The 28th annual Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) concluded its 16-day run October 16 with the closing gala screening of director Caroline Bottaro's "Queen To Play", in the Visa Screening Room @ the Empire Granville 7 Cinemas, Vancouver.
Director Bottaro was present to introduce the film to the audience.The winners of three juried awards and five audience awards were announced prior to the screening; a fourth juried award was announced previously.
JURIED AWARDS:
Canwest Award for Best Canadian Feature Film:
The jury for the Canadian Images program awarded the inaugural Canwest Award for Best Canadian Feature Film and its $20,000 cash prize to director Xavier Dolan of Montreal for the feature "I Killed My Mother" (J’ai tué ma mere).
The winner was selected from 19 films in competition. The jury included Vancouver-based actor, writer, Ben Ratner, filmmaker Lynne "Kissed" Stopkewich, and producer/writer Kevin Tierney. Robyn Rudolph of Global Television presented the award on behalf of Canwest.Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film:
The Canadian Images jury awarded a $2,000 cash prize to directors Jan Binsse and David Tougas for their film "The Last Act" (Le dernier acte). The competition was open to first-time filmmakers. Canadian Images programmer Terry McEvoy announced the award.
Women in Film & Television Vancouver Artistic Merit Award:
Women in Film & Television Vancouver presented its Artistic Merit Award to Nimisha Mukerji, co-director, producer, editor and Gillian Lowry, co-producer, "65 Red Roses". WIFTV vice-president Kate Green presented the award, given annually to a BC woman filmmaker/performer of distinction whose work appeared at VIFF this year.
AUDIENCE AWARDS:
Rogers People’s Choice Award :
"Soundtrack For A Revolution" (USA), directed by Bill Guttentag, won the Rogers People’s Choice Award. All of the festival’s 377 films were eligible, with festivalgoers chose the most popular film by rating on scale of 1 to 5 . Thor Diakow presented the award on behalf of Rogers.Documentary Audience Award:
The audience chose "Facing Ali" (Canada/BC), directed by Pete McCormack for the second annual documentary Audience Award, most popular nonfiction film. The award is sponsored by CBC’s digital channel documentary. Steve Pratt, head of CBC Radio 3 and Digital Media, announced the winner.National Film Board of Canada’s Most Popular Canadian Documentary Award:
"65 Red Roses" (Canada/BC) directed by Nimisha Mukerjee and Philip Lyall, won the NFB’s Most Popular Canadian Doc award and a prize of $2,500 in NFB technical services toward their next project. The prize was presented by Tracey Friesen, executive producer, Pacific and Yukon Centre, National Film Board of Canada.VIFF Most Popular Canadian Film Award:
"65 Red Roses" (Canada/BC) directed by Nimisha Mukerjee and Philip Lyall, won the VIFF Most Popular Canadian Film Award. The award was announced by Canadian Images programmer Terry McEvoy.
VIFF Environmental Film Audience Award:
"At The Edge Of The World" (USA), directed by Dan Stone, won the VIFF Environmental Film Audience Award, announced by VIFF director Alan Franey.Dragons & Tigers Award for Young Cinema (previously announced):
The $10,000 Dragons & Tigers Award for Young Cinema, supported by donors Brad Birarda and Robert Sali, went to Jang Kun-Jae of South Korea for "Eighteen". Presented "...to the director of a creative and innovative film from East Asia that has not yet won significant international recognition...", the award was previously announced on October 8. Jury was comprised of Johnny Ray Huston, arts and entertainment editor, San Francisco Bay Guardian, Ikeda Hiroyuki, who has introduced experimental film to Asian audiences through Image Forum, and Noel Vera, contributor to Cinemaya, Cahiers du Cinema, the Hong Kong Film Festival, the Singapore Film Festival and author of "Critic After Dark: A Review of Philippine Cinema".
The Vancouver International Film Festival is supported by Telefilm Canada. Major corporate partners are Rogers and Visa. The festival also acknowledges the support of the Government of Canada...
