Inaugural Asbury Park Music in Film Festival Announces Award Winners

The first annual Asbury Park Music in Film Festival took place over the weekend along the Southern New Jersey coast, showcasing some of music's most critically acclaimed documentaries and films. Asbury Park has been a long-time haven for musicians and the setting of some of the greatest moments in music history. Thousands of attendees including notable directors, producers, and musicians enjoyed a jam-packed weekend full of screenings and live performances.

Highlights included Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo's "JACO", a documentary focusing on the life of the legendary bassist Jaco Pastorius (featuring Joni Mitchell, Flea, Sting, Geddy Lee, Carlos Santana and more), and over 50 celebrated music films including "Salad Days," "A Band Called Death," "Take Me To The River," and "Made in Japan."

The weekend also featured performances and discussion panels with such notable musicians as Robbie Krieger, the original guitarist of The Doors, and Darryl 'DMC' McDaniels of RUN-DMC and his son, Dson, who are the subject of the film "DMC Squared."

At the conclusion of the event was an awards ceremony, where the films were judged based on jury selection to receive various accolades in the categories below:

• Best Feature (Awarded to the best film submitted as a feature): "The Last Playlist"
• Best Short (Awarded to the best film submitted as a short): "DMC Squared"
• Best Documentary (Awarded to the best music or band documentary): "Heartworn Highways Revisited"
• Best Music Video (Awarded to the best film submitted as a music video): "Vanaka" by Silver Girl
• Best Animation (Awarded to the best animated film of any length): "The Secret City - Little Darling"
• Best "New Jersey's Own" (Awarded to the best film filmed and produced in New Jersey): "Live From The Sun"
• Best Screenplay (One best dramatic feature film screenplay and one best genre feature film screenplay): Drama winner, "Jimmy the Freak" by Mark Steensland; Genre winner, "The Obligatory" by Randy Gross
• Best Foreign Film (Awarded to the best film from a country other than the U.S.): "La Vie Selon Morgue"
• Best in Show (Awarded to the best film competing in all categories): "Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, D.C."
• Audience Choice Award (Awarded based on audience votes): "Unforgettable Fire: The Story of a U2 Tribute Band"
• Foundation Award (Presented to the Asbury Park Music Foundation's selection for the APMFF premier film): "Jaco: A Documentary Film"
• Barnabas Health Award (Presented to the film that has made the greatest impact on social change) "Take Me To The River"
• Asbury Park Press Award (Awarded to the film that is critically acclaimed and has made an impact on press and public notice surrounding the festival): "Made in Japan"