2014 Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles Announces Filmmaker Award Winners

Downtown Film Festival L.A. Announces Filmmakers Awards

‘The Algerian,’ ‘Pauly Shore Stands Alone,’ ‘Jake Squared’ and

‘Looking For The Perfect Beat’ Take Top Honors

Closing Night Film Presentation of ‘American Cycle’ Plays To SRO Audience

LOS ANGELES – July 20, 2014 – The 6th annual Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles concluded last night with its Filmmakers Award Ceremony at a packed house at the new event space at Angel City Brewery, located in downtown L.A.’s burgeoning Arts District.

Taking top honors was “The Algerian,” the festival’s Opening Night Film that picked up awards for Best Picture – Narrative Feature, Best Cinematography – Narrative and Best Actor – Feature (Ben Youcef). Other winners were “Pauly Shore Stands Alone,” making its festival debut and nabbing the Best Picture – Documentary Feature award; “Jake Squared,” the festival’s Centerpiece Film, which won both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress – Feature Film awards, for Virginia Madsen and Jane Seymour, respectively, and “Looking For The Perfect Beat,” a documentary about downtown L.A.’s thriving “beat scene” music community, which won the Audience Favorite Award.

Awards for Best Director for Feature Narrative and for Feature Documentary went to Joe Basile (“West End”) and Penny Vozniak (“Despite the Gods”), respectively.

Best Picture – Shorts went to “Penance” by director Jeff Wolfe, who also won for Best Screenwriter – Shorts. Best Horror Shorts went to “Don’t Creep Up” (Jhon Doria, director), and Best Music Video to “Kill A Hipster” (Jackson Adams, director).

A complete list of winner follows.

The festival’s Awards Ceremony was preceded by the Closing Night Film presentation and Los Angeles premiere of “American Cycle,” an American road movie documenting the cross-country adventures of two cyclists, which concludes in LA. The film was preceded by a 2-hour guided bike ride throughout downtown L.A. of famed and historical film locations.

This year’s festival was sponsored by Avant South Park Apartments, California Bank & Trust, PacMutual, Please Do Not Enter Gallery, Metro, Film LA, Robertson Taylor Entertainment Insurance Worldwide, Eric Rossner Illustrations, 101 Keys website services, MrPaulMarchand.net, Torrey Pines Marketing, Stella Artois, City Club Los Angeles, Terroni restaurant. The Must restaurant, Zinc Café & Market, Cicada restaurant, Five Star Bar, Perch restaurant and lounge, Angel City Brewery, Restaurant Republic Catering Co., Feast catering, Frey Vineyards, Leblon cacahca, Downtown Independent Theater, Regal Cinemas L.A. Live, The Grammy Museum, Los Angeles Center Studios and Los Angeles Center for Digital Arts.

2014 Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles Filmmaker Award Winners

FEATURES

Best Picture / Narrative – The Algerian, director-producer Giovanni Zelko

Best Picture / Documentary – Pauly Shore Stands Alone, director-producer Pauly Shore

Best Director for Narrative – Joe Basile, West End

Best Director for Documentary – Penny Vozniak, Despite The Gods

Best Cinematography for Documentary – Wayne Schotten, Swan Lake in Bronze

Best Cinematography for Narrative – Tony Rodenko, The Algerian

Best Editing for Narrative Feature – Kenneth Guertin, Antisocial Behavior

Best Editing for Documentary Feature – Robert Nazar Arjoyan, When My Sorrow Died

Best Screenwriter – Scott Fivelson, Three Holes , Two Brads, and a Smoking Gun

Best Actor – Ben Youcef, The Algerian

Best Actress – Virginia Madsen, Jake Squared

Best Supporting Actor – Joe Nieves, West End

Best Supporting Actress – Jane Seymour, Jake Squared

Best Directorial Debut – Baruh Benjamins and Fernando Del Valle, American Cycle

Audience Favorite – Looking For The Perfect Beat, director Matthew F. Smith

SHORTS

Best Picture – Penance, director Jeff Wolfe

Best Director – Spyros Kopanitsas, (Z)

Best Cinematography – Kieran Fowler, A Man On The Edge

Best Screenwriter – Jeff Wolfe, Penance

Best Actor – Sam Zuckerman, Atrium

Best Actress – Grace Fulton, Journey To Abaddon

Best Supporting Actor – Jesse Gavin, Dogs In The Distance

Best Supporting Actress – Cheree Cassidy, A Man on the Edge

Best Horror – Don’t Creep Up, director Jhon Doria

Best Music Video – Kill A Hipster, director Jackson Adams

ABOUT US

Downtown Film Festival L.A. is Los Angeles’ premiere independent film festival. Established in 2008 as a nonprofit organization, the festival is dedicated to showcasing independent cinema in the historic center of the Creative Capital of the World. DFFLA also celebrates the renaissance of downtown L.A. and its unique cultural diversity.