AFI FEST 2007 AWARDS

The 2007 award winners for AFI FEST 2007 presented by Audi were awarded with Lee Isaac Chung’s MUNYURANGABO named as the recipient of the Grand Jury Prize for International Feature Competition.

Andreas Mol Dalsgaard’s AFGHAN MUSCLES and Nina Davenport’s OPERATION FILMMAKER shared the International Documentary Grand Jury Prize.

The Shorts Jury Prize went to Nash Edgerton’s SPIDER, with a special award for Best Animated Short going to Josh Raskind’s I MET THE WALRUS.

Julian Schnabel’s THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY won the Audience Award for best feature film, while Jeffrey Schwarz’ SPINE TINGLER! THE WILLIAM CASTLE STORY and Lauren Greenfield’s KIDS + MONEY won the Audience Award for the Documentary and Short sections respectively.

The three Jury Award winners each receive a $5000 prize of Eastman Kodak Motion Picture Film stock & Entertainment Partners Budgeting and Scheduling software package.

The three Audience Award winners receive an AVID Technology Suite & Entertainment Partners Budgeting and Scheduling software package.

As the winner of the Audi “Truth in art” competition, Michael Addis (director of the documentary, HECKLER) won a free lease of an Audi S5 automobile for one year. For the winning project, Addis created/shot a short film featuring a theme of family and security with the safety of driving an Audi.

AFI FEST Artistic Director Rose Kuo said, “As with the all of the films we had at AFI FEST this year, the films in the competitive categories included really accomplished and inspired work from a diverse group of talented filmmakers. I know the members of our jury had a particularly difficult time singling out one film.”

JURY AWARDS

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE COMPETITION

GRAND JURY PRIZE: MUNYURANGABO

DIR Lee Isaac Chung PROD Lee Isaac Chung EXEC PROD Han Gil Chung, Robert Liang, Alex Hsiong Chu CAST Jeff Rutagengwa, Eric Ndorunkundiye, Jean Marie Vianney Nkurikiyinka Rwanda/USA

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

GRAND JURY PRIZE: AFGHAN MUSCLES & OPERATION FILMMAKER

Afghan Muscles DIR Andreas Mol Dalsgaard PROD Jesper Morthorst, Michael Haslund-Christensen Denmark

Operation Filmmaker DIR Nina Davenport PROD Nina Davenport, David Schisgall. USA

INTERNATIONAL SHORTS COMPETITION

GRAND JURY PRIZE: SPIDER

DIR Nash Edgerton Australia

BEST ANIMATED SHORT: I MET THE WALRUS

DIR Josh Raskin Canada

AUDIENCE AWARDS

FEATURE: THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY (LE SCAPHANDRE ET LE PAPILLON)

DIR/SCR Julian Schnabel PROD Kathleen Kennedy, Jon Klik, EXEC PROD Pierre Grunstein, Jim Lemley CAST Max Von Sydow, Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Anne Consigny, Emma De Caunes. USA

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: SPINE TINGLER! THE WILLIAM CASTLE STORY

DIR Jeffrey Schwarz PROD Jeffrey Schwarz. USA

SHORT: KIDS + MONEY

DIR Lauren Greenfield USA