SKYWAY FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES FESTIVAL WINNERS
BRADENTON, FL – JUNE 14, 2015, The Skyway Film Festival announced today the winners of their inaugural year’s awards. The festival concludes today with the Closing Night Film – No Stranger Than Love by Director Nick Wernham.
The list of awards and winners listed below:
GRAND JURY NARRATIVE FEATURE – “Night Owls” Directed by Charles Hood
GRAND JURY DOCUMENTARY FEATURE – “3 1/2 Minutes, 10 Bullets” directed by Marc Silver
GRAND JURY SHORT FILM SPONSORED BY INDIE PIX – The Whispers Directed by Sarah Heitz De Chabeneix
GRAND JURY FLORIDA SHORT FILM – “Lean” Directed by Kevin O’Neil
SPECIAL JURY AWARD FOR ACTING – Amberlee Colson from the Feature Film “Worthy” Directed by Marianna Palka
SPECIAL JURY AWARD FOR DIRECTING – “Across the Sea” Directed by Nisan Dag and Esra Saddam
GRAND JURY TELEPLAY – “Razorhurst” Written by Li Lu
AUDIENCE AWARD NARRATIVE FEATURE – “The Suffering” Directed by Robert Hamilton
AUDIENCE AWARD SHORT FILM – “End of War” Directed by Bernard E. James
AUDIENCE AWARD STUDENT SHORT – “Wonder in the Smokies” Directed by Drew Permutter
The Grand Jury included the following industry individuals who brought their expertise to award the winners of the festival: Dori Sperko, (Sex Ed, Albion: Rise of the Danann); Ryan O’Nan, Actor/Writer (Ray Donovan, The Iceman); Daniel Bort, Expression Entertainment, President; Andre Holland, Actor (The Knick/Selma); Leslie Cohen, HBO, VP of Programming; Lee Broda, Actor/Producer (Amnesiac/The Phenom); Caroline Connor, Producer (Chu and Blossom/Franny); Michael Darrow, Editor (Albion: The Rise of Danann/Casual Encounters); Marty Clear, Bradenton Herald; Julie La’Bassiere, BAFTA NY, CEO; Jacob Ogles and Phil Lederer from SRQ Magazine.
“Congratulations to all the winners at the inaugural Skyway Film Festival. We could not be more proud of the success of the inaugural year. The attendance exceeded our expectations, the amount of filmmakers that attended was amazing and the audience response was all positive. The Skyway team from all the volunteers, staff and with the Support of the Manatee Performing Arts Center and local organizations like Realize Bradenton we could not be happier with the energy that was felt throughout the weekend as chapter one of Skyway unraveled,” said Joe Restaino, Artistic Director, Skyway Film Festival.
The Skyway Film Festival showcased the craft of filmmaking and storytelling by advocating the work of filmmakers, screenwriters and all artists who use the medium of film and television to bring art alive.
The Bradenton Film Commission is a premiere sponsor of the festival and hopes to contribute to independent filmmakers and show their support by providing incentives for filmmakers to come to Bradenton and Manatee County.
Visit the official site of the festival at http://skywayfilmfestival.org
