The 2022 Slamdance Film Festival has announced the winners of their annual Sparky Awards.
The film festival focused on the works of emerging artists began its 28th edition on Jan. 27, hosting 23 premieres of films chosen from over 8,000 submissions. The awards were announced at a virtual awards ceremony on Friday, with the winning films available for viewing on the official virtual Slamdance channel until midnight on Feb. 6.
The Slamdance Jury awarded the best narrative feature prize to “Hannah Ha Ha,” from directors Jordan Tetewsky and Joshua Pikovsky, and the best documentary feature prize to “Forget Me Not” from director Olivier Bernier. In addition to winning one of the top overall prizes, “Hannah Ha Ha” star Hannah Lee Thompson also nabbed the festival’s acting award. The other two grand jury prizes for features were presented to “Straighten Up and Fly Right” (in the unstoppables category) and “Killing the Eunuch Khan” (in the breakouts feature category). Short films awarded by the grand jury included Eric Colonna’s “Ratking,” which won best narrative short, and Julia Orlik’s “I’m Here,” which won best animated short.
The audience awards were given to Clay Tatum’s “The Civil Dead,” which won for narrative feature; Patrick Longstreth’s “Iron Family,” which won for documentary feature; and the “Getting Mad” episode of Bobby McCoy’s “The Ember Knight Show,” which won for episodic storytelling.
“We congratulate the winners of Slamdance 2022 and everyone of our filmmakers who together created a showcase that pushes the boundaries of what’s possible in storytelling,” said Slamdance president and co-founder Peter Baxter in a statement. “The future of film depends on these unique voices who defy simple classification and transcend analytics.”
During the ceremony, Slamdance alumni Joe and Anthony Russo (“Avengers: Endgame”) presented the AGBO Fellowship award, a $25,000 prize given to a standout director at the festival, to Ethan Eng for his film “Therapy Dogs.” Under the fellowship, Eng will receive mentorship from the Russos and developmental support from their production company AGBO Studios.
“Ethan’s ability to connect with the audience in a personal and profound way is effortless while his commitment and work ethic as a filmmaker is inspiring,” stated Angela Russo-Otstot, president of creative at AGBO. “The fact that this marks Ethan’s first feature as a director shows incredible promise for a bright future ahead, and we look forward to working with and championing him as he continues on this exciting filmmaking journey.”
Also during the ceremony, “My Parent, Neal,” directed by Hannah Saidiner, won the 2022 CreativeFuture Innovation award. Presented in collaboration with advocacy organization CreativeFuture, the award is intended for filmmakers whose work shows an innovative spirit towards filmmaking.
Slamdance also announced a new partnership with Miami-based nonprofit ASFI and the White Elephant Group film collective to create the ASFI Slamdance Unstoppable Short Film Commission, which seeks to support the work and development of disabled filmmakers. The commission will be awarding $5,000 dollars to disabled filmmakers Juliet Romeo and Elizabeth Burbano, along with developmental support from the White Elephant Group to help them produce their short films.
View the full list of winners below:
GRAND JURY AWARDS — FEATURES
Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize: “Hannah Ha Ha” (Dir: Jordan Tetewsky and Joshua Pikovsky)
Honorable Mentions: “Ultrainocencia” (Dir: Manuel Arija)
Documentary Feature Grand Jury Prize: “Forget Me Not” (Dir: Olivier Bernier)
Honorable Mention: “Fury” (Dir: Krzysztof Kasior)
Breakouts Feature Grand Jury Prize: “Killing the Eunuch Khan” (Dir: Abed Abest)
Honorable Mentions: “Retrograde” (Dir: Adrian Murray)
Unstoppable Feature Grand Jury Prize: “Straighten Up And Fly Right” (Dir: Kristen Abate and Steven Tanenbaum)
Honorable Mentions: “Selahy (My Weapon)” (Dir: Alaa Zabara)
JURY AWARDS — SHORTS
Narrative Shorts Grand Jury Prize: “Ratking” (Dir: Eric Colonna)
Honorable Mention: “See You, Garbage!” (Dir: Romain Dumont)
Documentary Short Grand Jury Prize: “The Ritual to Beauty” (Dir: Shenny de Los Angeles and Maria Marrone)
Honorable Mention: “Walls Cannot Keep Us From Flying” (Dir: Jonathan Haff Mehring)
Experimental Shorts Grand Jury Prize: “Chameleon” (Dir: Ima Iduozee and Jaamil Olawale Kosoko)
Honorable Mention: “Compositions for Understanding Relationships” (Dir: David De La Fuente)
Animated Shorts Grand Jury Prize: “I’m Here” (Dir: Julia Orlik)
Honorable Mention: “Oldboy’s Apples” (Dir: Brad Hock)
FESTIVAL WIDE AWARDS
The AGBO Fellowship, presented by Joe and Anthony Russo, Award Winner: Ethan Eng, director of “Therapy Dogs”
Slamdance Acting Award: Hannah Lee Thompson, “Hannah Ha Ha”
Honorable Mention: Batel Moseri, “Bracha”
George Starks Spirit of Slamdance Award Winner: Sasha Levinson, director of “Sylvie of the Sunshine State”
CreativeFuture Innovation Award: “My Parent, Neal” (Dir: Hannah Saidiner)
AUDIENCE AWARDS
Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature: “The Civil Dead” (Dir. Clay Tatum)
Audience Award for Documentary Feature: “Iron Family” (Dir. Patrick Longstreth)
Audience Award for Episodes: “The Ember Knight Show:” “Getting Mad” (Dir. Bobby McCoy)