Documentary Fest Rolls Out Red Carpet For Winners

MEDIA RELEASE:
Documentary Festival Rolls Out Red Carpet For Winners

The truth-seekers of cinema held their own version of the Oscars tonight, as the DOCNZ 2009 Film Festival hosted their annual awards night. Held at Auckland’s Hopetoun Alpha, more than 250 guests including politicians, media and members of the broadcasting industry were present at the 8pm ceremony that saw Broadcasting Minister Dr. Jonathan Coleman give the keynote address.

(A full list of nominees and winners is attached to this release.)

The big winner of the night was New Zealand director Stuart Page, who picked up the prize for Best New Zealand Feature to go along with the Staples Rodway Best Emerging New Zealand Filmmaker award for his documentary Shustak. The film is exploration of the legacy of enigmatic radical Lawrence Shustak, a pop-culture philosopher who left New York in the 1970s and later set up the photography department at the University of Canterbury. Page is probably best-known for directing the infamous 1987 AFFCO music video for the Skeptics.

The Kirsty MacDonald-directed Assume Nothing was singled out for special mention in the New Zealand Competition – Feature category.

Winner for the New Zealand Competition – Short section was the Susan Potter-directed film An Ordinary Person ,which is a critical examination of the “homosexual panic” legal defense that saw the killer of Auckland man David McNee escape a murder conviction.

The Screenrights Best Educational Documentary was won by Monique Oomen’s The Last Western Heretic, a look at the life and trials of prominent Wellington theologian Lloyd Geering.

In the International Competition – Feature section the Steve James and Peter Gilbert-directed death penalty film At the Death House Door picked up the supreme award. Directors Leon Gellera and Marcus Vetter’s Israeli-Palestinian organ-transplant story The Heart of Jenin earned a special mention in the same category. Directors Juan Diego Spoerer and Hakan Engstrom won the International Competition – Short section for Don Roberto’s Shadow.

In the technical categories:
• Heddy Honigmann was awarded the prize for Best Director for her film El Olvido (Oblivion).
• Francis Verster won the title of Best Editor for Sea Point Days.
• John Collins and Ian Kerr won Best Cinematographer for their work on The Wild Horse Redemption.

The 2009 DOCNZ Festival takes place in Auckland (February 26 – March 8), Wellington (March 12 – 22) and Christchurch/Dunedin (March 26 – April 5). The full programme is available at www.docnz.org.nz.

DOCNZ 2009 Film Festival Awards

FULL LIST OF FINALISTS AND NOMINEES

International Competition - Short Documentary
Documentary Name / Director / Country
Don Roberto's Shadow / Juan Diego Spoerer, Hakan Engstrom / Chile/Sweden
Standing Start / Finlay Pretsell, Adrian McDowall / Scotland
Goleshovo / Ilian Metev / Bulgaria/UK

Winner: Don Roberto's Shadow

International Competition – Feature Documentary
Documentary Name / Director / Country
At the Death House Door / Steve James, Peter Gilbert / USA
The Wild Horse Redemption / John Zaritsky / Canada
The Love of Mr An / Yang Lina / China
The Perfect Cappuccino / Amy Ferraris / USA
The Heart of Jenin / Leon Geller, Marcus Vetter / Germany/Israel

Winner: At the Death House Door
Special Mention: The Heart of Jenin

New Zealand Competition –Short Documentary
Documentary Name / Director / Country
An Ordinary Person / Susan Potter / NZ
Chance of a Lifetime / Sandy Crichton / NZ
Rev Therapy / Luke Wheeler / NZ

Winner: An Ordinary Person

New Zealand Competition–Feature Documentary
Documentary Name / Director / Country
Assume Nothing / Kirsty MacDonald / NZ
TOKI Does New York / Dan Salmon / NZ
The Last Western Heretic / Monique Oomen / NZ
Shustak / Stuart Page / NZ
Architect of Dreams / Geoffrey Cawthorn / NZ

Winner: Shustak
Special Mention: Assume Nothing
Best Emerging NZ Filmmaker
Director / Documentary Name / Country
Sandy Crichton / Chance of a Lifetime / NZ
Stuart Page / Shustak / NZ
Susan Potter / An Ordinary Person / NZ

Winner: Stuart Page, Shustak

Screenrights Best Educational Documentary
Documentary Name / Director / Country
The Last Western Heretic / Monique Oomen / NZ
Architect of Dreams / Geoffrey Cawthorn / NZ
An Ordinary Person / Susan Potter / NZ

Winner: The Last Western Heretic

Best Editor
Documentary Name / Editor / Country
Recipes for Disaster / Niels Pagh Andersen / Finland
Sea Point Days / François Verster / South Africa
Oblivion / Danniel Danniel, Jessica de Koning / Netherlands/Germany

Winner: François Verster , Sea Point Days

Best Cinematographer
Documentary Name / Cinematographer / Country
Sea Point Days / François Verster,
Peter Liechti / South Africa
The Wild Horse Redemption / John Collins, Ian Kerr / Canada
Another Planet / Tibor Mathé H.S.C. / Hungary,Belgium,Finland

Winner: John Collins, Ian Kerr ,The Wild Horse Redemption

Best Director
Documentary Name / Director / Country
Oblivion / Heddy Honigmann / Netherlands/Germany
Suddenly, Last Winter / Gustav Hofer, Luca Ragazzi / Italy
The Love of Mr. An / Yang Lina / China
Body of War / Phil Donahue, Ellen Spiro / USA

Winner: Heddy Honigmann , Oblivion

ENDS

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