The Seattle International Film Festival closed its 48th edition on Sunday by announcing its top honors, presenting awards at a ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Seattle.
“Klondike,” a film following a family that lives on the tumultuous border of Russia and Ukraine in 2014, was awarded the grand jury prize within the festival’s official competition.
“For a work both tragically prophetic and universal in its impact, a ferocious and formalist vision of war that fuses humanism, black comedy and horror into a searing and original vision, we award the Grand Jury Prize to Maryna Er Gorbach’s ‘Klondike,’” said the jury, composed of Angel An, senior director of acquisitions at Roadside Attraction; David Ansen, lead programmer at the Palm Spring International Film Festival; and Matthew Campbell, artistic director of the Denver Film Society and the Denver Film Festival.
“Know Your Place,” a drama following two teenage Ethiopian-Americans engaging in an odyssey across Seattle, was awarded the Golden Space Needle audience award for best film, emerging victorious from a pool that saw over 20,000 ballot submissions. “Know Your Place” also earned the grand jury prize for the festival’s New American Cinema Competition.
“This drama is a deep dive into a Seattle subculture that has rarely if ever been shown before with such intimacy. Character-driven and of the moment, it takes us on an unexpected journey of discovery, and reminds us of the daily hardships of living on the margins in America,” said the jury, composed of Thelma Adams, author and film critic; Andrew Carlin, director of theatrical distribution and sales at Oscilloscope Laboratories; and Bill Guentzler, senior director of acquisitions at Gravitas Ventures.
The 11-day festival began on April 14, screening 263 films across in-person events at at-home streaming through its own channel.
“As we celebrated our first in-person festival in three years, we were so thrilled to bring great films and new voices from across the globe,” said Beth Barrett, SIFF artistic director. “Creating those experiences that bring audiences around film, both in cinema and hybrid, allowed us all to connect, to learn, and to make our own world a little bigger. We are consistently impressed with filmmakers’ abilities to tell their stories, even under stressful conditions, and to find and meet their audiences.”
See the full list of festival winners below:
GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD – BEST FILM
“Know Your Place” | dir. by Zia Mohajerjasbi
GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD – BEST DOCUMENTARY
“The Territory” | dir. by Alex Pritz
GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD – BEST DIRECTOR
Horacio Gomez Alcalà (“Finlandia”)
GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD – BEST PERFORMANCE
Dale Dickey (“A Love Song”)
GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD – BEST SHORT FILM
“Long Line of Ladies” | dir. by Reyka Zehtabchi, Shaandiin Tome
LENA SHARPE AWARD FOR PERSISTENCE OF VISION
“Sweetheart Deal” | dir. by Elisa Levine and Gabriel Miller
SIFF 2022 OFFICIAL COMPETITION – GRAND JURY PRIZE
“Klondike” | dir. Maryna Er Gorbach
SIFF 2022 OFFICIAL COMPETITION – SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
“Navalny” | dir. Daniel Roher
SIFF 2022 OFFICIAL COMPETITION – SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
“Fire of Love” | dir. Sara Dosa
SIFF 2022 IBERO-AMERICAN COMPETITION – GRAND JURY PRIZE
“Sublime” | dir. Mariano Biasin
SIFF 2022 OFFICIAL COMPETITION – SPECIAL JURY PRIZE FOR ORIGINALITY OF VISION
“The Sacred Spirit” |dir. Chema García Ibarra
SIFF 2022 NEW DIRECTORS COMPETITION – GRAND JURY PRIZE
“Lonely Voices” | dir. Andrea Brusa, Marco Scotuzzi
SIFF 2022 OFFICIAL COMPETITION – SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
“Moneyboys” | dir. C.B. Yi
SIFF 2022 OFFICIAL COMPETITION – SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
“Tug of War” | dir. Amil Shivji
SIFF 2022 NEW AMERICAN CINEMA COMPETITION – GRAND JURY PRIZE
“Know Your Place” | dir. Zia Mohajerjasbi
SIFF 2022 DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION – GRAND JURY PRIZE
“Radiograph of a Family” | dir. Firouzeh Khosrovani
SIFF 2022 OFFICIAL COMPETITION – SPECIAL JURY PRIZE FOR CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Dark Red Forest” | dir. Jin Huaqing
WAVEMAKER AWARD – GRAND JURY PRIZE
“She” | dir. Eva Li
SIFF 2022 SHORT FILM JURY AWARDS – LIVE ACTION SHORT – GRAND JURY PRIZE
“Rachels Don’t Run” | dir. Joanny Causse
SIFF 2022 SHORT FILM JURY AWARDS – LIVE ACTION SHORT – SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
“El Carrito” | dir. Zahida Pirani
SIFF 2022 SHORT FILM JURY AWARDS – LIVE ACTION SHORT – SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
“Tank Fairy” | dir. Erich Rettstadt
SIFF 2022 SHORT FILM JURY AWARDS – DOCUMENTARY SHORT – GRAND JURY PRIZE
“Long Line of Ladies” | dir. Rayka Zehtabchi, Shaandiin Tome
SIFF 2022 SHORT FILM JURY AWARDS – ANIMATED SHORT – GRAND JURY PRIZE
“Love, Dad” | dir. Diana Cam Van Nguyen
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN DIRECTING
“Wet” | dir. Marianne Bergeonneau, Lauriane Montppert, Mélina Mandon, Cloé Peyrebrune, Elvira Taussac