Films about a legendary rock star photographer (Robert Wright), the 1st integrated Prom Night in Mississippi, and a haunting tale about two children surviving in the wilds (St. Nick) nabbed top prizes at a glittering soiree last night at the AFI Dallas Film Festival.
As filmmakers sat in suspense at the edge of their seats at the AMC Theatre at NorthPark mall, I chatted up a handsome woman who sat next to me.
Turns out, Rossie Grose was there to accept a trophy they landed for their well-received film, "Prom Night in Mississippi".
We joked about the prepared "acceptance speech" the die-hard film buff was about to read on their behalf.
Would Ms. Grose thank all the little people in true Hollywood style?
"Yes," she nervously giggled.
Earlier in the evening, President & CEO of AFI Dallas was tight-lipped on the red carpet about the prestigious Environmental Award he'd be handing off to one lucky filmmaker.
"My wife and I know nothing about film. We're just like any regular person who enjoys movies and takes one in now and then if it piques our interest," he beamed in so many words.
"Rock Prophecies" won a Best Documentary Award.
The upbeat popular entry - it was the highest vote-getter across the board from audiences and jurors alike - featured the rock band Sick Puppies and took an in-depth foray in the world of Robert Wright, rock photographer extraordinaire.
Personally, I was thrilled when "Skin" was singled out for a prize, too.
On a couple of occasions I have had the opportunity to pick the director's head (Anthony Fabian) a bit on the red carpet.
Last night he gleefully quipped:
"The Lone Star state is Skin's lucky star."
The drama focuses on a true story about apartheid in South Africa and was blessed with bravado performances by Sam Neil and Alice Krige.
Gigantic (Director Matt Aselton) - a sell-out with film buffs throughout the festival - won the well-deserved honor of being pushed into the spotlight, too, when it snapped up the $25,000 TARGET Narrative Filmmaker Award.
"This film was hard to pin down. Matt is an amazing filmmaker," one Judge was inclined to enthuse.
Through a spokesperson the director labelled the experience as an "awesome" one.
"Everyone go get drunk for me."
"Against the Current" director Peter Callahan ( the film co-starred Mary Tyler Moore) was quite humble, thanked his supporters, and noted that he fell in love with the city.St. Nick won a top honor when it received an award for the best film to be shot in-and-around Texas.
At the high-energy after-party at the AFI Festival Lounge, the director David Lowery noted that he would use part of the $9,000.00 prize money to pay off bills!
I expect he'll put the $11,000.00 post production winnings towards work on his next project which remains unknown at this point in time.
"I won," the producer for "Suddenly Last Winter" cried out when she spied me worming my way through the mad crush of party-goers at AFI headquarters in Victory Park.
A deserving prize, indeed!
Kazik Radwanski’s "Princess Margaret Blvd" won the award for Best Short with Honorable Mentions going to both Todd Luoto’s OIL CHANGE and Denis Villeneuve’s NEXT FLOOR.
“Hug” AND “Chicken Cowboy” also won in the student film categories.
“This year, we were fortunate to have so many exceptional films that challenged the audience artistically and conceptually. It was a very competitive year in that respect and while we were all the beneficiaries of that, by its nature the jury had the difficulty of having to choose one film to honor over the others," one AFI rep noted to the tony audience in attendance," a festival rep gushed.
The artistic Director added:
“In our third year, the city of Dallas and the international film community truly have begun to take note of the distinctive personality of this film festival – both through the evolution of our programming and what is becoming more accepted every year – the peerless presentation and hospitality that have been hallmarks of AFI DALLAS from the very beginning.”
Highlights of the Film fest this past week included a Centerpiece Screening of Guillermo Arriga’s THE BURNING PLAIN with Arriaga and Joaquim de Almeida in attendance; a screening of the cinema classic CHINATOWN with Robert Towne (which included a presentation of the AFI DALLAS Star Award to him prior to a special Q & A with film critic Richard Schickel); and a special screening of THE LAST PICTURE SHOW with Peter Bogdanovich in attendance.
Bogdanovich was scheduled to be honored with the AFI DALLAS Star Award the following day at the Texas Day celebration.
Also honored with the AFI DALLAS Star Award were Kathryn Bigelow (prior to a screening of her film THE HURT LOCKER) and Rita Hayworth (presented posthumously).
Meanwhile, Henry Selick was given the Texas Avery Award for his animation techniques which have greatly impacted the industry in recent years.
The festival also featured Talk Show panels at the Nasher Sculpture Center and Speakeasy panels at the AFI DALLAS Festival Lounge.
The festival closed with AFI DALLAS Closing Night Gala presentations of Louis Psihoyos’s exciting entry - THE COVE - and James Toback’s TYSON (Thursday, April 2) at AMC NorthPark. Both directors attended the screenings and remained after for Q & A sessions.
Other notable attendees at this year’s AFI DALLAS Film Festival included Alice Krige, Jordan Ladd, Patton Oswalt, Rob Siegel, Devon Aoki, Robin Wright Penn, Justin Kirk, Jeremy Renner, Jason Ritter, Jess Weixler, Patrick Warburton, Elaine Hendrix, Tiffany Shepis, Monique Parent, Carlos Cuaron, Matt Tyrnauer, Lou Gossett Jr., Doug Pray, Tim McCanlies and Janine Turner.
AFI DALLAS showcased 81 features and 96 shorts (a total of 177 films from 22 countries).
About AFI DALLAS International Film Festival
The AFI DALLAS International Film Festival celebrates films and their impact on society, honors filmmakers and recognizes their achievements and contributions in enhancing the creative community, provides educational programs to students to develop better understanding of the role of film in today's world, and promotes the City of Dallas and its commitment to the art of filmmaking.
AFI DALLAS is a presentation of the nonprofit Dallas Film Society.
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