Following a gala closing night time celebration that includes Steve Buscemi and his movie “The Listener,” the 2024 Sarasota Movie Competition has introduced its awards — with a number of outstanding indies taking the highest prizes. This twenty sixth version of the Florida competition celebrating impartial movie gave the Narrative Characteristic Jury Prize to Josh Margolin’s Sundance breakout “Thelma,” starring June Squibb and the late Richard Roundtree. “Sugarcane” received the Documentary Characteristic Jury Prize.
Talking for the narrative characteristic jury, filmmaker Alex Hedison, in awarding the prize to “Thelma,” stated the group discovered the film to rejoice “what Hollywood cinema so occasionally does: age. The extraordinary performances by June Squib and Richard Roundtree are on the middle of ‘Thelma,’ surrounded by a superb supporting solid who function a surrogate for the viewers in reminding them of the importance of dwelling their finest lives with the form of motion and journey life affords us if we stay open to it — at all ages.” The movie is ready to be launched June 21 by Magnolia Footage.
Veteran movie govt and former president of IMAX Leisure Megan Colligan, Warner Bros. Footage PR chief Katie Martin Kelley, and legendary “Do the Proper Factor,” “Malcolm X,” and “Mars Assaults!” manufacturing designer Wynn Thomas rounded out the narrative characteristic jury.
Hedison herself additionally received an award: The Documentary Quick Competitors award for her movie “Alok,” about LGBT influencer Alok Vaid-Menon, which she had additionally dropped at Sundance earlier this 12 months, together with producer Jodie Foster. Hedison spoke at IndieWire’s annual Sundance Chili Occasion. Her movie stands alongside Shawn Butcher’s “Classes,” which received Sarasota’s Finest Narrative Quick, whereas Volker Schlecht’s “The Ready” received Finest Worldwide Quick.
The Documentary Characteristic Jury, of which I used to be an element — alongside producer and Olive Footage co-founder Wren Arthur, NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans, and DOC NYC creative director Jaie Laplante — awarded our prime prize to “Sugarcane,” which was additionally within the U.S. Documentary Competitors at Sundance this 12 months. The movie, directed by Julian Courageous NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, is about how the abuse First Nations college students at a Catholic-run boarding college in British Columbia suffered has affected their group throughout generations. In presenting the prize, I stated, “The filmmakers don’t lose sight of the extraordinary tradition of this group and steadiness main historic truths with profoundly intimate moments.” The movie was acquired by Nationwide Geographic Documentary Movies in February, appeared IndieWire’s critics survey of the perfect documentaries at Sundance, and appears an apparent awards contender within the 12 months forward.
The Documentary Characteristic Jury additionally gave a Particular Point out to Sundance award-winner “Porcelain Struggle,” which nonetheless doesn’t but have distribution. The Sarasota Movie Competition shouldn’t be a gross sales competition, nevertheless it is without doubt one of the most vital post-Sundance stops for movies nonetheless searching for distribution. The nice and cozy viewers reception to as-yet undistributed movies corresponding to “Porcelain Struggle,” “A Home Is Not a Disco,” and Ethan Berger’s fraternity-hazing thriller “The Line” can ship a sign to distributors that audiences outdoors the Sundance, SXSW, or Tribeca crowds truly do await these movies. Below the management of president Mark Famiglio, one of many best advocates for movie on the Gulf Coast, the Sarasota Movie Competition has additionally turn into probably the most curatorially strong festivals within the southeastern U.S. Final 12 months, the narrative jury awarded its prime prize to Rebecca Zlatowski’s “Different Folks’s Youngsters” — an important film that in any other case struggled to interrupt by way of, regardless of having a Venice premiere the 12 months earlier than.
The Sarasota Movie Competition additionally likes to place a highlight on native expertise and filmmakers, nevertheless. That’s why “Into the Highlight: The Jake Ilardi Story,” about 2021 Olympian and skateboarder Ilardi, who grew up close by, was within the Documentary Characteristic competitors — it ended up successful the Native Viewers Award. (Daybreak Porter’s Sundance hit, “Luther: By no means Too A lot,” received the Trade Viewers Award.)
Likewise, Sarasota-born “Euphoria” and “Do Revenge” star Austin Abrams received the Rising Star Award on the competition for his startling position in Berger’s “The Line” — a lot of his family and friends have been in attendance on the screening.
This competition has completed one thing distinctive: It’s achieved each a worldwide and a neighborhood focus. Learn on for the complete listing of 2024 Sarasota Movie Competition award winners under.
Jury Awards
Narrative Characteristic Competitors Winner
THELMA
Director: Josh Margolin
Documentary Characteristic Competitors Winner
SUGARCANE
Administrators: Emily Kassie & Julian Courageous NoiseCat
Documentary Characteristic Jury Particular Point out
PORCELAIN WAR
Administrators: Brendan Bellomo & Slava Leontyev
Unbiased Visions Competitors Winner
ART THIEF
Director: Arthur Egeli
Narrative Quick Competitors Winner
LESSONS
Director: Shawn Butcher
Documentary Quick Competitors Winner
ALOK
Director: Alex Hedison
Worldwide Quick Competitors Winner
THE WAITING
Director: Volker Schlecht
Viewers Awards
Native Viewers Award Winner
INTO THE SPOTLIGHT: THE JAKE ILARDI STORY
Director: Liam Jordan
Trade Viewers Award Winner
LUTHER: NEVER TOO MUCH
Director: Daybreak Porter