The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) announced the 2019 Golden Space Needle Audience and Juried Competition Awards and the top prizes – Golden Golden Space Needle Audience Award for Best Film went to Tel Aviv on Fire, directed by Sameh Zoabi, and We Are the Radical Monarchs won the Golden Space Needle for Best Documentary.
The Grand Jury Prizes went to House of Hummingbird for the SIFF Official Competition, The Extraordinary Journey of Celeste Garcia for for SIFF New Directors Competition, The Awakening of the Ants for for SIFF Ibero-American Competition, International Falls for for New American Cinema Competition; and Q Ballfor Documentary Competition.
“It’s been an incredible 25 days full of important stories from around the world. We’re incredibly proud to showcase women in comedy, from jump starting the Festival with a lot of laughs during the screening of local filmmaker Lynn Shelton’s newest film Sword of Trust, to honoring the incredible talent of Regina Hall with the Festival’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinema before a screening of Support the Girls, one of her latest films, on June 2nd, showcasing the hilarious Mindy Kaling and Emma Thompson’s Late Night as our Centerpiece, and closing this year’s Festival with Lulu Wang’s The Farewell,” said Artistic Director Beth Barrett. “In addition to celebrating women’s voices, we hosted one-of-a-kind experiences like the third SIFF New Works-in-Progress forum that brings audiences and industry into the filmmaking creative process to critique and inspire direction to filmmakers while their films are being made.”
2019 GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD WINNERS SIFF
GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD – BEST FILM
Tel Aviv on Fire, directed by Sameh Zoabi (Luxembourg/France/Israel/Belgium 2018)
First runner-up: Sink or Swim, directed by Gilles Lellouche (France/Belgium 2018) Second runner-up: Official Secrets, directed by Gavin Hood (USA/United Kingdom 2019) Third runner-up: Vai, directed by Nicole Whippy, ‘Ofa-Ki-Levuka Guttenbeil-Likiliki, Matasila Freshwater, Amberley Jo Aumua, Miria George, Marina Alofagia McCartney, Dianna Fuemana, Becs Arahanga (New Zealand 2019) Fourth runner-up: Blinded by the Light, directed by Gurinder Chadha (United Kingdom 2019)
GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD – BEST DOCUMENTARY
We Are the Radical Monarchs, directed by Linda Goldstein Knowlton (USA 2019)
First runner-up: Our Bodies Our Doctors, directed by Jan Haaken (USA 2019) Second runner-up: Raise Hell: The Life & Times of Molly Ivins, directed by Janice Engel (USA 2019) Third runner-up: Patrinell: The Total Experience, directed by Andrew Elizaga, Tia Young (USA 2019) Fourth runner-up: Maiden, directed by Alex Holmes (United Kingdom 2018)
GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD – BEST DIRECTOR
Ulaa Salim, Sons of Denmark (Denmark 2019)
First runner-up: Sameh Zoabi, Tel Aviv on Fire (Luxembourg/France/Israel/Belgium 2018) Second runner-up: Willem Bosch, Afterlife (the Netherlands 2019) Third runner-up: Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts, For Sama (United Kingdom/Syria 2019) Fourth runner-up: Károly Ujj Mészáros, X – The eXploited (Hungary 2018)
GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD – BEST ACTOR
Julius Weckauf, All About Me (Germany 2019)
First runner-up: Lorenzo Ferro, El Ángel (Argentina/Spain 2018) Second runner-up: Rady Gamal, Yomeddine (Egypt/USA/Austria 2018) Third runner-up: Aldis Hodge, Clemency (USA 2019) Fourth runner-up: Viveik Kalra, Blinded by the Light (United Kingdom 2019)
GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD – BEST ACTRESS
Damla Sönmez, Sibel (Turkey/France/Germany/Luxembourg 2018)
First runner-up: Alfre Woodard, Clemency (USA 2019) Second runner-up: Emilie Piponnier, Alice (Australia/France 2019) Third runner-up: Aisling Franciosi, The Nightingale (Australia 2018) Fourth runner-up: Mimosa Willamo, Aurora (Finland 2019)
GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD – BEST SHORT FILM
Stepdaddy, directed by Lisa Steen (USA 2019)
First runner-up: Mikey, directed by Duane Schrode (USA 2018) Second runner-up: All on a Mardi Gras Day, directed by Michal Pietrzyk (USA 2019) Third runner-up: Other Side of the Box, directed by Caleb J. Phillips (USA 2018) Fourth runner-up: Sweetheart Dancers, directed by Ben-Alex Dupris (USA 2018)
LENA SHARPE AWARD FOR PERSISTENCE OF VISION Presented by Women in Film
Seattle Jan Haaken, Our Bodies Our Doctors (USA 2019)
This award is given to the female director’s film that receives the most votes in public balloting at the Festival. Lena Sharpe was co-founder and managing director of Seattle’s Festival of Films by Women Directors and a KCTS-TV associate who died in a plane crash while on assignment. As a tribute to her efforts in bringing the work of women filmmakers to prominence, SIFF created this special award and asked Women in Film Seattle to bestow it.
