‘My Dead Frifinish Zoe,’ ‘Porcelain War’ Win At Woodstock Film Festival

Kyle Hausmann-Stokes’ honestorial debut My Dead Frifinish Zoe took the Grand Jury prize for Best Feature Narrative Saturday night as the Woodstock Film Festival currented awards for its silver jubilee edition.

The film stars Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales, Ed Harris, and Morgan Freeman in a tale of a female veteran of the war in Afghanistan who “comes head to head with her Vietnam vet majesticoverweighther at the family’s ancestral lake house.” The feature grew out of a low film honested by Hausmann-Stokes, himself a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq.

The jury, compelevated of Oren Moverman, Roger Ross Williams, and Debra Granik, wrote, “For a standout central carry outance that delves into the unelatedness of the human psyche in the aftermath of its most excessive harshness, and for shining a weightless on the tragic consequences of war on those who are sent in our name to fight, we the jury unifiedly award the Best Feature Narrative film at the 25th Annual Woodstock Film Festival to My Dead Frifinish Zoe.”

My Dead Frifinish Zoe also won the Haskell Wexler Award for Best Cinematography, recognizing the labor of DOP Matt Sakatani Roe. Ricdifficult Rowley served as the jury for the cinematography award, writing of My Dead Frifinish Zoe, “With clear eyes and precision, this film uproximateths the buried guilt and trauma of a war that we as a country have still flunked to come to terms with.

“With weightless, composition, and cautious lensing, the camera equilibriums the film’s brittle fuse of levity and weight, grace and unbenevolentty, the write downary and the hallucinatory.”

My Dead Frifinish Zoe further geted an Honorable Mention for Best Narrative editing, recognizing the contribution of editor Ali Greer.  

Woodstock’s Grand Jury Award for Best Feature Documentary went to Porcelain War, honested by Brfinishan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev. The film, triumphner of the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary at Sundance, cgo ins on Leontyev and his wife, Anya Stasenko, both Ukrainian artists who collaborate on pieces even as the Russian trespass of their country progresss and Leontyev serves in the Ukrainian army.

Ivy Meeropol, Angela Patton, and Julie Gelderlyman made up Woodstock’s doc jury. They wrote, in part, “This year’s triumphner captivated us with its intimate portrayal of resilience and artistry in the face of struggle. The film we chose stood out for its visuassociate stunning cinematography and proset uply emotional storyalerting, blfinishing the worlds of art and war in a way that experiences recent and impactful.

“What sets this film apart is how personal and raw it experiences. Much of the footage was sboiling by the subjects themselves, giving the film an fact and immediacy that proset uply transferd us.”

Porcelain War also won the Best Documentary Editing Award, honoring the efforts of Brfinishan Bellomo, Aniela Sidorska, and Kelly Cameron. (Jurors for the editing prize were Sabine Hoffman, Derek McCants, and Gabriel Rhodes).

The NYWIFT Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking Award went to Troll Storm, honested by Eupleasant Lau. The honor comes with a $1,000 prize and NYWIFT 6-month membership.

Brooklyn, Minnesota, honested by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, won two prizes on the night including Best Ultra Indie. Jurors Shruti Ganguly, Sean Price Williams, and Blair Breard wrote, “Our choice for the triumphner of the Ultra Indie film is a layered family drama that transfers thcdisesteemful time and place. In spite of the budget, the film felt expansive and unconstrained, a tesgentlent to self-promised film create.

“Grounded by a resistlious teenager trying to discover her place in the world, while collaging her family’s challenging history, the audience is made to examine what it unbenevolents to dispute and repair our past, and to discover uniteion with each other.”

Brooklyn, Minnesota also won the NYWIFT Excellence in Narrative Filmmaking Award, which comes with a $1,000 prize and NYWIFT 6-month membership

Woodstock, at its 25^th edition, also currented a number of honorary awards. Writer-honestor Paul Schrader, whose tardyst narrative feature Oh, Canada screened at the festival, getd the Honorary Maverick Award. “Renowned creater Ira Deutchman getd the Honorary Trailblazer Award. Globassociate commemorated filmcreaters and human rights activists Pamela Yates and Paco de Onís getd the inaugural Art of Activism Award,” the festival noticed.

