CineYouth Festival announced award winners for the 2019 edition led by Best Overall Film winner No Such Sunrise by 22 year olds Dana Brandes-Simon, Laura Li, and Cella Wright from Oberlin, OH. The Audience Award was won by 22 year old Kylie Murphy of Shrewsberry, NJ for her short film Mad Lib Pixie Dream Girl which screened in the “She Persisted: Women in Cinema” program. Select prize-winning films will be screened together at the 55th Chicago International Film Festival, October 16–27, 2019 as well as on WTTW in the fall. In total, CineYouth 2019 showcased 64 films from 18 countries by filmmakers 8-22 years old over three days at the Music Box Theatre.
“It felt like such an honor to get to be screened along with all those other great films,” says Blue Was Here director Tristan Jackson from Portland, OR. “It has been the highlight of our year!”
Special Mention for Chicago Award – Emilio Nieto
“I’ve been a part of CineYouth since my first film at the age of 14, and CineYouth has been an important part of my extended film family ever since,” said Canadian filmmaker Morgana McKenzie whose short film Wild won the CineYouth Women in Cinema Award. “Four key people in the Wild team also happen to be CineYouth filmmakers, and they have become my closest friends. Great relationships make great films, and CineYouth creates opportunities for filmmakers to be recognized and find each other.”
“I watch a lot of movies at the Music Box, so this is pretty surreal,” said Chicago filmmaker Emilio Nieto while receiving a Special Mention in the Chicago category for his film PANZóN. “Thank you to everyone at CineYouth.”
CineYouth Weekend
CineYouth celebrated Opening Night on April 26 with the Chicago premiere of feature documentary Jawline which won the Special Jury Award for Emerging Filmmaker at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Director Liza Mandelup, recently included on Variety’s 10 Documentary Filmmakers to Watch in 2019, attended CineYouth to present the film and give a post-screening conversation moderated by Thavary Krouch of the Chicago Film Office.
Screenings of festival films were held on Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28 at the Music Box Theatre. Filmmakers attending CineYouth to present their films included Germany’s Alexander Bergmann, who won the festival’s LGBTQ+ Award for his film Julie, and Connor O’Keefe who won the Chicago Award for his film Our Transition. Sriram Papolu from Ann Arbor, MI attended the festival both to present his short documentary Boober and to participate in the CineYouth Film Pitch at which selected participants presented their works-in-progress to a panel of industry professionals. The winner of the CineYouth Film Pitch was 20-year-old Emily Gray from DePaul University for her project The Scholar.
On Sunday, April 28 CineYouth presented “Cinema of Chicago”, a program of films that showcases the work of a diverse range of filmmakers who call Chicago home. The program featured 7 short films and a post-screening discussion with the filmmakers in attendance including João Pereira-Webber, Emilio Nieto, Christopher Rohrbeck, Natalie Braye, Liliana Bravo, Myles Keogh, and Connor O’Keefe.
Full Awards List
The full line up of 2019 CineYouth award winners is as follows:
Best Overall Film No Such Sunrise Dana Brandes-Simon, Laura Li, Cella Wright | Oberlin, OH | Age 22 Award Partner: Chicago International Film Festival
Chicago Award Our Transition Connor O’Keefe | Chicago, IL | Age 21 Award Partner: Brenda Robinson
Special Mention: Chicago Award PANZÓN Emilio Nieto | Chicago, IL | Age 19
Best Animation Everyflower Cai Yuanqing | China/France | Age 22 Award Partner: Flashpoint Chicago, a Campus of Columbia College Hollywood
Special Mention: Animation Pitiguá Paula Martínez Cirilo | Puerto Rico | Age 22
Best Comedy Harls Kenzie Sutton| Longwood, FL | Age 21 Award Partner: Harold Ramis Film School
Best Documentary Lost Time Leo Pfeifer | Seattle, WA | Age 20 Award Partner: Columbia College Chicago
Best Drama Wasteland Gustav Bondeson | Sweden | Age 20 Award Partner: Byron and Judy Pollock
Special Mention: Drama Ladies Day Abena Taylor-Smith | UK | Age 22
Best Experimental Umbilical Cord to Heaven Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan | Philippines | Age 22 Award Partner: Dr. Jennifer S. Kim
Best Horror Butterfly Ella McKeon| Los Angeles, CA | Age 11 Award Partner: Charles Droege and Julie Wroblewski
Best International Look Into My Eyes Students of Rey Pastor High School (Madrid) | Spain | Ages 16-17 Award Partner: Pasfarda Arts & Cultural Exchange
Special Mention: International Onye Nmefie (The Trespasser) William Boyd | UK | Age 22
Best LGBTQ+ Julie Alexander Bergmann | Germany | Age 22 Award Partner: Steven H. Kwate
Rising Star Award Grey Heart Theo Taplitz | Los Angeles, CA | Age 15 Award Partner: Chicago International Film Festival Associate Board
Special Mention: Rising Star Socks Callahan Bracken | Canada | Age 17
Women in Cinema Award Wild Morgana McKenzie | Canada | Age 18 Award Partner: Flashpoint Chicago, a Campus of Columbia College Hollywood
Special Mention: Women in Cinema Party of Two Maria Alvarez | Los Angeles, CA | Age 21
Audience Award Mad Lib Pixie Dream Girl Kylie Murphy | Shrewsberry, NJ | Age 22
Prodigy Camp Scholarship Butterfly Ella McKeon| Los Angeles, CA | Age 11
CineYouth Film Pitch Winner The Scholar Emily Gray | Chicago, IL | Age 20
CineYouth is sponsored by Columbia College Chicago and Flashpoint Chicago, a Campus of Columbia College Hollywood, with additional support from WTTW, DCASE, and the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
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