"The Good Catholic," director Paul Shoulberg's film about a priest experiencing a crisis of faith, has won the top jury award at the 2017 Santa Barbara Film Festival, SBIFF organizers announced on Saturday.
"My Hero Brother," Yonatan Nir's film about a group of young men and women with Down syndrome traveling through the Himalayas, won the audience award, as well as the jury prize for best documentary.
Other Santa Barbara awards went to the documentary "Angry Inuk" and the international film "The Constitution."
Awards for Latin American and Nordic cinema went to "Tamara" and "Sami Blood," respectively.
The winners were announced at an awards breakfast on the last day of the 12-day festival.
Jurors included Richard Raymond, Joanna Kerns, Jesus Lloveras, Tamara Asseyev, Martin Gooch, Anthony and Arnette Zerbe and Alan Marshall.
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival began on Feb. 1 and ran through Feb. 11 in the coastal town 100 miles north of Los Angeles. Over the course of the festival, it screened films from more than 50 countries, including 51 world premieres and 64 U.S. premieres.
The festival also honored a number of Oscar contenders, including Denzel Washington, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, Jeff Bridges, Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams with special tributes.
The winners:
Audience Award: "My Hero Brother," Yonatan Nir Panavision Spirit Award for Best Independent Feature Film: "The Good Catholic," Paul Shoulberg Jeffrey C. Barbakow Award for Best International Feature Film: "The Constitution," Rajko Grlić Best Documentary Award: "My Hero Brother," Yonatan Nir Nueva Vision Award for Spanish/Latin American Cinema: "Tamara," Elia Schneider Valhalla Award for Best Nordic Film: "Sami Blood," Amanda Kernell ADL Stand Up Award: "Strawberry Days," Wiktor Ericsson Social Justice Award for Documentary Film: "Angry Inuk," Alethea Arnaquq-Baril Corwin Award for Best Live-Action Short Film: "It's Been Like a Year," Cameron Fay Best Animated Short Film: "Confino," Nico Bonomolo Best Documentary Short Film: "Refuge," Matthew K. Firpo; and "Refugee," Joyce Chen and Emily Moore
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