Audience & Jury Awards Announced for 2016 Portland Film Festival

The 4th Annual Portland Film Festival announced today the feature film and short film recipients of this year's awards in theAudience, Grand Jury, Director's Choice, and Screenplay categories. As in previous years, juries of leading industry experts and esteemed filmmakers determined Jury Awards for Feature Narrative, Feature Documentary, and Short Film categories.

"What a great way to end this year's Portland Film Festival - by celebrating the films our esteemed jurors and incredible audiences have awarded these talented filmmakers, who represent the best of truly independent filmmaking," said Josh Leake, Founder and Executive Director of the Portland Film Festival.

The fourth annual Portland Film Festival took place August 29 - September 5, 2016, at Portland's iconic Laurelhurst Theater, and included over 54 narrative and documentary feature films, 89 short films, over 20 educational panels & forums, 12 archival screenings, and many events & industry networking opportunities.

Complete festival lineup available:
www.portlandfilmfestival.com

AUDIENCE AWARDS
Feature Documentary: JACKSON by Maisie Crow.
Feature Narrative: SOME FREAKS by Ian McAllister McDonald.
Short Film: OUT OF THE VILLAGE by Jonathan Stein.

GRAND JURY AWARDS - NARRATIVE
This year's Portland Film Festival's Narrative Jury Prize was selected by a veteran panel of industry members: Leslie Dixon, Miguel Tejada-Flores, Bears Fonte and Ina Pira, and film distribution executive James Shapiro.

Feature Narrative: SOME FREAKS by Ian McAllister, "typifies the excellence and high standards which PDXFF16 embodies: it is an involving story of identity and relationships, an independent film whose seamless storytelling is the result of fine writing, excellent acting, and thoughtful direction. This is the kind of film you don't forget after seeing it; in a field of deserving candidates, it stands out."

GRAND JURY AWARDS - DOCUMENTARY
The Documentary Jury, comprised of journalist Steve Dollar and Gary Walcott and industry veterans Kristy Breneman and Nancy Chang announced the awards below.

Feature Documentary: JACKSON by Maisie Crow, "for an urgently well told exploration of the human sides of the abortion debate."

Special Jury Prize for Creative Vision: BOONE by Christopher LaMarca, for "for a beautifully realized and immersive observation of Oregon organic farm life, illuminated by captivating se of cinematography and sound."

GRAND JURY AWARDS - SHORT FILMS
This year's Short Film Jury Prizes were selected by an esteemed panel of industry members: MTV development director Brendan Kennedy, film critic Enid Spitz, Portlandia producer David Cress and actress/Portland SAG AFTRA Board member Skeeter Greene.

Grand Jury Short Award: ARC OF JUSTICE by Mark Lipman & Helen Cogen, "to tell a story that has never been told before, with the depth of historical knowledge and cinematography that gives you visceral feeling of what's at stake is incredible."

Special Award for Achievement in Short Film Making: SQUIRREL ISLAND by Astrid Goldsmith, "for a unique world created to tell a complex and recognizable story that can be understood in a new way."

SPECIAL AWARD
Director's Choice Award: THE REMNANT - Karmia Chan Olutade. Awarded by the Executive Director of the Portland Film Festival to the film team that best embodies the creative, independent, and entrepreneurial spirit of the festival, as well as showing exceptional talent as artists.

SCREENPLAY AWARD
The Festival awarded their annual award in the screenplay competition to Hannah Johnson for Roadway.

The 2016 Portland Film Festival Awards are sponsored by Koerner Camera, Pro Photo Supply and Plum Tree Mortgage.

About the Portland Film Festival Established in 2013, the Portland Film Festival is Oregon's largest film festival, and was named "one of the coolest film festivals in the world," by MovieMaker Magazine in 2014. It is a non-profit, year round organization dedicated to nurturing filmmakers and audiences, and to celebrating the power of a good story. The festival focuses on the people, ideas, technology, skills and artistry behind filmmaking, and provides both entertaining and educational opportunities for the public.

Previous and current festival partners include the City of Portland, Portland Parks & Recreation, Art Institute of Portland, Oregon Film: Oregon Governor's Office of Film and Television, Women in Film, Oregon Media Production Association (OMPA), Willamette Writers, SAG Aftra (Actor's Guild/Union), I.A.T.S.E. (Film Union), Directed by Women, and others.

Although the festival began in 2013, its history goes back to 2009, when the Portland Film Club was founded as a film club to bring film lovers together to view and discuss films. The club now boasts over 2300 members and is one of the largest movie clubs on the west coast. It screens typically one movie a week including new and independent features.