On Sunday, April 22, 2007, the USA Film Festival announced the Winners of the 29th Annual National Short Film and Video Competition during the 37th Annual USA Film Festival in Dallas.

Chosen out of over 600 U.S. entries as Grand Prize Winner, is Benjamin Gray’s The Hunter, based on Tobias Wolff’s short story “Hunters in the Snow.”

The full list of awards and honors includes:

GRAND PRIZE WINNER FIRST PLACE / ANIMATION $1,000
FIRST PLACE / FICTION $1,000 everything will be ok, Don Hertzfeldt, director
The Hunter, Benjamin Gray, director
FIRST PLACE / EXPERIMENTAL $1,000
FIRST PLACE / NON-FICTION $1,000 27,000 Days, Naveen Singh, director
Silences, Octavio Warnock-Graham, director

First Place Winners in the Fiction, Animation and Experimental categories, that meet Academy eligibility requirements, qualify for consideration from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The Family Award $500 Special Jury Awards $250 each
Kemo Sabe, Rana Kazkaz, director Cops: Children’s Literacy Department,
Neil W. Garguilo, director
The Texas Award $500 Dunny, Phillip Van, director
Bitch, Lila Vandenburgh, director Joseph Henry, Phil Allocco, director
Splitting Hairs, Michael Boretz, director
The Student Award $500
The Drill, Joel Davenport, director

The 2007 National Jury included actress and producer Denise Crosby; Mary Jo Pehl, writer and actress; and Michael Takeuchi, writer, journalist, and film programmer.

This year marks the 29th Anniversary of the Academy-qualifying Competition, which has awarded over $200,000 in cash prizes, including prizes to many (then) emerging filmmakers, including Jessica Yu (Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O’Brien), Todd Haynes (Superstar and Dottie Gets Spanked), Alexander Payne (The Passion of Martin), George Hickenlooper (Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade), Alan Taylor (The Burning Question), John Lasseter (Tin Toy), and Ari Sandel (West Bank Story).

Official Sponsors of the 37th Annual USA Film Festival include American Airlines, The Dallas Morning News and QUICK, The Independent Film Channel, Blockbuster Inc., Sundance Channel, The Angelika Film Center, Ticketmaster, CareerLink Companies, Canadian Consulate General, Time Warner Cable, Texas Monthly, and AMC. The USA Film Festival is supported, in part, by the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs.

The Festival is a Dallas-based 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to the encouragement and recognition of excellence in the film and video arts. The Festival’s year-round events include KidFilm®, the oldest and largest children’s film festival in the U.S.; Oscar Night® America/Dallas; monthly screenings; special programs and premieres; and the USA Film Festival, held each spring.