By Hayden Seder
Over the course of Wednesday, March 13, through Sunday, March 17, Sun Valley was host to the 8th annual Sun Valley Film Festival where new films were screened, awards were presented, and patrons were given an assortment of unique entertainment and perks. The festival awarded over $200,000 in prizes over the weekend as well as countless mentorship opportunities to independent filmmakers in sessions called labs.
One of the festival’s biggest draws is its Coffee Talk series, a free, intimate event that gives festivalgoers the chance to learn from some of the industry’s titans. Locals and visitors alike enjoyed talks from actress Meg Ryan, actor Aaron Paul, writer and director Alex Ross Perry, and comedian and author Chelsea Handler. Ryan, Paul, and Perry were all recipients of the festival’s Honor awards: the Vision Award, Pioneer Award and Rising Star Award, respectively.
Perhaps the most important awards, though, are the ones going to films. The Audience Award is voted on by moviegoers and this year went to “Long Shot,” directed by Jonathan Levine. Additional Audience Award finalists were “The Parts You Lose,” “Ghost Fleet,” “Running with Beto” and “Sea of Shadows.”
“Running with Beto,” produced by Jeff Steen, did go on to win the Producer’s Vision Award, which recognizes a producer’s ability to keep a dramatic, feature-length film in focus during the journey of the project.
The One in a Million Awards honor feature-length stories made for under $1 million. One narrative and one documentary film are each awarded, and this year’s winners were “Lemonade” for narrative, directed by Ioana Uricaru, and “Tigerland” for documentary, directed by Ross Kaufman and produced by Fisher Stevens.
The other film awards went to “Kate in Oxnard” for the Shorty Award (best short film across all categories) and “MAR: Episode 1” for the Gem State Award, presented by Zions Bank, an award that recognizes an Idaho filmmaker whose work best reflects the beauty and diversity of the Gem State.
Part of the beauty of the Sun Valley Film Festival is its ability to take an amateur filmmaker, producer or director and allow them the opportunity to win prizes, money, awards, mentorships and to put their names on the map. Several up-and-comers walked away winners of the festival’s competitions, starting with Reed Rickert, who won $1,000 and a National Geographic Expedition alongside Nat Geo explorers in the Nat Geo WILD TO INSPIRE contest for his film, “The Flip.” The Nat Geo Further Award goes to a leader whose body of work is innovative, timely, and impactful and this year’s winner was Mariana van Zeller, a Peabody Award-winning Portuguese journalist and correspondent for National Geographic Channel.
The festival’s annual Film Lab is a competition of work-in-progress films that are screen-tested for audience feedback and then taken to two additional cities before locking and completing the picture with L.A.-based post-production company The Farm, who will provide up to $185,000 in services. This year’s pick was “Colewell,” directed by Tom Quinn and produced by Matthew Thurm, Craig Shilowich, Joshua Blum and Alexandra Byer.
Part of the annual Screenwriters Lab, the High Scribe Award is given to an emerging voice in screenwriting and gives finalists an opportunity for one-on-one meetings with some of the industry’s finest. This year’s winner, “The Graveyard Shift,” was written by Max Andrew Dubinsky and Matthew Carpenter, who will receive mentoring from an experienced professional.
The 1 Potato Award goes to a screenwriter of a short screenplay who receives a $5,000 stipend to help shoot their film in Idaho. This year’s winner was “Girls Are Strong Here,” written by Scott Burkhardt.
Even young students are part of the film festival, with the Future Filmmaker Forum showcasing student-made films and encouraging students in their craft, storytelling and self-expression. The Hot Shot Winner ($1,000 prize) went to “Control Yourself,” directed by Zoe Takaki. The Gabriel Spirit Award ($300 prize) went to “Beyond the Wall,” directed by Mia Nelson, and the Gem State Jr. Award ($500 prize) went to “For Us,” directed by Justin Buss.