About 60 attendees - mainly student and adult filmmakers - were present at the 2006 Ivy Film Festival awards ceremony to honor young filmmakers in Andrews Dining Hall Sunday morning. The ceremony was as unceremonious as it was warm-hearted: there were no traditional "And the winner is" declarations but instead casual conversations and cheerful applause.
Thirteen honors were awarded in several different categories, including Best Film School Production, Best Short Screenplay and the Ivy Choice Award. Other awards were presented in categories such as drama, comedy, innovative filmmaking and animated films.
The jury for the student films was composed of Michael Showalter '92, the acclaimed actor and co-writer of "Wet Hot American Summer;" Marc Francis, the director of "Black Gold;" Mark Ross, a producer at Maguire Entertainment; David Courier, a senior programmer for Outfest, the Sundance Film Festival and the Berlin Film Festival; and Lisa Gossels, the director of "Children of Chabannes." Of the judges, only Ross, Courier and Gossels attended Sunday's reception, which was also marked by the absences of numerous award winners.
Daniel Falcone, a student at Columbia University, was the most lauded student director and filmmaker. He received two awards, including Best Film School Production for his movie "Night Swimming." One judge said it "gave a fresh new twist to the age-old tale of unrequited love." The judges noted Falcone's lush cinematography, his innovative production design and the depth of meaning he captured in individual shots.
Falcone was also the recipient of the Best Director award and a Canon camcorder from one of the festivals's sponsors, the Open Student Television Network.
Thyra Heder '06, the only Brown student to win an award, received the Best Undergraduate Documentary award for her film "The Bakery."
Brad Wilson, a Cornell University student, was awarded the Best Undergraduate Comedy award for his film "Nun Hunt." Wilson, like other recipients, gave an improvised acceptance speech. "Thanks to everybody who made this possible. ... Thanks to the Catholic Church," he said.
Three students from New York University, Ian Grody, Ido Fluk and Andrew Jenks, were respectively awarded Best Feature Screenplay, Best Undergraduate Drama and the Founder's Award, presented by Ivy Film Festival founder David Peck '03.
The fifth Ivy Film Festival was the most successful to date, gathering more student filmmakers and viewers than ever before, according to its organizers.
"This year's student competition is the best that I have seen in my four years at Brown," Programming Director Bryan Chang '06 told the audience. "I personally grew attached to every film I saw this weekend," he added, praising the "technical level of accomplishment" of the films.
The reception was followed by a final multi-screening of the award-winning films.
