Fantasia 2014: Award Winners Announced

 

Among the numerous highlights that took place during the three-week festival were the crowd-pleasing, revelatory world premieres of Leo Gabriadze's CYBERNATURAL, Sarah Adina Smith's THE MIDNIGHT SWIM, and Bennett Jones' I AM A KNIFE WITH LEGS. Also of note were massively successful screenings of Richard Linklater's BOYHOOD, James Gunn's GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, Lee Su-jin's HAN GONG-JU, Keishi Otomo's RUROUNI KENSHIN - KYOTO INFERNO, and Lenny Abrahamson's FRANK.

 

Animation legend Mamoru Oshii (GHOST IN THE SHELL) and horror director Tobe Hooper (THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE) both received Lifetime Achievement Awards, while fans flocked to LIFE AFTER BETH stars Matthew Gray Gubler and Aubrey Plaza. Abel Ferrara presented the North American premiere of his controversial new film WELCOME TO NEW YORK.

 

In total, more than 129,000 festivalgoers attended Fantasia 2014's various screenings and events. 90,000 fans attended the festival's 216 theatrical film presentations, which represents more than 70% of the theaters' full capacities. 19,000 spectators attended Fantasia's two massive outdoor screenings, presented in collaboration with the Just for Laughs festival.

 

The third edition of the festival's international co-production market, Frontières, also logged record attendance, with a boost of over 30% over their 2013 edition - and over 350 industry attendees from over twenty countries. The new Works-in-Progress session, in which films currently in post-production were able to screen glimpses of their projects to audiences, proved ones of the market's most popular events.

 

The 19th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival will take place from July 16 through August 4, 2015.

 

 

Fantasia Announces Winners:

 

Fantasia International Film Festival is proud to announce the winners of its eighteenth edition. These awards were presented by the juries of each competition, and by the festival audience.

 

The award winners in Fantasia's various categories are as follows:

Cheval Noir Competition - Feature Films

 

The Cheval Noir jury, comprised of jury president Mark Adams (critic, Screen International), Anne-Marie Gélinas (producer), Noah Segan (actor/producer), Jasper Sharp (critic/author/filmmaker), and Bret Wood (author/filmmaker), awarded the following prizes:

 

Cheval Noir Award for Best Film

UZUMASA LIMELIGHT by Ken Ochiai (Unanimous)

 

Best Director

David Zellner for KUMIKO THE TREASURE HUNTER

 

Best Screenplay

Billy Senese for CLOSER TO GOD

 

Best Actor

Seizo Fukumoto for UZUMASA LIMELIGHT

 

Best Actress

Miyuki Oshima for FUKU-CHAN OF FUKU-FUKU FLATS

 

Special Mention of the Jury

CYBERNATURAL by Leo Gabriadze, for technical and conceptual achievement

 

 

New Flesh Award Competition

 

The New Flesh jury, comprised of jury president James Shapiro (COO, Drafthouse Films), Jeff Barnaby (filmmaker/author/musician), and Charlie Reff (Sundance programmer), awarded the following prizes:

New Flesh Award for Best First Feature Film

THE INFINITE MAN by Hugh Sullivan

 

Special Mention of the Jury

I AM A KNIFE WITH LEGS by Bennett Jones, for the audacity of its vision and a talent well worth discovering.

 

 

International Short Film Awards

 

The Short Film jury, comprised of jury president Aaron Hillis (critic/filmmakers/programmer), Elodie Dupont (festival coordinator), and Donato Totaro (critic/film professor), awarded the following prizes:

 

Best Short Film

JIMINY by Arthur Molard

 

Special Mention of the Jury

HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER by Noah Aust , for its cinematic and psychological vision.

 

 

Satoshi Kon Prize for Excellence in Animation

 

The Animation jury, comprised of jury president Pierre Grenier (head of animation at Cégep du Vieux-Montréal), Janet Perlman (filmmaker), and Obom (filmmaker and cartoonist), awarded the following prizes:

 

Best Animated Feature

GIOVANNI'S ISLAND by Mizuho Nishikubo

Best Animated Short

THE PORTRAIT STUDIO and SUPERVENUS (tie)

 

Special Mention of the Jury

THE SATELLITE GIRL AND MILK COW by Chang Hyung-yun, for its inventiveness and original story, and THE LOOKING PLANET (short).

 

 

Audience Award Winners

 

Best Asian Film

Gold: MISS GRANNY by Hwang Dong-hyuk

Silver: HAN GONG-JU by Lee Su-jin

Bronze: RUROUNI KENSHIN - KYOTO INFERNO by Keishi Otomo

 

Best International Film

Gold: IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE by Hans Petter Moland

Silver:  DEAD SNOW: RED VS. DEAD by Tommy Wirkola

Bronze: THE HUNDRED-YEAR-OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT THE WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED by Felix Herngren and BOYHOOD by Richard Linklater (tie)

 

Best Canadian Film

DYS- by Maude Michaud

 

Best Animated Film

GIOVANNI'S ISLAND by Mizuho Nishikubo and CHEATIN' by Bill Plympton (tie)

 

Best Documentary

TO BE TAKEI by Jennifer M. Kroot and Bill Weber

 

Guru Prize

ONCE UPON A TIME IN SHANGHAI by Wong Ching-Po

 

Most Innovative Film Prize

CYBERNATURAL by Leo Gabriadze

 

Best Short Film

Gold: THE CHAPERONE by Fraser Munden et Neil Rathbone

Silver: MÉMORABLE MOI by Jean-François Asselin

Bronze: RAGING BALLS OF STEEL JUSTICE by Mike Mort and SEA DEVIL by Brett Potter and D.C. Marcial (tie)

 

 

Frontières International Co-Production Market

2014 Frontières Project Award

Presented by the Producers Network of the Cannes Marché du Film

EXTRAORDINARY (Ailish Bracken and Katie Holly, Producers - Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman, Co-Writers/Directors)