2015 Festival Award Winners ~ It’s a Wrap!

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Writer, producer, director Phil Lord; The Obscure Spring poster

Writer, producer, director Phil Lord; The Obscure Spring poster

The vibe of the night at this past Saturday’s Miami Dade College’s Miami International Film Festival Awards Night Ceremony, held at Olympia Theater at Gusman Center, may be best summed up by Miami-born writer, producer, director Phil Lord, who quoted the following food for thought found on the Knight Foundation’s website: “We seek to bestir the people into an awareness of their own condition, provide inspiration for their thoughts, and rouse them to pursue their true interests,” as Jack Knight once described as the bedrock purpose of his newspaper.

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COMPLETE LIST OF MIAMI DADE COLLEGE’S MIAMI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL AWARD 2015 WINNERS:

KNIGHT COMPETITION
> Knight Grand Jury Prize: The Obscure Spring (Las oscuras primaveras) (Mexico), produced by Luis Albores, Erika Avila, Carlos Mesa and Armon O’Farrill
> Grand Jury Award Best Performance: Cecilia Suarez, Jose Maria Yazpik and the entire cast of The Obscure Spring (Las oscuras primaveras) (Mexico)
> Grand Jury Award Best Director: Abner Benaim for Invasion (Invasión) (Panama / Argentina)

KNIGHT DOCUMENTARY ACHIEVEMENT AWARD (Selected by the Festival audience.)
> Tea Time (La once) (Chile / USA), directed by Maite Alberdi

LEXUS IBERO-AMERICAN OPERA PRIMA COMPETITION
> In the Grayscale (En las gamas de gris) (Chile), directed by Claudio Marcone

JORDAN ALEXANDER RESSLER SCREENWRITING AWARD
> Theeb (Jordan / Qatar / United Arab Emirates / United Kingdom), written by Naji Abu Nowar and Bassel Ghandour

PARK GROVE SHORTS COMPETITION
> Best Short Film: “Young Lions of Gypsy” (“A Ciambra”) (Italy/France), directed by Jonas Carpignano
> Honorable Mentions: “A Tree In The Sea” (United Arab Emirates), directed by Shahir Zag; and Alba Baptista for her performance in Simão Cayatte’s “Miami” (Portugal)

MIAMI ENCUENTROS presented by Knight Foundation
> The Apostate (El apóstata) (Spain / France / Uruguay), produced by Guadalupe Balaguer Trelles, Fernando Franco, and Federico Veiroj; directed by Federico Veiroj

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Cinemaslam7

Spring director Aaron Moorhead, CinemaSlam champion “First Day” director Rita Pereyra, Graham Winick

CINEMASLAM
> Grand Prize winner: “The First Day” (“El primer dia”) (Miami Dade College), produced by Rita Pereyra, Martin Castañeda and Andrea Estrada
> Audience Award winner: “The First Day” (“El primer dia”) (Miami Dade College)
> Best Documentary: “Romana” (University of Miami), produced by Barrett Dennison, Luis J. Galvis, Chantale Glover and Nick Katzenbach
> Best Drama: “The First Day” (“El primer dia”) (Miami Dade College)
> Best Actor: Juan Jimenez, “The First Day” (“El primer dia”) (Miami Dade College)
> Best Actress: Valentina Jimenez, “The First Day” (“El primer dia”) (Miami Dade College)
> Best Director: Rita Pereyra,“The First Day” (“El primer dia”) (Miami Dade College)
> Best Technical Achievement: Timothy Wilcox, “Top Shelf” (Miami Dade College)

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Alex Pina Kamilaze and Lexus man

Kamikaze director Álex Pina and Lexus vehicle operations manager Marcus Williams

LEXUS AUDIENCE AWARD
> Favorite Feature Film: Kamikaze (Spain), directed by Álex Pina
> Favorite Short Film: “Young Lions of Gypsy” (“A ciambra”) (Italy), directed by Jonas Carpignano

Capping a stellar 32nd edition of the Festival, which featured a total of 124 films from 41 countries, including 15 world premieres, the Lexus Audience Award announcements were made by the Festival’s executive director Jaie Laplante and Lexus’ vehicle operations manager, Marcus Williams, at the Patrón XO Igloo Café Awards Night Party, at the Historic Alfred I. Dupont Building.

The Festival’s 33rd Edition is set for March 4-13, 2016. See YOU at the movies!  —Tatyana Chiocchetti[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Jaie Laplante

Jaie Laplante is the Miami Film Festival's executive director and director of programming. Learn more about Jaie on Programmers.