2019 Woodstock Film Festival Awards Recap
The 20th annual Maverick Awards Ceremony rounded out the 2019 Woodstock Film Festival at BSP Kingston this past Saturday on October 5. Filling the tables of the packed auditorium were filmmakers, members of the press, and many special guests.
From left: 2018 Maverick Award winner Julie Taymor and 2019 Honorary Trailblazer recipient Abigail Disney
Amongst the star-studded list of honorees was filmmaker and philanthropist Abigail E. Disney, who received the Festival’s Trailblazer Award for her staunch activism and work creating films centered around social justice. The award was presented to Disney by last year’s Maverick Award recipient Julie Taymor, who gave an impassioned speech honoring Disney’s efforts as a humanitarian and filmmaker. A full list of Maverick Award winners can be found below.
On Sunday night, our staff was hard at work tallying up all of the ballots for the Audience Awards. Surging to the top of the pack were crowd favorites PARKLAND RISING, which won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature, and John Swab’s first solo-directed film RUN WITH THE HUNTED, which won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature. Both films struck a chord with festival-goers: the former following the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School as they build a national movement for gun reform, the latter a darkly gripping story about a young runaway who joins a band of street urchins.
Congratulations to all of our award-winners and nominees!
2019 Maverick Award Winners
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE - SWALLOW, BY CARLO MIRABELLA-DAVIS WITH AN HONORABLE MENTION TO ONCE UPON A RIVER, DIRECTED BY HAROULA ROSE.
The jurors also gave special recognition to actors Haley Bennett for best female performance in SWALLOW and Tim Guinee for best male performance in ASH.
Jurors: Julie Taymor, David Dinerstein, Rebecca Miller, Alex Smith
Award sponsored by Gigantic Pictures
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - 17 BLOCKS, DIRECTED BY DAVY ROTHBART WITH HONORABLE MENTIONS TO MAXIMA, DIRECTED BY CLAUDIA SPARROW, AND ACCEPT THE CALL, DIRECTED BY EUNICE LAU.
Jurors: Joe Berlinger, Roger Ross Williams, Pamela Yates
BEST NARRATIVE SHORT - THE NEIGHBOR'S WINDOW, DIRECTED BY MARSHALL CURRY WITH AN HONORABLE MENTION TO TATTOO, DIRECTED BY FARHAD DELARAM.
Jurors: Karen Allen, Dan O'mara, Rita Taggart
BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY - A SISTER'S HOPE, DIRECTED BY MICHAEL MARANTZ.
Jurors: Curry Marshall, Lacey Schwartz Delgado, Robert Stone
Award sponsored by Markertek.com
BEST STUDENT SHORT - MARRIAGE MATERIAL, THE MUSICAL!, DIRECTED BY ORAN ZEGMAN WITH AN HONORABLE MENTION TO MILLER & SON, DIRECTED BY ASHER JELINSKY
Jurors: Jane Applegate, Isil Bagdadi, Declan Baldwin
ULTRA INDIE AWARD - SENECA, DIRECTED BY JASON CHAET WITH AN HONORABLE MENTION TO TAWNY CYPRESS FOR HER PERFORMANCE AS "INEZ" IN INEZ & DOUG & KIRA.
Jurors: Jamin O'Brien, Harris Doran, Lori Singer
Award sponsored by Gray Schwartz LLP
ANIMATION AWARD - SWEET NIGHT BY LIA BERTELS AND HONORABLE MENTION GOES TO ANNA SAMO, LISA LABRACIO FOR THE OPPOSITES GAME.
Jurors: Lizzi Akana, Joy Buran, Noelle Buran
HASKELL WEXLER AWARD FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - ASH, DIRECTED BY ANDREW HUCULIAK, CINEMATOGRAPHY BY JOSEPH SCHWEERS.
Jurors: Ellen Kuras
Award sponsored by Panavision
JAMES LYONS EDITING AWARD FOR NARRATIVE FEATURE - DAREN NAVARRO AND TOM QUINN FOR COLEWELL. HONORABLE MENTIONS FOR ALEX LORA AND FRANK DALE ARROYO FOR THE GARDEN LEFT BEHIND.
Jurors: Naomi Geraghty, Nick Houy, Kate Williams, Sabine Hoffman
JAMES LYONS EDITING AWARD FOR DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - JENNIFER TIEXIERA FOR 17 BLOCKS.
Jurors: Ian Olds, Toby Shimin, Sabine Hoffman
CARPE DIEM ANDRETTA AWARD - Youssef Delara for his film Foster Boy.
Award sponsored by the High Rocks Charitable Trust