Austin, Fort Worth (WBAP/KLIF) – The decades old South by Southwest Festival in Austin was among the first major gatherings canceled by the coronavirus pandemic, but organizers went ahead with one of the festival highlights — its film awards.
Awards were handed out virtually, for a film festival that never happened; winners included 3 North Texans:
Director: Channing Godfrey Peoples of Fort Worth who won a ‘Final Draft Screenwriters Award,’ and two high school seniors won in the Texas High School who won in the ‘Texas High School Shorts’ category:
Director: Miu Nakata who attends Oak Ridge High school in Dallas and plans to study film at UT/Austin, and Director: Kai Hashimoto, who attends Greenhill High School in Addison.
SXSW wanted to salvage some of the lost exposure and buzz that are vital for independent films. The festival has traditionally played a huge role in casting a spotlight on small indy films, as well as serving as a early springboard for Hollywood projects.
The annual festival was canceled on March 6, about a week before the scheduled kickoff.
From the festival’s website, here is the complete list of winners:
2020 SXSW FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS
Feature Film Grand Jury Awards
Narrative Feature Competition
Winner: Shithouse
Director: Cooper Raiff
Special Jury Recognition for Directing: Topside
Directors: Celine Held, Logan George
Special Jury Recognition for Acting: Really Love
Director: Angel Kristi Williams
Actors: Kofi Siriboe, Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing
Documentary Feature Competition
Winner: An Elephant in the Room
Director: Katrine Philp
Special Jury Recognition for Achievement in Documentary Storytelling: The Donut King
Director: Alice Gu
Special Jury Recognition for Breakthrough Voice: Finding Yingying
Director: Jiayan “Jenny” Shi
Short Film Grand Jury Awards
Narrative Shorts
Winner: White Eye
Director: Tomer Shushan
Special Jury Recognition for Acting: Dirty
Director: Matthew Puccini
Actors: Morgan Sullivan, Manny Dunn
Special Jury Recognition: Darling
Director: Saim Sadiq
Special Jury Recognition: Single
Director: Ashley Eakin
Documentary Shorts
Winner: No Crying at the Dinner Table
Director: Carol Nguyen
Special Jury Recognition: Mizuko
Directors: Katelyn Rebelo, Kira Dane
Special Jury Recognition: Día de la Madre
Directors: Ashley Brandon, Dennis Höhne
Midnight Shorts
Winner: Regret
Director: Santiago Menghini
Special Jury Recognition: Laura Hasn’t Slept
Director: Parker Finn
Special Jury Recognition for Creature Design: Stucco
Directors: Janina Gavankar, Russo Schelling
Animated Shorts
Winner: Symbiosis
Director: Nadja Andrasev
Special Jury Recognition: No, I Don’t Want to Dance!
Director: Andrea Vinciguerra
Special Jury Recognition: The Shawl
Director: Sara Kiener
Music Videos
Winner: 070 Shake – ‘Nice to Have’
Director: Noah Lee
Special Jury Recognition for Animation: Mitski – ‘A Pearl’
Directors: Saad Moosajee, Art Camp
Special Jury Recognition for Direction: The Lumineers – ‘Gloria’
Director: Kevin Phillips
Texas Shorts
Winner: Just Hold On
Directors: Sam Davis, Rayka Zehtabchi
Special Jury Recognition: Coup d’etat Math
Director: Sai Selvarajan
Texas High School Shorts
** Winner: Wish Upon a Snowman
Director: Miu Nakata – Oak Ridge High school in Dallas
** Special Jury Recognition for Narrative: Ultimatum
Director: Kai Hashimoto – Senior at Greenhill High School in Addison
Special Jury Recognition for Documentary: Unveiled
Director: Sofia Bajwa
Special Jury Recognition for Animation: The Orchard
Director: Zeke French
Episodic Pilot Competition
Winner: Embrace
Director: Jessica Sanders
Special Jury Recognition for Drama: Chemo Brain
Director: Kristian Håskjold
Special Jury Recognition for Comedy: Lusty Crest
Director: Kati Skelton
Film Design Awards
Excellence in Poster Design
Winner: Laura Hasn’t Slept
Designer: Olivier Courbet
Special Jury Recognition: The Donut King
Designers: Andrew Hem, Charlie Le
Excellence in Title Design
Winner: See
Designer: Karin Fong
Special Jury Recognition: Why We Hate
Designers: Allison Brownmoore, Anthony Brownmoore
Special Awards
Adam Yauch Hörnblowér Award
Winner: In & of Itself
Director: Frank Oz
Adobe Editing Award
Winner: You Cannot Kill David Arquette
Editors: Paul Rogers, Additional Editing by David Darg
Final Draft Screenwriters Award
Winner: Best Summer Ever
Screenwriters: Michael Parks Randa, Will Halby, Terra Mackintosh, Andrew Pilkington, Lauren Smitelli
Louis Black “Lone Star” Award
** Winner: Miss Juneteenth
Director: Channing Godfrey Peoples from Fort Worth
Special Jury Recognition for Performance: Bull
Director: Annie Silverstein
Actor: Rob Morgan
Special Jury Recognition for Documentary: Boys State
Directors: Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss
Vimeo Staff Picks Award
Winner: Vert
Director: Kate Cox
ZEISS Cinematography Award
Winner: Echoes of the Invisible
Director: Steve Elkins
(Copyright 2020 WBAP/KLIF 24/7 News. This report contains material from the Texas Tribune.)
