RiverRun is a juried film festival, and our juries in five competition categories convened on Sunday morning for their deliberations and awards were announced on Sunday afternoon.  RiverRun is an Academy Award-qualifying festival in the categories of Documentary Short Film and Animated Short Film. In addition, RiverRun audiences again voted for their favorite films during the 11-day Festival.  See below for a complete list of all of the award-winning films from this year’s festival!

2019 Awards

Master of Cinema Awards

• Richard Benjamin
• Mike Medavoy
• Paula Prentiss

Spark Award

• Martha Stephens

Audience Awards

• Overall Audience Award Winner — Who Killed Lt. Van Dorn? (USA), directed by Zachary Stauffer
• Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, LLP Audience Award for Best Re: Vision Independent Feature — Alice (Australia/France), directed by Josephine Mackerras
• Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature — Kifaru (Kenya/USA), directed by David Hambridge

Jury Awards (Re: Vision Independent Feature Competition)

• Best Film — Alice (Australia/France), directed by Josephine Mackerras
• Peter Brunette Award for Best Director — Josephine Mackerras, Alice (Australia/France)
• Special Jury Prize for Bold Innovation — Life is Fare (USA), directed by Sephora Woldu

Jury Awards (Documentary Features Competition)

• Best Documentary Feature — American Factory (USA), directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
• Best Director — Marcus Lindeen, The Raft (Sweden/Denmark/Germany/USA)
• Best Cinematography — For Sama (Syria/UK), directed by Waad Al-Khateab and Edward Watts
• Human Rights Award — Always in Season (USA), directed by Jacqueline Olive
• Special Jury Prize — Kifaru (Kenya/USA), directed by David Hambridge

Jury Awards (Shorts Competetion)

• Best Narrative Short — Damage (USA), directed by Matt Porter
• Best Student Narrative Short — Weaning (USA/Argentina), directed by Ines Gowland
• Best Documentary Short — A Jew Walks into a Bar (USA), directed by Jonathan Miller
• Special Jury Prize for Cinematic Quality, Documentary Short — El Desierto (USA), directed by Carly Jakins and Jared Jakins
• Special Jury Prize for Social Impact, Documentary Short — Hamama and Caluna (Switzerland), directed by Andreas Anuuk Muggli
• Best Animated Short — Cat Days (Germany), directed by Jon Frickey
• Honorable Mention, Animated Short — Game Changer (USA), directed by Aviv Mano

Other awards

• Reel South Award — As in Death (USA), directed by Mark Kammel
• Pitch Fest 1st prize — A Space for Me (Elon University), directed by Riley Bradford and Sophia Ortiz
• Pitch Fest runner-up — Alchemy (Wake Forest University), directed by Bridget Fitzgerald