2009 Winners

Features

First place: Bronx Paradise, Wayne Gurman, Bronx, NY. Ride Shotgun with Wayne as he bulls his way through the Bronx, picking up his trigger happy best friend, John (John Palaumbo) a racist mafia killer with a penchant for violence. See Wayne as he stalks deadbeats like ‘Harry the Jew’ (Dennis Paladino) or being shadowed by “The Ghouls” “(Biagio Tripodi) an invalid attached to an oxygen tank, whose dream is to become a cocaine dealer like his idol Wayne. To make matters worse, “Little Mike” (Tim Cinnante) and Nicky (Peter Bongiorno) two neighborhood psychos are robbing and killing in the middle of the night and have plans of their own. While their boss “Frankie Sunshine”, (Ralph Squillante) brightens the neighborhood by cutting down anybody who gets in his way.

Second place: Target Practice, Richmond Riedel, Woodland Hills, CA. 5 friends, on a weekend fishing trip in the mountains, stumble upon an undercover operation involving a CIA agent and a hidden training camp for homegrown terrorists. Suddenly these 5 normal, everyday guys find themselves caught in a deadly struggle for which they are completely unprepared -- a struggle that quickly escalates into a full-scale mini-war against a cunning, brutal enemy and against their own simmering hatreds, prejudices, and conflicting loyalties.

Third place: Teen-Aged, Lane Middleton, Raleigh, NC. Michael Wilson was always afraid of being who he wanted to be. At 17, when Michael finds himself in a hospital after a car accident, he has a realization that will change his life forever. This sudden realization shows Michael how fragile life is, and that living it to the fullest, not caring what others think, is in fact the way to live.

Documentary

First place: The Last Dance, Keith Newman, Athens, OH. Documentary features David Hostetler's entire body of work, with a focus on "The Last Dance," a recent sculpture that is in the David Hostetler, Wood and Bronze Sculpture exhibition that opened Oct. 12, 2007 at the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum at SVSU. Producer Keith Newman and director Casey Hayward were given unlimited access to Hostetler and his vast archives; their film is the first documentary to feature him. An accomplished sculptor, Hostetler's work has been included in over 200 group shows and has been the subject of one-person exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the United States. His work also is in numerous public collections, including Trump International Hotel & Tower, New York; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Kennedy Library, Boston; Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio; Columbus (Ohio) Museum of Art; Milwaukee (Wis.) Museum; Speed Museum, Louisville, Ky.; Montgomery (Ala.)Museum of Fine Art; and De Cordova Museum, Lincoln, Mass. "You will see the process from the moment the tree is cut down to the finished product, a beautiful female form, one of David's stunning women," said Newman. David Hostetler is a graduate of Indiana University and was awarded a Master of Fine Arts degree from Ohio University where he taught for 37 years. He retired from teach as a full professor of sculpture in 1985 and is now Professor Emeritus.

Second place: Bonecrusher, Michael Fountain, Lewes, DE. In the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, a young coal miner named Lucas Chaffin toils one mile underground in a dangerous mine. Despite the harsh working conditions, Lucas takes fierce pride in the fact that he’s carrying on a family tradition. A fourth generation miner, working inside the earth is more than just a job to Lucas. He believes it’s his duty; a responsibility symbolized by the old coal hammer that he uses. It is the same hammer that was used for 26 years by the man he loves more than anything: his father, Luther Chaffin. Luther—nicknamed “Bone Crusher” — was once a strong, handsome man. But now, at age 61, he’s withered and sick; cancer-causing coal dust has ravaged his lungs. And he knows his fate. He watched his own father die this way. But instead of worrying about himself, Luther is more concerned for Lucas. He wants his son to get out of the mines before it’s too late, but Lucas can’t bring himself to quit—no matter what the cost. This film is an intimate, moving account of the love between a father and son, and the unbreakable bond they share. It’s also a stark journey to the coal fields of Dante, Virginia where a tight-knit community of miners and their families face their harsh life with a toughness and camaraderie as enduring as the earth itself.

Screenplay

First place: “Beyond the Horizon,” George Ferris, Cevy Chase, MD.

Second place: “Ridge Runner” Gary Bullock, Balsam Grove, NC

Third place: “Agony House” C.B. Wilson, Ruther Glen, VA

Short

First place: Open Air, David Paterson, Manhasset, N.Y. Young Filmmaker. In an unnamed conflict in an unnamed country, two women, DREENA, ('Munich's' Lynn Cohen), and Anna, (Agata Domanska) struggle to maintain some form of normality in their lives,all the while trapped from fleeing their homes due to an unseen sniper, who keeps the two women forever on guard.

Second place: Bears Discover Fire, Gordon BELL, Brookyn, N.Y.

Young Filmmaker

First place: The Dying Western, Colin Studebaker, Athens, OH. In The Dying Western, Howard obsessively pursues his dreams to be the next John Wayne, but has only been successful at playing dying extras in western movies. Set in 1960’s Hollywood, Howard’s steadfast commitment to his work gets in the way of his relationships at home as he practices for his roles by faking his death on a near-nightly basis. These playful imitations grow competitive when his wife June is diagnosed with cancer and Howard becomes convinced that she is trying to “out-die” him.

Second place: Canines, Blake Pruitt, Westminster, MO. Canines is a documentary about the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) Police K9 Unit. Created in the summer of 2007, this 11-minute film provides an insight into the daily life of the people who protect our buses, subways, and transit systems.

Micro-Film

First place: A Bad Case of Lycanthropy, Michael Valentine, Huntington, WV.

Second place: Null, Jacob Richardson, Marietta, GA

Past Winners

Click below to see:

• 2008 winners

• 2007 winners

• 2006 winners

• 2005 winners

• 2004 winners