(Halifax, NS) - The Atlantic Film Festival, in the midst of its highly successful 35th year, announces its award winners for the event, September 17th-24th in Halifax.
 
The Industry Awards Reception took place on Sunday, Sept. 20th in the Imperial Ballroom at The Lord Nelson Hotel & Suites.
 
Award winners included:

Best Atlantic Feature: $8,000 in services
Sponsored by The Postman
Winner: Undone - Director X
 
Best Atlantic Short: A weekend all-inclusive artist retreat
Sponsored by 902 Post
Winner: 4 Quarters - Ashley McKenzie
 
Best Atlantic Documentary: One year DOC Membership and $1,000 in services from William F Whites International
Sponsored by DOC Atlantic
Winner: Strange and Familiar: Architecture on Fogo Island - Katherine Knight & Marcia Connolly
 
Best Atlantic Short Documentary: $500 cash
Sponsored by Pilot Light Production
Winner: The Weir: Fishing Fundy’s Giant Tides - Jerry Lockett
 
Best Atlantic Animation
Winner: Alien Love Story - Ron McDougall
 
Best Atlantic Director: $5,000 in services
Sponsored by William F Whites International
Winner: Stephen Dunn - Closet Monster
 
Best Atlantic Screenwriter: $1,000 cash
Sponsored by Michael Weir Foundation for the Arts
Winner: Stephen Dunn - Closet Monster
 
Best Atlantic Cinematographer: $10,000 in services
Sponsored by Clairmont Camera
Winner: Marcia Connolly - Strange and Familiar: Architecture on Fogo Island
 
Best Atlantic Original Score: $500 cash and $5,000 services
Sponsored by Hideout Studios
Winners: Lukas Pearse & Mike Ritchie - North Mountain
 
Joan Orenstein Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress: $500 cash
Sponsored by Sky Talent Group
Winner: Meredith MacNeill - Your Money or Your Wife
 
David Renton Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor: $500 cash
Sponsored by Sky Talent Group
Winner: Craig Brown - Your Money or Your Wife
 
The 35th Atlantic Film Festival Jury included:  
 
Becka Barker made her debut in the film and media arts community in Halifax in 1999 with the screening of one of her student films at the Atlantic Film Festival. Since then, she has continued her career as an artist, educator, administrator, writer, and curator.  Her experimental film and animation work has been exhibited across Canada and internationally at such events and venues as the Ottawa International Animation Festival, EXiS Seoul (where she won Best International Film in 2007), Nocturne Art at Night (Halifax), Images Festival (Toronto), Echo Park Film Centre (Los Angeles), and the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma (Montreal). From 2002-2004 she served as Executive Director at the Centre for Art Tapes in Halifax and participated on the national executive of the Independent Media Arts Alliance. From 2007-2011, she was visiting faculty of Soon Chun Hyang University (South Korea) in the Film/Animation Department and became an active member of the Space Cell Experimental Film Collective in Seoul. Becka is a regular part-time faculty member in the Media Arts, Design, and Foundation Divisions of NSCAD University.
 
Ruby Boutilier graduated from NSCAD in 1999 with a passion to make movies. She worked as a camera technician in the industry for 8 years before focusing on telling her own short stories. She is a lifetime member of AFCOOP and has mentored/taught film both at AFCOOP and NSCC over the years, while still making and screening her own shorts to appreciative audiences. She is currently the Recruitment Coordinator at NSCAD University where she travels around the world looking for the next generation of storytellers and artists.
 
Sarah Pellerin was born in Ottawa, Canada in 1987. She attended an arts high school before completing a BA in Political Science at the University of Quebec in Montreal. Interested by storytelling, she also completed a certificate in screenwriting. In 2010, she entered the Cinema Program of the Institut national de l'image et du son (INIS) and specialized in screenwriting. With this background, she wrote and produced several short films that were shown in festivals in Quebec and abroad. In the summer of 2013, Sarah signed and directed her first short film Un peu comme Simone, followed by La canadienne française. She is now completing a master’s degree in film studies at Université de Montréal while developing new projects. Her passion for filmmaking and its communicative power continues to motivate her to reach and touch the public. 
 
About the Atlantic Film Festival

The Atlantic Film Festival is an eight-day celebration of film, media and music from around the world. It’s a festival that turns Halifax, Nova Scotia – a charming and historic coastal city – into an international Mecca for the arts, abuzz with filmmakers, industry types and film lovers. This year’s event celebrates 35 years of the Festival and takes place from September 17-24.

Offering a first-look at the best international films of the festival season, the Atlantic Film Festival attracts some of the biggest players in film, media and music from around the world. A champion of local filmmakers, all of our film selections are chosen with our community in mind and our special events are designed to bring us all together.

A not-for-profit organization, the Atlantic Film Festival began as a tiny, grassroots operation in St. John’s, Newfoundland in 1981, relocating to Halifax the following year. Just three decades later, the Festival has blossomed into one of Canada’s premier film festivals. Whether for industry folk, unabashed film lovers or curious onlookers, the Festival offers a slew of opportunities to engage through the celebration of film.

Today’s Atlantic Film Festival is now a year-round celebration, growing beyond our cornerstone event in September to include: ViewFinders: Atlantic Film Festival for Youth, AFF Outdoor Film Experience, and Strategic Partners.

Follow the Atlantic Film Festival on:

Our website: atlanticfilm.com
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