20,000 Species of Bees, Dancing Queen, Next Sohee, The Fishbowl, Mutt, Against The Tide, and 26.2 to Life win top awards at 49th Annual Seattle International Film Festival

SEATTLE – May 21, 2023 – SIFF closed out its 49th Seattle International Film Festival today, announcing the winners of the 2023 Golden Space Needle Audience and Juried Competition Awards. The awards were presented at a ceremony and brunch held at Grand Hyatt in downtown Seattle on May 21, 2023.

The 11-day festival, which began May 11, screened 264 films representing 74 countries, including 94 narrative features, 45 documentaries, four archival films, two secret screenings, and 125 short films. The lineup includes 23 world premieres (six features/17 short films), 30 North American premieres (24 features/six short films), and 13 U.S. premieres (nine features/four short films).

Nearly 70% of the feature films were created by first- or second-time filmmakers, the highest percentage in the Festival’s nearly 50 year history; 52% were created by women or nonbinary filmmakers; and 73% currently without U.S. distribution and may not screen commercially in the United States.

“This year, and every year, SIFF celebrates films, filmmakers and communities from all over the world gathering around the joy of discovering new worlds through cinema” said Beth Barrett, SIFF Artistic Director, “The past 10 days have been such a beautiful example of what SIFF is all about, with over 300 filmmakers and thousands of patrons coming together around film. We’re thrilled to be celebrating and honoring many of those filmmakers and their work today.”

The Festival holds two forms of competitions during its run, both juries and audience based. Juried competitions evaluate films selected by Festival programmers and represent the best in their category from all over the world. Winners are chosen by a carefully selected jury of industry professionals and film lovers. The winner in each feature category is awarded $5,000 in cash, and $2,500 in each short film category.

SIFF holds five feature juried competition categories: The Official Competition, the New American Cinema Competition, the New Directors Competition, the Ibero-American Competition, and the Documentary Competition. The short film categories are: Live Action, Animation, and Documentary.

In addition to juried competitions, SIFF also hosts the Golden Space Needle Audience Awards (GSNA). Films evaluated through the GSNAs are selected by all audience members through post-screening ballots. Categories for the GSNAs are Best Film, Best Documentary, Best Director, Best Performance, and Best Short Film. This year, over 27,000 ballots were submitted.

The Golden Space Needle Audience Award design has been created by artist Piper O’Neill since 2013. O’Neill is Principal & Creative Director of Idlewild Union, where each award is forged in glass by a team of artisan glassblowers. Inspired by the metamorphic process of a crystal formation, the design celebrates the creative cycle in its most innate and organic form.

GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AUDIENCE AWARD WINNERS

GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AUDIENCE AWARD - BEST FILM
Dancing Queen, directed by Aurora Gossé (Norway)
First runner-up: Theater Camp, directed by Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman (USA)
Second runner-up: Harvest Moon, directed by Amarsaikhan Baljinnyam (Mongolia)
Third runner-up: Egghead & Twinkie, directed by Sarah Kambe Holland (USA)
Fourth runner-up: The Blue Caftan, directed by Maryam Touzani (Morocco/France)

GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AUDIENCE AWARD - BEST DOCUMENTARY
26.2 to Life, directed by Christine Yoo (USA)
First runner-up: LIFT, directed by David Petersen (USA)
Second runner-up: It’s Only Life After All, directed by Alexandria Bombach (USA)
Third runner-up: ABLED, directed by Einar Thorsteinsson (USA)
Fourth runner-up: 20 Days in Mariupol, directed by Mstyslav Chernov (Ukraine/USA)

GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AUDIENCE AWARD - BEST DIRECTOR
Maryam Touzani, The Blue Caftan (Morocco/France)
First runner-up: Laha Mebow, Gaga (Taiwan)
Second runner-up: Amarsaikhan Baljinnyam, Harvest Moon (Mongolia)
Third runner-up: Paul Urjiko Alijo, Irati (Spain)
Fourth runner-up: Lisa Steen, Late Bloomers (USA)

GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AUDIENCE AWARD - BEST PERFORMANCE
Lubna Azabal, The Blue Caftan (Morocco/France)
First runner-up: Anaita Wali Zada, Fremont (USA)
Second runner-up: Karen Gillan, Late Bloomers (USA)
Third runner-up: Nico Tortorella, The Mattachine Family (USA)
Fourth runner-up: Karin Franz Körlof, One Day All This Will Be Yours (Sweden)

GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AUDIENCE AWARD - BEST SHORT FILM
Donkey, directed by Matt Kazman (USA)
First runner-up: The Blake, directed by Courtney Sposato, Mark Sposato (USA)
Second runner-up: Savi the Cat, directed by Netsie Tjirongo, Bryan Tucker (USA)
Third runner-up: Canary, directed by Pierre-Hugue Dallaire, Benoit Therriault (Canada (Québec))
Fourth runner-up: Get Away, directed by Michael Gabriele (USA)

LENA SHARPE AWARD FOR PERSISTENCE OF VISION, presented by Women in Film Seattle.
26.2 to Life, directed by Christine Yoo (USA)

This award is given to the female director's film that is the highest rated in public balloting at the Festival.

