2014 HONORARY MAVERICK AWARD RECIPIENT
Acclaimed director, Darren Aronofsky was presented the honorary Maverick Award by Jennifer Connelly and Natalie Portman.
Academy Award® nominated director Darren Aronofsky’s first feature, the surrealist psychological thriller Pi, earned him the Directing Award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and the Gotham Open Palm Award.
He followed with Requiem For A Dream starring Jennifer Connelly, which was named to over 150 Top Ten lists, The Fountain, a science-fiction romance starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz, and The Wrestler, which garnered Academy Award® nominations for stars Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei. Aronofsky followed with Black Swan, which won Natalie Portman the Academy Award® for Best Actress and received four other nominations, including one for Best Picture. His most recent film Noah, starring Russell Crowe, Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Connelly and Emma Watson, was released in 2014 to critical acclaim and box office success.
Aronosfky was presented with a handcrafted trophy designed by Steve Heller.
Click here to see video of presentation online.
2014 FIERCELY INDEPENDENT AWARD
Indie Actor and Director Mark Duplass was honored with the inaugural Fiercely Independent Award Duplass is known, among other films, The Puffy Chair, Hannah Takes the Stairs as well as a role on the hit series The League.
Tom Quinn, co-president of Radius-TWC, presented the award.
Duplass was presented with a handcrafted trophy designed by Steve Heller.
GIGANTIC PICTURES FEATURE NARRATIVE AWARD
Winner
Patrick's Day, directed by Terry McMahon
Honorable Mention
Arwad, directed by
Samer Najari and Dominique Chila
Winner received a $5000 cash prize from Gigantic Pictures
and a handcrafted trophy by Steve Heller.
JURY MEMBERS
Debra Granik
Logan Hill
Melissa Leo
MAVERICK DOCUMENTARY AWARD
Winner
Red Lines, directed by Andrea Kalin and Oliver Lukacs
Honorable Mention
Mentor, directed by Alix Lambert
&
A Snake Gives Birth to a Snake, directed by Michael Lessac
Sponsored by Films We Like.
Winner received a $1000 cash award and a handcrafted trophy by Steve Heller.
JURY MEMBERS
Joe Berlinger
Amy Hobby
Barbara Kopple
HASKELL WEXLER AWARD FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner
Patrick's Day, directed by Terry McMahon
Cinematography by Michael Lavelle
Sponsored by Panavision NY
A statement on behalf of Wexler reminded the audience, "This award is based on what I consider true cinematography, not just on the traditional photographic dexterity. He has that. Michael Lavelle's work on Patrick's Day shows a profound understanding of the story and his ability to employ DP skills such as framing, focus, lighting, and camera movement is subtle, in un-selfconscious ways to subliminally involve the viewer."
ULTRA INDIE AWARD
Winner
Uncertain Terms, directed by Nathan Silver
Honorable Mention
I Believe in Unicorns, directed by Leah Meyerhoff
Sponsored by
Gray Krauss Stratford Sandler Des Rochers LLP
The inaugural Woodstock Film Festival Ultra Indie award is presented to an outstanding film with a budget of less than $200K. The films nominated raise the art of low budget filmmaking to a higher level and we are proud to partner with Gray, Krauss, Stratford, Sandler, Des Rochers LLP to reward the best of these ultra low budget selections from the 15th Annual Woodstock Film Festival.
Winner received:
A $2000 cash prize, a Blackmagic Cinema Camera, and a handcrafted trophy by Steve Heller.
JURY MEMBERS
Richard Abramowitz
Larry Fessenden
Amy Gossels
James Lyons Editing Award for NARRATIVE FEATURE
Winner
Patrick's Day, directed by Terry McMahon
Edited by Emer Reynolds
Honorable Mention
The Man who Saved the World, directed by Peter Anthony
Edited Morten Hojbjerg
Prize: $1,500 in services sponsored by Technicolor PostWorks New York and a handcrafted trophy created by Steve Heller.
JURY MEMBERS
Richard Chew
Sabine Hoffman
Andrew Marcus
James Lyons Editing Award for DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Winner
Killswitch, directed by Ali Akbarzadeh
Edited by Prichard Smith
Honorable Mention
A Snake Gives Birth to a Snake, directed by Michael Lessac
Edited by Joel Plotch
Prize: $1,500 in services sponsored by Technicolor PostWorks New York and a handcrafted trophy created by Steve Heller.
JURY MEMBERS
Sandra Christie
Sabine Hoffman
Jean Tsien
TANGERINE ENTERTAINMENT JUICE AWARD FOR BEST FEMALE FEATURE DIRECTOR
Winner
The Sisterhood of Night, directed by Caryn Waechter
Woodstock Film Festival was thrilled to announce that the 2nd Annual Tangerine Entertainment Juice Award was presented to director Caryn Waechter for The Sisterhood of Night.
The Tangerine Entertainment Juice Fund is a donation-based initiative focused on changing the landscape for women filmmakers. In keeping with Tangerine's commitment to outreach, the Juice Fund provides an opportunity for community involvement in directly supporting women directors and outlets for their films.
The Juice Fund is created and sustained entirely by individuals and companies wishing to help increase the number of women feature film directors and the frequency with which they work. The Juice Fund will be used to instigate concrete change in three ways; rewarding, mentoring, and building community.
Recipient received a cash prize from Tangerine Entertainment and a handcrafted trophy designed by Steve Heller
Diane Seligman Award for BEST SHORT NARRATIVE
Winner
Sunday, directed by Iva Gocheva
Honorable Mention
Nighthawks, directed by Jun Bung Lee
Winner received a $500 cash award from Lowel-Light and a handcrafted trophy by Steve Heller
JURY MEMBERS
Jonathan Gray
Leah Meyerhoff
Lori Singer
Diane Seligman Award for BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
Winner
Our Curse (Nasza Klatwa), directed by Tomasz Sliwinski
Winner received a $500 cash award from Marketek and a handcrafted trophy by Steve Heller.
JURY MEMBERS
Leon Gast
Emily Rothschild
Todd Wider
Diane Seligman Award for BEST STUDENT SHORT
Winner
So You've Grown Attached, directed by Kate Tsang
Honorable Mention
The Young Housefly, direcred by Laurence Vannicelli
Winner received a $500 cash award from Lowel-Light and a handcrafted trophy by Steve Heller
JURY MEMBERS
Isil Bagdadi
Michael Cristofer
Terry Kinney
Maverick Award for FOR BEST ANIMATION
Winner
My Kingdom, by Debra Solomon
Honorable Mention
The Dam Keeper, directed by Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi
JURY MEMBERS
Signe Baumane
Bill Plympton
Patrick Smith
Audience Award for NARRATIVE FEATURE
Amira & Sam, directed by Sean Mullin
Honorable Mention
The Man who Saved the World, directed by Peter Anthony