PARK CITY -- Two alternative film festivals coinciding with the 1999 Sundance Film Festival have announced their award winners:
-- "CHI GIRL," a mockumentary from writer/director Heidi Van Lier that follows a Chicago woman as she stalks her ex-boyfriend, won the 1999 Slamdance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize winner in the dramatic feature film competition.The festival's Audience Feature Award went to "Man of the Century," filmmaker Adam Abraham's black-and-white fantasy about a cynical journalist who becomes convinced he is living in the 1920s.
Other jury prize and audience award winners were presented with their awards (named for and modeled after the festival's canine mascot Sparky) at the Underground in Park City last Friday. They include:
"Amerikan Passport," Reed Paget, Documentary Award; "Billy's Balloon," Don Hertzfeldt, Grand Jury Award for Best Short; "12 Stops on the Road to Nowhere," Jay Lowi, Audience Short Award; "Following," Christopher Nolan, Ilford Black and White Award; "13," Gert Embrechts, Kodak Vision Award for Best Cinematography; and "Herd," Mike Mitchell, Spirit of Slamdance Award.
Slamdance Executive Director Peter Baxter praised the award winners and noted that "the quality for submissions was at an all-time high.
"This makes Slamdance very excited about the future of new American filmmakers -- as well as independent filmmaking around the world."
During the festival's closing night ceremonies, Slamdance officials also announced the winners of the screenplay competition: "Dying to Leave," Katherine Alfieri, first place; "Malevergreen," Arthur Bicknell and Ted Enik, second place; and "Hallowed Ground," T.S. Faull, third place.
All three scripts will be submitted to a publishing house, as well as October Films, for development consideration.
-- THE NO DANCE FILM AND MULTIMEDIA FESTIVAL gave its Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature Film to "Shucking the Curve," by Todd Verow.
"The Store," from director Steven Proto, won the festival's Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary, while Shawn Schepps' short film "Group" won the Grand Jury Prize in that category.
Audience Awards went to "Get a Job," by Gregg Cannizzaro (Best Feature Film), and Will Hartman's "The Bus Stop" (Best Short Film). And "The Big Muddy," by Kaleo Quenzer and Rick Venable, and "Curse of Instinct: 108's Final Tour," by Evan Jacobs, both won Spirit Awards, which are given to films with the "most creative guerrilla marketing campaign on the mountain."
Other winners include "Sugar: Fall of the West," James Frey (Best Director); "Men in Scoring Position," Timothy Rhys (Best Screenplay); "Bury the Evidence," Greg De Felice (Best Cinematography); Bonnie Dickenson, "Shucking the Curve" (Best Actress); "A Friend Comes to Visit," Lorena David (Digital Breakthrough); and "Man and Dog," Randy Benson (Educational Award).
Also, Ric Henry's comedy "It's Sex" took won the festival's Year Two Screenplay Competition.