HIFF 2018 Audience Awards were announced today!
The HIFF2018 Audience Award for Narrative Feature went to THE HATE U GIVE,
directed by George Tillman Jr., and starring Amandla Stenberg.
As a way to escape the limited options of the streets she grew up on, sixteen-year-old black teenager Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg) is torn between two lives: one at school amidst her predominantly rich, upper-class white classmates, and another within her working-class neighborhood. But Starr’s dual life is torn apart when a reunion with a childhood sweetheart ends in tragedy at the hands of a local police officer, forcing her to take a side amidst a swelling of protests in the local community. Adapting Angie Thomas’s award-winning novel to the big screen with the same sense of urgency that shot it to the top of the bestsellers list, THE HATE U GIVE is a stirring look at one teenager’s personal awakening.
The Audience Award for Documentary Feature went to John Chester‘s THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM.
In 2011, documentary filmmaker John Chester and his wife, professional chef Molly Chester, made a life-altering decision: the couple left their jobs to move to a patch of land north of Los Angeles and build a farm from the ground up. Motivated by their desire to both live a life outside of the city and provide a better life for their rescue dog Todd, the couple waded through disastrous weather, predators, and local diseases over the next seven years as they devoted themselves to the creation of Apricot Lane Farms, with John documenting every step of the way. Inspiring in its storytelling and breathtaking in its imagery, THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM is a beautiful homage to the natural world.
Directed by Bobby Pontillas and Andrew Chesworth, ONE SMALL STEP won the Audience Award for Short Film. They are former Disney/Pixar artists who started their own studio (Taiko) last year, and this is their first film.
With the unwavering support of her humble father, an ambitious young girl dreams of becoming an astronaut.
The HIFF 2018 Audience Awards are sponsored by
