Berkshire International Film Festival
Jason Lehel’s GAIA Won for Best Feature
By: Bob Fowler - Jun 06, 2010
Today the Berkshire International Film Festival announced the winners of the first annual Juried Prize award generously sponsored by GWFF at a reception held at Allium restaurant in Great Barrington.
The jury was headed by actress Karen Allen, and included actors Scott Cohen and Peter Reigert, past president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, Sid Ganis with his producing partner and wife Nancy Hult Ganis, Peter Herbst of the Lincoln Center Film Society Board, Ken Regan of Camera Five, and Award-Winning First Assistant Director and Producer, Mike Haley.
The Jury had 8 films in competition; 4 films in the feature documentary category and 4 in the narrative feature category. In the documentary category were AHEAD OF TIME, CLIMATE REFUGEES, FAMILY AFFAIR, and THE OATH. ATLETU, GAIA, MAD SAD & BAD, and MY YEAR WITHOUT SEX were in competition for best feature.
The award carried a $5,000 prize that was presented this morning at Allium. In the documentary category, Robert Richman’s AHEAD OF TIME won the award sponsored by GWFF. Jason Lehel’s GAIA won the award for best feature. Lehel, who wrote and directed the film, remarked, “I feel very privileged and honored that GAIA received the Jury award for best feature film at this year’s BIFF. This is a very special festival that's living up to its reputation”. He described BIFF’s programmers having “the courage to select diverse films that not only entertain but also challenge the film-goer. This is not just a ‘film makers’ festival, it's a festival that will enrich and educate lovers of art and those who understand and believe in the power and potential of inspirational film making.”
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The Berkshire International Film Festival announced the winners of the annual BIFF Audience Award. In the documentary category, the winner was PEACEABLE KINGDOM directed by Jenny Stein, a touching portrait of five animal farmers struggling with the ethical tensions inherent in their way of life. Rasselas Lakew and Davey Frankel’s ATLETU won in the narrative category, a film which tells the story of the Ethiopian sports legend Abebe Bikila.
The winner of the Berkshire Bank “Next Great Filmmaker Award” was Dennis Connors’ short film BREAKING BOUNDARIES: THE ART OF ALEX MASKET.
Highlights of the 4 day festival include the opening night screening of the documentary JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK. The film was greatly received by a packed house at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, who enjoyed a wonderful Q&A afterwards with directors Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg.
Friday evening BIFF opened in Pittsfield night with ATLETU. The crowded Beacon Cinema theater was treated to a Q&A with the star and co-director Rasselas Lakew along with his directing partner Davey Frankel.
That evening in Great Barrington, the Mahaiwe was yet again filled for the Patricia Clarkson Tribute and the presentation of Ruba Nadda’s film CAIRO TIME. The speakers were Ruba Nadda, long-time friend and actor Chris Noth, actor Lauren Ambrose who worked with Ms. Clarkson on Six Feet Under, and director Peter Hedges whose film PIECES OF APRIL won Ms. Clarkson an academy award nomination.
Screening 75 features, documentaries, and shorts, BIFF also offered the first annual Juried Prize Award, free children’s programs, Berkshire filmmakers, the BIFF annual collaboration with Jacobs Pillow, BIFF’s collaboration with Berkshire Grown, the annual award ceremony for the Berkshire Student Film Festival, and parties in the Old Great Barrington Firehouse and throughout downtown Great Barrington and Pittsfield.