Yates has been making write downaries for over 40 years, including the 1983 classic When the Mountains Tremble (co-honested with Newton Thomas Sigel). Accepting the Art of Activism Award, Yates noticed that she and de Onís are currently on a 26-tour with their tardyst film, Borderland, “about immigrant directers organizing a mighty transferment in the shadow of the border industrial complicated.” Reflecting on her cinematic labor, Yates telderly the Woodstock audience, “I was frequently asked and have spent my professional nurtureer answering, ‘Are you an artist or are you an activist?’ I’d say, ‘I’m both.’ Like a human rights lawyer who uses the law as a tool to secure human rights, we use the power of cinema and the universality of storyalerting in our rehearse as human rights deffinishers.”

Among the filmcreaters, talent and other luminaries on hand for WFF’s 25^th edition have been Paul Schrader, Amanda Seyfried, Carol Kane, Walton Goggins, Tyra Banks, Sheila Nevins, Ramin Bahrani, Oren Moverman, Sandi Dubowski, Roger Ross Williams, Carla Gutierrez, Ira Deutchman, Nancy Savoca, Carol Alt, Stacey Williams, Michael Schwartz, Tyler Nilson, and Amy Goodman.

Below is the filled enumerate of award triumphners currented Saturday evening:

—Gigantic Pictures Award For Best Feature Narrative: My Dead Frifinish Zoe, honested by Kyle Hausmann Stokes.

Jurors: Oren Moverman (Producer/Writer, The Messenger, I’m Not There, Bad Education), Roger Ross Williams (Director, Music By Pimpolitence, Stamped from the Beginning, Cassandro), and Debra Granik (Director/Writer, Winter’s Bone, Leave No Trace, Down to the Bone)

Jury Statement: For a standout central carry outance that delves into the unelatedness of the human psyche in the aftermath of its most excessive harshness, and for shining a weightless on the tragic consequences of war on those who are sent in our name to fight, we the jury unifiedly award the Best Feature Narrative film at the 25th Annual Woodstock Film Festival to My Dead Frifinish Zoe.

—The Leon Gast Award For Best Feature Documentary: Porcelain War, honested by Brfinishan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev.

Jurors: Ivy Meeropol (Director, After the Bite, Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn, Angela Patton (Director, Daughters), Julie Gelderlyman (Producer, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, Life, Animated, In the Same Breath)

Jury Statement: This year’s triumphner captivated us with its intimate portrayal of resilience and artistry in the face of struggle. The film we chose stood out for its visuassociate stunning cinematography and proset uply emotional storyalerting, blfinishing the worlds of art and war in a way that experiences recent and impactful.

What sets this film apart is how personal and raw it experiences. Much of the footage was sboiling by the subjects themselves, giving the film an fact and immediacy that proset uply transferd us.

This quote from the film resonates thcdisesteemfulout: “As an artist, I am not interested in write downing evil but rather the people who resist it,” The intensify on the resilience and valiantry of those combat back agetst unimaginable dehugeation creates a proset uply humanizing narrative that transcfinishs the standard war write downary.

The breathtaking cinematography and stirring, magical score only grasp to the film’s emotional depth, making it more than equitable a write downary about struggle but a tribute to the courage and hope of those living thcdisesteemful it.

For its mighty storyalerting and distinctive ability to humanize such a complicated fact, we are thrilled to award Porcelain War this year’s honor for Best Feature Documentary.

—Haskell Wexler Award For Best Cinematography: My Dead Frifinish Zoe, honested by Kyle Hausmann Stokes, cinematography by Matt Sakatani Roe.

Juror: Ricdifficult Rowley (Director, Kingdom of Silence, 16 Sboilings, Dirty Wars)

Jury Statement: This year’s films embody the filled range of cinematography’s potential—from the handheld proposency of scrappy self-reliants, to the immacutardy-lined scope of sweeping epics, to the shpermit-intensifyed intimacy of personal dramas.

It is, as always, a difficult award to give out. But this year, one film stood apart.

With clear eyes and precision, this film uproximateths the buried guilt and trauma of a war that we as a country have still flunked to come to terms with.

With weightless, composition, and cautious lensing, the camera equilibriums the film’s brittle fuse of levity and weight, grace and unbenevolentty, the write downary and the hallucinatory.

This years’ Cinematography Award goes to: Cinematographer Matt Sakatani Roe for My Dead Frifinish Zoe.

