The Feel Good Film Festival (FGFF)
announces the award winners for its inaugural film festival with Jim
Pasternak’s CERTIFIABLY JONATHAN as the winner of the Grand Jury Prize
for Best Feel Good Feature Film and Michael Berry’s MIRA named as the
winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Feel Good Short Film.Audience
Awards went to Christopher Watson’s THE RAINBOW TRIBE for Feel Good
Feature and Berry’s MIRA for Feel Good Short. The Feel Good
Cinematography Award went to Jim Orr’s work on Rocco DeVilliers’ THE
FLYBOYS, and the Student Feel Good Film Awards went to Phil Hodges’
FIRST BASS (20-21 year old division) and Lisa Kowalski’s THE LAST
CHERRY (19 year old and under division). The IndieFlix award went to
Paul Germain’s SPEEDY DELIVERY (which brought with it a $1000 cash
prize.)
Noah Edelson’s “Hear, Boy!” won the Feel Good Screenplay Competition and Alyssa Suede won the Feel Good Original Song Competition for her song, “Falling From Mars.”
Pasternak
was presented with a prize package of $14,000 ($4000 in goods and
services from Hollywood Rentals, $4000 in goods and services from Dalsa
cameras, $2500 in goods and services from Panther Dollies and Cranes,
$2500 in film stock from Fujifilm, and $1000 in unrestricted cash from
FGFF) as the winner of the Best Feel Good Feature Length Film.
Berry
received a prize package of $4000 ($1000 in unrestricted cash from
FGFF, and $1000 in goods and services from Panther Dollies and Cranes,
Hollywood Rentals, and Dalsa cameras) for winning the Best Feel Good
Short Film.
$2500 in goods and services
from Panther Dollies and Cranes was given to Orr along with his award
for Best Feel Good Cinematography, and unrestricted cash prizes from
FGFF went to Edelson and Campbell for the Best Feel Good Screenplay
($1000) and Best Feel Good Original Song ($500), respectively.
Hodges
and Kowalski received four-week complimentary tuition packages at the
New York Film Academy as the winners of the Feel Good Student Film
category.
Kristen Ridgway, FGFF Director,
said, “Our first year exceeded everyone’s most hopeful expectations
from the number of great films we were able to program, the
participation of the filmmakers, sponsors and vendors, to the
tremendous audience support we had over the course of the weekend. We
obviously tapped into a serious need for the indie film community and
the people who love watching indie films to deliver something dedicated
toward the lighter and more uplifting side of filmmaking. And we look
very forward to doing that for years to come.”
The
festival featured 53 films, including 15 features, 31 shorts, and 7
student films. Along with the films offered throughout the festival,
Rainn Wilson served as host for the Opening Night Gala, an original
screenplay competition, and the festival featured innovations such as
its Original Song Competition with performances by the nominated
artists themselves in the Egyptian Theater Courtyard, and an outdoor
bazaar highlighted by “green” and health-oriented vendors. The festival
also presented a panel discussion on issues facing the creators of
family themed entertainment featuring Tom Kenny (“SpongeBob
SquarePants”), Paul Tibbitt (Exec Prod “SpongeBob SquarePants”), Butch
Hartman (Creator “Fairly Odd Parents”), Scott Fellows ( before the
weekend concluded Sunday evening with a Closing Night Awards Gala
hosted by Tom Kenny (“Sponge Bob Square Pants”) concluding with a
Tribute to film and comedy legend, Jonathan Winters.
While
Winters was not able to attend the ceremony himself, Karen and Kat
Kramer (the widow and daughter of director Stanley Kramer and long time
friends of Winters – who had starred in Kramer’s IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD
MAD WORLD) accepted on Winters’ behalf before CERTIFIABLY JONATHAN
director Pasternak connected Winters on a miked cell phone so he could
thank the FGFF for the award and introduce the film to the appreciative
audience.
These days it's tough to see an independent film that does not revolve around some sort of cynicism (Juno), nihilism (No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood), or some other dark subject matter. In spite of this, Kristen Ridgeway created the 1st annual Feel Good Film Festival which took place August 22-24th at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. IFD was there to mark the event, meet the filmmakers, and promote the 