SIFF 2023 FEATURE COMPETITION AWARDS

SIFF confers five juried competition awards: SIFF Official Competition, Ibero-American Competition, New Directors Competition, New American Cinema Competition, and Documentary Competition. The winners in each juried competition receive $5,000 in cash.

SIFF 2023 OFFICIAL COMPETITION
The SIFF Official Competition Jury members were Rebecca Fons (Director of Programming at the Gene Siskel Film Center), Faridah Gbadamosi (Senior Programmer at Tribeca Enterprises), and Amy Lillard (Executive Director of Washington Filmworks).

GRAND JURY PRIZE
20,000 Species of Bees | dir. Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren (Spain)

JURY STATEMENT: The Grand Jury prize for the Official Competition goes to 20,000 Species of Bees, a thoughtful coming of age story that uses small, relatable moments to navigate a trans awakening, and a family’s journey to understanding. Led by the unforgettable Sofía Otero, in their feature film debut, the remarkable ensemble cast guides the audience through the experience of acceptance.

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Actress Marall Nasiri in Opponent | dir. Milad Alami (Sweden)

JURY STATEMENT: The jury is pleased to give a special mention for a supporting role to an actress whose performance captivated us, and provided an additional layer of impact to the film. The Special Mention goes to Marall Nasiri for Opponent.

2023 Entries:
20,000 Species of Bees (d: Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren, Spain 2023, North American Premiere)
Ingeborg Bachmann - Journey into the Desert (d: Margarethe von Trotta, Switzerland/Germany/Luxembourg Austria/Jordan/Italy 2023, North American Premiere)
Let the River Flow (d: Ole Giæver (Sámi), Norway/Sweden 2023, North American Premiere)
Opponent (d: Milad Alami, Sweden 2023, North American Premiere)
Plan 75 (d: Chie Hayakawa, Japan/France/Philippines 2022)
Pretty Red Dress (d: Dionne Edwards, United Kingdom 2022, US Premiere)
The Quiet Migration (d: Malene Choi, Denmark 2023, North American Premiere)
To Kill a Tiger (d: Nisha Pahuja, Canada 2022)

SIFF 2023 IBERO-AMERICAN COMPETITION
The SIFF Ibero-American Competition Jury members were Jas Keimig (writer and film critic), Jim Kolmar (independent film curator), and Gabriel Lerman (journalist at GoldenGlobes.com).

GRAND JURY PRIZE
The Fishbowl | dir. Glorimar Marrero Sánchez (Spain)

JURY STATEMENT: This beautifully understated film grapples with the emotional, physical and psychological effects of colonial exploitation on a Puerto Rican community. Following a San Juan-based documentary filmmaker in the wake of her terminal cancer diagnosis, the film deepens in resonance through a sensual aesthetic and a complex central performance by Isel Rodriguez. The jury is pleased to present the Ibero-American Grand Jury prize to The Fishbowl by Glorimar Marrero Sánchez.

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Actress Maria Vásquez in Matria | dir. Álvaro Gago (Spain)

JURY STATEMENT: The jury would also like to give special recognition to the excellent lead performance by Maria Vásquez in Matria, as a working mother struggling to stay afloat in a hardscrabble Galician fishing village.

2023 entries:
Adolfo (d: Sofia Auza, Mexico/USA 2023, US Premiere)
Almamula (d: Juan Sebastian Torale, France/Argentina/Italy 2023, North American Premiere)
The Echo (d: Tatiana Huezo, Mexico/Germany 2023, US Premiere)
The Fishbowl (d: Glorimar Marrero Sánchez, Spain 2023)
Let the Dance Begin (d: Marina Seresesky, Argentina/Spain 2023, North American Premiere)
Matria (d: Álvaro Gago, Spain 2023, US Premiere)
Mom (d: Xun Sero (Tzotzil), Mexico 2022)
Sister & Sister (d: Kattia G. Zúñiga, Panama/Chile 2023)

SIFF 2023 NEW DIRECTORS COMPETITION
The SIFF New Directors Competition Jury members were Cara Ogburn (Artistic Director of Milwaukee Film), Anika Duncan (Vice President of Marketing for ALLBLK and WE tv at AMC Networks), and Aaron Oravillo (Programming Associate at Nia Tero).

