2007 Utah Family Film Festival Announces Jury and Audience Awards

2007 Utah Family Film Festival Announces Jury and Audience Awards

Local Film Makers Take Top Honors in Grand Jury and Short Film Awards

PROVO, Utah, June 10 /PRNewswire/ -- The jury and audience award-winners of the 2007 Utah Family Film Festival were announced tonight at the Utah Family Film Festival's closing Awards Ceremony in Provo, Utah. Awards included the Grand Jury Award for best overall film, the Film Festival Audience Choice Award and Best Director. In addition, the Shorts Jury awarded a Jury prize in short filmmaking to a local filmmaker.

"The films in this year's premier program have opened up the possibilities of what family-friendly, independent film can be and will be in the future," said Tyler Measom, Utah Family Film Festival Director. "The 2007 Utah Family Film Festival award-winners reflect the talent, diversity, and evolution of independent film and illustrate the power of film to explore issues that are prevalent in our family-oriented society."

The 2007 Utah Family Film Festival Award-Winners are:

The Grand Jury Award was given to Big Dreams, Little Tokyo (www.bigdreamslittletokyo.com ), directed by local wunderkind, David Boyle. Big Dreams Little Tokyo is the story of an American with an uncanny ability to speak Japanese, who aspires to succeed in the world of Japanese business but finds himself mostly on the outside looking in. Meanwhile, his roommate is a Japanese American who has always felt too American to be Japanese but too Japanese to be American. He aspires to be a sumo wrestler but finds his weight and blood pressure are thwarting his dreams. Together they struggle to find their place in a world where cultural identity is seldom what it seems.

The Audience Award, as voted by the Utah Film Festival audiences, was given to Beautiful Dreamer, (www.beautifuldreamerthemovie.com ), directed by Terri Farley-Teruel. Beautiful Dreamer is a love story set against the backdrop of World War II. Joe (Colin Egglesfield) is a World War II bomber pilot who is shot down and develops amnesia. His wife Claire (Brooke Langton) thinks he's dead until five years later when she finds him in a small town, but he does not remember who she is.

The Directing Award, recognizing excellence in directing, went to Rick Stevenson for Expiration Date (www.expirationdatethemovie.com ). In Expiration Date, Charlie Silvercloud III carries a family curse, passed down from his grandfather: death by a milk truck on his 25th birthday. With eight days left, Charlie accepts his fate and starts taking care of his unfinished business, such as watering his plants and returning his library books, etc. But while he's out casket hunting, he meets a girl who just won't let him die in peace.

The Shorts Jury Award was presented to Salt Lake City resident Jenny Mackenzie for Where's Herbie, a heart-warming love story about 91-year-old Herbie Loveitt, a lobsterman in Georgetown, Maine, who still fishes every day with about 75 lobster traps. His passion for life, work, and people are contagious. After Herbie hauls his traps in the mornings, he spends every afternoon visiting his wife Virginia who is dying of Alzheimer's. With humor, warmth, and humility, Herbie shares his philosophy on aging, death and the risks of retirement. Herbie is an example of how to live the last years of one's life to the fullest.

The 2007 Family Film Festival ran June 7 through June 9 in Orem, Utah. The complete list of films is available at www.utahfamilyfilmfestival.com. For the 2007 Family Film Festival, 16 feature films were selected, including the world premiere of the highly acclaimed teen film, Her Best Move, as well as two short programs for children and adults. The family friendly films showcased in the initial festival showcased the film works of talented and independent filmmakers from around the world.

The Utah Family Film Foundation was founded by Utah businessman and film entrepreneur Brady Whittingham in an effort to help families discover excellent family-oriented films in a community setting. The Utah Family Film Festival is an independent festival dedicated to finding compelling, humorous, and thought provoking films of exceptional quality.

About the Utah Family Film Festival

The Utah Family Film Festival is the premier showcase for U.S. and international independent family-focused films. Held in Orem, Utah, the festival's core purpose is to provide world-class films that are socially thoughtful, compelling and positive, and meant to appeal to a family-centered audience.

Source: Utah Family Film Festival

CONTACT: Jennilyn Merten, +1-801-687-6665, or +1-801-949-5086,
jennilyn@leftturnfilms.com, for the Utah Family Film Festival

Web site:

http://www.utahfamilyfilmfestival.com/

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