Cynematik

Several of the top awards at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival went to outstanding films that we saw at Sundance in January. There were a number of documentaries that debuted at Full Frame and were highly recognized as well. Prizes were awarded on Sunday, April 9, 2006 at the annual Awards Ceremony. The Festival presented awards in the following categories:

FULL FRAME GRAND JURY AWARD

Iraq in Fragments, Directed by James Longley and John Sinno. Cyndi’s Note: Screened at Sundance; amazing film; strongly recommended! Special Mention: A Lion in the House, Directed and Produced by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert. Cyndi’s Note: Screened at Sundance; yet another amazing film; also strongly recommended! $5,000 cash award and $20,000 in-kind for video-to-film transfer of the winning film or lab services. The Jury Award is chosen by a jury consisting of members of the national filmmaking community.

FULL FRAME AUDIENCE AWARD

The Trials of Darryl Hunt, Directed by Ricki Stern, Annie Sundberg. Produced by Katie Brown, William Rexer II, Ricki Stern, Annie Sundberg. An HBO Documentary Film. Cyndi’s Note: Screened at Sundance; recommended! $3,000. Provided by the Doc Arts Board of Directors. This award is chosen by calculating audience ballots filled out during the four-day Festival.

FULL FRAME JURY AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM

No Umbrella: Election Day in the City, Directed and Produced by Laura Paglin.$10,000 in film stock. Provided by Eastman Kodak. The Jury Award for Best Short is awarded to a film 40 minutes or less in length.

CENTER FOR DOCUMENTARY FILM STUDIES FILMMAKER AWARD

The Refugee All Stars, Directed and Produced by Zach Niles and Banker White. $7,500. Sponsored by the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. The CDS Filmmaker Award recognizes documentary films that combine originality and creativity with firsthand experience in examining central issues of contemporary life and culture. In keeping with the Center’s mission, the award was created to honor and support documentary artists whose works are potential catalysts for education and change.

THE CHARLES E. GUGGENHEIM EMERGING ARTIST AWARD

I for India, Directed by Sandhya Suri. Produced by Carlo Cresto-Dina. Cyndi’s Note: Screened at Sundance; amazing film; strongly recommended! $2,000. Provided by the Charles E. Guggenheim Family. This annual prize is awarded to a first-time documentary feature filmmaker as a way to foster the work of new directors, young and old. It recognizes the extraordinary care that Charles Guggenheim took with filmmakers with whom he worked to mentor and counsel throughout the filmmaking process.

FULL FRAME/EMERGING PICTURES AUDIENCE AWARD

The Refugee All Stars, Directed and Produced by Zach Niles and Banker White. JVC GY-HD100U high-definition camcorder. Sponsored by JVC. A special audience award will be presented to the filmmaker whose work is selected by the members of the digital extension of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival being set up by Emerging Pictures and Full Frame in various locations around the country. Only feature and short films participating in this program are eligible for this award.

FULL FRAME INSPIRATION AWARD

My Country, My Country, Directed by Laura Poitras. Produced by Laura Poitras, Jocelyn Glatzer.
Honorable Mention: EXIT, Directed by Fernand Melgar. Produced by Florence Adams. $5,000. Sponsored by the Hartley Film Foundation. This new award is presented to a film that best exemplifies the value and relevance of world religions and spirituality.

FULL FRAME PRESIDENT’S AWARD

The Intimacy of Strangers, Directed by Eva Weber. Produced by Samantha Zarzosa. $5,000. Sponsored by Duke University. Aimed at recognizing up-and-coming filmmakers, this new prize is awarded to the best student film.

FULL FRAME WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP AWARD

Smiling in a War Zone, Directed by Simone Aaberg Kaern, Magnus Bejmar. Produced by Helle Ulsteen. $5,000. Sponsored by the White House Project. This award will be given to the film that best portrays women in leadership.

FULL FRAME WORKING FILMS AWARD

Rain in a Dry Land, Directed and Produced by Anne Makepeace. A POV/ITVS Film. $5,000 cash award and $5,000 in-kind for the development of the film’s outreach plan. Sponsored by Working Films, with support from the Ettinger Foundation and the Tides Foundation. Sponsored by Working Films, the media non-profit that is a nationally recognized activist-driven bridge between high quality documentary filmmaking and concrete impact, this prize will be awarded to the film that has the greatest potential for supporting serious grassroots organizing and social change.

SEEDS OF WAR

Sir! No Sir!, Directed by Daniel Zeiger. Produced by Vangie Griego, Aaron Zarrow.
Workingman’s Death, Directed by Michael Glawogger. Produced by Erich Lackner, Miriam Quinte, Pepe Danquart. $5,000. Sponsored by Walter Mosley. Sparked by the worldwide wars — and the policies and cultural attitudes that continue to promote them — this award honors two filmmakers who lay bare the seeds and mechanisms that create war. There are two prizes awarded of $2,500.