Video Contests, Film Festivals, and Awards

The annual awards celebrating the top films of the 2013 Barcelona International Film Festival were announced to international film and entertainment media today. Marking a tremendous year for the Barcelona International Film Festival, 2013’s film and screenplay competition Winners include many of the brightest minds in independent cinema. The full list of winners of the 2013 Barcelona International Film Festival can be viewed online at the festival website: https://barcelonafilmfestival.com

Special Jury Prizes as well as the event’s signature awards, the El Ray Awards, The Gold Lion Awards, and the Castell Awards were awarded to 40 international short and feature films. The event also included a screenplay competition, created to honor and support emerging new screenwriters. This year’s screenplay competition’s top prize went to AM Zweiback for his screenplay “The Tides of Love.”

“These awards celebrate the diversity of this year’s festival and the prodigious talent of these exceptional filmmakers,” said Cory Stuart, the Festival’s Executive Director. “Hopefully the attention and acclaim these awards bring will allow these films as well as the talent behind them to further connect with an audience hungry for original and exceptional independent cinema.”

2013 Barcelona Film Festival Winners:

The El Rey Awards

Michelle Mower, Director, “The Preacher’s Daughter” Grand Jury Prize Narrative Film. The Preacher’s Daughter is the story of Hannah White, the estranged daughter of a small town minister who is forced to return to the strict, religious home of her youth where she must confront the troubled relationships that caused her to leave four years before.

Sami Solmaz, Director, “The Witnesses of the War” Grand Jury Prize Documentary. There is a lasting war in Turkey- off staged and not clarified by the state for some 27 years. In the West, the truth about what has been going on Kurdish territories for 27 years is far from exposed. The national mainstream media networks only broadcast the footage and the texts authorized by the state. The news to be broadcasted is designated by the government and the general staff.

Brian Patrick Lim, Writer, “Chasing Fire” Grand Jury Prize Screenplay. Living behind the shadow of her mother, Kristin falls in love with Shane, an aspiring musician, whom she soon discovers to have something innately in common with her.

Yasmine Perni, Director, “The Stones Cry Out” Special Jury Prize Narrative Film. The Stones Cry Out gives a detailed account of the historical, cultural, and political place occupied by Christians in the recent history of the Palestinian nation, and in its struggle against colonialism.

Sara Jegeman, Director, “Star” Special Jury Prize Documentary. The entertainer Bianca Fox is at the centerpiece of this portrait. Born in South Africa as a colored boy, she quickly understood that she was living in the wrong body.

Allan Petersen, Director, “Dead Man’s Burden” Special Jury Prize Screenplay. The year is 1870, and a fragmented America still strains to pick up the pieces from a savage Civil War. Martha (exciting newcomer Clare Bowen) and her husband Heck (David Call, “Tiny Furniture”) are living on a homestead Martha’s father purchased on the rural New Mexico frontier and struggle to make ends meet. When a mining company expresses interest in buying their land, Martha and Heck see their ticket to a better life.

El Rey Award for Excellence in Cinematography: Chelsea-Barelona directed by Alexandros Chantzis
El Rey Award for Excellence in Film Direction: A Right Pair directed by Annabel Herbert
El Rey Award for Excellence in Film Editing: Se Safando "Getting Away With It" directed by Taganyahu Swaby
El Rey Award for Excellence in Documentary Narrative Filmmaking: Addiction directed by Christoph Toelle and Torsten Koenigs
El Rey Award for Excellence in Documentary Short Filmmaking: LoveLife6958 Documentary directed by Christopher Syrus
El Rey Award for Excellence in Dramatic Narrative: Love Comes After directed by Hadzi-Aleksandar Djurovic
El Rey Award for Excellence in Experimental Filmmaking: Mask Trip Core Edit directed by Yoshi Higashi El Rey Award for Excellence in Short Filmmaking: Island Queen directed by Ben Mallaby
El Rey Award for Excellence in Television Filmmaking: THE FREUDIAN HOTEL directed by Paul Pawlowski
El Rey Award for Excellence in Music Video: Ubah directed by Rizal Karim
El Rey Award for Excellence in Student Filmmaking: All About Her directed by Jihad Saade
El Rey Award for Excellence in Acting in a Lead Role: Is That the Question? directed by Joanne Rousset
El Rey Award for Excellence in Acting in a Supporting Role: Requiem of Home directed by Abigail Wang
El Rey Award for Excellence in Narrative Short Filmmaking: Vice directed by Nick Archer

The Gold Lion Awards

Big Beast directed by Thomas C. Bingham
"It's Better To Jump" directed by Patrick Stewart
A Baul The Baul directed by Samim Ansari
Ecstasy of St. Agnes directed by Slawomir Milewski
Rearview directed by Robert Gulassarian
Closure directed by Desmond Devenish
Who's Afraid of the Big Black Wolf? directed by Janez Lapajne
You will be my ally directed by Rosine Mfetgo Mbakam
Corn directed by Evan Gaiswinkler and Brett Erina
Land of Tiger, Tide & Arabian Goddess directed by Moushumi Basu

The Castell Awards

Dauðalogn directed by Iva Landau
Everything like always directed by Peter Leder
The Runner directed by Saeed Taji Farouky
Cuba Cuba Cuba directed by Kazuko Nishikawa
Journey into the light - Bleijendijk Estate directed by Jacobien Schreurs
Encarnación directed by Tanja Nabben
Out in the Cold directed by Graham Marshall
Lost in Laos directed by Alessandro Zunino
Photoshopping directed by Mark Davenport
Mr London directed by Andrew Bone

Official Finalists

Human Vessel directed by Sissi Deng
The Witness Jenya directed by Eugenia Sakevych Dallas
To Chris Marker: An Unsent Letter directed by Emiko Omori
A Life Worth Living - Pushing The Limits of Duchenne directed by Annie Perkins
Only in L.A. directed by Jus Riddick
Agnus Dei directed by Agim Sopi
Hiob directed by Marco Gadge
Lady Cosmic Dream directed by Joanne Rousset
A bit older and a little bit taller directed by Manlio Roseano
Everybody Sometimes Falls directed by Villi Hermann

Screenplay Competition

1st Place: The Tides of Love written by A M Zweiback
2nd Place: The Liberator Pilot written by Chris Burdza
3rd Place: Call me Shine written by Pedro Canais
4th Place: Einsatzgruppen written by Paul Pawlowski
5th Place: More Than Eternity written by Maciej Rogala
Honorable Mentions
Dhampira: The Vampire's Daughter written by Eduardo Soto-Falcon
Fish Out of Water written by Bonnie Anderson
Breaking Bad: Redemption written by Andreas Tihanyi
Solo written by Marc Henauer

About The Barcelona International Film Festival

As Barcelona's premiere independent film awards, we believe limitlessness in possibility is the beauty of art and creativity. With that philosophy as our compass, each year the Barcelona International Film Festival embarks on a search for today’s undiscovered visionaries in filmmaking and screenwriting from around the world.

Honoring films from over 50 countries around the world, the prestigious Barcelona Film Awards are presented annually to the most original and well crafted works entered into competition. Awards include the coveted Grand Jury Prize, Special Jury Prizes, various Best of Category honors and Official Finalist recognition.

Resources:

www.barcelonafilmfestival.com