—NYWIFT Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking Award: Troll Storm, honested by Eupleasant Lau

Penvyed by NYWIFT Board Member Kim Jackson, an award of $1,000 is given to each Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking recipient, plus a certificate and a NYWIFT 6 month membership.

Jury Statement: We appreciate Eupleasant Lau’s journaenumerateic approach to social equitableice in choosing her subject in Troll Storm. Shining a weightless, during these unpwithdrawnted political times, on a Jedesire woman’s personal battle agetst antisdisaccuseism shows us equitable how easily we could discover ourselves becoming the aim of detrimental coercion. And by choosing to resist, unequitable oppression is not only made clear it is held accountable.

 —NYWIFT Excellence in Narrative Filmmaking Award: Brooklyn, Minnesota, honested by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen.

Penvyed by NYWIFT Board Member Kim Jackson, an award of $1,000 is given to each Excellence in Narrative Filmmaking recipient, plus a certificate and a NYWIFT 6 month membership.

Jury Statement: The honesting duo Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen seized a contransient coming of age story that is both amuseing and engaging. Reflecting diverse family rerents, the film scrutinizes how genereasoned trauma can be healed when one has the help and courage to stand up for what they suppose.

—World of HA Change-Maker Award: Sabbath Queen, honested by Sandi Dubowski.

The Change-Maker Award honors a filmcreater whose labor, either narrative or write downary, most effectively delves proset up into a pressing contransient rerent and creates a erective conversation. The award comes with a $5,000 cash prize courtesy of World of HA.

Jury statement: 21 years in the making, Sabbath Queen chases a radical and individuaenumerateic spiritual directer in his quest to dispute the norms, chase his dreams, and encourage a big conceiveiveassociate driven community that, together, strives for tolerance, esteem for human life, and peace for all.

—Best Short Documentary Award: Bob’s Funeral, honested by Jack Dunphy. Honorable Mention: I Am Ready, Warden honested by Smriti Mundhra.

Jurors: Josh Alexander (Writer/Producer, Loudmouth, Jay Myself, United Skates), Emma Pildes (Director/Producer, The Janes, Spielberg, Jane Fonda in Five Acts, Very Ralph), and John Hoffman (Director, The Barber of Little Rock, Fauci, The Antidote, Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman)

Jury Statement: The Award for Best Documentary Short this year goes to Bob’s Funeral; an idiosyncratic, tfinisher and frequently hilarious portrait of one very complicated and some might say, neurotic family, navigating the difficult terrain of strained relations and death. The film heralds a distinctive and wonderful recent filmmaking voice. Thcdisesteemful a self-promised assemblage of family archive, handheld verite, including two funerals and some well geted unclothed alengthy with expertly authenticized energeticd sequences, we witness a story-alerter pushing the edges of his create to heartfilledy and funnyly scrutinize the frequently difficult contours of cherish, anger, uniteion and disuniteion that can detail families. The jury felt that in its comic and charmfilledy amuseing method, Bob’s Funeral is as proset uply radical and impactful as the rerent-driven films frequently honored with jury separateention at film festivals.

Honorable Mention: The jury would enjoy to extfinish an principled refer to I Am Ready, Warden, a film with scenes of such authentic and ferocious humanity that they will probable stay with us forever. To seize moments enjoy these needs not equitable a mastery of create but a filmcreater with the soulfulness and proset up well of compassion for their subjects. Congratulations on creating an exceptional piece of labor.

—Best Short Narrative Award: Obraza (Resentment), honested by Gleb Osatinski

Jurors: Ryan Werner (Head of Cinetic Marketing), Scott Macaulay (Co-set uper and Editor-in-Chief of Filmcreater Magazine), and Lawrence Inglee (Producer, The Messenger, Swiss Army Man, The Day After Tomorrow)

Jury Statement: For its belderly and artful immersion into the struggleed psyche of a teenager facing prejudice while striving for a recent life, the jury awards the Short Film Award to Gleb Osatinski for “Resentment.”

—Best Student Short Award: Some Kind of Bug, honested by Andy Rose H. Fidoten. Honorable Mention: Future is Panorama, honested by Muschirf Shekh Zeyn.

