'Ayla The Daughter Of War' Wins Big At 24th Annual Sedona International Film Festival

Ayla The Daughter of War, a heartwarming narrative feature based on the true story of a soldier in the Korean War who risks his own life to save a half-frozen little girl, captured the Best of Fest Award and the Director's Choice Award for Best Foreign Film at the 24th annual Sedona International Film Festival.

Nearly 180 films were screened over nine days at the 2018 event. Ayla The Daughter of War was Turkey's submission for Academy Award consideration.

Rose, from director Rod McCall and featuring Cybill Shepherd, James Brolin, Pam Grier and Cindy Pickett about a widowed ex-cop who decides to go on a solo road trip to the Southwest in a motorized wheelchair after discovering she may have a life-threatening illness, and Django, the story of guitarist and composer Django Reinhardt and his flight from German-occupied Paris in 1943, tied for Director's Choice Best Feature Film.

Instrument of War, a film about B-24 bomber pilot Clair Cline's experience as a POW after being shot down in northern Germany during World War II, and inspired by true events, took the Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Film. 2018 Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Film, The Insult, won the Audience Award for Best Foreign Film. The Insult was among five Oscar nominees screened at the Sedona International Film Festival.

Special Awards presented this year included the Lifetime Achievement Award to Jane Alexander; the Global Initiative Humanitarian Award to Keely Shaye and Pierce Brosnan for the documentary, Poisoning Paradise; the Bill Muller Excellence in Screenwriting Award to The Drawer Boy; the Marion Herrman Excellence in Filmmaking Award to In Search of Perfect Consonance; and the Technical Director's Excellence in Exhibition Award to Game.

Silence, an 8-minute short about a Jewish man hiding in German-occupied Poland who rediscovers the joy of music while creating a makeshift gramophone, won both the Director's Choice and Audience Choice Award for Best Student Short Film. Benjamin Classman was the director, writer and co-producer.

The full list of award winners:

Directors' Choice Awards

• Best Feature Film - Drama: Rose and Django (tie)
• Best Feature Film - Comedy: Humor Me
• Best Foreign Film: Ayla The Daughter of War
• Best Documentary Feature: Liyana
• Best Documentary Short: Faces of Santa Ana
• Best Environmental Film: The Need to GROW
• Best Foreign Documentary: Blue
• Best Short Film: A Whole World for a Little World
• Best Student Short Film: Silence
• Best Animated Film: Weeds
• Best Independent Spirit (Short): Temporary
• Best Independent Spirit (Narrative): Quality Problems
• Best Independent Spirit (Documentary): I Am Jane Doe
• Best Humanitarian (Narrative): My Name is Vaseline
• Best Humanitarian (Documentary): Bending the Arc
• Heart of the Festival Award: Nathan's Kingdom
• Bill Muller Excellence in Screenwriting Award: The Drawer Boy
• Marion Herrman Excellence in Filmmaking Award: In Search of Perfect Consonance
• Technical Director's Excellence in Exhibition Award: Game

Audience Choice Awards:

• BEST OF FEST: Ayla The Daughter of War
• Best Animated Film: E-Delivery
• Best Short Film: Alternative Math
• Best Documentary Short: Mr. Connolly Has ALS
• Best Documentary Mid-Length: Standing Still/Still Standing
• Best Environmental Film: Yasuni Man
• Best Documentary: I'll Push You
• Best Foreign Film: The Insult
• Best Student Short Film: Silence
• Best Feature Film - Comedy: Adios Amigos
• Best Feature Film - Drama: Instrument of War

Special Awards:

• Lifetime Achievement Award: Jane Alexander
• Global Initiative Humanitarian Award: Keely Shaye Brosnan and Pierce Brosnan

For more information, visit www.sedonafilmfestival.org.

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