Diana Zuros' ASL Film "Since August" takes top honors at WFA2021 International Film Festival

Winter Film Awards International Film Festival awards 14 films with top honors, including ASL drama, Nepali horror and Pat Morita documentary. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) October 12, 2021 - Winter Film Awards showcases films from emerging filmmakers from around the world in all genres, with a special emphasis on highlighting the work of women and under-represented filmmakers.

Winter Film Awards International Film Festival (WFA-IFF) closed out the exciting 10th anniversary Festival with a glittering red carpet gala Awards Ceremony on October 2 2021 at New York City's beautiful Club230FIFTH (230 Fifth Avenue). The Festival’s 2021 lineup included 91 outstanding films, a diverse mixture of 13 Animated films, 15 Documentaries, 6 Feature narratives, 16 Horror films, 10 Music Videos, 22 Narrative shorts and 5 Web series; flmmakers came from 28 countries; half of the films were created by women, 53% were created by or about people of color.

Fourteen outstanding films took home top honors at the event.

Best Picture: Since August
Directed By Diana Zuros (United States), Starring Sabina Akhmedova and Antoinette Abbamonte

A young recovering drug addict confronts her demons by befriending the grief-stricken deaf mother she mysteriously spies on, but instead forges a much deeper friendship than she ever anticipated - one built upon the shared trauma of the women’s pasts. Told in ASL and shot on a DSLR camera, Since August is a uniquely intimate story of healing and redemption that bears witness to the power of visual storytelling. The film showcases a diverse cast and crew of international women with the representation of a deaf actress in the role of Vedette.

The film is told in ASL with English subtitles; there is no verbal dialogue in it. All of the deaf characters in the film are portrayed by deaf actors and the film is made by women and is about women.

ADDITIONAL WINNERS
BEST NYC FILM: Mister Sister, directed by Mars Roberge (Canada)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: More Than Miyagi, directed by Kevin Derek (United States)

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT: High Flying Jade, directed by Katherine Sweetman (Vietnam)

BEST HORROR FEATURE FILM: The Puppet, directed by Veemsen Lama (Nepal)

BEST HORROR SHORT FILM: Koreatown Ghost Story, directed by Minsun Park & Teddy Tenenbaum (United States)

BEST DIRECTOR: Kintsugi, directed by Nadja Bobyleva & Konstantin Schraps (Germany)

BEST ANIMATED FILM: Röckët Stähr's Death of a Rockstar, directed by Röckët Stähr (United States)

BEST SHORT FILM: Cuckoo!, directed by Jörgen Scholtens (Netherlands)

BEST WEB SERIES: Big Girl, directed by Alyssa Cartee (United States)

BEST MUSIC VIDEO: Pemmican, directed by Kelzang Ravach (France)

BEST STUDENT FILM: Musician, directed by Mohsen Mehri Darouei (Iran)

BEST ACTOR: Búi Dam, Stay, directed by Maria Winther Olsen (Faroe Islands)

BEST ACTRESS: Vishka Asayesh, The Badger, directed by Kazem Mollaie (Iran)

INDIEPIX VISION AWARD
The IndiePix Vision Award is a unique distribution offer from IndiePix Films, including but not limited to DVD release, Virtual Cinema exhibition, and Digital placement on the IndiePix Unlimited Amazon Prime Video Channel. Films are selected by NYC-based distributor and longtime Winter Film Awards sponsor IndiePix Films, whose highly curated collection includes award-winning films from around the world and newly discovered film talents.

Since August, directed by Diana Zuros (United States)
The Badger, directed by Kazem Mollaie (Iran)
The Puppet, directed by Veemsen Lama (Nepal)
Jesus Kid, directed by Aly Muritiba (Brazil)
I'm An Electric Lampshade, directed by John Clayton Doyle (United States)

PATRON OF THE CINEMA AWARD
Heather Buckley, film producer, writer, historian and dedicated preservationist received the Winter Film Awards 2021 PATRON OF THE CINEMA AWARD at Awards Ceremony as part of Winter Film Awards 10th Annual International Film Festival.

The WFA Board of Directors is pleased to honor Heather Buckley for her work.

ABOUT WINTER FILM AWARDS
Winter Film Awards is an all-volunteer, minority and women-owned registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 2011 in New York City by a group of filmmakers and enthusiasts. This program is funded, in part, by a grant from the NYC & Company Foundation and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. WFA-IFF’s mission is to promote diversity, bridge the opportunity divide and provide a platform for under-represented artists and a variety of genres, viewpoints and approaches. We believe that only by seeing others’ stories can we understand each other and only via an open door can the underrepresented artist enter the room.

For more information about Winter Film Awards, visit WinterFilmAwards.com

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