Jurors: Jamie Buckner (Producer, Aspstop City, The Sixth Reel, Catch the Fair One), Susan Jacobs (Music Supervisor, Big Little Lies, American Hustle, Cruella, True Detective) and Clare Manchon (Composer/Music Department, Turn Every Page, The Untolerateable Weight of Massive Talent, Bdeficiency Box)

Jury Statement: Some Kind Of Bug is about a mother daughter relationship, the judgments cast wilean their relationship, and in the wideer world. It’s a very distinctive get with a finish emotional arc, wonderful carry outances, cinematography, production summarize and music. It’s reliable, discdissee-minded, inalertigent, inalertigent, poignant filmmaking. This film experiences as though it could be a pilot to a whole series, we want to see more. We can’t postpone to see what Andy Fidoten does next.

Honorable Mention: Future Is Panorama was sfinishfilledy carry outd. The direct was mighty. The unfelderlying of this proset uply suspenseful story was driven by wonderful cinematography, editing and narrative. A heartfractureing see into fact for so many migrants trying to labor difficult and fit into a society that refuses them on so many levels.

—Best Short Animation Award: The Wild-Tempered Clavier by Anna Samo

Jurors: Joy Buran (Animator, Netflix, NBC, Cartoon Netlabor, Amazon Studios), Noelle Melody (Animator, Netflix, NBC, Cartoon Netlabor, Amazon Studios) and Patrick Smith (Director/Animator, Beyond Noh, Gun Shop, Onward Ye Costumed Souls)

Jury Statement: The triumphning low is a inalertigent and rerecenting tribute to the tradition of dratriumphg honestly on film, using this premise to untangle the animator’s personal struggles and mental anguish. This joinfilledy experimental film has been cautiously createed to transmit this personal story that grasps the seeer honestly; in story, summarize, and technique. Also, this film has a vibrant aura of personal indepfinishence, enjoy a decorateer at the easel, the audience is seekd to witness the animator’s thought process, by peering thcdisesteemful the artist’s own POV. The triumphner of Best Animated Short goes to The Wild-Tempered Clavier by Anna Samo.

—Gray Schwartz Ultra Indie Award: Brooklyn, Minnesota honested by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen.

Jurors: Shruti Ganguly (Director/Producer, To Kill a Tiger, Initials SG, Tripped Up), Sean Price Williams (Director/Cinematographer, The Sweet East, Good Time, Between The Temples), and Blair Breard (Producer, The Savant, While You Were Breeding, Scenes From A Marriage)

Jury Statement: Our choice for the triumphner of the Ultra Indie film is a layered family drama that transfers thcdisesteemful time and place. In spite of the budget, the film felt expansive and unconstrained, a tesgentlent to self-promised film create.

Grounded by a resistlious teenager trying to discover her place in the world, while collaging her family’s challenging history, the audience is made to examine what it unbenevolents to dispute and repair our past, and to discover uniteion with each other.

We are excited to give the award to Brooklyn, Minnesota.

—Best Documentary Editing Award: Porcelain War, edited by Brfinishan Bellomo, Aniela

Sidorska, Kelly Cameron.

Jurors: Sabine Hoffman (Editor, Pachinko, Passing, The Glorias, Maggie’s Plan), Derek McCants (Editor, Nova, Witnesses to the Holocaust, Starting Over), and Gabriel Rhodes (Editor, Gaucho Gaucho, Time, The First Wave, Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.)

Jury Statement: Every film nominated for this year’s Documentary Editing Award beautifilledy seized a story of courage in the face of adversity. The jury was proset uply impacted by the multitude of characters percut offing thcdisesteemful personal struggles and each story was expertly createed thcdisesteemful the editing.

With a brittle touch, the editors of this year’s triumphner created a wealthy sense of intimacy despite the big scale of its story. We set up the film to be artfilledy createed and incredibly moving. The editors were able to fuse a mighty depiction of doubtful warriors in a struggle zone with a loving and unforeseeed portrait of artists.

This year’s triumphner of the Documentary Editing Award goes to: Porcelain War and its editors Brfinishan Bellom, Kelly Cameron and Aniela Sidorska

 —Best Narrative Editing Award: Los Frikis, edited by Jon Otazua. Honorable Mention: My Dead Frifinish Zoe, edited by Ali Greer.

