While the Pocas Pascoal-directed Portuguese film is named the Best Narrative Feature, Everardo Gonzalez's 'Drought' is awarded the Best Documentary prize.
- Jun 25, 2012
AceShowbiz - The 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival has revealed its full winner list. Claiming the top prize of Best Narrative Feature is "All Is Well", a Portuguese film about two sisters who seek a better life in Lisbon after escaping from the Angolan civil war.
Meanwhile, the winner of Best Documentary Feature is "Drought", which is an Everardo Gonzalez-directed film about an endangered cattle ranchers in Northeast Mexico. "All Is Well" and "Drought" are entitled to take home a $15,000 prize each from the festival.
According to the jury, "All Is Well" is "a work of striking visual eloquence and emotional honesty." As for "Drought", the movie is dubbed "a film of extraordinary caliber - epic in scope, keen and intimate in its observational perspective, beautifully filmed and edited with a sparse and affecting soundscape."
Other winners at the event include Benh Zeitlin's "Beasts of the Southern Wild" (Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature), Malik Bendjelloul's "Searching for Sugar Man" (Best International Feature), and Bryan Buckley's "Asad" (Best Short Film).
Artistic Director David Ansen admits that picking the winners of the festival was not an easy job. "In an extremely competitive year, our juries had hard choices to make," he says. "The winning films are wonderful examples of what the Festival celebrates: bold, fresh, personal visions that expand the horizons of independent cinema."
The prizes were presented on Sunday night, June 24 during the LAFF's Awards Brunch taking place at the Chaya Downtown restaurant. The ceremony was hosted by Jon Heder and Ari Graynor.
The 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival Winners:
- Narrative Award (for Best Narrative Feature): "All Is Well", directed by Pocas Pascoal
- Honorable Mention (for Best Narrative Feature): "Thursday till Sunday", directed by Dominga Sotomayor
- Documentary Award (for Best Documentary Feature): "Drought", directed by Everardo Gonzalez
- Best Performance in the Narrative Competition: Wendell Pierce, Emory Cohen, E.J. Bonilla and Aja Naomi King in Joshua Sanchez's "Four"
- Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature: "Beasts of the Southern Wild", directed by Benh Zeitlin
- Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature: "Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin and The Farm Midwives", directed by Sara Lamm and Mary Wigmore
- Audience Award for Best International Feature: "Searching for Sugar Man", directed by Malik Bendjelloul
- Best Narrative Short Film: "The Chair", directed by Grainger David
- Best Documentary Short Film: "Kudzu Vine", directed and produced by Josh Gibson
- Best Animated/Experimental Short Film: "The Pub", directed by Joseph Pierce
- Audience Award for Best Short Film: "Asad", directed by Bryan Buckley
- Audience Award for Best Music Video: "Piranhas Club", directed by Lex Halaby
