The last day of AFIFest presented by Audi features screenings of the award winning films. It makes it a bit hard to plan your day since you never know what will be playing until you get to the festival. But it means that you have a very good chance of seeing something good. Before moving to all the winners, I want to thank the staff and volunteers of AFIFest for the wonderful event. I should also point to my favorites: The Red Turtle, Fraud, and I, Daniel Blake.
I was able to see The Future Perfect, which was awarded the New Auteurs Grand Jury Prize. (The jury for this award was made up of three film critics, Robert Abele, Michael Nordine, and Claudia Puig.) This film focuses on Xiaobin, a Chinese immigrant to Argentina as she learns (with other Chinese immigrants) to speak Spanish. She is in a place between cultures.? Her family seeks to arrange a marriage for her, but Vijay, a young Indian man, wants to marry her and take her home to India. The relationships (and a bit of coming of age issues) play out as she and the others work their way through the task of learning the language. I can see why the film appealed to the jury. It is certainly engrossing and uses language in way beyond the norm in film. But in the end it left me with a certain ?and so?? feeling.
Other winners at the festival:
New Auteurs Special Jury Mention for Acting:?Oulaya Amamra for DIVINES
World Cinema Audience Award:?LAND OF MINE
New Auteurs Audience Award:?DIVINE
American Independents Audience Award:?DONALD CRIED
Breakthrough Audience Award:?DIVINES
Breakthrough Audience Award First Runner-Up:?ONE WEEK AND A DAY
Breakthrough Audience Award Second Runner-Up:?THE RED TURTLE
In the short film category the winners were:
Grand Jury Award ? Live Action Short:?ICEBOX
Grand Jury Award ? Animated Short:?PUSSY
Live Action Short Special Mention for Comedic Narrative: HOUNDS
Live Action Short Special Mention for Documentary: THE SEND-OFF
Live Action Short Special Mention for Acting: DREAMING OF BALTIMORE
Live Action Short Special Mention for Cinematography: A THOUSAND MIDNIGHTS
Live Action Short Special Mention: SPEAKING IS DIFFICULT
Animated Short Special Jury Mention: SUMMER CAMP ISLAND
Animated Short Special Jury Mention for Mixed Media: DEER FLOWER
Animated Short Special Jury Mention for Visual Aesthetics: SUPERBIA
