56th AAFF AWARDS

The Ann Arbor Film Festival is proud to announce the award recipients for the 56th AAFF as chosen by our esteemed jurors: Ephraim Asili, Rea Tajiri, and Cecelia Condit. Thank you filmmakers and artists for bringing remarkable and diverse works to our festival and thank you to everyone who attended and participated in another successful festival week!
 
 
 The Ann Arbor Film Festival provides direct support to filmmakers. Our 2018 awards competition presents $22,500 to filmmakers through cash and in-kind awards that include camera equipment and digital scanning services. Winning an award at the AAFF can qualify filmmakers for Oscar® nomination by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the short film category (qualifying awards are Best of Festival, Best Experimental Film, Best Animation, and Best Narrative).

 
 56th Ann Arbor Film Festival Awards:
 
 

Ken Burns Award for Best of the Festival:

Watching the Detectives - Chris Kennedy
 
 Tom Berman Award for Most Promising Filmmaker:

Ayesha - Yanyu Dong
 
 Kodak Cinematic Vision Award:
 Camera Threat - Bernd Lützeler

 Best Experimental Film:

165708 - Josephine Massarella
 
 Michael Moore Award for Best Documentary Film:

Did You Wonder Who Fired the Gun? - Travis Wilkerson
 
 Lawrence Kasdan Award for Best Narrative Film:

The Impossible Picture - Sandra Wollner
 
 Chris Frayne Award for Best Animated Film:

SPLIT: Annihilation - Robbie Ward & Lotus Lantern - Xingpei Shen
 
 Cutters Studios Archival Film Award:

Nothing a Little Soap and Water Can’t Fix - Jen Proctor
 
 Gil Omenn Art & Science Award:

Split: Sunken Treasure - Shanna Maurizi & Silica - Pia Borg
 
 Prix DeVarti for Funniest Film:

Split: LINK - Robert Löbel and Growing Girl - Marnie Ellen Hertzler
 
 The Barbara Aronofsky Latham Award for an Emerging Experimental Video Artist:

Your father was born 100 years old, and so was the Nakba /أبوكي خلق عمره ١٠٠ سنة، زي النكبة - Razan AlSalah
 
 The Eileen Maitland Award:

Shape of a Surface - Nazlı Dinçel
 
 PROCAM Best Regional Filmmaker Award:​

Low Season - Jonathan Johnson
 
 The No Violence Award:

The Stream VII - Hiroya Sakurai
 
 Audience Award:

Strange Case - Zbigniew Czapla
 
 \aut\ FILM Award for Best LGBTQ Film:

Fragments 83 - Richard Millen
 
 George Manupelli Founder’s Spirit Award:

Children Are Not Afraid of Death, Children Are Afraid of Ghosts - Rong Guang Rong
 
 Leon Speakers Award for Best Sound Design:

Ronco Rumor Remoto / Rough Remote Rumble - Jorge López Navarrete
 
 Peter Wilde Award for Most Technically Innovative Film:

When Time Moves Faster - Anna Vasof
 
 Tíos Award for Best International Film:

Honane - Takuya Dairiki, Takashi Miura
 
 Overture/Wazoo Award for Best Music Video:

Stop Speaking - Alisa Yang
 
 Jury Awards:

Strike a Rock - Aliki Saragas
 Those Who Come, Will Hear - Simon Plouffe
 An Empty Threat - Josh Lewis
 How Old Are You? How Old Were You? - Cherlyn Hsing-Hsin Liu