Film Festival announces winners

The third annual Wisconsin Film Festival, which concluded Sunday, April 1, has announced winners of two competitions for Wisconsin films and student filmmakers.

An estimated 14,000 filmgoers converged on downtown Madison and the university March 29-April 1 to take in 110 films from 21 countries.

Expanding its support of local talent, the festival held two juried competitions for Wisconsin filmmakers, supported by the Wisconsin Film Office. The festival featured more than 40 films with Wisconsin ties.

The “Wisconsin’s Own” competition featured non-student filmmakers with Wisconsin ties — involving either Wisconsin residents, natives, alumni of a Wisconsin university or college, or a film shot primarily in Wisconsin.

Of 70 entries were received, 27 films, videos and multimedia works were shown at the festival and advanced in competition. Six more films by filmmakers with Wisconsin ties were shown separate from the competition, including the Wisconsin premiere of juror Sarah Price’s “Caesar’s Park.”

The Wisconsin’s Own jury decided to award two “Special Jury Prizes” to recognize films in addition to the categories below.

Best Short (narrative, animated): “Paradise Lounge,” director John Soria, producer and director of photography Shanra Kehl.

Special Jury Prize: “Bar Mitzvah!” director Daniel Klein.

Best Narrative Feature: “The Foreigners,” Xav LePlae, Dider LePlae, Peter Barrickman, Brent Goodsell.

Special Jury Prize: “Still Life,” director Becky Banks.

Best Documentary (any length): “The World’s Best Prom,” filmmakers OVO collective: Ruben Carbajal, Hillevi Loven, Ian Rosenberg, Chris Talbott, Ari Vena, Mary Wigmore.

Best Experimental / Multimedia (any length): The jury split the prize between two films by one filmmaker, “Perception” and “The Hermit Crab,” filmmaker Tate Bunker.

Wisconsin’s Own competition jurors were Jeffrey Kurz, writer/producer, Belle City Pictures and former Miramax executive; Robert Nelson, film editor, City Pages, and member, National Society of Film Critics; and Sarah Price, Milwaukee-based filmmaker.

The student competition was open to students at any Wisconsin university or college. Of 40 entries received; nine films advanced in the competition and were shown at the festival. The jury decided to award three honorable mentions in addition to the winners in each category.

Best Narrative: “Mirage” Filmmaker: Natalia Hernandez, UW–Madison.

Best Documentary: “Halloween: Behind the Costumes” filmmakers Mary Rohlich and Cynthia Kao, UW–Madison.

Best Experimental: “It’s Out of My Hands,” Heather Yonker, UW–Madison.

Honorable Mentions: “The Junkie, the Bitch, and Bat Girl,” Melissa Seipel, UW–Madison. “Candy From Strangers,” Randy Bol, UW–Madison. “Fluoride,” Jack Cronin, UW-Milwaukee.

Student competition jurors were Carrie Ansell, filmmaker (“Flushed,” featured in the first Wisconsin Film Festival), Brent Notbohm, filmmaker (“Grandma Fern,” featured in the second festival), and Joe Garden, writer for The Onion.

The Wisconsin Film Festival is a public program of the UW–Madison Arts Institute.
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