SXSW Announces Film Festival Award Winners
Image via Palomo Films/YouTube
The SXSW Film Festival has announced its top winners. Most Beautiful Island, the directorial debut of Spanish actor Ana Asensio, won the narrative feature competition, and The Work, from directors Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous, won the documentary feature competition.
Most Beautiful Island is a New York thriller that follows the story of one undocumented woman and her struggle for survival—you can watch the trailer here. The Work documentary is set in a group therapy retreat for convicts at Folsom Prison. The winning short films include Forever by director Kristian Håskjold and Little Potato by directors Wes Hurley and Nathan M. Miller. Noticeably absent from the award winners are the two movies everyone seems to be talking about: James Franco’s The Disaster Artist and Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver. The reason for their absence is simply that both films were not up for award consideration.
See the complete list of award winners below, and keep up with everything that Paste is streaming live from Austin during SXSW here.
Feature Film Grand Jury Awards
Narrative Feature Competition
Winner: Most Beautiful Island
Director: Ana Asensio
Special Jury Recognition for Breakthrough Performance: The Strange Ones
Actor: James Freedson-Jackson
Special Jury Recognition for Best Ensemble: A Bad Idea Gone Wrong
Cast: Matt Jones, Eleanore Pienta, Will Rogers, Jonny Mars, Sam Eidson, Jennymarie Jemison
Documentary Feature Competition
Winner: The Work
Directors: Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous
Special Jury Recognition for Excellence in Observational Cinema: Maineland
Director: Miao Wang
Special Jury Recognition for Excellence in Documentary Storytelling: I Am Another You
Director: Nanfu Wang
Short Film Grand Jury Awards