Australia's Oscar foreign film submission, "The Rocket," was among the winners.
The Rocket, Australia's foreign film Oscar submission; The Selfish Giant, made in the U.K.; We Gotta Get Out of This Place, an American indie film directed by Zeke Hawkins and Simon Hawkins; and B for Boy, a Nigerian film, received audience awards.
Grand jury awards were presented to Butter Lamp in the live-action short category, and The Places Where We Lived in the animated short category.
Special jury award winners were Balcony and Syndromeda.
Some of the award-winning films will screen again Wednesday at the Chinese 6 Theatres.
"This year, some extraordinary new artists have burst onto the scene, and we hope that these awards from the audience and the jury will enable their films to reach a wider audience," said festival directorJacqueline Lyanga in a statement. "We hope that the enthusiasm and excitement that our audiences have had for all of the films that we've shown this past week – foreign, American, Independent, experimental, short and documentary – continues and spreads."
Below is more on the winners of AFI Fest, which ran Nov. 7-14 in Los Angeles.
GRAND JURY AWARDS, LIVE ACTION AND ANIMATED SHORT
Live Action Short Film: Butter Lamp.
"The Grand Jury prize for Live Auction caught us by surprise with its spellbinding and poetic simplicity. Traversing hundreds of miles of geography and spanning generations of time without leaving one central location, this film functions as a profound mediation on the practice and effects of image making," stated the jury.
Animated Short: The Places Where We Lived
"This was an exceptionally difficult choice to make. While many of the animations showcase incredible depth and artistry, one film shined through its idiosyncratic use of multiple mediums and humor to provide insight into the filmmaker's heart," stated the jury.
NEW AUTEURS CRITIC'S AWARD
Nothing Bad Can Happen: "The true story of a homeless Christian teenager adopted by an abusive family who tests his ability to turn the other cheek. Many, many bad things happen. But the blessing is discovering first-time filmmaker Katrin Gebbe and her incredible ensemble who have braved their own tests – boos and walkouts, nothing too bloody – in order to bring us this powerful movie and faith and sacrifice," stated the jury.
AUDIENCE AWARDS
World Cinema: The Rocket. DIR Kim Mordaunt. Australia.
New Auteurs: The Selfish Giant. DIR Clio Barnard. U.K.
American Independents: (award accompanied by a $60,000 grant from Panavision) We Gotta Get Out of This Place. DIR Zeke Hawkins, Simon Hawkins. USA.
Breakthrough (award accompanied by a $5,000 cash prize): B for Boy. DIR Chika Anadu. Nigeria.