ReelWorld Film Festival 2006 Announces Top Honours at Closing Gala Award Ceremony

TORONTO – April 24, 2006

Winners of 2006 ReelWorld Film FestivalAwards were announced by CityNews weekend anchor and reporter Merella Fernandez at the Closing Gala award ceremony last night at the Paramount Toronto theatre. ReelWorld is committed to nurturing and celebrating talented artists and investing in their future. The Festival recognizes individuals within the industry who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to their craft with awards that acknowledge their achievements. Due to the generosity of this year’s sponsors and donors over $40,000 in cash and prizes were presented to the winners.

“Our awards are an integral part of ReelWorld.  It’s an opportunity to give back something really tangible to the filmmakers: not only a trophy honouring them, but in many cases cash to sustain their dreams,” says Tonya Lee Williams, ReelWorld founder and president. “These prizes would not be possible without the support of our sponsors NBC Universal Canada, TD Bank Financial Group, Citytv, National Film Board (NFB), Kodak Canada Entertainment Imaging, Cinemavault, Star! TV, Pierre Laurent Timepieces, Writer’s Boot Camp, @Wallace Studios, MyMediaBiz.com, David J. Woods, Dante Entertainment Group, Tango Web Media, Playback Magazine, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and Global Television (CanWest Media Works Inc). A big thanks to all of them.”

The Tonya Lee Williams Award for Outstanding Canadian Feature, witha cash prize of $5,000, presented by Raymond Chun, District Vice-President, on behalf of proud Closing Night sponsor TD Bank Financial Group, was awarded to THE ZERO SUM,directed by Raphael Assaf. The film was also awarded the ReelWorld Award for Outstanding Canadian Screenplay presented by Williams on behalf of Hollywood’s Writer’s Boot Camp. Much more than a standard crime drama, THE ZERO SUM offers a fascinating portrait of an unpredictable man who lies his way through life.

Honourable mention for the Tonya Lee Williams Award for Outstanding Canadian Feature went to KAMATAKI, directed by Claude Gagnon. KAMATAKI was the festival’s opening night film.

ReelWorld Award for Outstanding Canadian Short Film, presented by Silvana Marsella, Account Manager, Feature Films & Student Segment Entertainment Imaging of Kodak Entertainment Imaging Canada went to PATRICK ROSS, directed by Ervin Chartrand. The short is a beautifully-made portrait of an artist who has found peace with his past while trying to wake up a world in slumber through challenging societal taboos in his art.

MR. MERGLER’S GIFT, directed by Beverly Shaffer, received honourable mention.

ReelWorld Award for Outstanding Canadian Documentary was presented by Anita Lee, NFB producer for the National Film Board to THE TORONTO RAP PROJECT, directed by Richard Budman. THE TORONTO RAP PROJECT takes an inside look at the independent urban music scene in Toronto and is blended with elements of music videos. Budman journeyed into diverse neighbourhoods in Toronto during a year when guns, rap and hate crime were topical. The documentary tries to answer the question - Does rap or media glamorization of violence play any part in influencing crime on the streets of Toronto?

THE TORONTO RAP PROJECT was also awarded the Star! ReelChoice AudienceAward, presented by Star! TV’s Larysa Harapyn.  The decision was made based on ballots cast by the audience over the five-day festival.

ReelWorld Award for Outstanding Canadian Music Videowas awarded to DEEWANA, featuring South Asian artist Bageshree Vase and directed byBenaifer Malik and Rajiv Rajamani. ReelWorld Film Festival music video programmer and MuchMoreMusic host Diego Fuentes presented the award.

ReelWorld Award for Outstanding International Feature and International Short Film were respectively presented by Ruby Rodina, Distribution Coordinator of Cinemavault to POET OF THE WASTES (Iran) (Mohammed Ahmadi) and SA/X (South Africa) (Gilli Apter). The protagonist in POET OF THE WASTES is a self-conceived street cleaner-fortune teller, skillfully portrayed by Farzin Mohades, who collects what others have discarded, and in so doing takes us on a romantic adventure in which he encounters a beautiful girl and a poet. SA/X is a comical mock-documentary set in Johannesburg, that follows the journey of Kim Smart, a fair-skinned African girl who dares to look outside of her burglar-proof suburban world.

