IFFBoston 2021 Award Winners
Narrative Features
Special Jury Prize
LUZZU Directed by Alex Camilleri
Grand Jury Prize
MARVELOUS AND THE BLACK HOLE Directed by Kate Tsang
Jury Statement: MARVELOUS AND THE BLACK HOLE is just the kind of film that festivals love. A fantastical tale with heart to it. The jury was amazed at the art and the beauty of the film and its performances, both young and old. It is a feast for the eyes and soul. A true journey of the imagination. Well deserved.
Audience Award
LUZZU Directed by Alex Camilleri
Documentary Features
Special Jury Prize
SPRING VALLEY Directed by Garrett Zevgetis
Grand Jury Prize
WHO WE ARE: A CHRONICLE OF RACISM IN AMERICA Directed by Emily Kunstler & Sarah Kunstler
Jury Statement: WHO WE ARE: A CHRONICLE OF RACISM IN AMERICA is a remarkable example of how necessary it is to have honest conversations about ugly truths, especially in regards to our collective histories. Filmmakers Emily and Sarah Kunstler do a wonderful job in threading Jeffery Robinson’s personal story into a larger picture of this country’s past. The film shows us how, on its surface, hindsight isn’t always enough. Sometimes it can require a deeper reckoning that ironically to some can feel like a rewriting of history, when in fact it’s a revelation of what was always there—whether deliberately obscured for us, by us or, in many cases, right in front of us. WHO WE ARE explores the present by learning from the roots of our past, encouraging growth as a community, as a diverse nation and as the human family.
Karen Schmeer Excellence in Film Editing Award
FRUITS OF LABOR Edited by Kristina Motwania & Andrea Chignoli
Audience Award
WHO WE ARE: A CHRONICLE OF RACISM IN AMERICA Directed by Emily Kunstler & Sarah Kunstler
Narrative Shorts
Special Jury Prize
BOYS & TOYS Directed by Kevin P. Alexander
Grand Jury Prize
GIRLS ARE STRONG HERE Directed by Scott Burkhardt
Jury Statement: In telling a story of a Syrian refugee who himself offers refuge to a mother and daughter on their own journey toward a better life, GIRLS ARE STRONG HERE finds a welcome sympathy and humanity in difficult circumstances. This well-acted, well-crafted short film explores issues of freedom and survival, and the shifting meanings of the American Dream.
Audience Award
COFFEE SHOP NAMES Directed by Deepak Sethi
Documentary Shorts
Special Jury Prize
GAMES OF SURVIVAL: A CULTURE PRESERVED ON ICE Directed by Nicholas Natale
Grand Jury Prize
ABORTION HELPLINE, THIS IS LISA Directed by Mike Attie, Barbara Attie & Janet Goldwater
Jury Statement: The lives of poor and low-income women and families are disproportionately affected—indeed, targeted—by the decades-old Hyde Amendment, restricting Medicaid funds for most abortions. This documentary presents the compassionate call-center volunteers who receive last-resort requests from women in need who share their heartbreaking stories in the crush of finite resources. Giving us a fly-on-the-wall perspective on these difficult and intimate circumstances, the filmmakers reveal how powerful people in Washington affect our lives profoundly and present a call to action for fair access to healthcare.
Audience Award
LOCKSHOP Directed by Cara Feinberg
Jurors
Narrative Features
Beth Curran is a second generation film buff, and has volunteered with IFFBoston since its second year. During college she was president of her college’s film society, and since 2003 has been a member of the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film, a Boston based society dedicated to viewing and supporting independent film.
Scot Oxholm studied film in college, and then pivoted to teaching middle school math, as one often does. He has been volunteering at IFFBoston since 2007, and has often referred to it as his favorite week of the year. He’s looking forward to another great festival this year (even if there aren’t any Utz).
Mark Phinney is the writer/director of the film FAT, which screened at TIFF 2013 and IFFBoston 2014. Phinney spent years in New York and Los Angeles as a writer and actor. He has a script in development with Alexander Payne’s company and is setting up his next feature, from the producers of SOUND OF METAL for the fall of 2021.
Documentary Features
Erica Hill is a Boston-based filmmaker and archivist. They have volunteered with IFFBoston for nearly a decade and manage at both the Brattle Theatre and the Coolidge Corner Theatres. They are also the film technician and office manager at Zipporah Films.
Doug Jones got his first job in film—shoveling popcorn behind a candy stand—when he was 14. Thirty years later, he is still working in film, but the theater is now a parking lot. Jones has curated films for Minneapolis’ Oak Street Cinema, San Francisco’s Red Vic Movie House and Noise Pop Film Festival, the Mill Valley Film Festival, the San Francisco Film Society/San Francisco International Film Festival, the Philadelphia Film Festival and the Los Angeles Film Festival, where he served as Associate Director of Programming. A founding member of the nominations committee for the Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking and a multi-year screener for SXSW, Jones has also written on film and film festivals for publications like Indiewire, Twitch, and Film Comment. He is currently Executive Director of Images Cinema, a nonprofit art house in Williamstown, MA, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016.
Billy Thegenus has been volunteering with IFFBoston for nearly 10 years. He has also been a Research Assistant at the MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research and the Harvard University Hip-Hop Archive Research Institute. He currently works for the Brattle and Coolidge Corner Theatres.
Short Films
Diack Bijou Ba a healthcare data storyteller joined the IFFBoston volunteer family in 2012. Italian born of Senegalese parents she now resides in Boston. In addition to her love for independent films she is an avid music fan.
Will Lautzenheiser was a filmmaker and teacher of film production and screenwriting when, in the fall of 2011, an invasive infection caused him to become a quad amputee. Following rehab, he turned to performing “sit down” and sketch comedy as a creative and therapeutic outlet. In 2014, he underwent arm transplantation surgery at Brigham & Women’s Hospital. His story is chronicled in Robin Berghaus’ feature-length documentary STUMPED, the opening night movie of IFFBoston 2017. He speaks frequently about organ donation, patient experiences, and disability issues, and is at work on his own film and writing projects.
Maria Marewski, most recently at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Program Development, has been focused on film, youth, critical thinking and creativity since 1994 when she founded the Children’s Media Project (now the Art Effect – Poughkeepsie, NY) to engage youth in the education, exhibition, design and production of film, media, and other arts. With youth and community development as guiding principles and teaching experience at Vassar and Hunter Colleges, Marewski designed hands-on workshops in critical film viewing, media production, and media literacy for schools, community organizations, and libraries. She has presented at national and international conferences, served on grant panels and has produced award-winning youth-oriented educational products.
