USA FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES WINNERS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 7, 2009

 

CONTACT
Valerie Gabriel-Swenson
VGS Marketing Group
972-395-9034

 

 

DALLAS - On Sunday, May 3, 2009, the USA Film Festival announced the Winners of the 31st Annual National Short Film & Video Competition during the 39th Annual USA Film Festival in Dallas.

 

Chosen from over 600 U.S. entries as Grand Prize Winner is Gregg Helvey's Kavi, a narrative short that provides a hard look at modern-day slavery in India.

 

The full list of awards and honors includes:

 

GRAND PRIZE WINNER
FIRST PLACE / FICTION $1,000
Kavi, Gregg Helvey, director

 

FIRST PLACE / ANIMATION $1,000
Sebastian's Voodoo, Joaquin Baldwin, director

 

 

THE FAMILY AWARD $500
Abuelo, Mary Ann Kellogg, director

 

THE STUDENT AWARD $500
In the Dark, Alex Fazeli, director

 

SPECIAL JURY AWARDS $250 each
Doppelganger, Katharine O'Brien, director
The Incident at Tower 37, Chris Perry, director
Warrior Queen, Hezekiah Lewis, director

 

OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
Our Neck of the Woods, Rob Connolly, director
Welgunzer, Bradford Schmidt, director

 

The 2009 National Jury included editor Angela Garbin; writer, director, and actor Laura Kightlinger; and filmmaker and Yale University professor Sandra Luckow.

 

This year marks the 31st Anniversary of the Academy-qualified festival, which has awarded over $200,000 in cash prizes, including prizes to many (then) emerging filmmakers, including Jessica Yu (Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien), Todd Haynes (Superstar and Dottie Gets Spanked), Alexander Payne (The Passion of Martin), George Hickenlooper (Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade), Alan Taylor (The Burning Question), John Lasseter (Tin Toy), and Ari Sandel (West Bank Story).

 

Official Sponsors of the 39th Annual USA Film Festival include American Airlines, Blockbuster Inc., Amegy Bank of Texas, CareerLink Companies, Community Coffee, The Independent Film Channel, IFC in Theaters, Jones Day, QUICK, Texas Commission on the Arts, and Ticketmaster.  The USA Film Festival is supported, in part, by the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs.

 

The Festival is a Dallas-based 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to the encouragement and recognition of excellence in the film and video arts. The Festival's year-round events include KidFilm®, the oldest and largest children's film festival in the U.S.; Oscar Night® America/Dallas; monthly screenings; special programs and premieres; and the USA Film Festival, held each spring.

 

-30-