Awards for 2015
Golden Space Needle Award
Best Film
WINNER
IN-COMPETITION
Best Actor
WINNER
IN-COMPETITION
Best Actress
WINNER
IN-COMPETITION
Best Director
WINNER
IN-COMPETITION
Best Short Film
WINNER
IN-COMPETITION
Best Documentary
WINNER
IN-COMPETITION
New American Cinema Award
WINNER
Chatty Catties: Pablo Valencia
The FIPRESCI jury at the 41st edition of the Seattle International Film Festival bestows its International Critics' Prize to a film that - with an enormous amount of risk-taking - innovatively expands stylistic and narrative boundaries. With a fresh view on intimate relationships, director Pablo Valencia creates an unexpected and utterly original emotional landscape in Chatty Catties.
IN-COMPETITION
New Director's Showcase Award
IN-COMPETITION
NONE
WINNER
Liza, the Fox-Fairy: Károly Ujj Mészáros
For its lively, inventive visual wit and offbeat look at romantic delusion involving a haunted Hungarian nurse, a long-suffering police sergeant, and the ghost of a '50s Japanese pop singer, we have given this year's New Directors Prize to Károly Ujj-Mészáros.
New Director's Showcase Special Jury Prize
WINNER
Documentary Award
WINNER
The Great Alone: Greg Kohs
Our Grand Jury Prize goes to a film that stopped all of us in our tracks. One of the joys of the film festival experience is discovering a film that works so well on every level. This is an inspiring film about one man's story that is both intimate and epic - we were knocked out by the filmmaker's achievement in crafting a visually stunning, completely engrossing narrative about one extraordinary human being.
IN-COMPETITION
Documentary Special Jury Award
WINNERS
Short Film Competition Award
Best Documentary Short Film
IN-COMPETITION
Documentary
WINNER
Rebel: Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers
For its ambitious approaches to visual storytelling and imaginative recounting of an exceptional family history.
Animation
WINNER
The Mill at Calder's End: Kevin McTurk
There exists a tendency to laud the new-new stories, new techniques, new talent. With the animation award, the jury is pleased to celebrate a film that is decidedly old-school, breathing life into a bygone style, iterating in a story tradition that is centuries old. For this fusion of the modern and classic, we are happy to award Kevin McTurk for The Mill at Calder's End.
Live Action
WINNER
The Chicken: Una Gunjak
An expertly crafted narrative that explores life and death through the eyes of a young girl. With a film full of authentic performances, Iman Alibalic is extraordinary as the six-year-old protagonist who receives a live chicken from her father for her birthday, and soon realizes it's meant for dinner. This is an emotional film with a production quality that continues to move the story along and underscore the realities of life in a war zone.
Short Film Competition Award - Special Mention
Live Action
WINNER
Hole: Martin Edralin
Hole is a brave exploration of human sexuality and yearning for intimacy through the eyes of a lonely, forgotten, disabled man in the heart of Toronto. Ken Harrower delivers a captivating performance that transcends any labels or limitations and speaks to the need for human connection.
Short Film Award
Narrative
IN-COMPETITION
Futurewave Youth Jury Award
WINNER
Seoul Searching: Benson Lee
For its diverse and relatable characters, quality mix of emotion and comedy, and accurate and respectful representation of teens, the 2015 FutureWave Youth Jury Prize goes to Seoul Searching.
IN-COMPETITION
Women in Cinema Lena Sharpe Award
WINNER
Films4Families Youth Jury Award
WINNER
IN-COMPETITION
Futurewave Shorts Audience Award
WINNER
Futurewave Wavemaker Award
WINNER
Audio Input: Sho Schrock
For its insightful and engaging portrait of podcasting, an audio art form, through a collage of interviews and images.
Futurewave Prodigy Camp Scholarship
WINNERS
Career Achievement in Acting Award
WINNER