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	Program Director Mark Urycki

WKSU's Mark Urycki reports:

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AWARD WINNERS FROM THE 32 ANNUAL CIFF:


AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD WINNERS

ROXANNE T. MUELLER AWARD
The 2008 Cleveland Magazine Roxanne T. Mueller Audience Choice Award for Best Film went to:
One Bad Cat: The Reverend Albert Wagner Story
Directed by Thomas G. Miller, USA

Runners-Up to the Cleveland Magazine Roxanne T. Mueller Audience Choice Award for Best Film this year were:
Young@Heart
Directed by Stephen Walker, United Kingdom and USA

Bliss
Directed by Abdullah Oguz, Turkey and Greece

Iron Ladies of Liberia
Directed by Daniel Junge and Siatta Scott Johnson, USA and Liberia

Under the Same Moon
Directed by Patricia Riggen, USA and Mexico

She's A Boy I Knew
Directed by Gwen Haworth, Canada

GREG GUND MEMORIAL STANDING UP FILM COMPETITION
The selections included in Standing Up are films with a conscience. Standing Up celebrates social justice and activism by presenting films with messages that cannot and should not be ignored.

Thanks to the generosity of The George Gund Foundation and the establishment of an endowment in memory of Greg Gund, Standing Up and its $5,000 cash prize will remain a permanent part of the Cleveland International Film Festival.

Determined by audience vote, the 2008 Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Film Competition Award went to:

Iron Ladies of Liberia
Directed by Daniel Junge and Siatta Scott Johnson, USA and Liberia

AMERICAN INDEPENDENT AWARD
The winner of the $2,500 cash prize for the 2008 American Independent Film Competition as determined by audience vote was:
Under the Same Moon
Directed by Patricia Riggen, USA and Mexico

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN FILM COMPETITION
This competition is generously sponsored by George Gund and Iara Lee. The winner of the $10,000 cash prize for the Central and Eastern European Film Competition was:

Travelling With Pets
Directed by Vera Storozheva, Russia

The three jurors this year were: Nancy Collet, founder of NCI Film Consulting whose clients include the Toronto International Film Festival, Netflix, the Middle East International Film Festival, the Malibu Celebration of Film, and Heartland Truly Moving Pictures; Howard Feinstein, film editor for the "Village Voice," and writer for such publications as the "Guardian," "Vanity Fair," "GQ," the "New York Post," "Filmmaker," "Indiewire," "Out," and "Detour;" and Gary McVey, a longtime executive at Filmex, the Los Angeles film festival, who then co-directed and directed its successor, the AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival.

NESNADNY + SCHWARTZ DOCUMENTARY FILM COMPETITION
This competition is generously sponsored by Nesnadny + Schwartz. The winner of the $5,000 cash prize for the 2008 Nesnadny + Schwartz Documentary Film Competition was:

Out of Time
Directed by Harald Friedl, Austria

The three jurors were: Norman Aladjem, head of the international and independent film packaging and financing unit at Paradigm; Dean Otto, Film/Video Assistant Curator at the Walker Art Center; and Basil Tsiokos, Artistic Director for NewFest: The New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Film Festival.

INDEPENDENT SHORTS JURY AWARDS PROGRAM
The jurors were: Ivan Schwarz, Executive Director of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission; Terrance Spivey, Artistic Director of Karamu House; and Jacquie F. Talbott, Executive Director of Community Shares. They awarded the following prizes:

Best Animated Short Film Award
Sponsored by Fusion Filmworks ($1,000)

I Met the Walrus
Directed by Josh Raskin, USA

Best Documentary Short Film Award
Sponsored by Jules and Fran Belkin ($1,000)

The Tribe
Directed by Tiffany Shlain, USA

Best International Short Film Award
Sponsored by Mike and Nicki Cancelliere ($1,000)

Fair Trade " Winner
Directed by Michael Dreher, Germany

Soft " Honorable Mention
Directed by Simon Ellis, United Kingdom

Best LGBT Short Film: Given in Celebration of the Life of Nikki Babbit
Sponsored by Jamie and Harold Babbit ($1,000)

The Knockout
Directed by Trevor White, USA

Best Live Action Short Film Award
Co-sponsored by Anne Bloomberg and Alan Gordon Lipson & Judy Harris ($1,000)

Bitch " Winner
Directed by Lilah Vandenburgh, USA

Hesitation " Honorable Mention
Directed by Virginia Gilbert, France



Best Student Short Film Award
Sponsored by Mike and Nicki Cancelliere ($1,000)

In the Name of the Son
Directed by Harun Mehmedinovic, USA

Best Women's Short Film Award
Sponsored by Jinny and John Johnson ($1,000)

Plus or Minus: A Few Things I Thought I Should Consider
Directed by Amanda Sweikow, USA

The Clover and Maggie Award: In Celebration of Life
Sponsored by Barbara Hawley and David Goodman ($1,000)

Tripe and Onions " Winner
Directed by Marton Szirmai, Hungary

The Job " Honorable Mention
Directed by Jonathan Browning, USA

Jesse Epstein Humanitarian Award
Sponsored by Kodak Motion Picture Film ($1,000)

Salim Baba
Directed by Tim Stern, USA

Kodak Best Ohio Short Film Award
Sponsored by Kodak Motion Picture Film ($1,500 in Kodak film stock)

Make A Wish
Directed by Cherien Dabis, USA/PALESTINE

Process Award for Visual Excellence
Sponsored by Process Creative Studios ($1,000)

God Only Knows
Directed by Mark V. Reyes, USA

The Spalding Award: In Celebration of Joy
Sponsored by Marcie Goodman and John C. Williams ($1,000)

The Substitute - Winner
Directed by Andrea Jublin, Italy
El Regalo (The Gift) - Honorable Mention
Directed by Stuart Altman, USA

The 2008 Cleveland State University Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film
The $1,000 prize was awarded to:

Conviction: The True Story of Clarence Elkins
Directed by Mike West, USA

Runners-up to the CSU Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film were:

Tripe and Onions
Directed by Marton Szirmai, Hungary

The Mozart of Pickpockets
Directed by Philippe Pollet-Villard, France

Happy New Year
Directed by K. Lorrell Manning, USA

Deface
Directed by John Arlotto, USA

Web Resources

Cleveland Film Festival trailer and details