Film Invasion Los Angeles

We are proud to announce the Grand Jury Prize winners for the 2019 festival!

Grand Jury Prize Winners

Best Feature Film – Groupers
Best Short Film – Drama – The Wind Phone
Best Short Film – Comedy – Beach Day
Best Short Film – Horror – Nocturne
Best Documentary Film – Suffer For Good
Music Video – I Could Have Died
Best Director, Feature Film – Anderson Cowan, Groupers
Best Director, Short Film – DAVI.IN, Dream/Life

Best Actress in a Lead Role – Nicole Dambro, Groupers
Best Actor in a Lead Role – Elliott Kashner, The Last of the Manson Girls
Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Jenna Curtis, The Man and Mel
Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Cameron Duckett, Groupers
Best Performance by a Full Cast – The Wind Phone
Best Screenplay – Kristen Gerweck, The Wind Phone
Outstanding Cinematography – Jon Keng, The Wind Phone
Best Art Direction – Alex Dixon, Beast

Best Screenplay (Unproduced) –
Rube by Dan O’Brien
Run! Run! Run! – The Lives of Abbie Hoffman by Michael J. Shapiro
Stuck by Rich Van Tine

We are proud to announce the following award winners for the 2019 festival!

Filmmakers Award Winners

Outstanding Short Films – Dream/Life, Shanghai Sole
Outstanding Directors – Kristen Gerweck, The Wind Phone; Mike Trainotti, Nocturne
Outstanding Screenplay – DAVI.IN, Dream/Life; Laura Holliday, Girl Friend
Outstanding Acting, Cast – Lemon, The Man and Mel
Outstanding Acting, Individual – Megumi Kabe, The Wind Phone; T’ai Hartley, The Man and Mel
Outstanding Cinematography – Justyn Moro, Lemon

Prize Definitions/Explanations

Filmmakers Awards – given only to short films, these are determined by a panel of fifteen filmmakers whose films have been Official Selections previous years.

We are proud to announce the Audience Award winners for the 2019 festival!

Audience Award Winners

Audience Award, Feature Film – The Last of the Manson Girls
Audience Award, Short Film – Worthy
Audience Award, Documentary Film – Radical Acts of Love

Programmer’s Prize

Outstanding Films: How To Get A Boyfriend, The Man and Mel

A message from FILA programmer Jeff Howard:

Every year it’s a challenge for us to look at the jury votes and hand out awards.  Invariably, I see some things that bother me.  This is especially because I watch every film a second time with an audience at the festival, while the majority of the jury members do not.  In 2019, I was very happy with the award winners but I noticed two things.  One, the wonderful How To Get A Boyfriend was a runner up in several categories including writing, directing, and acting.  I get it; it’s a dark comedy steps across the line and slips into gore.  Not for everyone but it’s GREAT.  Programmer’s Prize to the rescue.  Two, the remarkable film The Man and Mel only won awards for its actors.  That’s another thing I couldn’t let happen.  The Man and Mel is wonderfully written, artfully directed, and beautifully shot.  So it gets a Programmer’s Prize, too.