Editor

The 19th Philadelphia Film Festival (PFF) ended its 10-day celebration of all things cinematic with a closing night screening of Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours on Saturday, October 23 at the Prince Music Theater. The Boyle helmer capped off the October 14-24 event that launched with the Darren Aronofsky opener Black Swan, featuring an appearance and post-screening Q&A session with Aronofsky himself.

This year’s festival featured 216 films, including 100 domestic and international narratives and documentaries, 16 East Coast Premieres, and a strong focus on making national industry professionals aware of the burgeoning Philadelphia film market.

With thousands of patrons contributing to 19 sell-outs and many more near sell-outs, one thing was apparent – the festival was one of the best in years. Amongst these highly regarded films – 127 Hours, The Best and the Brightest, Black Swan, Blue Valentine, Café, Certified Copy, Lebanon, PA, Night Catches Us, OC87-The Obsessive Compulsive Major Depression BiPolar Asperger’s Movie, Tiny Furniture, Unbreakable, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, and White Materialshined.

Other highlights of the festival included special events designed to honor talent with a local tie. PFF welcomed director M. Night Shyamalan, who conducted a 40-minute question and answer session following the 10th Anniversary screening of Unbreakable, starring Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson. Another area local, actor Jamie Kennedy was in attendance for the premiere of Café, directed by Philly-local Marc Erlbaum. And former Philadelphia Phillies Outfielder, Pete Rose, stopped by to introduce a new documentary about his baseball career, 4192: The Crowning of the Hit King.

The 19th Philadelphia Film Festival was made possible thanks to generous support by dozens of area sponsors. The festival would like to thank all our sponsors including:

Official Sponsors: Southwest Airlines, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Hospital, Penn Medicine, The Inquirer, Daily News, Philly.com, Sigma Sound Studios, Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp, Aurora Imaging Company

Patron Sponsors: Dive, Steen Outdoor Advertising, Dock Street Brewing Company, University City District, R2L, Pennsylvania Ballet, 102.9 WMGK, Landmark Theaters, International House Philadelphia, Prince Music Theater

Supporting Sponsors: TD Bank, Amtrak, Magic Hat Brewing Company, Dulce Vida Tequila, The Art Institute of Philadelphia, Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design at Drexel University, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, XIPWIRE, Lumiere Elite
Hotel Sponsors: Best Western, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn, Hoilday Inn Express, Le Meridien Philadelphia, Starwood Hotels & Resorts

Community Sponsors: Greater Philadelphia Film Office, Penn Cinema Studies, Penn Bookstore, Cozen O’Conner, Janney Montgomery Scott L.L.C., Her Energy Drink, Sumo Lounge at Raw, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, Yakitori Boy, Tastykake, Philadelphia Art Alliance, City Tap House, Recess, Moore Brothers Wine Company, Positano Coast Restaurant, Two One Five Magazine

Industry Sponsors: Allied Integrated Marketing, Cashman & Associates, The Nouveau Image, Terry Hines & Associates

Award Announcements:
Best Narrative Feature: Carancho
Special Jury Prize for Best Actor: Emil Abossolo M'Bo in A Screaming Man (dir. Mahamat-Saleh Haroun)
Special Jury Prize for Best Actress: Isabelle Huppert in Copacabana (dir. Marc Fitoussi)
Best Documentary Feature: Life 2.0
Archie Award for Best First Feature: Hesher
Filmadelphia Award for Best Local Feature: Lebanon, PA
Best Short Film: Kelp
Special Jury Prize: Gayby (dir. Jonathan Lisecki)
Special Jury Prize for Best Actor in a short: Pat Healy in Oil Change (dir. Todd Luoto)
Audience Award: Louder Than a Bomb (dir. Greg Jacobs and Jon Siskel)
Spotlights Special Mention: Conviction (dir. Tony Goldwyn)
Masters of Cinema Special Mention: Poetry (dir. Lee Chang-don)
World Narratives Special Mention: Alamar (dir. Pedro González-Rubio)
New French Film Special Mention: The Princess of Montpensier (dir. Bertrand Tavernier)
American Independents Special Mention: The Happy Poet (dir. Paul Gordon)
Sight and Soundtrack Special Mention: LENNONYC (dir. Michael Epstein)
Greater Filmadelphia Special Mention: OC87: The Obsessive Compulsive Major Depression, Bipolar, Aspergers's Movie (dir. Bud Clayman, Scott Johnston and Glen Holsten)
Graveyard Shift Special Mention: The Man From Nowhere (dir. Lee Jeong-beom)
Cinema of Sex Special Mention: Sex Magic (dir. Jonathan Schell and Eric Liebman)