Press Release - April 5th, 2009

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Announces Festival Award Winners

Durham, N.C., - April 5, 2009 -– The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival has announced the 2009 Festival award recipients. Winners are determined by juries consisting of members of the national filmmaking community. The 2009 awards were presented to the following films:

Anne Dellinger Grand Jury Award - "Burma VJ - Reporting from a Closed Country" directed by Anders Østergaard
Special Jury Award - "Unmistaken Child" directed by Nati Baratz
Sponsored by Alpha Cine Labs, Seattle and cash award provided by Anne and Walter Dellinger.

Full Frame Jury Award for Best Short - "12 Notes Down" directed by Andreas Koefoed
Honorable Mention - "La Chirola" directed by Diego Mondaca
Honorable Mention - "The Flying Shepherd" directed by Catalin Musat
Sponsored by Eastman Kodak and cash award provided by Drs. Andrew and Barbra Rothschild.

Center for Documentary Studies Filmmaker Award - "Burma VJ - Reporting from a Closed Country" directed by Anders ؘstergaard
Sponsored by the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. This award honors a documentary artist whose work is a potential catalyst for education and change.

The Charles E. Guggenheim Emerging Artist Award - "Voices from El-Sayed" directed by Oded Adomi Leshem
Honorable Mention - "Unmistaken Child" directed by Nati Baratz
Honorable Mention - "William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe" directed by Sara Kunstler and Emily Kunstler
Provided by the Charles E. Guggenheim family. This prize honors a first-time documentary feature director.

Full Frame Audience Award - "The Way We Get By" directed by Aron Gaudet
Sponsored by the Doc Arts Board of Directors.The Audience Award is determined by counting audience ballots filled out during the four day Festival.

HBO Emerging Filmmaker Award - "Love on Delivery" directed by Janus Metz
Honorable Mention - "45365" directed by Bill Ross and Turner Ross
Honorable Mention - "California Company Town" directed by Lee Anne Schmitt
Sponsored by HBO Documentary Films. This award honors first- or second-time feature filmmakers in both the director and producer roles.

Full Frame Inspiration Award - "Unmistaken Child" directed by Nati Baratz
Sponsored by the Hartley Film Foundation. This award is presented to the film that best exemplifies the value and relevance of world religions and spirituality.

Full Frame President’s Award - "Oil Blue" directed by Elli Rintala
Sponsored by Duke University. Aimed at recognizing up-and-coming filmmakers, this prize is awarded to the best student film.

Full Frame / Working Films Award - "Burma VJ - Reporting from a Closed Country" directed by Anders Østergaard
Sponsored by the Ettinger Foundation and Chicken & Egg Pictures and Working Films. This prize is awarded to the film that has the greatest potential for supporting serious grassroots organizing and social change.

The Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights - "Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech" directed by Liz Garbus
Sponsored by the Julian Price Family Foundation. Award is presented to a film that addresses a significant human rights issue in the United States.

The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival was held April 2-5 in downtown Durham with Duke University as the presenting sponsor. Final ticketing numbers will not be available until next week, but Full Frame projects an increase in ticket sales from 2008, when the Festival issued 28,965 tickets and 2007, with 26,895 issued tickets.

Contact Information:
Lauren Whaley, Jennings, 919-929-0225, lwhaley@jenningsco.com
Nancy Novell, Full Frame, 919 433 9803, nancy.novell@fullframefest.org

About Full Frame
The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is an annual international event dedicated to the theatrical exhibition of non-fiction cinema. Each spring Full Frame welcomes filmmakers and film lovers from around the world to historic downtown Durham, N.C., for a four-day, morning to midnight array of over 100 films as well as discussions, panels, and southern hospitality. Set within a single city block, the intimate festival landscape fosters community and conversation between filmmakers, film professionals and the general public.

The festival is produced by Doc Arts, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and receives support from corporate sponsors, private foundations and individual donors whose generosity provides the foundation that makes the event possible. To learn more on the mission of Full Frame or for information on membership or sponsorship opportunities, scheduled films or festival passes visit www.fullframefest.org.