Last night the Dallas Film Society held their DFS Honors dinner at the 2015 Dallas International Film Festival, honoring many of this year’s phenomenal films in various categories. Tom Browne’s RADIATOR took home the Narrative Feature Grand Jury award, and Ben Powell’s BARGE won for Documentary Feature. We’ve got a full list of winners below. The award ceremony also honored THE LEGO MOVIE co-directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller with the Texas Avery award for animation, and legendary directors John Landis and Kit Carson with the prestigious Star Award. There were fun surprises too, like Max Landis showing up unexpectedly to introduce his father on stage. This year’s DIFF has been a blast, but it’s not over yet. There are still films playing all day today and tomorrow, so make sure to not miss out on the fun.

The Dallas Film Society Announces Jury and Audience Award Winners of the

2015 Dallas International Film Festival Presented by AutoNation

Competition winners announced during the annual Dallas Film Society Honors

DALLAS, TX (April 17, 2015) – The Dallas Film Society has announced the winners of the 9^th Annual Dallas International Film Festival’s competition series. This year’s Festival, presented by AutoNation, features 169 films representing 32 countries, with a total of 18 premieres including 11 World Premieres, three North American Premieres and four US Premieres.

Grand Jury Awards and Special Jury Prizes were presented for the Narrative Feature Competition, Short Film Competition and Texas Feature Competition during Dallas Film Society Honors, co-presented by the Arthur E. Benjamin Foundation, Sheri Deterling, Geoff Hawkes and the Highland Dallas, at The Highland Dallas. Grand Jury Awards were also given for the Documentary Feature Competition, Animated Short Competition and Student Short Competition.

The winner of the Grand Jury Award for Narrative Feature Competition is RADIATOR directed by Tom Browne. The Special Jury Prize winner for Cinematography in a Narrative Feature is SOME BEASTS, directed by Cameron Nelson. Receiving the Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Acting in a Narrative Feature is ECHOES OF WAR, directed by Kane Senes.

Taking home the Grand Jury Award in the Documentary Feature Competition is BARGE, directed by Ben Powell.

The recipient of the Short Film Competition Grand Jury Award is THE CHICKEN, directed by Una Gunjak. Special Jury Awards went to THE FACE OF UKRAINE: CASTING OKSANA BAIUL, directed by Kitty Green, and ONE HITTA QUITTA, directed by Ya’Ke Smith.

The Animated Short Film Competition Grand Jury Award, presented by Reel FX, went to WORLD OF TOMORROW, directed by Don Hertzfeldt.

The Student Short Film Competition Award winner is CAST IN INDIA, directed by NYU student Natasha Raheja.

The winner of the Texas Film Competition and a camera package rental valued at $30,000, presented by Panavision, is SACRIFICE, directed by Michael Cohn. A Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Performance was awarded to THE LOVE INSIDE, directed by Andy Irvine and Mark Smoot.

Receiving the Silver Heart Award and a $10,000 cash prize was FRAME BY FRAME, directed by Alexandria Bombach and Mo Scarpelli. The Silver Heart Award was selected by the Embrey Family Foundation and presented to Bombach and Scarpelli in honor of their dedication to fighting injustices and creating social change for the improvement of humanity through their film.

“We are honored to have featured so many talented filmmakers throughout our festival,” said DIFF Artistic Director James Faust. “I am grateful for our highly esteemed jurors who had the difficult task of choosing a winner of each competition series.”

The Festival also presented Audience Awards, sponsored by the Arthur E. Benjamin Foundation, Sheri Deterling and Geoff Hawkes, for Best Narrative Feature, Documentary Feature and Short Film.  The winners for Best Narrative Feature and Documentary Feature each received a cash prize of $3,500. The winner for Best Short Film received a cash prize of $3,000.

The Audience Award winner for Narrative Feature is THUNDER BROKE THE HEAVENS by Tim Skousen. The Documentary Feature Audience Award winner is BATKID BEGINS: THE WISH HEARD AROUND THE WORLD, directed by Dana Nachman. Receiving the Audience Award for Best Short Film is MELVILLE, directed by James M. Johnston.

Award winners from each category in both the Grand Jury and Audience Award competitions received MOVIE MAGIC Budgeting and Scheduling software bundles from Entertainment Partners, which allows filmmakers to create and view production scheduling.

Additional information about each award winner can be found below.

