“The Monastery” wins Best Documentary at Full Frame
April 18th, 2007 by Zsofia
A Danish documentary film about the attempt to convert a castle into a Russian Orthodox monastery received top honors on April 15 at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in Durham, California. “The Monastery” was directed by Pernille Rose Gronkjær, and was given both the Best Documentary and the Emerging Artist awards. The best short film award went to “Cross Your Eyes Keep Them Wide”, directed and produced by Ben Wu.
Here is the full list of winners:
FULL FRAME GRAND JURY AWARD: The Monastery, Directed by Pernille Rose Gronkjær. Produced by Sigrid Helene Dyekær ($20,000 in lab services for a tape to film transfer, or the option of lab services to be used in a two year period from Alpha Cine Labs, Seattle.) The Grand Jury Award recognized this film as the best feature from the documentary film community this year.
FULL FRAME JURY AWARD FOR BEST SHORT: Cross Your Eyes Keep Them Wide. Directed and produced by Ben Wu. ($10,000 in film stock. Provided by Kodak.) The Jury Award for Best Short is awarded to a film 40 minutes or less in length. Honorable Mention: Zo is dat (The Way It Is) Directed by Elizabeth Salgado. Produced by Frieder Wallis.
FULL FRAME AUDIENCE AWARD: War/Dance. Directed by Sean Fine, Andrea Nix Fine. Produced by Albie Hecht. A THINKFilm Release. ($3,000 cash award.) The Audience Award was chosen by calculating audience ballots filled out during the four-day Festival.
CENTER FOR DOCUMENTARY STUDIES FILMMAKER AWARD: The Ants. Directed by Kaoru Ikeya. Produced by Yoko Gon. ($7,500. Provided by the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University.) The CDS Filmmaker Award recognizes documentary films that combine originality and creativity with firsthand experience in examining central issues of contemporary life and culture.
THE CHARLES E. GUGGENHEIM EMERGING ARTIST AWARD: The Monastery, Directed by Pernille Rose Grønkjær. Produced by Sigrid Helene Dyekær ($2,000. Provided by the Charles E. Guggenheim Family.) This is the first time the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival offered this annual prize to a first time documentary feature as a way to foster the work of new filmmakers, young and old.
SEEDS OF WAR: 1) Uganda Rising. Directed by Jesse James Miller, Pete McCormack. Produced by Alison Lawton & 2) The Devil Came on Horseback. Directed by Annie Sundberg, Ricki Stern. Produced by Annie Sundberg, Ricki Stern, Jane Wells, Gretchen Wallace. ($2,500 each, Sponsored by Walter Mosley.) This award honors two filmmakers who lay bare the seeds and mechanisms that create war.
FULL FRAME SPECTRUM AWARD: Banished. Directed by Marco Williams. Produced by Two Tone Productions and Center for Investigative Reporting. ($10,000. Sponsored by the Fledgling Fund.) This award will honor a filmmaker of color whose work demonstrates artistic excellence and achievement. Honorable Mention: Leila Khaled, Hijacker. Directed by Lina Makboul. Produced by Robert Danielsson, Tussilago Productions, Sveriges Television. A Women Make Movies Release.
FULL FRAME INSPIRATION AWARD: Forever. Directed by Heddy Honigmann. Produced by Carmen Cobos. ($5,000. Sponsored by the Hartley Foundation.) This new award is presented to a film that best exemplifies the value and relevance of world religions and spirituality. Honorable Mention: Lake of Fire. Directed by Tony Kaye. Produced by Tony Kaye. A THINKFilm Release.
FULL FRAME PRESIDENT’S AWARD: Lumo. Directed by Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt, Nelson Walker III. Produced by Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt, Nelson Walker III, Louis Ableman. A P.O.V. Film. ($5,000. Sponsored by Duke University.) Aimed at recognizing up-and-coming filmmakers, this new prize is awarded to the best student film.
FULL FRAME WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP AWARD: Shame. Directed by Mohammed Naqvi. Produced by Mohammed Naqvi, Jill Schneider. ($5,000. Sponsored by the White House Project.) This award is given to the film that best portrays women in leadership.
THE KATHLEEN BRYAN EDWARDS AWARD FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: For the Bible Tells Me So. Directed by Daniel Karslake. Produced by Daniel Karslake. Co-produced by Helen Mendoza and Nancy Kennedy. Executive Produced by Bruce Bastian, Michael Huffington, Robin Voss, Robert Greenbaum and Keith Lewis. ($5,000. Sponsored by Julian Price Family Foundation.) This annual award is presented to a film that addresses a significant human rights issue in the United States.
FULL FRAME/WORKING FILMS AWARD: The Devil Came on Horseback. Directed by Annie Sundberg, Ricki Stern. Produced by Annie Sundberg, Ricki Stern, Jane Wells, Gretchen Wallace. ($5,000 cash and $5,000 in-kind for the development of the film’s outreach plan. Sponsored by the Ettinger Foundation and Chicken & Egg Pictures.) Sponsored by Working Films, the media non-profit that is nationally recognized activist-driven bridge between high quality documentary filmmaking and concrete impact, this prize will be awarded to the film that has the greatest potential for supporting serious grassroots organizing and social change.
The 2008 festival date has been set for April 3-6, 2008.
