Audience Award

The South by Southwest Film Festival and Conference, which wraps up later Saturday, announced its audience award winners. “Short Term 12,” written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, won the audience prize for the Narrative Feature Competition. The film also won the festival's grand jury prize. The story concerns a young woman whose job as a supervisor at a foster-care group home forces her to confront her own long-repressed issues. PHOTOS: The scene at SXSW 2013 “The Short Game,” directed by Josh Greenbaum, won the audience award for the Documentary Feature competition.

The South by Southwest Film Festival and Conference, which wraps up later Saturday, announced its audience award winners. “Short Term 12,” written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, won the audience prize for the Narrative Feature Competition. The film also won the festival's grand jury prize. The story concerns a young woman whose job as a supervisor at a foster-care group home forces her to confront her own long-repressed issues. PHOTOS: The scene at SXSW 2013 “The Short Game,” directed by Josh Greenbaum, won the audience award for the Documentary Feature competition.

PARK CITY, Utah--"Fruitvale," a drama based on the real-life story of a young man shot to death at an Oakland BART station, took home the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday night. The movie also won the Audience Award for U.S. dramatic film. The Grand Jury Prize for U.S. documentary went to "Blood Brother," Steve Hoover's look at his best friend, who moves to India to help children with HIV. The film also won the Audience Award for U.S. documentary. "Fruitvale" is the first feature-length film from USC School of Cinematic Arts graduate Ryan Coogler, 26. Actor Forest Whitaker served as a producer on the movie, which stars Michael B. Jordan.

PARK CITY, Utah--"Fruitvale," a drama based on the real-life story of a young man shot to death at an Oakland BART station, took home the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday night. The movie also won the Audience Award for U.S. dramatic film. The Grand Jury Prize for U.S. documentary went to "Blood Brother," Steve Hoover's look at his best friend, who moves to India to help children with HIV. The film also won the Audience Award for U.S. documentary. "Fruitvale" is the first feature-length film from USC School of Cinematic Arts graduate Ryan Coogler, 26. Actor Forest Whitaker served as a producer on the movie, which stars Michael B. Jordan.

Federico Veiroj's "Acne" won the grand jury prize and Daniel Stamm's "A Necessary Death" captured the audience award in the feature film competition at AFI Fest 2008, which concluded in Los Angeles on Sunday night. In the documentary category, Kief Davidson's "Kassim the Dream" took the grand jury prize and shared the audience award with Patrick Davidson's "The World We Want."

The Palm Springs International ShortFest , hailed by its presenters as North America's largest festival and market for short films, presented its best-of-festival award and a $2,000 prize Sunday night to the Peruvian “Behind the Mirrors,” a 16-minute crime story by Julio O. Ramos set in a brothel. The film was among 324 live action, animated and documentary shorts screened at the festival, where more than 3,000 titles were available in an accompanying market. The festival's grand jury award was given to the 11-minute American short “Paulie,” a look at a seventh-grade genius who takes matters into his own hands when a classroom bully beats him in an essay contest.

Although British actor Colin Firth has yet to be nominated for an Academy Award, plenty of other organizations have taken note of his work, particularly in Europe. And his "A Single Man" has already earned kudos at film festivals. BAFTA Awards 2002: Nominated for supporting actor film award for "Bridget Jones's Diary." 1996: Nominated for lead actor TV award for "Pride and Prejudice." British Independent Film Awards 2007: Nominated for supporting actor for "And When Did You Last See Your Father?"

Spin the reels back for a look at some of the winners from this year's key festivals: SUNDANCE Grand Jury Prize, dramatic: "Like Crazy," directed by Drake Doremus Audience Award, U.S. dramatic: "Circumstance," directed by Maryam Keshavarz Audience Award, documentary: "Buck," directed by Cindy Meehl CANNES Palme d'Or: "Tree of Life," directed by Terrence Malick Grand Prix: "Once Upon a...

The IFP/West-Los Angeles Film Festival wrapped its 10-day run Saturday with an awards luncheon and a closing night gala featuring Miguel Arteta's dark comedy "The Good Girl," starring Jennifer Aniston. Przemyslaw Reut received the Target Filmmaker award for best narrative feature for "Paradox Lake," his exploration of the world of autism. Reut's $50,000 prize is the largest monetary award given by a major U.S. festival.

A feature film about two sisters fleeing an African civil war and a documentary centering on a Mexican cattle-ranching community took home the top prizes at the Los Angeles Film Festival on Sunday. "All is Well," a Portuguese-language film directed by Pocas Pascoal, was deemed the best narrative film at the festival by a jury including actress Rachael Harris, actor Robert Townsend and film critic Sheri Linden. The movie, which was awarded a $15,000 prize, follows two Angolan sisters as they run away from homeland strife and escape to Lisbon, Portugal, where they struggle to survive on the streets.

