The informal awards presentation will be held on Saturday, October 26th at approximately 9:45pm at the TCFF Can Can Wonderpark Festival Lounge. 1658 West End Blvd., St. Louis Park, MN 55416
TWIN CITIES FILM FEST
ANNOUNCES 2019 AWARDS FINALISTS
Popular titles Jojo Rabbit, Waves, Marriage Story, Premature lead this year’s class of nominees; film festival continues through Saturday
St. Louis Park, MN (October 25, 2019) – The Twin Cities Film Fest unveiled more than 25 finalists for its top awards Friday morning. Among the 2019 contenders for Best Feature Film are Taika Waititi’s provocative anti-hate satire Jojo Rabbit, which recently took home the top prize at the Toronto International Film Festival, Noah Baumbach’s divorce drama Marriage Story starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, Trey Edward Shults’ ravishing family portrait Waves, and Alex Thompson’s Saint Frances, a surprising story about a six-year-old who forms a close bond with her deadbeat nanny. Limited tickets remain available for Waves and Saint Frances, both screening Saturday.
Other notable 2019 finalists include Premature, Rashaad Ernesto Green’s romantic drama nominated for this year’s TCFF Indie Vision Award for Zora Howard’s remarkable lead performance, and Rebecca Stern’s Well Groomed, a film that goes inside the world of competitive pet grooming and is nominated for this year’s Robert Byrd Best Documentary Award. Limited tickets remain available for both titles this Saturday.
Rounding out this year’s Best Feature Film nominees are Alma Har’el’s Honey Boy, an autobiographical script from star Shia LaBeouf about a young actor’s difficult early years, his struggles to cope with his mental health and his push to reconcile with his father; and Destin Daniel Cretton’s Just Mercy, a new drama profiling renowned civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson and a notable case in which he fought to free a codemned prisoner on death row.
Actor Bill Murray is serving as a special guest judge for this year’s Comedy Shorts Award. Murray will be choosing his favorite comedic short from the three finalists listed below.
This year’s TCFF slate, which continues to screen in St. Louis Park through Saturday evening, is comprised of more than 120 short and feature films. In recent years, TCFF organizers have prioritized the recruiting of more diverse films and directors to Minnesota; more than 60 percent of the 2019 TCFF program are titles directed or produced by female filmmakers.
See the complete list of finalists below; for more information on the films and to purchase reserved seats for the final screenings, visit TwinCitiesFilmFest.org.
2019 TCFF FINALISTS
Best Feature Film: Honey Boy, directed by Alma Har’el; Jojo Rabbit, directed by Taika Waititi; Just Mercy, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton; Marriage Story, directed by Noah Baumbach; Saint Frances, directed by Alex Thompson; Waves, directed by Trey Edward Shults.
Robert Byrd Best Documentary Film: A Perfect 14, directed by Giovanna Morales Vargas; Gay Chorus Deep South, directed by David Charles Rodrigues; Like Harvey Like Son, directed by Rudy Harris Jr.; The Truth About Marriage, directed by Roger Nygard; Well Groomed, directed by Rebecca Stern.
Best Short Film: Automaton, directed by Alex Reeves; Black Hat, directed by Sarah Smith; Grace, directed by Alexia Oldini; Master Servant, directed by Julie Koehnen; Our Transition, directed by Connor O’Keefe.
Indie Vision Award for Breakthrough Achievement: 3 Day Weekend (Writer Wyatt McDill); The Field (Cinematographer Tate Bunker); Last Call (Director Gavin Michael Booth); Olympic Dreams (Writer Jeremy Teicher); Premature (Actress Zora Howard); The Protectors (Visual Effects Supervisor Ben Hughes)
Fun Is Good Bill Murray Comedy Shorts Award: Be Right Back, directed by Michael Driscoll; The Do It Up Date, directed by Andrew Barchilon and Emily Ting; Fairy Tail, directed by Justin Schaack and Kristin Schaack.
2019 North Star Award For Excellence: Albert Magnoli, director of “Purple Rain”
