The 22nd Slamdance Film Festival named “The Million Dollar Duck” the winner of both the Jury Award and Audience Award for Documentary Feature on Thursday.
“Honey Buddies,” by director Alex Simmons, won the Audience Award for Narrative Feature.
Paul Taylor’s “Driftwood” and “Hunky Dory” also got a Jury Award for Narrative Feature and Jury Honorable Mention for Acting, respectively.
“Congratulations to all of the filmmakers this year. Outside of winning a Sparky, as a collective they showed us the power of real independent film and how much it enriches our lives,” Peter Baxter, Slamdance President and co-founder, said in a statement to TheWrap.
Directed by Brian Golden Davis, “The Million Dollar Duck” dives into the wonderfully eccentric world of the Federal Duck Stamp Contest, the only juried art competition run by the U.S. government. The Duck Stamp is among the most successful conservation tools ever created, spawning a uniquely American subculture brimming with talent, big money, and migratory birds. The film follows the artists who competitively paint waterfowl in their obsessive quests to win the “Olympics of wildlife art.”
As in previous years, juries of leading industry experts and esteemed filmmakers determined the Slamdance Jury Awards for Narrative Feature, Documentary Feature, and Short Film categories. The Audience Awards, as well as the Spirit of Slamdance, an award given by the filmmakers of Slamdance 2016 to the filmmaker who best embodies the spirit of the Festival, were also bestowed.
The feature competition films in the Documentary and Narrative Programs are limited to first-time filmmakers working with production budgets of less than $1 million.
The Slamdance Festival was founded as a rival to the larger Sundance film festival.
Here is the full list of the awards, issued by the festival.
AUDIENCE AWARDS
Audience Award for Narrative Feature: HONEY BUDDIES, dir. by Alex Simmons
Audience Award for Documentary Feature: THE MILLION DOLLAR DUCK, dir. by Brian Golden Davis
JURY AWARDS – NARRATIVE
This year’s Slamdance Narrative Jury Prizes were selected by the esteemed panel of industry members Julie La’Bassiere, Erik Jambor, and Damon Russell.
Jury Award for Narrative Feature: DRIFTWOOD, dir. by Paul Taylor
Jury Honorable Mention for Acting – Narrative Feature: HUNKY DORY, dir. by Michael Curtis Johnson, starring Tomas Pais and Edouard Holdener
JURY AWARDS – DOCUMENTARY
This year’s Slamdance Documentary Jury Prizes were selected by the esteemed panel of industry members Skizz Cyzyk, Vanessa Hope, and Steve Yu.
Jury Award for Documentary Feature: THE MILLION DOLLAR DUCK, dir. by Brian Golden Davis
The award winner was granted $3,500 in legal services from Pierce Law Group.
Jury Honorable Mention for Documentary Feature: ART OF THE PRANK, dir. by Andrea Marini
Jury Award for Documentary Short: IF MAMA AIN’T HAPPY, NOBODY’S HAPPY, dir. by Mea de Jong
The award winner qualifies for the Annual Academy Awards.
Jury Honorable Mention for Cinematography – Documentary Short: THE BULLET, dir. by Jordan Bahat, cinematography by Mike Gioulakis
JURY AWARDS – SHORT FILMS
The below Short Film Jury Prizes were selected by the esteemed panel of industry members Steve Montal, Ina Pira, and Mark Shapiro.
Jury Award for Narrative Short: WINTER HYMNS, dir. by Dusty Mancinelli
Jury Honorable Mention for Narrative Short: THE BEAST, dir. by Daina Oniunas Pusic
Jury Award for Animation Short: MY DAD, dir. by Marcus Armitage
Jury Honorable Mention for Animation Short: FLAWS, dir. by Josh Shaffner
Jury Award for Experimental Short: INFRASTRUCTURES, dir. by Aurèle Ferrier
Jury Honorable Mention for Experimental Short: CUP OF STARS, dir. by Ryan Betschart, Tyler Betschart
Jury Award for Anarchy Short: DISCO INFERNO, dir. by Alice Waddington
Jury Honorable Mention for Anarchy Short: GWILLIAM, dir. by Brian Lonano
Jury Honorable Mention for Anarchy Short: HI HOW ARE YOU DANIEL JOHNSTON? dir. by Gabriel Sunday