Honourable mention went to SIRAH (U.S.) (Cristine Spindler) in the short film category.

ReelWorld Award for Outstanding International Documentary was won by FAVELA RISING, directed by Jeff Zimbalist and Matt Mochary. FAVELA RISING takes place in the grim reality of Vigario Geral, the worst of Rio de Janeiro’s urban slums.  The film reflects on a miracle found where it is least expected.

Well-respected executive producer and activist, dedicated to providing jobs for diverse talent in Canada’s entertainment industry, Claire Prieto received this year’s ReelWorldIndustry Angel Award. Presented by Karen King, Production Executive, Original Programming, Drama, CanWest Media Works, the award was created by the ReelWorld Foundation to recognize organizations and/or individuals who have made significant contributions to the Canadian entertainment industry.

Also recognized at the ceremony were the 2006 ReelWorld Trailblazers – Priya Rao, Hubert Davis, Floyd Kane, Annie Frazier Henry and JuliaKwan. Every year, ReelWorld recognizes individuals who strive for excellence and accomplish it on their own terms. Each Trailblazer was interviewed and profiled in the 2006 Festival program book.

Bob Barlen and his team received their award for winning the ReelWorld Pitch sponsored by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Television during the Industry Series. Allan Tong, ReelWorld Industry Series director presented the award on CBC’s behalf.

Legendary Aboriginal actor Graham Greene received the ReelWorld Awardof Excellence earlier at the Festival’s second annual Brunch with Brilliance held at The Drake Hotel. The award was a specially crafted crystal award designed by world-class watch manufacturer Pierre Laurent.  Paul Kwong, President, Pierre Laurent and Charles Coffey, Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and Business Development, RBC presented the award. Greene, whose work spans over 30 years, is known most recently for his role in Transamerica and his earlier Academy Award nominated role in Dances with Wolves.

The winning films were selected by the following adjudicators:

Outstanding Canadian Feature, Outstanding Canadian Music Video & Outstanding Canadian Screenplay

Judi Heron, Senior Account Executive, Unionville Insurance Brokers
Patricia Dillon, Publicist, National Film Board (NFB) (Montreal)
Michael Paszt, Acquisition and Distribution, Cinemavault

Outstanding Canadian Documentary & Outstanding International Documentary

Sharon Ganesh, President, KASA Works!
Brian Cotter, President, COTTER Media
Sunny Yi (Sun-Kyung Yi), Program Executive, Independent Documentary Unit, CBC Television

Outstanding Canadian Short Film & Outstanding International Short Film

Romen Podzyhun, Chairman & CEO, Channel Zero
Bobby Del Rio, filmmaker
Jennifer Chen, Manager, Sales & Distribution, Canadian Film Centre

Outstanding International Feature Film

Karen King, Production Executive, Original Programming, Drama, CanWest Media Works
Justine Whyte, Executive Producer, Canadian Film Centre
Orla La Wayne Garriques, Manager, Development & Marketing, Inner City Films

ReelWorld Film Festival took place April 19-23 with regular screenings at Rainbow Cinemas Market  Square and the Industry Series at St. Lawrence Hall.

ReelWorld Film Festival is Canada’s premiere non-profit film festival dedicated to nurturing, promoting and celebrating the full spectrum of racial and culturally diverse film and video. For the past six years, the Film Festival and Foundation has been instrumental in facilitating artists of colour succeed in the Canadian entertainment industry. Actress, director and producer Tonya Lee Williams founded ReelWorld in 2001 to provide a platform for emerging individuals of colour in the entertainment industry to build their dreams and hone their skills.

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Kevin Pennant
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