Grimmfest 2019: WHY DON`T YOU JUST DIE! Big Winner at Fest

GRIMMFEST ANNOUNCES 2019 AWARD WINNERS PLUS £100,000+ WORTH OF PRIZES

 

This October, GRIMMFEST, Manchester's International Festival of Fantastic Film, celebrated its eleventh anniversary with its biggest line-up of film premieres ever, along with audiences to match.

 

Now the Festival Jury's votes are all in, and the audience ballots all tallied up, Grimmfest is proud to reveal this year’s award-winners:

 

Best Feature (Sponsored by M2 MediaPost)

WHY DON’T YOU JUST DIE!

With Special Mention for EXTRA ORDINARY

 

Best Director (Sponsored by M2 MediaPost)

KIRILL SOKOLOV, WHY DON’T YOU JUST DIE!

With Special Mention for ROB GRANT (HARPOON)

 

Best Screenplay (Sponsored by Final Draft and InkTip)

HARPOON

With Special Mention for A SERIAL KILLER’S GUIDE TO LIFE

 

Best Cinematography (Sponsored by One Bright Dot)

4x4

With Special Mention for WHY DON’T YOU JUST DIE!

 

Best Score (Sponsored by Grimmfest Films)

ARTIK 

With Special Mention for TONE-DEAF

 

Best Actor

PETER LANZANI, 4x4

With Special Mention for MUNRO CHAMBERS (HARPOON)

 

Best Actress

MAEVE HIGGINS, EXTRA ORDINARY

With Special Mention for POPPY ROE (A SERIAL KILLER’S GUIDE TO LIFE)

 

Best SFX (Sponsored by Fangoria Magazine)

WHY DON’T YOU JUST DIE!

With Special Mentions for BLOOD VESSEL and THE WRETCHED

 

Best Kill (Sponsored by Dread Central)

SATANIC PANIC

With Special Mention for HARPOON

 

Best Scare (Sponsored by Rue Morgue magazine)

THE WRETCHED

With Special Mention for BLOOD VESSEL

 

Best Short (Sponsored by Shudder)

LIMBO

With Special Mention for HOW TO BE ALONE and LOOM

 

 

Finally, as voted for by Grimmfest 2019 attendees:

 

The Audience Award (Sponsored by Shudder)

EXTRA ORDINARY

With Special Mentions for LITTLE MONSTERS and WHY DON’T YOU JUST DIE!

 

The Festival Jury Panel consisted of 6 carefully selected figures from the world of genre cinema: 

Actress, producer and Grimmfest 2018 Lifetime Achievement award-winner Barbara Crampton

UK film critic Anton Bitel

UK producer Jennifer Handorf

UK film critic Nikki Baughan

US producer Amanda Presmyk at Fangoria

Canadian sales agent James Fler at Raven Banner 

 

Grimmfest is even more delighted to announce that the creators of WHY DON’T YOU JUST DIE!, who won both the BEST FEATURE and BEST DIRECTOR awards, will be awarded £80,000 worth of post-production services courtesy of Festival Award Sponsor, M2 MediaPost, which can be used as finance against a future film production. 

 

WHY DON'T YOU JUST DIE! is a blackly comic and brutal Russian crime drama that was one of the big talking points at Grimmfest 2019.  With favourable comparisons to Tarantino and the Coen Brothers at their most noirish, it marks a truly dazzling feature film debut for writer-director KIRILL SOKOLOV.  The film will be released by Arrow Films, under the Arrow Video label, in the UK, US and Canada in March 2020.

 

Kirill Sokolov said, "I'm absolutely happy!  It is so important for a young filmmaker to get rewards for your work.  The best inspiration for the next steps.  Huge thanks to GRIMMFEST!  I'll do my best!"

 

This year, Grimmfest also launched their very first BEST WORK-IN-PROGRESS award, which was judged by the festival team.  This year’s winner is KARLI by directors Paul Gerrard and Mike Clarke, who will receive £20,000 worth of post-production funding courtesy of M2 MediaPost, plus an offer of international sales representation from Film Seekers and a year’s subscription to Screen International magazine.

 

Michael Laundon of M2 MediaPost said, “M2 MediaPost is honoured to sponsor both BEST FEATURE and BEST DIRECTOR for this year’s Grimmfest and it's great to see KIRILL SOKOLOV's amazing kinetic and stylish Russian thriller picking up both awards. We are looking forward to working with him on a future project and excited to also sponsor the new WORK IN PROGRESS award of which Paul and Mike’s new project, KARLI, is a worthy recipient.” 

 

Grimmfest 2020 will take place in early October in Manchester UK. Film submissions will open December 2019 via FilmFreeway. More information about the festival can be found at www.grimmfest.com