Competition winners were announced today at the 7th edition of the Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF), which concluded on Sunday evening with a screening of the widely acclaimed period drama “The King’s Speech” at the Atlantis Hotel and Resort.

This year, the Festival showcases 56 films from 14 different countries, including 20 features of which several were world or international premieres and nearly all Bahamian premieres. The four competition categories at BIFF are Spirit of Freedom: Narrative; Spirit of Freedom: Documentary; New Visions; and Short Film. Special sections included Caribbean and Environmental sidebars as well as a World Cinema showcase.

The official 2010 BIFF winners are:

Spirit of Freedom (Narrative)
ATLETU (Ethiopia) – written, directed and produced by Davey Frankel and Rasselas Lakew

Spirit of Freedom (Documentary)
BUDRUS (Israel / USA) – written, directed and produced by Julia Bacha

New Visions
HELLO LONESOME (USA) – written, directed and produced by Adam Reid

Short Film
CONTACT ZONE (Bahamas) – written and directed by Gustavius Smith

BIFF Audience Awards went to ATLETU for best feature narrative and BOUNCING CATS for best feature documentary.

BIFF also brought back the Filmmaker’s Residency Program for the 7th edition of the Festival. BIFF has a tradition of exclusively providing the Bahamian and Caribbean community with the opportunity to receive invaluable mentoring from industry professionals. This year BIFF expanded to include filmmakers from around the world to submit screenplays that are based in The Bahamas or Caribbean region. The Filmmakers’ Residency Program nurtures new filmmakers and screenwriters by providing them with an unrivaled opportunity to spend a full day with accomplished professionals who make a living working in the industry from Los Angeles and New York.

The three winning screenwriters from this year’s BIFF Filmmaker Residency Program are Sara Van Acker for her screenplay “Bloodlust” (1st place); Karen Webb for her screenplay “Arthur’s Salvation” (2nd place); and Mark Cerulli for his screenplay “Sunburn” (3rd place).

BIFF 2010 began on Wednesday, December 1st and ran through Sunday, December 5th. For additional information and please visit www.bintlfilmfest.com.

About the Bahamas International Film Festival

The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) is a nonprofit organization committed to providing the local community and international festival-goers with a diverse presentation of films from the Bahamas and around the world. In addition to showcasing films that might not otherwise be released theatrically, BIFF provides unique cultural experiences, educational programs, and forums for exploring the past, present and future of cinema. BIFF aims to raise the level of filmmaking, participation and education throughout the Bahamas and the world.

Key Sponsors of the 2010 BIFF are; Ministry of Tourism, Atlantis, Old Fort Bay Club, The Nature Conservancy, Galleria Cinema, Starbucks, Ministry of Culture, Post Boxes Etc., Custom Computers, College of The Bahamas, Bahamas Local and many more.