“Sirat” named best feature film at the Denver Film Festival

Oliver Laxe’s rave odyssey and pre-apocalyptic road trip Cry broke through the 48th Denver Film Festival and became the best feature film.

The film, which made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival before garnering numerous awards throughout the year, won the Krzysztof Kieslowski Prize for Best Feature Film thanks to a jury including veteran film critic and programmer David Ansen, Variety Clayton Davis, awards editor, and Bleeding Love actress and producer Clara McGregor.

“A film you will never forget, that of Oliver Laxe Cry “Immerse us in a terrifying and compassionate world we’ve never seen on screen before, with brilliant performances, sound design and cinematography,” the trio said in their official statement. “No one who sees it will be able to get rid of it.”

On the non-fiction side, the jurors, including Oscar-nominated candidates Closing the gap filmmaker Bing Liu, arts administrator Lisa Lucas and The Hollywood Reporter Senior editor Chris Gardner was given the task of choosing the winner of the Maysles Brothers Award for best documentary. They chose the film by Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus Cover about investigative journalist Seymour Hersh.

“For his radically honest portrayal of one of America’s most renowned and complicated investigative journalists, who shows us both the importance and personal cost of speaking truth to power,” the trio said in their official statement. “A film that is both a damning indictment of state-sanctioned violence; a well-observed portrait of those who have the courage to say something about it; and a reminder of how much the fight for a humane world costs. »

Liu, Lucas and Gardner also gave special mention to Brittany Shyne’s Seeds: “For its beautiful documentation of an intergenerational community taking care of its own and showing solidarity in the face of a country that threatens to leave them behind, we, the jury, would like to give a special mention to Seeds. An unforgettable debut feature film told with patience and love that, even in difficult circumstances, emphasizes hope and reminds us how beautiful every life and every community can be.

The American Independent Award — selected by Juror #2 screenwriter Jonathan Abrams, Deadline Senior film journalist Matt Grobar and critic and TikTok star Megan Cruz – visited Joel Alfonso Vargas Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, tell her I’m not bad). They hailed it as “a simple, humble and
an emotionally compelling look at the Dominican-American experience in the Bronx, New York” that is anchored by “incredibly authentic, understated and textured performances from its leads Juan Collado and Destiny Checo.”

The short film jury composed of Sinners actor Denzel Whitaker, Lucie Boulet of Neon and Stain actress Coral Peña selected many winners, including Sam Davis The singers as the grand jury winner, Eve Liu’s Nervous energy as best live-action student short film, We Beg to Differ by Ruairi Bradley as special mention, Detlev by Ferdinand Ehrhardt as winner of the Marilyn Marsh Saint-Veltri Prize for best student animation and Pear Garden by Shadab Shayegan as special mention.

In the public award categories, Maryam Touzani Malaga street won best narrative feature, that of Vickie Curtis and Doug Anderson Appearance won Best Documentary Feature and Davis The singers garnered enough votes to win best short film. The festival also distributed money through its Music on Film — Film on Music documentary grants, chosen this year by jurors including music supervisor Jonathan Palmer, filmmaker Taylor McFadden and composer Mark Crawford. Grant recipients included Nicole Teeny’s Bulletproof stockings and Mike Gill and Scott Evans Ruane’s road.

These aren’t the only awards presented at this year’s Denver Film Festival. A long list of bold names made the trip to Denver for a ride in the spotlight. Those included Rosemead star Lucy Liu (John Cassavetes Prize), Sinners actor Delroy Lindo (Next50 Career Achievement Award), Dead man’s thread director Gus Van Sant (Excellence in Directing Award), The water timeline star Imogen Poots (Achievement Excellence Award), Christie actor Ben Foster (Outlaw Prize), Niecy Nash-Betts (CinemaQ LaBahn Ikon Film Prize), The plague filmmaker Charlie Polinger (Breakthrough Director Award), New wave star Zoey Deutch (Rising Star Award), filmmaker Peggy Ahwesh (Stan Brakhage Vision Award) and Hamnet filmmaker Chloe Zhao (Rare Pearl Award).

“This year’s Denver Film Festival celebrated an extraordinary lineup of films, visionary storytellers and unforgettable experiences,” Denver Film Festival Artistic Director Matthew Campbell said of the festival, which ran from October 31 to November 9. “The winners and honorees of the 48th festival represent the best in bold, authentic storytelling – works that move us, challenge us and expand the way we see the world. These films and filmmakers embody the spirit of creativity and community that defines Denver Film and we are proud to honor their achievements and share their voices with our passionate Denver audience.

See highlights below.