“Goodbye Julia,” a Sudanese drama directed by Mohamed Kordofani about two girls who type an unlikely bond, and “Invisible Nation,” Vanessa Hope’s documentary about Taiwan’s first feminine president, Tsai Ing-wen, and the perilous path the island nation should stroll between China and the West, have gained the highest jury awards on the twenty seventh Sonoma Worldwide Movie Pageant.
Viewers awards went to Patricia Font’s “The Trainer Who Promised the Sea,” a Spanish Civil Battle-themed movie about an idealistic educator; and “Name Me Dancer,” a documentary directed by Leslie Shampaine and Pip Gilmour a couple of road dancer in India who comes underneath the tutelage of a septuagenarian Israeli dance trainer.
The winners had been introduced at an awards brunch on Sunday, March 24, on the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa. Organizers additionally stated the five-day competition, which started Wednesday, March 20, set an attendance document for the second straight yr.
Inventive director Carl Spence stated actual numbers wouldn’t be obtainable till Monday, March 25, however informed the Chronicle in an e-mail, “We offered extra single tickets in addition to passes this yr and are monitoring to be up by greater than 10% in total attendance as of Saturday night time.”
The Sonoma Worldwide Movie Pageant, led by government director Ginny Krieger, was the second programmed by Spence, included 107 movies — 43 narrative options, 16 documentary options and 48 quick movies from greater than 25 international locations — and several other wine country-themed events.
Spence famous that diversified programming helped usher in a range of audiences.
“The U.S. Premiere of ‘Widow Clicquot’ was an enormous hit as our opening night time movie, and the world premiere of ‘Extraordinarily Distinctive Dynamic’ was wholeheartedly embraced by audiences of all ages in Sonoma,” Spence stated, contrasting an arthouse movie about Champagne within the nineteenth century and a youth-oriented Asian comedy, which each offered out. “These two movies are opposites in fashion, tone, and execution however each are equally aligned with our curatorial imaginative and prescient for the competition.”
Particular visitors included actor Beau Bridges, who acquired a lifetime achievement award; multi-hyphenate performer John Cameron Mitchell, actor Scoot McNairy, chef Susan Feniger, musician Rob Garza of Thievery Company.
The McNeely Viewers Award for finest quick movie went to “Save the Cat,” a 24-minute documentary directed by Jordan Matthew Horowitz a couple of Ukrainian household fleeing warfare and touchdown in Sonoma, and the hunt to reunite the daughter along with her beloved feline.
Juries additionally handed out awards to quick movies in three classes: dwell motion (“ILY, Bye,” directed by Taylor James); documentary (“A A part of You / Made Me Complete Once more,” Destyn Fuller-Hope and Andrew Surprise) and animated (“Bug Diner,” directed by Phoebe Jane Hart).
Attain G. Allen Johnson: ajohnson@sfchronicle.com
