Great Great Great Takes Top CFF Award
by Staff
(March 27, 2017 – Toronto, ON) The 11th edition of the Canadian Film Fest (CFF) wrapped last night with the announcement of the 2017 winners. This year’s top honours go to Adam Garnet Jones’ Great Great Great, a film that took home the award for Best Feature, Best Performance in a Feature Film, as well as Best Screenplay, and director John Ainslie was awarded for Best Short for she came knocking. This year’s People’s Pick for Best Flick went to Edging and the William F. White Reel Canadian Indie award that includes a $5,000 gift certificate went to Chris Scheuerman for Lost Solace. Not only did April Mullen’s Badsville win the nod of approval from the Ontario branch of the Directors Guild of Canada for Best Director, but the film also earned Best Costume Design, a prize that was juried by the CAFTCAD. Filth City was awarded Best Comedy as well as Best Performance by an Ensemble. Alan Bacchus from the Harold Greenberg Fund (HGF) was on hand to announce the winners for this year’s CFF/HGF Screenwriting Competition, with the Grand Prize of $10,000 in development funding going to Alison Parker for her screenplay, Log.
“This was an exceptional year for us on all accounts,” said CFF Founder and Director Bern Euler. “Narrowing down a list of winners from such a stellar line up was a challenging task for our jurors and we are so proud of the films we presented this year. The enthusiastic audiences that filled the sold out screenings in our new home at the Scotiabank Theatre Toronto prove that Canadians have a solid appetite for quality home-grown products.”
Following are the 2017 CANADIAN FILM FEST AWARD WINNERS:
BEST FEATURE
Great Great Great
Adam Garnet Jones
BEST SHORT
she came knocking
John Ainslie
PEOPLE’S PICK FOR BEST FLICK
Edging
WILLIAM F. WHITE REEL CANADIAN INDIE
Lost Solace
Chris Scheuerman
DGC BEST DIRECTOR AWARD
Badsville
April Mullen
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Juried by CAFTCAD
Badsville
CANADIAN FILM FEST SPECIAL JURY AWARDS
The 2017 jury consisted of three professionals from different areas of the industry including Alex Boothby (owner of Gang Green Productions), Christine Bujis (Director of Divorce Photographer) and Tim Smythe-Bishop (President, TSB Consulting). They selected the following awards:
BEST COMEDY
Filth City
BEST FIRST FEATURE
Modern Classic
J.M.B. Hunter
BEST SCREENPLAY
Great Great Great
Sarah Kolasky & Adam Garnet Jones
BEST PERFORMANCE – FEATURE FILM
Great Great Great
Sarah Kolasky
BEST PERFORMANCE – SHORT FILM
Parent Teacher
John Phillips
BEST PERFORMANCE – ENSEMBLE
Filth City
BEST BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE
Sunny Side Up
Peyton Kennedy
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Lost Solace
Thomas Billingsley
BEST DIRECTOR, SHORT
Rainfall
Efehan Elbi
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE – SHORT FILM
The Cameraman
Director Connor Gaston
THE 2017 CANADIAN FILM FEST – HAROLD GREENBERG SCREENPLAY CONTEST
The Canadian Film Fest and the Harold Greenberg Fund are proud partners on this unique opportunity for screenwriters. Each year, the CFF Harold Greenberg Script Competition is open to Canadian screenwriters who’ve written a feature-length screenplay and who are looking for financial development support. This year’s winner and runner up are:
GRAND PRIZE WINNER:
Alison Parker for her script, Log
Not only did Alison win $10,000 in development funding, but also a Harold Greenberg executive who was involved in the selection of the winning script will provide feedback on the script as well as guidance throughout one development round.
RUNNER UP
Roslyn Muir for her script, Matter
Roslyn wins a pass to the Toronto Screenwriting Conference taking place April 22-23, 2017.
