FESTIVALS

November 11, 2007AFI FEST 2007 announced the 2007 award winners with Lee Isaac Chungs MUNYURANGABO named as the recipient of the Grand Jury Prize for International Feature Competition. Andreas Mol Dalsgaards AFGHAN MUSCLES and Nina Davenports OPERATION FILMMAKER shared the International Documentary Grand Jury Prize.

The Shorts Jury Prize went to Nash Edgertons SPIDER, with a special award for Best Animated Short going to Josh Raskinds I MET THE WALRUS.

Julian Schnabels THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY won the Audience Award for best feature film, while Jeffrey Schwarz SPINE TINGLER! THE WILLIAM CASTLE STORY and Lauren Greenfields KIDS + MONEY won the Audience Award for the Documentary and Short sections respectively.

The three Jury Award winners each receive a $5000 prize of Eastman Kodak Motion Picture Film stock & Entertainment Partners Budgeting and Scheduling software package.

The three Audience Award winners receive an AVID Technology Suite & Entertainment Partners Budgeting and Scheduling software package.

As the winner of the Audi Truth in art competition, Michael Addis (director of the documentary, HECKLER) won a free lease of an Audi S5 automobile for one year. For the winning project, Addis created/shot a short film featuring a theme of family and security with the safety of driving an Audi.

AFI FEST Artistic Director Rose Kuo said, As with the all of the films we had at AFI FEST this year, the films in the competitive categories included really accomplished and inspired work from a diverse group of talented filmmakers. I know the members of our jury had a particularly difficult time singling out one film.

JURY AWARDS

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE COMPETITION
GRAND JURY PRIZE: MUNYURANGABO
DIR Lee Isaac Chung PROD Lee Isaac Chung EXEC PROD Han Gil Chung, Robert Liang, Alex Hsiong Chu CAST Jeff Rutagengwa, Eric Ndorunkundiye, Jean Marie Vianney Nkurikiyinka Rwanda/USA

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
GRAND JURY PRIZE: AFGHAN MUSCLES & OPERATION FILMMAKER

AFGHAN MUSCLES DIR Andreas Mol Dalsgaard PROD Jesper Morthorst, Michael Haslund-Christensen Denmark

OPERATION FILMMAKER DIR Nina Davenport PROD Nina Davenport, David Schisgall. USA

INTERNATIONAL SHORTS COMPETITION
GRAND JURY PRIZE: SPIDER
DIR Nash Edgerton Australia

BEST ANIMATED SHORT: I MET THE WALRUS
DIR Josh Raskin Canada

AUDIENCE AWARDS

FEATURE: THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY (LE SCAPHANDRE ET LE PAPILLON)
DIR/SCR Julian Schnabel PROD Kathleen Kennedy, Jon Klik, EXEC PROD Pierre Grunstein, Jim Lemley CAST Max Von Sydow, Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Anne Consigny, Emma De Caunes. USA

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: SPINE TINGLER! THE WILLIAM CASTLE STORY
DIR Jeffrey Schwarz PROD Jeffrey Schwarz. USA

SHORT: KIDS + MONEY
DIR Lauren Greenfield USA