Ferenc Toth's Unknown Soldier, Joshua Marston's Maria Full of Grace, and Jonathan Caouette's Tarnation were among the winners Saturday night at the closing of the 10th annual Los Angeles Film Festival. Tarnation was created by director Cauoette on his Macintosh computer i - Movie program for a reported $293.00. Filmmakers Gus Van Sant and John Cameron Mitchell executive produced this charming biography. Tarnation, which centers on the troubled life of the director--who grew up gay with a schizophrenic mom--won the Target Documentary Award for Best Documentary Feature. That honor comes with a $25,000 cash prize

Soldier, the story of an ordinary 18-year-old boy fighting for his life on the streets of Harlem, picked up the Target Filmmaker Award for Best Narrative Feature, which includes a $50,000 cash prize. Director Ferenc Toth created a stir when he accidentally walked off stage with presenter Halle Berry’s award. He nervously returned to the stage to the delight of the audience. As the event pushed on, Maria Full of Grace , set to be released by Fine Line Features in the summer, won the audience award for Best Narrative Feature. For the first time, LAFF handed out an acting award, with the prize going to Jeanette Brox, who stars in the lesbian-themed dramatic thriller Wilderness Survival for Girls, the story of three girls at a remote cabin who must deal with a stranger. A total of 195 films, including 83 features representing 31 countries, screened at this year's festival.

This years artist in residence , veteran rocker Neil Young presented his film ‘Greendale’ as well as Michael Moore’s ; ‘Fahrenheit 9-11 ‘(which features Neil’s music) and Gus Van Sants ‘Dead Man’. Mr Young described the process of scoring ‘Dead Man’ . He locked him self away in a warehouse surrounded by a ring of monitors constantly looping the film as he recorded the score on a selection of acoustic instruments. Neil was passionate in his contempt for the current state of affairs in the music business and has decided to release all of his future work in the form of filmed albums. If ‘Greendale’ is any indication the musician is a talented director who has grown as a filmmaker since 1972’s “Human Highway.”

Other features included the selection of Producer Dane Allan Smith as a Fast Track participant. The program introduced a select group of independent filmmakers to be introduced to top Hollywood executives. The Fast Track group will also be featured in an upcoming PBS documentary as well as featured in the upcoming issues of Filmmaker Magazines “Ones To Watch”

The festival is well known for it’s top caliber panels. This year Guillermo Del Toro, Danny Elfman , Tim Roth and Director Niel LaBute were among the list of talent that spoke at informal coffee talks at the DGA theaters. Attendee’s we’re also invited to attend the day long “Low Budget Summit” Industry executives and artists detailed the process of getting the greenlight for your independent project.

If you were loved Richard Linklater's 1994 "Before Sunrise," the ballad of a 24-hour love affair between American Jesse and Frenchwoman Celine, you would enjoy the festivals centerpiece presentation of “Before Sunset”.
This festival fave struck a chord for several reasons. It's an anomaly: since when do indie films spawn sequels -- and especially from the director of indie icon "Dazed and Confused?" It caters to our naïve need to spin forward the plot: DID Ethan Hawke's Jesse and Julie Delpy's Celine meet again in Vienna as promised? And it taps into such consuming questions as, Can you build a life out of a one-night stand? Does anyone out there still believe in romantic love?

As the top festival in Los Angeles the selection team has their work cut out for them programming a summer festival in the post Sundance marketplace. Once again IFP proves that there is a diverse and bountiful body of work to be tapped from the independent world. This year’s festival was an unrivalled success


Unknown Soldier
Target Filmmaker Award (for Best Narrative Feature)
Directed by Ferenc Toth
The award carries with it an unrestricted cash prize of $50,000 funded by Target Stores - the largest cash prize bestowed by a major U.S. film festival.

Tarnation
Target Documentary Award (for Best Documentary Feature)
Directed by Jonathan Caouette
The award carries with it an unrestricted cash prize of $25,000 funded by Target Stores.

Maria Full of Grace
Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature
Directed by Joshua Marston

Up For Grabs Up For Grabs
Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature
Directed by Mike Wranovics

Dear Frankie
Audience Award for Best International Feature
Directed by Shona Auerbach

Parents of the Year
Audience Award for Best Short Film
Directed by James D. Scurlock

Bread and Milk
Best Narrative Short Film
Directed by Shinyun Won

Say You Love Me
Best Documentary Short Film
Directed by Adam Feinstein

Hello
Best Animated Short Film
Directed by Jonathan Nix

Fragile
Special Mention for Excellent Filmmaking (Short Film)
Directed by Sikander Goldau

Dad's Dead
Special Mention for Inventiveness and Visual Style (Short Film)
Directed by Chris Shepherd


Dane AllanSmith Filmfestivals Ambassador
Menithings.com