The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) today announced the award winners for the 27th-annual
SCAD Savannah Film Festival. A key stop on the festival circuit leading up to the Academy Awards, the 2024 SCAD Savannah Film Festival screened 162 films, including 123 narrative feature films, 31 documentary feature films, 69 short films, and ten world premieres and six U.S. premieres.
Out of over 2,335 submissions, nineteen awards were announced from the 105 films chosen to compete in competition categories, which included Narrative Features, Documentary Features, Professional Shorts, Animated Shorts, Documentary Shorts, Student Shorts, Shorts Spotlight, Global Shorts Forum and the SAVFF LGBTQIA+ Short Film Competition presented by Amazon MGM Studios.
Professional Competition
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Best Animated Short – The Wedding Veil of the Proud Princess, directed by Anna-Ester Volozh
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Honorable Mention: Monsoon Blue, directed by Jay Hiukit Wong, and Ellis Kayin Chan
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Best Documentary Feature – Champions Of The Golden Valley, directed by Ben Sturgulewski
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Best Narrative Short – The Masterpiece, directed by Àlex Lora
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Best Narrative Feature – Los Frikis, directed by Michael Schwartz & Tyler Nilson
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Best Director – The Ride Ahead, directed by Samuel Habib & Dan Habib
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Special Jury Recognition for Cinematography – After Annecy, directed by Rebecca Holstein
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Special Jury Recognition: Spotlight Performance: Amrit Kaur, The Queen Of My Dreams
International film and social media platform Letterboxd is sponsoring this year's Narrative Feature Prize at the 2024 SCAD Savannah Film Festival. As part of this sponsorship,Letterboxd will award the winner, Los Frikis, a substantial grant in the form of an extensive media campaign including targeted advertising and direct marketing to promote their film. Letterboxd’s mission is to help its worldwide community of film lovers discover great films. This grant is designed to highlight exceptional films and bring them to the attention of the widest possible audiences. Our involvement also signals Letterboxd's commitment to bring our audience of film lovers closer to the filmmakers operating at the forefront of the medium and we’re delighted to be involved in the 2024 SCAD Savannah Film Festival.
The 2024 festival's professional jury members included Kate Erbland (Editorial Director at IndieWire), Brian Formo (Head of Studio Relations & Video, Letterboxd), Zeberiah Newman (Filmmaker), and Richard Suckle (Producer).
SAVFF LGBTQIA+ Short Film Competition Presented by Amazon MGM Studios
Recognizing the need for more inclusive storytelling in the filmmaking industry, the 2024 SCAD Savannah Film Festival (SAVFF) and Amazon MGM Studios have created a dedicated SAVFF LGBTQIA+ Short Film Competition. Amazon MGM Studios will donate $10,000 for the jury-awarded Best Overall Film and $5,000 for an Audience Award. Films in the program are under 40 minutes in length and represent excellence in storytelling and execution in narrative or documentary formats, reflecting unique insight into LGBTQIA+ themes, issues, or ideas.
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Best LGBTQIA+ Short: RIPE!, directed by Tusk (Olivia Mitchell and Kerry Furrh)
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Audience Award Winner: Re-Entry, directed by Ariel Mahler
The SAVFF LGBTQIA+ Short Film Competition Presented by Amazon MGM Studios jury members included David Canfield (staff writer at Vanity Fair), Anthony Allen Ramos (vice president of communications and talent at GLAAD), Adam Keen (Co-Head, Global Film PR, Amazon) Rachel Shatto (editor in chief at Equal Pride) and Seth Fradkoff (Senior Vice President, Publicity, Amazon MGM Studios).
Student Competition
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Best Narrative Student Short – El Alma de la Sed, directed by Colleen Ryan, Savannah College of Art and Design
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Honorable Mention: Desync, directed by Minerva Marie Navasca, Sheridan College
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Best Student Animated Short – High Diver, directed by Oscar Bittner, Filmakademie Baden Württemberg
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Special Jury Honorable Mention: The Nectar Instead for Excellence in Craftsmanship, directed by Yoo Lee, University of Southern California
The 2024 festival's Student / Animation jury members included Henry Selick (Director), Daniel Casey (Netflix Animation), Madison Egan (Tribeca Film), Andy Cohen (Grade A Entertainment), Kyle Bell (Animator) and Mandy Tankerson (SVP, Head of Production, Sony Imageworks).
