SXSW Film Festival Announces Jury, Special Awards Despite

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festivals has introduced its 2020 Jury and Special Award winners for this 12 months’s movie competition, regardless of it having been cancelled because of the unfold of the coronavirus earlier this month.

The SXSW Film Festival had a number of Special Awards juries arrange, however after the cancellation, the group expanded to the juried competitions.

“When we curated and announced our slate for the 2020 SXSW Film Festival, filled with an array of wonderful films we were excited to share with our unique audience, we had no idea of the unprecedented impact that Coronavirus would have on all our lives,” Janet Pierson, Director of Film, stated. “Our hearts were broken for all the filmmakers who invested so much time and talent in their work, hoping for a transformative experience at our event. We’re honored to at least be able to present our juried and special awards. We know that it’s no substitute for the actual festival’s vitality, enthusiasm and potential for surprising outcomes — and that it is only available to a small fraction of our program — but we hope it will help garner some well-deserved recognition for these wonderful works.”

The 2020 SXSW Film Festival Juries consisted of:
Narrative Feature Competition: Rebecca Keegan, Rodrigo Perez, Kim Yutani
Documentary Feature Competition: Bilge Ebiri, Naomi Fry, Dino Ramos
Narrative Shorts Program: Penelope Bartlett, Monica Castillo, Greta Fuentes
Documentary Shorts: Marjon Javadi, Allison Willmore
Animated Shorts: Katie Krentz, Hana Shimizu, Asalle Tanha
Midnight Shorts: Jonathan Barkan, Derek Kingongo, Brittany Klesic
Music Videos: Jason Baum, Chaka and Qi Dada
Texas Shorts: Denise Hernandez, Jenny Jacobi, Martin C. Jones
Texas High School Shorts: Jonathan Case, Jazmyne Moreno, Barton Weiss
Episodic Pilots: Mitch Hurwitz, Emily Nussbaum, Shelby Stone
Louis Black “Lone Star”: Kathy Blackwell, David Fear, Richard Whittaker
Excellence in Title Design: Ryan Butterworth, Alex Johnson
Excellence in Poster Design: Becky Cloonan, Barak Epstein, Kevin Tong
This 12 months’s program would have consisted of 135 function movies, together with 99 world premieres, in addition to 119 quick movies. Due to the occasion cancellation, there shall be no Audience Award this 12 months.

See under for the SXSW Film Festival Awards.

Feature Film Grand Jury Awards
NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
Winner: Shithouse
Director: Cooper Raiff
“Imbued with the candy, heart-on-sleeve sensibilities of Before Sunrise, triple menace author/director/star, Cooper Raiff's earnest portrait (and directorial debut) of a lonely school
freshman and the woman he forges a magnetic reference to is refreshing and winningly honest. The Grand Jury Prize goes to Shithouse.”

Special Jury Recognition for Directing: Topside
Directors: Celine Held, Logan George
“These two administrators create a textured city underground world to inform a poignant story of survival and sacrifice when a mom and daughter’s house is uprooted. The kinetic filmmaking that defines their movie Topside leads to a gripping and emotional viewing expertise. The SXSW Special Jury Recognition for Directing goes to Celine Held and
Logan George.”

Special Jury Recognition for Acting: Really Love
Director: Angel Kristi Williams
Actors: Kofi Siriboe, Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing
“The energy and pleasure on this trendy romance comes from the chemistry and depth of its two leads. Their delicate performances and plain display screen charisma give this love
story its emotional stakes. The SXSW Special Jury Recognition for Acting goes to Kofi Siriboe and Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing.”

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
Winner: An Elephant within the Room
Director: Katrine Philp
“Grief is among the most difficult topics for any filmmaker. The grief of younger kids much more so. In An Elephant within the Room, Katrine Philp follows a bunch of youngsters as they work with a grief counseling middle in New Jersey. And whereas the ensuing movie is actually heartbreaking, due to the…