Posted by editor@vimooz.com on November 26, 2008 under St. Louis International Film Festival | 
The 17th Annual St. Louis International Film Festival was held Nov. 13-23, 2008 and is now over. The festival featured the St. Louis premieres of more than 250 films from 38 countries. And the winners are
Audience Choice Awards
Best Feature: “Streetballers” directed by Matt Krentz
In this urban drama about street basketball, two junior-college students find release and therapy while playing on one of the most competitive street courts in the U.S. Written and directed by local hero Krentz, who also co-stars, “Streetballers” reveals unexpected aspects of St. Louis.
Best International Feature: “Slumdog Millionaire” directed by Danny Boyle
Director Boyle (”Trainspotting,” “28 Days”) debuted “Slumdog Millionaire” to serious buzz at the Telluride and Toronto film fests, winning the latter’s People’s Choice Award. At the film’s start, Jamal, an 18-year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, is about to experience the biggest day of his life: With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India’s “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating, asserting that no street kid could possibly know so much. Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal recounts his life, with each chapter of his story revealing the key to the answer to one of the game-show’s questions.
Best Documentary: “Dear Zachary” directed by Kurt Kuenne
On Nov. 5, 2001, Dr. Andrew Bagby was murdered in Pennsylvania by Dr. Shirley Turner, who fled the U.S. for St. John’s, Newfoundland, where she announced that she was pregnant with Andrew’s child. Despite overwhelming evidence against her, Turner was granted bail by the Canadian government while her extradition proceedings drug on endlessly. To protect their grandson, named Zachary, Andrew’s parents, David and Kathleen Bagby, uprooted themselves and moved to St. John’s, where they were forced to form a fraught relationship with their son’s killer. Filmmaker Kuenne, Andrew’s childhood friend, embarked on a cross-continent journey - which included St. Louis - to make this heartbreaking, altogether astonishing documentary as a way for Zachary to learn about his father.
Interfaith Awards
Best Feature: “Days and Clouds” directed by Silvio Soldini
In this new work by the director of “Bread and Tulips,” the affluent, sophisticated Elsa and Michele have enough money for Elsa to leave her job and fulfill an old dream of studying art history. After she graduates, however, their lives change: Michele confesses he hasn’t worked in two months and was fired by the company he founded. The growing distance between the couple threatens their most precious possession: the love that binds them. The New York Times calls “Days and Clouds” “a brave film simply for daring to portray a nightmare lurking in the minds of middle-aged workers” and declares it a “sad, very grown-up movie.”
Best Documentary: “Pray the Devil Back to Hell” directed by Gina Reticker
“Pray the Devil Back to Hell” - winner of the Best Documentary Award at Tribeca and the Witness Award at Silverdocs - provides a gripping account of a group of brave and visionary women who demanded peace for Liberia, a nation torn by a decades-old civil war. Combining contemporary interviews, archival images and scenes of present-day Liberia, “Pray the Devil Back to Hell” vividly captures the experiences and memories of the women who worked nonviolently to bring lasting peace to their country. Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu says the film “eloquently captures the power each of us innately has within our souls to make this world a far better, safer, more peaceful place.”
New Filmmakers Forum Emerging Director Award
“Yeast” directed by Mary Bronstein
Indieflix indiefest winners
Best Short: “The Tangent” directed by Vincent Vesco
Best Feature: “Reversion” directed by Mia Trachinger
Short Subject Awards
Best of Fest: “New Boy” directed by Steph Green (Ireland)
Best Live Action: “Next Floor” directed by Denis Villeneuve (Canada)
Best Animated: “Lavatory Lovestory” directed by Konstantin Bronzit (Russia)
Best International: “James” directed by Connor Clements (Northern Ireland)
Best Short Short: “Codswallop” directed by The Brothers McLeod (UK)
Best Local: “The Ville” directed by Amy Bench
Best Documentary Short: “The Witness” directed by Adam Pertofsky
St. Louis Film Critics Award
Under the Radar Award: “The Unknown Woman” directed by Giuseppe Tornatore
Best of Fest: “Slumdog Millionaire” directed by Danny Boyle