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Narrative Feature Competition Grand Jury Award

RADIATOR (United Kingdom)

Director: Tom Browne

Cast: Richard Johnson; Gemma Jones; Daniel Cerqueira

A dark, difficult comedy concerning the middle aged Daniel who returns home to help his elderly parents, Leonard and Maria who live in squalor, eccentrically.

Narrative Feature Competition Special Jury Prize, Ensemble Acting

ECHOES OF WAR (USA) – World premiere

Director: Kane Senes

Cast: James Badge Dale; Ethan Embry; William Forsythe; Maika Monroe

A Civil War veteran returns home to the quiet countryside, only to find himself embroiled in a conflict between his family and the brutish cattle rancher harassing them.

Narrative Feature Competition Special Jury Prize, Cinematography

SOME BEASTS (USA) – World Premiere

Director: Cameron Nelson

Cast: Frank Mosley; Lindsay Burdge; Heather Kafka

Living in an insular farming community, Sal Damon, a modern-day Thoreau, seeks solace from a past relationship in Appalachia. After his neighbor dies and he discovers a feral child living on the lam, he must reconcile his place in a world that lives outside of the law.

Documentary Feature Competition Grand Jury Award

BARGE (USA)

Director: Ben Powell

Dry land’s misfits find purpose and direction twenty-eight days at a time as the steady hands of a towboat due for the port of New Orleans. From a green deckhand following his father and grandmother into the family business, to a former convict working his way to First Mate, job by job; as long as the boat’s moving they’re making money.

Short Film Competition Grand Jury Award

THE CHICKEN (Germany/Croatia)

Director: Una Gunjak

The day-to-day life of a six-year-old girl growing up during unstable times in Sarajevo is shaken up when a chicken joins her family.

Short Film Competition Special Jury Prizes

THE FACE OF UKRAINE: CASTING OKSANA BAIUL (Australia)

Director: Kitty Green

Adorned in pink sequins, little girls from across a divided, war-torn Ukraine audition to play the role of gold medal-winning figure skater Oksana Baiul, whose tears of joy once united their troubled country.

ONE HITTA QUITTA (USA)

Director: Ya’Ke Smith

A boy, who has never had to suffer the consequences for his actions, becomes severely addicted to internet violence, leading him to act out in violent ways himself.

Student Short Film Competition Grand Jury Award

CAST IN INDIA (India/USA)

Director: Natasha Raheja

Iconic and ubiquitous, thousands of manhole covers dot the streets of New York City. Enlivening the everyday objects around us, this short film is a glimpse of the working lives of the men behind the manhole covers in New York City.

Animated Short Film Competition Award

WORLD OF TOMORROW (USA)

Director: Don Hertzfeldt

A little girl is taken on a mind-bending tour of her distant future.

Texas Film Competition Grand Jury Award

SACRIFICE (USA)

Director: Michael Cohn

Cast: Luke Kleintank; Dermot Mulroney; Melora Walters; Austin Abrams; Brandon Smith; Lewis Tan

HANK (Luke Kleintank) is a handsome, multi-talented high school student who has just led his football team to a stunning victory during the biggest game of the season. Eager scouts are circling and Hank’s blue-collar parents, (played by Dermot Mulroney and Melora Walters), are counting on their golden boy to win a scholarship to a good college so he can enjoy a brighter future, far away from their hardscrabble life in Texas. Their younger son, TIM (Austin Abrams) more of a loser than a winner, idolizes his older brother and persuades Hank and his friends, KAZ (Brandon Smith) and BENNY (Lewis Tan), to let him tag along on their celebratory hunting trip. It is a decision they soon regret. Tim’s immature behavior after an accidental shooting leads to a series of bad decisions, a second wave of tragedy, and a hasty cover-up. Hank finds himself at the center of a desperate and rapidly deteriorating situation that tests his moral compass and threatens to destroy his family…and his dream.

Texas Film Competition Special Jury Prize

THE LOVE INSIDE (USA) – World Premiere

Director: Andy Irvine; Mark Smoot

Cast: Zachary Knighton; Joey Kern; Kat Foster; Betsy Phillips; Bryon Brown; Ashley Spillers; Indigo Rael

When Vaughn invites his closest friends to a cabin in rural Texas to meet his fiancée, he expects a relaxing weekend reminiscing about the old days. But when a friend arrives with his ex-girlfriend, long repressed feelings are reawakened and his engagement is suddenly thrown into doubt in this subversive romantic comedy.

Silver Heart Award

FRAME BY FRAME (USA)

Director: Alexandria Bombach; Mo Scarpelli

After decades of war and an oppressive Taliban regime, four Afghan photojournalists face the realities of building a free press in a country left to stand on its own – reframing Afghanistan for the world and for themselves.