GRAND JURY PRIZE
Next Sohee | dir. by July Jung (South Korea)

JURY STATEMENT: The Grand Jury Prize recognizing New Directors is awarded to July Jung, Director of Next Sohee. This film surprised us by utilizing an unconventional narrative structure to highlight not only an individual character’s tragedy, but also the human toll of an unjust system. By focusing on two bold women, their individual lives weave together to tell a powerful story.

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Hanging Gardens | dir. Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji (Iraq, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Kingdom)

JURY STATEMENT: The New Directors Jury would like to present a Special Mention to Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji, Director of Hanging Gardens, for a heartbreakingly beautiful film that unexpectedly builds humanity and friendship between a young boy and a sex doll, and for also inspiring such moving performances.

2023 entries:
All the Colours of the World Are Between Black and White (d: Babatunde Apalowo, Nigeria 2023, North American Premiere)
Copenhagen Does Not Exist (d: Martin Skovbjerg, Denmark 2023, North American Premiere)
Hanging Gardens (d: Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji, Iraq/Palestine/Saudi Arabia/Egypt/United Kingdom 2022, North American Premiere)
Harka (d: Lotfy Nathan, France/Germany/USA/Tunisia 2022)
Next Sohee (d: July Jung, South Korea 2022)
A Room of My Own (d: Ioseb “Soso” Bliadze, Georgia/Germany 2022, North American Premiere)
When It Melts (d: Veerle Baeten, Belgium/Netherlands 2023)

SIFF 2023 NEW AMERICAN CINEMA COMPETITION
The SIFF New American Cinema Jury members were Matt Grady (founder of Factory 25 production and distribution company), Jourdain Searles (film critic and programmer), and Bill Guentzler (Vice President of Acquisitions for Gravitas Ventures).

GRAND JURY PRIZE
Mutt | dir. Vuk Lungulov-Klotz (USA)

JURY STATEMENT: Recognizing the raw, emotional insight into the transitional journey towards reconnection and reconciliation, the New American Cinema jury awards the Grand Jury Prize to Vuk Lungulov-Klotz’s Mutt.

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
This Closeness | dir. Kit Zauhar (USA)

JURY STATEMENT: The jury would like to present a special jury mention for best ensemble, recognizing the truly complicated and layered performances of the young actors in This Closeness.

2023 Entries:
Egghead & Twinkie (d: Sarah Kambe Holland, USA 2023)
Fremont (d: Babak Jalali, USA 2023)
Late Bloomers (d: Lisa Steen, USA 2023)
The Mattachine Family (d: Andy Vallentine, USA 2023, World Premiere)
Mutt (d: Vuk Lungulov-Klotz, USA 2023)
This Closeness (d: Kit Zauhar, USA 2023)

SIFF 2023 DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
The SIFF Documentary Jury members were Misael Martínez (filmmaker and owner of MediaRoom production company), Melanie Miller (producer, Navalny), and Clémence Taillandier (Program Manager at MIT Media Lab and independent film distributor).

GRAND JURY PRIZE
Against the Tide | dir. Sarvnik Kaur (India, France)

JURY STATEMENT: The Grand Jury prize is being awarded to Sarvnik Kaur for Against the Tide, which highlights an emerging new wave of vérité documentary cinema coming out of India that is both defiant and a trojan horse into the climate change conversation.

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
King Coal | Elaine McMillion Sheldon (USA)

JURY STATEMENT: It was a very difficult decision to select one film within an array of outstanding cinema. After much deliberation, we decided to award King Coal by Elaine McMillion Sheldon with a Special Jury Prize. King Coal is poetry in motion, visually stunning and the use of color and sound transcends traditional documentary filmmaking.

JURY NOTE: We are honoring Against the Tide and King Coal because both films highlight the dichotomy between tradition and the unavoidable paradigm climate change and technology play in an ever-evolving planet. We were struck by how similar these two powerful documentaries were, fighting against their own moral code while simultaneously finding a means to survive. Both films bring the audience into two communities with contrasting cinematic perspectives, yet are character-driven points of view, from the innocent youth in an Appalachian coal mining town to the changing tides of the Koli people in India. Against the Tide and King Coal shine a very humanistic lens on their protagonists who are ultimately grieving the loss of their past, coming to terms with their present and their potential future.