SIFF 2019 COMPETITION AWARDS SIFF
SIFF 2019 OFFICIAL COMPETITION WINNER
GRAND JURY PRIZE
House of Hummingbird (d: Bora Kim, South Korea/USA 2018)
SIFF 2019 IBERO-AMERICAN COMPETITION
GRAND JURY PRIZE
The Awakening of the Ants (d: Antonella Sudasassi Furniss, Costa Rica/Spain 2019, North American Premiere)
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
The Good Girls (d: Alejandra Márquez Abella, Mexico 2018)
SIFF 2019 NEW DIRECTORS COMPETITION
GRAND JURY PRIZE
The Extraordinary Journey of Celeste Garcia (d: Arturo Infante, Cuba/Germany 2018)
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Long Time No Sea (d: Heather Tsui, Taiwan 2018)
SIFF 2019 NEW AMERICAN CINEMA COMPETITION
GRAND JURY PRIZE
International Falls (d: Amber McGinnis, USA 2019)
SIFF 2019 DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
GRAND JURY PRIZE
Q Ball (d: Michael Tolajian, USA 2019)
SIFF 2019 YOUTH JURY FEATURES & FUTUREWAVE SHORTS AWARDS
YOUTH JURY PRIZE FOR BEST FILMS4FAMILIES FEATURE
We Are the Radical Monarchs (d: Linda Goldstein Knowlton, USA 2019)
YOUTH JURY PRIZE FOR BEST FUTUREWAVE FEATURE
Carmen & Lola (d: Arantxa Echevarria, Spain 2018)
WAVEMAKER AWARD (GRAND JURY PRIZE)
grief.exe (USA 2018), Director: Dylan Santa Cruz
PRODIGY CAMP SCHOLARSHIP
The winners will be awarded a $1000 scholarship to the 2019 Prodigy Camp.
Stuffed (USA 2018), Director: Sam Kellman
Fifteen (USA 2019), Director: AJ Baldwin
FUTUREWAVE SHORTS AUDIENCE AWARD
Stuffed (d: Sam Kellman, USA 2018)
SIFF 2019 SHORT FILM JURY AWARDS
LIVE ACTION GRAND JURY PRIZE
Sin Cielo (USA 2018), Director: Jianna S. Maarten Saada
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Rock (USA 2019), Director: Jacob Rosen
DOCUMENTARY GRAND JURY PRIZE
All on a Mardi Gras Day (USA 2019), Director: Michal Pietrzyk
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Fast Horse (Canada 2018), Director: Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree)
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Everything You Wanted to Know About Sudden Birth* (*but were afraid to ask) (United Kingdom 2019), Director: Scott Calonico
ANIMATION GRAND JURY PRIZE
The Seahorse Traivner (Canada 2019), Directors: Ricardo Bonisoli, Babak Bina
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Egg (France 2018), Director: Martina Scarpelli
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Wild Love (France 2018), Directors: Paul Autric, Quentin Camus, Maryka Laudet, Léa Georges, Zoé Sottiaux, Corentin Yvergniaux
SIFF 2019 DOCUMENTARY FILM GRANT PROGRAM SIFF
The 2019 Clark Family Legacy Foundation Film Grant in the amount of $50,000 to Seattle-based Thin Skin, a new film by Charles Mudede, Ahamefule Oluo, and Lindy West, based on the smash hit off-broadway show “Now I’m Fine,” which was loosely based of Oluo’s real life.