The 11th annual Gala Maverick Awards Ceremony was held tonight at the historic Backstage Studio Productions Arts & Entertainment Complex in Kingston, NY. The festival, which began Wednesday, September 29, will close Sunday, October 3, after celebrating 11 years of exceptional independent film, panels, concerts, events and parties, with the best of the best in the indie film world.
Emceed by Academy-award nominated writer/director and Woodstock resident Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia), the ceremony presenters included Jonathan Gray, Leon Gast, Heidi Ewing, Petra Epperlein, John Anderson, Amos Poe, Ryan Pierce Williams, Bill Plympton, Sabine Hoffman, Craig McKay, Molly Thompson, Amy Dotson, Barbara Kopple and others.
Lee Marvin BEST FEATURE NARRATIVE AWARD:
WINNER: STRANGER THINGS, directed by Eleanor Burke and Ron Eyal
Honorable Mention: 3 BACKYARDS, directed by Eric Mendelsohn.
Maverick Award for BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY:
WINNER: MARWENCOL, directed by Jeff Malmberg.
Maverick Award for BEST ANIMATION:
WINNER: MUSIC SCENE, directed by Anthony Sheppard
Presented by animators Signe Baumane and Bill Plympton.
HONORABLE MENTION: DOWN TO THE BONE, directed by Peter Ahern
The Diane Segilman Award for BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY:
WINNER: ROSCOE HOLCOMB: FROM DAISY KENTUCKY, directed by John Cohen.
The Diane Seligman Award for BEST SHORT NARRATIVE:
WINNER: HIROSAKI PLAYERS, directed by Jeff Sausa
HONORABLE MENTION: JUNKO SHAMISEN, directed by Solomon Friedman
The Diane Seligman Award for BEST STUDENT SHORT FILM:
WINNER: GOD OF LOVE, directed by Luke Matheny;
HONORABLE MENTION: some boys don’t leave, directed by Maggie Kiley.
The Haskell Wexler Award for BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
WINNER: INUK – Cinematograhers Xavier Liberman and Franck Rabel; directed by Mike Magidson.
The James Lyons Award for BEST EDITING of a FEATURE NARRATIVE:
WINNER: NORMAN – edited by Robert Hoffman, Editor; directed by Jonathan Segal;
HONORABLE MENTION: 3 BACKYARDS, Morgan Faust andJeffrey K. Miller Editors; directed by Eric Mendelsohn.
The James Lyons Award for BEST EDITING of a FEATURE DOCUMENTARY:
WINNER: ONE LUCKY ELEPHANT – edited by Kate Amend and Tchavdar Gerogiev, Editors; directed by Lisa Leeman;
HONORABLE MENTION: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MCKINLEY NOLAN, edited by Kimberley Hassett and Eben Bull
Directed by Henry Corra.
The James Lyons Awards for BEST EDITING were presented by renowned editors Sabine Hoffman and Craig McKay.
HONORARY MAVERICK AWARD: Writer/director Bruce Beresford (Breaker Morant, Tender Mercies, Driving Miss Daisy, Mao’s Last Dancer, Peace, Love & Misunderstanding);
HONORARY TRAILBLAZER AWARD: Marketing and Distribution guru Bob Berney (There Will Be Blood, Monster, La Vie En Rose, The Passion of the Christ, Whale Rider, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Pan’s Labyrinth, Mongol)
HONORARY EXCELLENCE IN ACTING AWARD:
Keanu Reeves (The Matrix, The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee, Walk In The Clouds, Something’s Gotta Give)
The Woodstock Film Festival has an outstanding group of industry leaders who make up the jury for each category of competition:
Feature Narrative Jurors John Anderson, Amy Dotson, and Griffin Dunne.
Feature Documentary Jurors: Barbara Kopple, Molly Thompson, and Leon Gast. Documentary
Short Films Jury: Ron Mann, Heidi Ewing, and Petra Epperlein.
Narrative Short Films Jurors: Jonathan Gray, Ryan Piers Williams, Joshua Zeman, and Cary Hugo.
Student Short Films Jurors: Amy Devra Gossels, Isil Bagdadi, and Amos Poe.
Animated Short Films Jurors: Signe Baumane and Bill Plympton.
Cinematography Juror: Haskell Wexler, A.S.C.
Feature Documentary Editing Jurors: Sabine Hoffman, Sloan Klevin, and Sam Pollard.
Narrative Editing Jurors: Sabine Hoffman, Malcolm Jamieson and Craig McKay.
The Maverick Award Trophies are designed and handcrafted by artist Steve Heller, who shows his work at his Fabulous Furniture gallery in Boiceville, NY.
Other luminaries attending the 2010 festival included Adrian Grenier, Edie Falco, Edward Burns, Vera Farmiga, and Vincent D’Onofrio.