Narrative Feature Audience Award

THUNDER BROKE THE HEAVENS (USA) – World Premiere

Director: Tim Skousen

Cast: Alex Peters; Gavin Howe; Tanner Beard; Tom Nowicki; Hadley Eure

In a Hansel and Gretel-esque modern fairy tale, siblings Samantha (13) and William Paul (6) must survive on their own after a tragedy kills their family. They are placed in an abusive foster home, but when Samantha overhears that they are to be split up, they escape to live in a crumbling shack in the woods. Life is hard, but they receive help from a mysterious source. When supplies run out and William Paul falls ill, Samantha must find a way for them to survive – before it’s too late.

Documentary Feature Audience Award

BATKID BEGINS: THE WISH HEARD AROUND THE WORLD (USA)

Director: Dana Nachman

On one day, in one city, the world comes together to grant one 5 year old cancer patient his wish. BATKID BEGINS: THE WISH HEARD AROUND THE WORLD looks at the ‘why’ of this flash phenomenon. Why did the intense outpouring of spontaneous support for a child reverberate around the world and become one of the biggest ‘good news stories’ ever?

Short Film Audience Award

MELVILLE (USA)

Director: James Johnston

Marcus is dealing with some serious shit but he can’t seem to talk to anyone about it.

DIFF runs through Sunday, April 19. Tickets can be purchased online at DallasFilm.org or at the Prekindle Box Office located at Mockingbird station at 5321 E. Mockingbird Ln., Suite 100. DIFF Weekend Passes are now on sale for $75. For more Box Office and ticketing information, call 469-828-1719.

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ABOUT THE DALLAS FILM SOCIETY

The Dallas Film Society celebrates films and their impact on society. A 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, the Dallas Film Society recognizes and honors filmmakers for their achievements in enhancing the creative community, provides educational programs to students to develop a better understanding of the role of film in today’s world, and promotes the City of Dallas and its commitment to the art of filmmaking. The annual Dallas International Film Festival is a presentation of the Dallas Film Society and has been named by Movie Maker Magazine as one of the “25 Festivals Worth the Entry Fee.” In addition to producing one of the largest festivals in the Southwest, the Society produces numerous year round events, screenings series and programs in partnership with arts organizations around the city. The offices of the Dallas Film Society are located at 3625 North Hall Street, Suite 740, Dallas, TX 75219. For more information about the Dallas Film Society and its ongoing events, visit www.DallasFilm.org or call (214) 720-0555.

2015 CONFIRMED SPONSORS:  ABCO; Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld, LLP; Alamo DraftHouse Cinemas DFW; The Angelika Film Center; Austin Film Festival; Arthur E. Benjamin Foundation, AutoNation; Buy LEDs; CAMP TV; Carr Vineyard, MD Orthopedic Surgery; CBS 11; Cinemark USA, Inc.; City of Dallas – Office of Cultural Affairs; City of Richardson; The Crow Collection of Asian Art; Colibri Commerce House; D Magazine; Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau; Dallas Film Commission; Dallas Museum of Art; Dallas Producers Association; Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District (TPID); DART; Deep Eddy Vodka; Sheri Deterling and Geoff Hawks; Downtown Dallas Inc.; Drivebymovies.com; Dublin Bottling Works; Earth Day Texas; El Creative; Embrey Family Foundation; Euro Channel; Flagship Marketing; Fun Flicks Outdoor Movies; The Highland Dallas, Holiday Inn Central Park Cities; Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office; Informate Magazine; In-N-Out Burger; Jackson Walker LLP.; KD Conservatory College of Film & Dramatic Arts; Klyde Warren Park; Levenson; Lufthansa Airlines; Marcs Clips; Media 2 Way; Mary Kay; Mockingbird Station; Movie Magic; My Sweet Charity; Nasher Sculpture Center;  Old Chicago; Panavision; PaperCity; Perot Museum of Nature and Science; Pencilneck Software; Post Asylum; Prekindle; Pure Evil Sound & Music Design; Radar Creative Studio; ReelFX; SAGindie; Selig Polyscope Company; Southern Methodist University – Division of Film & Media Arts; Stella Artois; Studio Movie Grill; Texas Association of Film Commissions; Texas Commission of the Arts; Texas Film Commission; U.S. Risk; Univision TV & Radio; Uptown Latino; Virgin America; Which Wich; Wilson Elser

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