Women directors received half of the awards presented at the closing of the American Film Institute Film Festival in Los Angeles yesterday. British filmmaker Clio Barnard, whose first narrative feature, The Selfish Giant, has been collecting accolades this award season, won two of the AFI’s twelve prizes, the New Auteurs Special Award for Direction and the Audience Award for New Auteurs.
German writer-director Katrin Gebbe was honored the New Auteurs Critics’ Award for her Christian rebellion-themed debut Nothing Bad Can Happen, while co-directors Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Gross shared the New Auteurs Special Award for Personal Storytelling for In Bloom, an account of the Georgian Civil War.
Nigerian filmmaker Chika Anadu and Kosovar director Lendita Zeqiraj also won the Audience Award for Breakthrough and the Special Jury Award, respectively, sealing the AFI’s reputation this year as rather internationally minded despite the Institute’s name.
Scroll down for the full list of female awardees:
New Auteurs Critics’ Award: Katrin Gebbe, Nothing Bad Can Happen
New Auteurs Special Award for Direction: Clio Barnard, The Selfish Giant
New Auteurs Special Award for Personal Storytelling: Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Gross, In Bloom
Audience Award (New Auteurs): Clio Barnard, The Selfish Giant
Audience Award (Breakthrough): Chika Anadu, B for Boy
Special Jury Award: Lendita Zeqiraj, Balcony
[Source Hitfix]
