ANN ARBOR – The Ann Arbor Film Festival has announced its award-winning filmmakers for its 61st annual festival.
The films were selected by jurors Amir George and Christine Panushka and Koyo Yamashita.
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In total, $24,300 will be presented to filmmakers for the 2023 awards competitions.
“An award from the AAFF confers prestige and financial support; it can also qualify filmmakers for an Oscar nomination by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the short film category,” reads an AAFF release. “Qualifying awards are the Ken Burns Award for Best of the Festival, the Chris Frayne Award for Best Animated Film, and the Lawrence Kasdan Award for Best Narrative Film.”
Here are this year’s award winners:
Ken Burns Award for Best of the Festival
- “Neighbour Abdi” by Douwe Dijkstra
Lawrence Kasdan Award for Best Narrative Film
- “Half Wet” by Carlos Irijalba
Tom Berman Award for Most Promising Filmmaker
- “Fleshwork” by Lydia Cornett
Kodak Cinematic Vision Award
- “Max and the Freaks,” Nathan Clement
Susan Dise Best Experimental Film
- “Eclipsis,” Tania Hernández Velasco
Best Documentary Film
- “Adieu Sauvage,” Sergio Guataquira Sarmiento
The Barbara Aronofsky Latham Award for an Emerging Experimental Video Artist
- “Against Reality,” Olivia Peace
Chris Frayne Award for Best Animated Film
- “Arrest in Flight,” Adrian Flury
Gil Omenn Art & Science Award
- “2cent / 10coil,” Monteith McCollum
Prix DeVarti for Funniest Film
- “Diomysus,” Emily Elizabeth Morus-Jones
The Terri Schwartz Film Award for Parody and Satire
- “Gold and Mud,” Conor Dooley
The Eileen Maitland Award
- “The Sea is Also Yours,” Michelle Coelho
George Manupelli Founder’s Spirit Award
- “Beautiful figures,” Soetkin Verstegen
CameraMall Best Michigan Filmmaker Award
- “Three Short Shorts,” Peter Sparling
Lawther/Graff No Violence Award
- “Language Unknown,” Janelle VanderKelen
Barbara Hammer Feminist Film Award
- “Pigment-Dispersion Syndrome,” Jennifer Reeves
Best Experimental Animation Award
- “Of Wood,” Owen Klatte
Leon Speakers Award for Best Sound Design
- “Darkness, Darkness, Burning Bright,” Gaëlle Rouard
Martin Contreras and Keith Orr \aut\ FILM Award for Best LGBTQ Film
- “Spirits (Ysbrydion),” Amy Daniel
The No. 1 African Film Award
- “Mangrove School,” Filipa César
Peter Wilde Award for Most Technically Innovative Film
- “Parasite Family,” Prapat Jiwarangsan
The Terri Schwartz Asian Film Award
- “Conversation with a Koel Bird,” Yuan Li Elizabeth Xu
UMCU Audience Award
- “Daron, Daron Colbert,” Kevin Edward Steen
Award for Best Music Video
- “Ganbatene,” Yi-Yu Tsai
Juror Award 1 / Best Analog Film
- “recortes,” Kimberly Forero-Arnías
Juror Award 2
- “Deep 1,” Philip Hoffman
Juror Award 3
- “Syzygy,” Joanna McNamara
Juror Award 4
- “giroscopio,” John Muse
Juror Award 5
- “Singing in Oblivion,” Eve Heller
Juror Award 6
- “In Passing,” Anna Johnson
The film festival can be viewed online through March 29 at 11:59 p.m. For more information, visit www.aafilmfest.org.