As SXSW basks in the Oscar afterglow Everything, everywhere, all at oncewhich started out of competition last year, the winners of the jury and special awards for the 30th edition of the film and television festival have been announced.
The top prize in the Narrative Feature competition went to Paris Zarcilla’s horror picture Angry Mercy. The film follows Joy, an undocumented Filipino immigrant who struggles to do what is best for her daughter Grace when she lands the perfect job: caring for an extremely wealthy but incurable old man. The new position is well paid and guarantees a roof over your head. But soon Joy and Grace realize that all is not as it seems. The jury said that the “delicious mix of horror, story and late-night humor heralds the arrival of an exciting new screen talent” and called Angry Mercy“Open and elusive, a film that subverts expectations on its way to a thrilling ending.”
In competition documentary, director/screenwriter Ken August Meyer Angel applicant received top honors. The film is an autobiographical story of the disease and a haunting work of art history. The jury said: “Angel applicant illustrates the experiences of Meyer and artist Paul Klee with scleroderma in intimate, thoughtful, very thoughtful detail—captivating to a viewer unfamiliar with the creators or the disease. The result is a year-long venture that is breathtaking, powerful and unforgettable.”
Won the TV Pilot competition awardadult, by showrunner/director/writer Jocko Sims. The story is about a teenager trying to get ahead after losing his father.
Claudette Godfrey, VP, Flm & TV, said: “What an exceptional week of film and television premieres here at SXSW, with more to come on Saturday. Our theaters are overflowing with enthusiastic audiences celebrating the extraordinary and diverse work of our cast, and we’re so excited to celebrate this year’s Jury and Special Award winners!
“Our hearts also burst with joy for Daniels, who first brought her work to SXSW 11 years ago and won our music video competition. It is indescribable that we were able to celebrate the Opening Night Film last year Everything, everywhere, all at once and her seven Academy Awards. We know that tonight at the Paramount Theater, another SXSW filmmaker will live out his own creative dreams and achieve feats he can’t currently imagine!
SXSW runs through March 19 with audience awards yet to be determined.
These are the winners of the Film & TV Awards 2023:
Grand Jury Awards for Feature Films
STORY FEATURE MATCH
Winner: Angry Mercy
Director/Writer: Paris Zarcilla, Producer: Chi Thai
Special Jury Prize for Performance: Courtney Eaton (parachute)
Special Jury Prize for Camera: eric branko, story ave
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
Winner: Angel applicant
Director/Writer: Ken August Meyer; Producers: Ken A Meyer, Jason Roark
Special Jury Prize for Innovation in Storytelling: Another body
Director: Sophie Compton, Reuben Hamlyn; Producers: Elizabeth Woodward, Sophie Compton, Reuben Hamlyn; Screenwriters: Sophie Compton, Reuben Hamlyn, Isabel Freeman
GRAND JURY SHORT FILM AWARDS
HISTORY BRIEF MATCH
Winner: It turns blue
Director/Writer: Shadi Karamroudi; Producers: Shadi Karamroudi, Mehran Noori, Mina Dreki, Theodora Valentis
Special Jury Prize: Flores del Otro terrace
Director: Jorge Cadena; Screenwriters: Jorge Cadena, Li Aparicio Candama; Producers: Yan Decoppet, Gabriela Bussmann
DOCUMENTARY SHORT MATCH
Winner: Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (Grandmother and Grandmother)
Director: Sean Wang; Producers: Sean Wang, Sam Davis
Special Jury Prize: Suddenly TV
Director/Producer: Roopa Gogineni
MIDNIGHT SHORTS
Winner: The flute
Director: Nick Roney; Screenwriters: Nick Roney, Ed Leer; Producers: Brendan Garrett, Ryland Burns
Special Jury Prize: pennies from heaven
Director: Sandy Honey; Screenwriters: Sandy Honig, Annabel Meschke, Sabina Meschke; Producer: Jake Honey
ANIMATED SHORTS
Winner: The debutante
Director/Writer: Elizabeth Hobbs, Producer: Abigail Addison
Special Jury Prize for Animation Direction: Tom CJ Brown, Christopher by the sea
MUSIC VIDEOS
Winner: Amanda Sum – “Different Than Before”
Director/Writer: Mayumi Yoshida
Special Jury Prize: Residente – “This Ain’t America” ft. Ibeyi’
Directed by Gregory Ohrel
TEXAS SHORTS
Winner: break the silence
Director: Amy Bench, Annie Silverstein; Producers: Monique Walton, Amy Bench
Special Jury Prize: When you left me on this boulevard
Director/Writer: Kayla Abuda Galang; Producers: Alifya Ali, Kayla Abuda Galang, David Oconer, Udoy Rahim, Samantha Skinner
COMPETITION FOR TV FLYING
Winner: Adult
Showrunner/Director/Writer: Jocko Sims; Producers: Jocko Sims, Christopher Santiago, Chaz Hazlitt, Andrew Zolot
Special jury prize for outstanding achievements: jos fadem, harbor island
COMPETITION FOR POSTER DESIGN
Winner: eye tendon
Designer: Javier Devitt
Special Jury Prize: Riders in the Storm
Designer: Casey Moore
Directed by Jason Motlagh, Mark Oltmanns
XR EXPERIENCE COMPETITION
Winner: Consensus Gentium
Director/Writer: Karen Palmer; Producers: Tom Millen, Thalia Mavros, Jackson Lapsley Scott, Tuyet Huynh
Special Jury Prize: body of me
Director/Producer/Writer: Cameron Kostopoulos
SXSW special prices
Janet Pierson Championship Award
Winner: Lizzie Shapiro (Story Avenue, Parachute)
Louis Black Lone Star Award
Winner: The Diaries of Lady Bird
Director: Dawn Porter; Producers: Kim Reynolds, Dawn Porter
Special Jury Prize: The Herricans
Director: Olivia Kuan; Producers: James Lee Hernandez, Brian Lazarte, Lisa France, James Short, Olivia Kuan, Justin Baldoni, Andrew Calof
Thunderbird Rising Award Winners: Paris Zarcilla, Angry Mercy
Thunderbird Rising Special Price: brittany snow, parachute
Hope Award Winners: Still: A Michael J. Fox movie
Director: Davis Guggenheim; Producers: Davis Guggenheim, Annetta Marion, Jonathan King, Will Cohen
The Hope Special Price: Confessions of a Good Samaritan
Director: Penny Lane, Producer: Gabriel Sedgwick
Adam Yauch Hörnblower Prize
Offered: Chronicles of a Walking Saint
Director/Screenplay: Tomas Gomez Bustillo; Producers: Gewan Brown, Amanda Freedman
ZEISS Film Award
Winner: fantasy dance
Cinematographer: Carolina Costa, AMC
Source: Deadline
Ashley Root is an author and celebrity journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a keen eye for all things celebrity, Ashley is always up-to-date on the latest gossip and trends in the world of entertainment.
