The 32nd Portland International Film Festival’s Audience Awards

The 31,000 audience members at this year’s 32nd Portland International Film Festival have selected their favorite films from among the 78 feature and 36 shorts screened February 6-22.

Tying for first place for Best Feature Award are Toa Frazer’s DEAN SPANLEY (New Zealand) and Dorie Dörrie’s CHERRY BLOSSOMS (Germany). Two films also tied for the Best Documentary Award—Festival guest Jennifer Grausman’s film PRESSURE COOKER (US), co-directed with Mark Becker, and Agnés Varda’s THE BEACHES OF AGNÉS (France), both of which tied for second place in the overall balloting. The winner of the Best New Director Award is Amin Matalga, for CAPTAIN ABU RAED (Jordan).

This year’s Short Film Award goes to Portland filmmaker Heather Harlow for NOUS DEUX ENCORE.

PIFF 32 OREGONIAN AUDIENCE AWARDS

FEATURES
BEST FEATURE AWARD WINNERS

1. DEAN SPANLEY / New Zealand / Toa Frazer
CHERRY BLOSSOMS / Germany / Doris Dörrie
BEST DOCUMENTARY AWARD WINNERS
2. PRESSURE COOKER / US / Jennifer Grausman, Mark Becker
THE BEACHES OF AGNÉS / France / Agnès Varda
3. THE NECESSITIES OF LIFE / Canada / Benoît Pilon
4. REVANCHE / Austria / Götz Spielmann
BEST NEW DIRECTOR AWARD
5. CAPTAIN ABU RAED / Jordan / Amin Matalqa
6. THE ENGLISH SURGEON / Great Britain / Geoffrey Smith
7. SUGAR / US / Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
WORLDS APART / Denmark / Niels Arden Oplev
8. WOLF, THE LAWS OF WILDERNESS / Sweden / Daniel Alfredson
9. SEREPHINE / France / Martin Provost
10. EVERLASTING MOMENTS / Sweden / Jan Troell
11. HOME OF DARK BUTTERFLIES / Finland / Dome Karukoski
12. KATYN / Poland / Andrzej Wajda
13. LEMON TREE / Israel / Eran Riklis
14. HUNGER / Great Britain / Steve McQueen
15. MOSCOW, BELGIUM / Belgium / Christophe Van Rompaey
MILKING THE RHINO / US / David E. Simpson
16. THE BAADER-MEINHOF COMPLEX / Germany / Uli Edel
17. O’HORTEN / Norway / Bent Hamer
18. THE GARDEN / US / Scott Hamilton Kennedy
19. THE GREAT BUCK HOWARD / US / Sean McGinley
20. THE BLACK BALLOON / Australia / Elissa Down

SHORTS
BEST SHORT AWARD
1. NOUS DEUX ENCORE / US / Heather Harlow
2. TOYLAND / Germany / Jochen Alexander Freydank
3. THE WEDNESDAYS / Ireland / Conor Ferguson
4. PROCRASTINATION / Great Britain / Johnny Kelly
5. THE LADY WHO SWALLOWED A FLY / US / Byrd McDonald


The Festival is produced by the Northwest Film Center, a regional media arts resource and service organization founded to encourage the study, appreciation, and utilization of the moving image arts, foster their artistic and professional excellence, and to help create a climate in which they flourish. In addition to the Portland International Film Festival, the Center produces the annual Northwest Film & Video Festival, Portland Jewish Film Festival and a variety of year-round of film and video exhibition, educational and information programs serving Oregon and residents of the Northwest.