King Vidor Award Winner, Pam Grier and Ben Mankiewicz.

The George Sidney Independent Film Awards took place on Saturday, preceding the presentation of SLO’s King Vidor Award to 70s cinema icon, Pam Grier. The festival’s Student Filmmaker Awards and Audience Awards were announced the following evening, prior to the presentation of SLO’s Spotlight Award to Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Robin Swicord.

Pam Grier (Photo by Brittany App), Robin Swicord (Photo by Paul Johannes)

“The winning films highlighted the variety and scope of the programming offered to our film fans this year,” said San Luis Obispo Film Festival Director Wendy Eidson. “The SLO Film Fest demonstrated once again that sandwiched between our celebration of the surfing community, wine country, local films and filmmakers and honorees, is a slate of competition films that are challenging and provocative, as well as being entertaining – and our jury members and audiences responded enthusiastically to that.”

Additional winners in the George Sidney Independent Film Awards category were Marcus Markou’s “Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times” (Best Narrative Short Film), Matthew Gelb’s “Prince Of Smoke” (Best Documentary Short Film), and Joel Fendelman’s “Man On Fire” (Best Student Film). The short films chosen for Audience Award nods were Joe Gilette’s “Reception” (Best Narrative Short Film), and Ric and Jen Serena’s “My Indiana Muse” (Best Documentary Short Film).

Winners of the Central Coast Filmmaker Awards were; Gail Osherenko’s “Broke: The Santa Barbara Oil Spill Of 2015” (Best Documentary Feature); Haley White’s “Maudie” (Best Narrative Short Film); Casey McGarry’s “The Boat Maker” (Best Documentary Short Film); and John Gallen and Alex Faoro’s “Daddy” (Best Student Film).

Logan Gilbert (How to Keep Wildlife Safe), Isabella Masrouga (Maybe The Monster) (Photo by Brittany App)

Sunday also featured awards given to the top high school and middle school students whose films screened in SLO’s Filmmakers of Tomorrow Showcase. Best Individual Achievement went to Raymond’s “Peel” (High School), and Isabella Masrouga’s “Maybe The Monster” (Middle School). The films chosen for Best Group Achievement were Grant Thorshov’s “Mindtrap” (High School), and Liliana Monge, Sage Taub,and Kai Monge’s “The Wild Child” (Middle School). Gregory Thom’s “One Life” won Best SLO County, Logan Gilbert’s “How To Keep Wildlife Safe” took The Wild World We Love Award, and Leonardo Perez’s “The Gourmet Stray” was named Best Animated Film. There was a tie in the Best International Film category, with Partho Gupte’s “Jasmine Stung” (India), and Yiwen Gong’s “Cycle, Cycle, Cycle” (China) sharing the top prize.

The San Luis Obispo International Film Festival opened with a large and enthusiastic crowd enjoying Shubhashish Bhutiani’s “Hotel Salvation” at the Fremont Theatre before continuing the Bollywood-themed evening under the SLO festival’s tent at the Mission steps with Indian dancers from the Cal Poly Student Association, party favors, Central Coast wine, beer and a mixture of savory Indian and American food. However, that evening actually managed to pale in comparison to the raucous standing room only crowd that turned out for the festival’s signature “Surf Nite” also at the Fremont, featuring Tim Bonython’s latest film, “The Big Wave Project” and Ross Haines’s “The Agave Gun.”

Other highlights included filmmaker panels featuring Spotlight Award honoree Robin Swicord, Nicholas Kazan (Reversal Of Fortune), Anthony Peckham (Invictus), Scott Budnick (The Hangover), and others. Programming and events also highlighted women and female filmmakers, like the ironically-titled “Women Belong in the Kitchen,” where female chefs and restaurant owners competed in a “Chopped”-style competition, before the documentary “A Fine Line”, about the rarity of women in commercial kitchens. “Let it Shine”, a film documenting the SLO Women’s March, and Jennifer Townsend’s “Catching Sight Of Thelma And Louise”, the 79-year-old first-time filmmaker’s in-depth look into the effects of that iconic film many years after its release, were screened among others.

Jenelle Riley and Robin Swicord (Photo by Brittany App)

The San Luis Obispo International Film Festival was capped by the award presentations featuring two accomplished women in film, with Pam Grier receiving the King Vidor Award on Saturday night. She then participated in a lively conversation with Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz in which she regaled the SLO audience with stories including teaching Fellini how to make fried chicken, being thrown out of the Troubadour with John Lennon, and Quentin Tarantino stopping L.A. traffic to meet her. The next evening, Robin Swicord spoke with Variety’s Jenelle Riley after receiving the festival’s Spotlight Award and discussed the realities of being a woman writing and making films in Hollywood.

2018 San Luis Obispo International Film Festival Jury

Ryan Cooley – Arts Editor (New Times)
John Hampian – Production Manager/Producer (Mad Men, Kingdom, Magic City)
Kirk Honeycutt – Author/Film Critic/Journalist (Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University)
Betsy Kalin – Producer/Director (ROOF, HEARTS CRACKED OPEN, CHAINED!)
Camilla Lanham – Editor (New Times)
Sarah Linn – Entertainment Editor (The Tribune)
Cindy Myers – Screenwriter (A Woman of Independent Means, Incident in a Small Town)
Tom Walters – Writer/Producer/Director (BOTSO)
Lia Rinaldo – Managing Director (Devour! The Food Film Fest)

The 2018 San Luis Obispo Film Festival Award Winners:

George Sidney Independent Film Awards

Beauty Mark – Best Narrative Feature
Director: Harris Doran

Becoming Who I was – Best Documentary Feature
Directors: Moon Chang-Yong, Jeon Jin

Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times – Best Narrative Short Film
Director: Marcus Markou

Prince Of Smoke – Best Documentary Short Film
Director: Matthew Gelb

Man On Fire – Best Student Film
Director: Joel Fendelman

Audience Awards

Streaker (Flitzer) – Best Narrative Feature
Director: Peter Luisi

Fiddlin’ – Best Documentary Feature
Director: Julie Simone

Skid Row Marathon – Best in the Fest
Director: Mark Hayes

Reception – Best Narrative Short Film
Director: Joe Gillette

My Indiana MuseBest Documentary Short Film
Directors: Ric Serena, Jen Serena

Central Coast Filmmaker Awards

Broke: The Santa Barbara Oil Spill Of 2015 – Best Documentary Feature
Director: Gail Osherenko

Maudie – Best Narrative Short Film
Director: Haley White

The Boat Maker – Best Documentary Short Film
Director: Casey McGarry

Daddy– Best Student Film
Directors: John Gallen, Alex Faoro

Filmmakers Of Tomorrow Showcase

Peel – Best Individual Achievement (High School) Director: Raymond

Maybe The Monster – Best Individual Achievement (Middle School)
Director: Isabella Masrouga

Mindtrap – Best Group Achievement (High School)
Director: Grant Thorshov

The Wild Child– Best Group Achievement (Middle School)
Directors: Liliana Monge, Sage Taub, Kai Monge

One Life – Best SLO County
Director: Gregory Thom

How To Keep Wildlife Safe – The Wild World We Love Award
Director: Logan Gilbert

The Gourmet Stray– Best Animated Film
Director: Leonardo Perez

Jasmine Stung – Best International Film (TIE)
Director: Partho Gupte
Country: India

Cycle, Cycle, Cycle – Best International Film (TIE)
Director: Yiwen Gong
Country: China