Congratulations to the #WFA2016 Winter Film Awards Independent Film Festival Winners

 New York City’s rapidly growing Winter Film Awards (WFA) Indie Film Festival, now in its fifth year, focuses on diversity in Independent Film, with a special emphasis on highlighting women and minority filmmakers.  WFA showcases films from emerging filmmakers from around the world in all genres and seek to show our audience a dazzling array of entertaining cinematic content they would never have the opportunity to see otherwise.

Among the 86 Official Selections screened at Cinema Village in the heart of the East Village (22 East 12th Street, New York, NY 10003), was a diverse mixture of 12 documentaries, 34 shorts, 10 narrative features, 9 animations, 7 music videos, 9 horror films and 5 web series, including 8 student films, 36 female directors and representation from 26 countries.

The festival came to a dazzling close on the evening of February 26 2016 with a glittering Awards Ceremony and after-party at Club 230Fifth (230 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10001).  WFA festival patrons included NYC local filmmakers, arts enthusiasts, and international filmmakers who traveled across the world to see their films screened in front of a live audience, some for the very first time.

Festival Founder George Isaacs says “Emerging filmmakers with low budgets and no connections are so often ignored in favor of the standard big budget generic action films. Diverse, exciting low budget films are created all over the world; it is critical for film festivals to showcase them. Indie film festivals are often the sole means for the community to share personal stories from around the world, and WFA’s location in the center of the action provides our filmmakers with a dazzling chance to begin their careers in the film industry.”

The Awards Ceremony included live musical performances by Nana B, K Da Don and & The Values, Zala Djuric and Darja Schabad.  The hosts for the evening were stand-up comedians C.C. Hughes and Orli Matlow. Awards were given out in 16 categories including honorary award  “Patron of the Cinema (http://winterfilmawards.com/2016/01/13/winter-film-awards...),” given to Jeff Gomez for his outstanding contribution to the NYC film community.

AND THE WINNERS ARE …………
Best Actor ...... Kevin Baggott (Why Do You Smell Like the Ocean?)
Best Actress ...... Constance Ejuma (Ben & Ara)
Best Animated Film ...... Strings (Pedro Solís)
Best Director ...... Isaac Ezban (The Similars)
Best Documentary ...... The Real Miyagi (Kevin Derek)
Best Horror Feature Film ...... Tuyul: Part 1 (Billy Christian)
Best Horror Short Film ...... The Bridge Partner (Gabriel Olson)
Best Music Video ...... I Only Tell The Truth - Charlie Lim (Felipe P. Soares)
Best Original Score ...... Cesium and a Tokyo Girl (Ryo Saitani)
Best Picture ...... Ben & Ara (Nnegest Likké)
Best Short Film ...... Letter to God (Tamas Yvan Topolanszky)
Best Student Film ...... Fulfilament (Rhiannon Evans)
Best Web Series ...... Study Abroad 2: The Daydreaming Bunny (Yung-Jen Yang)
NY Perspectives Award ...... Candy Apple (Dean Dempsey)
Socially Relevant Film ...... My Stolen Revolution (Nahid Persson Sarvestani)
Women's Film Critic Circle Award ...... Oasis (Carmen Jimenez)

“I am very proud of our team this year,” says Winter Film Awards Founder and CEO George Isaacs. “As an organization we were able to use our resources to give back even more to the filmmaker. That is what we are all about – it is so important to celebrate the achievements of emerging filmmakers and we hope to watch them use this as a springboard into the industry.”

Corporate and local support of Winter Film Awards plays an critical role in the life of the Festival and underscores WFA’s commitment to quality, adventure and diversity in the art of cinema. WFA is privileged to continue our collaboration with Gray Line New York, Ride of Fame, B&H Photo & Video, Video Blocks/ AudioBlocks/ GraphicStock, Sony Creative Software, Jungle Software, Cyberlink, Glidecam, JT Talent, Gotham Mini Storage, Museum of Sex, PSPrint, Van Diemens NYC Restaurant & Bar, Yelp, Zacuto film rigs and ProductionHUB.

WFA is delighted to welcome new partners Carmel Car & Limousine Service, the official car service of Winter Film Awards, Big Apple Con, Citi Bike NYC, NYC Post Group, BleuStorm Vodka, Bliss Spa, CourseHorse.com, Distribber, Film Collaborative, IndiePix Films, Orange County NY Film Office, Rhino Camera Gear, exclusive ticketing partner Eventcombo, Women’s Film Critic Circle (WFCC), Shake Share Media and Success with Teamwork.

WFA is grateful for the support of Prof. Charles Lowry’s Marketing Class at Pace University, Prof. Viktor Koen’s Class at School of Visual Arts, and Dr. George Priovolos’ Public Relations Class at Iona College.

Winter Film Awards (WFA) is a volunteer-run and operated 501(c)3 organization dedicated to showcasing emerging filmmakers and the celebration of the diversity of local and international film-making. For more information on tickets, schedules, sponsors, film descriptions and more, please visit www.WinterFilmAwards.com and find us on Facebook.