Americans associate the holidays with many things: mob scenes at the malls, heavy meals with the relatives and an abundance - some would say overabundance - of movies. Award-worthy movies. Family movies. Big action spectacles. Small indie tear-jerkers. All of which are lumped into a convenient package with a Hollywood bow on it called the holiday movie season. It's the time of year when the studios jockey for the biggest slice of the audience pie as well as promoting their prestige films for the plethora of awards to come, including the Golden Globes, the guild awards and the crown jewel, the Academy Awards - in other words, pursuing both cash and class.

A feature film about two sisters fleeing an African civil war and a documentary centering on a Mexican cattle-ranching community took home the top prizes at the Los Angeles Film Festival on Sunday. "All is Well," a Portuguese-language film directed by Pocas Pascoal, was deemed the best narrative film at the festival by a jury including actress Rachael Harris, actor Robert Townsend and film critic Sheri Linden. The movie, which was awarded a $15,000 prize, follows two Angolan sisters as they run away from homeland strife and escape to Lisbon, Portugal, where they struggle to survive on the streets.

The Palm Springs International ShortFest , hailed by its presenters as North America's largest festival and market for short films, presented its best-of-festival award and a $2,000 prize Sunday night to the Peruvian “Behind the Mirrors,” a 16-minute crime story by Julio O. Ramos set in a brothel. The film was among 324 live action, animated and documentary shorts screened at the festival, where more than 3,000 titles were available in an accompanying market. The festival's grand jury award was given to the 11-minute American short “Paulie,” a look at a seventh-grade genius who takes matters into his own hands when a classroom bully beats him in an essay contest.

Spin the reels back for a look at some of the winners from this year's key festivals: SUNDANCE Grand Jury Prize, dramatic: "Like Crazy," directed by Drake Doremus Audience Award, U.S. dramatic: "Circumstance," directed by Maryam Keshavarz Audience Award, documentary: "Buck," directed by Cindy Meehl CANNES Palme d'Or: "Tree of Life," directed by Terrence Malick Grand Prix: "Once Upon a...

Dark films, particularly those that engage with social and political themes, dominated the Sundance Film Festival awards Saturday night. "Winter's Bone," writer/director Debra Granik's mystery-tinged tale about an impoverished teenager (Jennifer Lawrence) searching for her missing, meth-cooking father in the wooded Missouri Ozarks, won both the grand jury prize in the U.S. dramatic category and the prestigious Waldo Salt screenwriting award. And rugged terrain of a different sort was the setting for the winner of the U.S. documentary grand jury prize, "Restrepo," Sebastian Junger's and Tim Hetherington's vérité examination of a U.S. Army unit stationed in Afghanistan's dangerous Korengal Valley.

Although British actor Colin Firth has yet to be nominated for an Academy Award, plenty of other organizations have taken note of his work, particularly in Europe. And his "A Single Man" has already earned kudos at film festivals. BAFTA Awards 2002: Nominated for supporting actor film award for "Bridget Jones's Diary." 1996: Nominated for lead actor TV award for "Pride and Prejudice." British Independent Film Awards 2007: Nominated for supporting actor for "And When Did You Last See Your Father?"

Dark films, particularly those that engage with social and political themes, dominated the Sundance Film Festival awards Saturday night. "Winter's Bone," writer/director Debra Granik's mystery-tinged tale about an impoverished teenager (Jennifer Lawrence) searching for her missing, meth-cooking father in the wooded Missouri Ozarks, won both the grand jury prize in the U.S. dramatic category and the prestigious Waldo Salt screenwriting award. And rugged terrain of a different sort was the setting for the winner of the U.S. documentary grand jury prize, "Restrepo," Sebastian Junger's and Tim Hetherington's vérité examination of a U.S. Army unit stationed in Afghanistan's dangerous Korengal Valley.

Award winners for the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival were announced Tuesday evening at the Austin, Texas, fest's closing ceremonies. The prizes were divided into jury awards and audience awards. Judi Krant's "Made in China," about an inventor lost in Shanghai, won the jury award for best narrative feature and also took home the SXSW / Chicken & Egg Emergent Woman Award. Bill Ross' examination of daily life in middle America, "45365," received the documentary feature award with an honorary mention going to "The Way We Get By," Aron Gaudet's look at a group of senior citizens whose lives were changed by greeting U.S. troops at airports.

Award winners for the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival were announced Tuesday evening at the Austin, Texas, fest's closing ceremonies. The prizes were divided into jury awards and audience awards. Judi Krant's "Made in China," about an inventor lost in Shanghai, won the jury award for best narrative feature and also took home the SXSW / Chicken & Egg Emergent Woman Award. Bill Ross' examination of daily life in middle America, "45365," received the documentary feature award with an honorary mention going to "The Way We Get By," Aron Gaudet's look at a group of senior citizens whose lives were changed by greeting U.S. troops at airports.

Federico Veiroj's "Acne" won the grand jury prize and Daniel Stamm's "A Necessary Death" captured the audience award in the feature film competition at AFI Fest 2008, which concluded in Los Angeles on Sunday night. In the documentary category, Kief Davidson's "Kassim the Dream" took the grand jury prize and shared the audience award with Patrick Davidson's "The World We Want."