chau, Beyond the Lines, directed by Courtney Marsh
Animated
Short: The Meek, written by Joe Brumm
Scripted
Digital Series: School Nurse, created by Tom Beach, Laura
Boersma, and John Stewart Muller
After each Festival screening, audiences voted for the Hiscox Audience Awards, recognizing film favorites among the 2015 slate.
The following Hiscox Audience Award winners were selected by category:
Narrative Feature: Keep In Touch, written by Sam Kretchmar
and Michael Covino
Documentary Feature: Mully
directed by Scott Haze
Documentary Feature Honorable Mention:
Of Dogs and Men directed by Michael Ozias
Dark Matters
Feature: Reparation written by Kyle Ham and Steve Timm
Comedy
Vanguard Feature: Baby, Baby, Baby written by Brian Klugman
Narrative
Short: Best Wishes from Millwood written by Max Baker
Documentary
Short: The Trials of Constance Baker Motley directed by Rick
Rodgers
Animated Short: The Present written by Fabio
Cavalcanti and Jacob Frey
Narrative Student Short: Amateur
Dictator written by Zach Carver
Scripted Digital Series: Master
Class created by Justin Wright Neufeld
Heart of Film: A
Single Frame directed by Brandon Dickerson
Stories From
Abroad: El Jeremías written by Ana Sofía Clerici
Texas
Independent: Jack’s Apocalypse written by Will Moore
Marquee
Feature: Until 20 directed by Jamila Paksima and written by
Geraldine Moriba
One film was selected to receive the inaugural Hiscox Courage Award. Voted on by the audience, the Hiscox Courage Award is presented to the film that best embodies the virtue of courage and to the filmmaker who best embraced the risk to share the story. The first ever Courage Award went to Jamila Paksima’s and Geraldine Moriba’s Until 20, the story of Texan James Ragan’s quest to live a full and meaningful life despite his terminal battle with osteosarcoma.
“Hiscox was honored to support Austin Film Festival and all of the inspirational films, filmmakers and subjects that made the week so special,” said Ben Walter, CEO of Hiscox USA. “We’re grateful to give the first Hiscox Courage Award to Until 20 and hope more people will be able to share the courageous life and story of James Ragan depicted in this film.”
In continuation of AFF’s mission to find and support independent filmmakers, three films were already picked up for distribution at this year’s Festival including Comedy Vanguard 3rd Street Blackout, The Teller and the Truth picked up by FilmBuff, and James Franco’s Memoria which was acquired by Monterey Media.
"Austin Film Festival is an exceptional source for a true audience reaction for independent films,” said Jere Rae-Mansfield, CFO & Managing Partner of Monterey Media. “We are so pleased to join them in our acquisition news.”
The following Screenplay Competition winners were selected by category:
Drama Screenplay Award presented by the Writers Guild of America,
East: Detroit by Robert Rue
Comedy Screenplay Award: Maxwell
2.0 by Paul Sanford
Enderby Entertainment Award: The
Great Debate by David Hoffman
Darkwoods Productions Sci-Fi
Award: The Innkeeper by Michael Catinari
Horror
Award: 77 Minutes by Shani Grewal
AMC One-Hour
Teleplay Pilot Award: Friend of the Devil by Michael Ouellette
Sitcom
Teleplay Pilot Award: Newsperson by Michael Drake
Short
Screenplay Award: The New World by Brian Rawlins
Scripted
Digital Series Award: Creepypasta by Will Zech & Alex Cope
One-Hour
Teleplay Spec Award: The Americans: Custody by Larry Caldwell
Sitcom
Teleplay Spec Award: Workaholics: Bring Your Kid To Work Day by
Greg Brainos
About Austin Film Festival
Austin Film Festival is a non-profit organization funded and supported in part by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts, City of Austin Economic Growth & Redevelopment Services Office/Cultural Arts Division believing an investment in the Arts is an investment in Austin’s future.
About Hiscox Insurance
Hiscox Entertainment Insurance provides policies written specifically to fit the needs of organizations throughout the entertainment industry including screenwriters, production companies, post production facilities, theatrical productions, touring entertainers and other related businesses.