The 2024 festival's Doc Shorts jury members included Doug Blush (Mad Pix), Rivea Ruff (Entertainment editor), Liselle Feingold, Juliet Blake (Producer) and Myra Scheer (PR Consultant/Sirius XM Co-Host).
The Inaugural Katie Spikes Legacy Award Scholarship
Katie Spikes was a senior story editor for CBS 60 Minutes and a beloved friend of the SCAD Savannah Film Festival for many years after her passing in 2023 the Katie Spikes Legacy Scholarship was created to honor excellence in filmmaking by a SCAD student.
This inaugural winner will receive a $7,000 cash prize. The 2024 festival's Katie Spikes Legacy jury members include Alison Owen (Producer), Lynn Hirshfield, Myra Scheer, June Dowad, Andy Cohen (Grade A Entertainment), Juiet Blake, and Amy Gray.
Global Shorts Forum
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Best Visions de France: Yuck!, directed by Loïc Espuche
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Honorable Mention for Social Impact: Monochrome, directed by Cedric Prevost
The 2024 festival's Global Shorts jury members included Ben Thompson (Tribeca Festival Shorts Programmer), Chris Lane, Stevie Wong (Journalist), Lynn Hirshfield (Producer) and June Dowad.
Shorts Spotlight
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Best Comic Distortions: Idiomatic, directed by Phil Dunster
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Best After Dark Horror Short: Wake, directed by Sean Carter
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Best Femme Forward: Vlog, directed by Yvonne Strahovski
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Best Shorts Spotlight: A Family Portrait, Queens, directed by Billy Silva
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Best Professional Documentary Short: Good Enough Ancestor, Directed by Cynthia Wade
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Honorable Mention: I'm Still Here: A Life on Dynamite Hill, directed by Stephen Stinson and Sam Miller
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Jury Award Honorable Mention: Les Bêtes for Craftsmanship in Animation
The 2024 festival's Short Spotlight jury members included Greg Sorvig (Heartland Film), Kaila York (Director/Producer), Katherine Tulich (Journalist, HFPA/Australia) and Sibella Dowad (Producer).
This year, the SCAD Savannah Film Festival honored Amy Adams (Outstanding Achievement in Cinema Award), Marisa Abela (Next Gen Award), Pamela Anderson (Marquee Award), Jerry Bruckheimer (Legend of Entertainment Award),Jodie Comer (Etoile Award), Kevin Costner (Legend of Cinema Award), Kieran Culkin (Virtuoso Award), Colman Domingo (Spotlight Award), Karla Sofía Gascón (Distinguished Performance Award), Kathryn Hahn (Spotlight in Television Award), Jharrel Jerome (Lumiere Award), Felicity Jones (Spotlight Award), Pablo Larraín (Auteur Award), Richard Linklater (Lifetime Achievement in Screenwriting Award),Natasha Lyonne (Maverick Award), Mikey Madison (Breakthrough Award), Isabela Merced (Rising Star Award), Steve McQueen (Outstanding Achievement in Directing Award),Demi Moore (Icon Award), Lupita Nyong´o (Virtuosos Award), Margaret Qualley (Luminary Award), Jason Reitman (Vanguard Director Award), Daisy Ridley (Lumiere Award), RaMell Ross (Breakthrough Director Award), Zoe Saldaña (Vanguard Award), Chris Sanders (Icon of Animation Award), and Sebastian Stan(Maverick Award). The Piano Lesson was honored with the Ensemble Award, with attendees at the Festival includingDanielle Deadwyler, Michael Potts, Skylar Aleece Smith, John David Washington and Malcom Washington. Variety in partnership with the SCAD Savannah Film Festival feted Colleen Atwood with the Variety Creative Impact Award in Costume Design Award at a screening of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Entertainment Weekly also announced their Breaking Big honorees for 2024, which include Austin Abrams, Monica Barbaro, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Ethan Herisse, Ebony Obsidian and Savannah Lee Smith. This panel took place Friday, Nov. 1 at the festival.