2023 Entries:
Against the Tide (d: Sarvnik Kaur, India/France 2023)
And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine (d: Axel Danielson, Maximilien Van Aertryck, Sweden/Denmark 2023)
Gloriavale (d: Noel Smyth, Fergus Grady, Australia/New Zealand 2022, US Premiere)
The Grab (d: Gabriela Cowperthwaite, USA 2022)
King Coal (d: Elaine McMillion Sheldon, USA 2023)
Milisuthando (d: Milisuthando Bongela (Xhosa Nation), South Africa/Colombia 2023)
Motherland (d. Hanna Badziaka, Alexander Mihalkovich, Sweden/Ukraine/Belarus 2023, North American Premiere)
The Tuba Thieves (d: Alison O’Daniel, USA 2023)

YOUTH JURY PRIZE FOR BEST FUTUREWAVE FEATURE
And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine | dir. Axel Danielson, Maximilien Van Aertryck (Sweden, Denmark)

JURY STATEMENT: Scriber Lake AV Club chose And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine as the winner for Best Futurewave Feature because of the timely importance of its message. …Fantastic Machine is a film that deftly maneuvers through the history and social consequences of the camera, assembling footage from the wide world of content to tell a story that left us with big feelings and the desire to question what happens just outside the camera frame. Images from the film have stuck with us long after the viewing. We believe everyone, but especially young people, would benefit from seeing this film because media literacy is imperative to fostering a healthy, educated society.

SPECIAL JURY MENTION
Lonely Castle in the Mirror | dir. Keiichi Hara (Japan)

JURY STATEMENT: The jury would be remiss to not highlight our enjoyment of the superb film, Lonely Castle in the Mirror. Some of us were originally wary of the film because of our aversion to the anime genre, but we were blown away by the stunning character design, poignant story, and the way the narrative stuck with us after watching the film. The experiences the characters go through were so relatable and the film deals with the issues of mental health, adolescent angst, and loneliness in a thoughtful way.

WAVEMAKER AWARD (GRAND JURY PRIZE)
ROOM (USA 2022) | dir. Ian Dani Kim

JURY STATEMENT: We are proud to announce the winner of our Futurewave Shorts Award, ROOM! This film was absolutely stunning with its fine details and thoughtful story. The set design was jaw dropping and the animation was so realistic that it made you do a double take. We loved this film and the message it brought and can’t wait to see more work come out of this filmmaker!

SPECIAL JURY MENTION
American Ball Game (USA 2022) | dir. Teja Mettu, Krish Mysoor

JURY STATEMENT: The jury would also like to mention another exceptionally compelling film: American Ball Game. We were incredibly impressed with the creativity of the worldbuilding, narrative design and tone, and overall professionalism that the filmmakers displayed, as well as the talent of the actors involved. This was an engaging watch the whole way through, made even more so by its strong and thoughtful message regarding the immigrant experience in America.

SIFF 2023 SHORT FILM JURY AWARDS

Every short film in the Seattle International Film Festival is eligible for both the Golden Space Needle Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize. Our Shorts Competition jurors will choose winners in the Narrative, Animation, and Documentary categories. Each Grand Jury Prize winner will receive $2,500; winners may also qualify to enter their respective films in the Short Film category of the Academy Awards® for the concurrent season without a theatrical run.

The SIFF Short Film Juries were:
Live Action: Sean Charles (Development & Production Manager at ALLBLK / AMC Networks), SJ Chiro (filmmaker), Ina Pira (Senior Curator at (Vimeo).
Documentary / Animation: A.E. Hunt (film critic and theatrical distributor), Ajuawak Kapashesit (actor, writer, and filmmaker), and Missy Laney (Director of Development at Adult Swim).

LIVE ACTION SHORT
GRAND JURY PRIZE
Airhostess-737 | dir. Thanasis Neofotistos (Greece)

JURY STATEMENT: We love the innovative and claustrophobic depiction of an air-hostesses' tooth pain, anxiety, and generation trauma inexorably driving her back to the womb. She emerges a little worse for the wear but still smiling.

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Sisters of the Rotation | dir. Gaby Zarazir, Michel Zarazir (Lebanon)

JURY STATEMENT: For the sheer comedic audacity.

DOCUMENTARY SHORT
GRAND JURY PRIZE
Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (Grandma & Grandma) | dir. Sean Wang (USA)

JURY STATEMENT: We reward Sean Wang’s Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (Grandma & Grandma) the Grand Jury Award in the Documentary Shorts category for its sensitive and playful portrayal of the director’s fraternal and maternal grandmothers, who decided to live together later in life. Wang feels totally present in their home with the camera, his original form and humor befitting his grandmothers’ contagious energy and eccentricity.

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
45th Parallel | dir. Lawrence Abu Hamdan (United Kingdom)

JURY STATEMENT: The jury were taken with the director's stylistic choices for sharing this film. The exploration of space, performance of the monologue, and theatrical settings brought the stories presented to life in a way that grounded the audience and crafted an image for the narration that built upon the powerful vignettes that were shared.

ANIMATED SHORT
GRAND JURY PRIZE
Fur | dir. Zhen Li (USA)

JURY STATEMENT: The grand jury animated short award goes to a film that creatively explores the messy primitive evolution of a crush, in singular direction and artistic technique, masterfully blending hand drawn charcoal on paper, live action time lapse, and stop motion. On behalf of the esteemed jury, congratulations to the filmmaking team behind the animated short Fur directed by Zhen Li.

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