Seattle FF Prize Winners

ANY DAY NOW, a gay themed film that had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, has won the Golden Space Needle Award for Best Feature at the Seattle International Film Festival. The film’s lead, Alan Cumming, was also named Best Actor. ANY DAY NOW, directed by Travis Fine, is set in the late 1970s, when a gay couple takes in a mentally handicapped teenager that the system has abandoned. The film’s affecting storyline told at a time when gay adoption was almost impossible (and gay marriage unthinkable) strongly reinforces the need for family and acceptance that is at the center of the so called culture wars.

The Grand Jury Prize was won by the Belgian film THE INVADER by writer/director Nicolas Provost. The Best Documentary Prize went to FIVE STAR EXISTENCE from Finland’s Sonja Linden. The FIPRESCI International Critics Prize for Best New American Film was won by WELCOME TO PINE HILL by writer/director Keith Miller. Jamie Chung was named Best Actress for her role in EDEN about a Korean-American girl who is abducted and forced into sexual slavery. Garnering yet another prize, writer/director Benh Zeitlin took home the Best Director honors for his Sundance sensation BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD. The 25-day Festival, which showcased over 460 films from more than 70 countries, also hosted career achievement for Oscar-winning actress Sissy Spacek and director William Friedkin.

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