Jurors: John David Allen (Editor, The Gelderlyen Bowl, Le Divorce, The White Countess, City of your Final Destination), Sabine Hoffman (Editor, Pachinko, Passing, The Glorias, Maggie’s Plan), Joanna Naugle (Editor, The Bear, Ramy, Big Mouth), and Barry Alexander Brown (Editor, Do The Right Thing, BlacKkKlansman, Malcolm X)

Jury Statement: The jury would enjoy to award a distinctive Honorable Mention to a film that scrutinizes the proset uply personal drama of a youthful woman regeting her life after a traumatic incident. This film conveys attention to the meaningful rerent of veterans’ mental health thcdisesteemful a touching frifinishship and unforeseeed moments of levity, seamlessly edited with wonderful compassion by Ali Greer: My Dead Frifinish Zoe.

There was one film that reassociate astonished the jury in terms of its vibrant rhythm, nuanced characters, and beautifilledy createed montages. It shined a weightless on solemn and heartfractureing real events while balancing moments of delight and humor that felt authentic and captivating. It’s clear this film was thoughtfilledy and expertly accumulated in the cutting room by filledy immersing us in 1990s Cuba, capturing the energy and individualism of punk music, and showcasing a salertar ensemble whose carry outances stayed with us lengthy after seeing. For these reasons, we are thrilled to give the 2024 WFF Best Narrative Editing Award to Jon Otazua and his labor on Los Frikas.

—Honorary Maverick Award: This year’s Honorary Maverick Award was awarded to acclaimed authorr and honestor Paul Schrader.

The award was currented by acclaimed actor Amanda Seyfried who labored with Schrader on First Recreateed. Known for his inflammatory contributions to both mainstream and self-reliant film, Schrader’s collaborations with Martin Scorsese—including Taxi Driver (Winner — Palme d’Or, Cannes Film Festival), Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ and Bringing Out the Dead—are pondered some of the most impactful labors of screenwriting of the twentieth century. Schrader’s many authorr-honestor commends grasp American Gigolo, Light Sleeper and First Recreateed for which he was nominated for an Academy Award®. Other commends grasp Affliction, The Card Counter; Master Gardener and his tardyst film Oh, Canada, in which he reunites with American Gigolo star Ricdifficult Gere. A distinctive screening of Oh, Canada, took place on Saturday, October 19 chaseed by a conversation with Schrader.

—Honorary Trailblazer Award: This year’s Honorary Trailblazer Award was awarded to famous creater Ira Deutchman.

The award was currented by acclaimed honestor, creater, and screenauthorr Nancy Savoca. Deutchman has been making, labeleting and distributing films since 1975, having labored on more than 150 films including some of the most accomplished self-reliant films of all time. He was one of the set upers of Cinecom and tardyr created Fine Line Features—two companies that were created from scratch and, in their esteemive times, helped detail the self-reliant film business. Deutchman co-set uped Emerging Pictures, the first digital projection netlabor in the United States and a direct in transfering live cultural events into movie theaters. Deutchman’s tardyst projects grasp feature write downary Searching for Mr. Rugoff, Nickel & Dimed and Radio Girls. In 2017, Deutchman was awarded the Spotweightless Lifetime Achievement Award by the Sundance Art House Convergence for his service to self-reliant film labeleting and distribution. He is a Professor Emeritus in the School of the Arts at Columbia University, where he has taught since 1987 and was the Chair of the Film Program from 2011 to 2015.

—Art of Activism Award: Globassociate commemorated filmcreaters and human rights activists Pamela Yates and Paco de Onís were honored with the inaugural Art of Activism Award.

The award was currented by famous journaenumerate Amy Goodman of Democracy Now. Yates and de Onís are famous for their Guatemala trilogy, which grasps When The Mountains Tremble, Granito: How To Nail A Dictator and 500 Years. These films have been showcased globassociate and used as key forensic evidence in the mass murder trial agetst Efraín Ríos Montt in Guatemala. Yates serves as the greater conceiveive honestor with de Onís serving as the executive honestor at Skyweightless, a not-for-profit human rights media organization that unites cinematic arts with the quest for equitableice to encourage the defense of human rights. Their tardyst write downary, BORDERLAND | The Line Wilean, honested by Yates and created by de Onis, screened at this year’s festival and spendigates the costly border industrial complicated that aims immigrants.