Monday, August 20, 2018

Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema Announces Award Winners at 2nd Annual Gala

Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema recently announced the winners of its 2nd annual event that took place from August 3-12 at Regal Cinema’s UA Midway in Forest Hills, Maple Grove Cemetery in Kew Gardens and at the Queens Museum in nearby Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

From a pool of nearly 400 film submissions, the festival presented 110 films from 25 countries. Winners for each competitive category were chosen by the festival’s specially selected jury, and received a unique statuette at the Awards Gala on Sunday, Aug. 12 during a dinner ceremony that took place on the rooftop penthouse of the world-famous Terrace on the Park in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

The move to the Midway Theater in Forest Hills opened the festival up this year to more attendees and made it a bit more accessible to the general public. (Banter, next door to the Midway Theater, also became the best place locally to catch a glimpse of some of the actors and filmmakers.)

If you haven't been to the Festival yet, you are missing out on quite the event. The films are unique and entertaining and you never know who you might be seated next to during a screening! (The film's director, perhaps? Or the lead actor?) And, you get a chance to discuss the movies with them following the screenings during the Q&A.

This year's winners are listed below, following a few photos of a Q&A after one of the screenings, a cool food truck parked outside the Midway Theater, and the celebrity area inside the Midway lobby.





And the winners were:


Best Feature Narrative: “Virginia, Minnesota” (Dir. Daniel Stine)


Best Documentary: “Beneath the Ink” (Dir. Cy Dodson)


Best Short Film: “88 Cents” (Dir. Tyler Pina)


Best Experimental/Animation/Music Video: “Baby You’re Like A Drug” (Dir. Joshua Butler)


Best Webseries: “After Oil” (Dir. Shailyn Cotten and Jessica Naftaly)


Audience Choice Award, Best Feature: “Sushi Tushi or How Asia Butted Into American Pro Football” (Dir. Ziad Hamzeh)


Audience Choice Award, Best Short: “St. Joseph” (Dir. Kathrina Miccio)


Best Director: Bizhan Tong (“The Escort”)


Best Actress: Gus Birney (“Darcy”)


Best Actor: Phelim Drew (“Bless Me Father”)


Best Supporting Actress: Megan Bones (“Rooster and the Queen”)


Best Supporting Actor: Robert Sheehan (“The Song of Sway Lake”)


Best Screenplay: Carlotta Summers (“Butterflies”)


Best Cinematography: Jakob Creutzburg (“Whales”)


Best Editing: Ian MacDougall (“The Doctor’s Case”)


Best Sound Editing: Jesse Peterson (“Another Girl”)


Best Makeup & FX: Melissa Center (“R.V”)


About Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema
Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. The festival was founded by local independent filmmakers with a passion to get movies made and to expand the reach of artists’ work. Recognizing the challenge of the visibility of independent film, the festival’s aim is to establish a presence in and spread awareness of cinematic creativity throughout Kew Gardens and its vibrant and culturally diverse neighboring communities, including Forest Hills, Rego Park, Woodhaven and Glendale.


SOCIAL MEDIA:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kgfcfilmfest/


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