Mammoth Lakes Film Festival 2024 Winners Include Atikamekw Suns and The Complex Forms

The Mammoth Lakes Film Festival has announced its list of winners for 2024, and they include Chloé Leriche’s Atikamekw Suns and Fabio D’Orta’s The Complex Forms.

Coming to a close on May 26 after five exciting days in Mammoth Lakes, California, the 10th annual festival screened more than 100 features and short films and awarded over $45,000 in cash prizes to winners, including from the screenplay competition.

“This year’s festival experienced a record-breaking turn out of filmmakers – a testament to the desire of filmmakers wanting and needing a venue that creates community and generates support,” said festival director and founder Shira Dubrovner. “We program films that most other festivals don’t take a chance on, films that are highly personal and innovative and deserve a platform. We seek out culturally significant stories produced by the voices of our future cinematic visionaries.”

The aforementioned Atikamekw Suns, directed and written by Leriche, took home the top jury prize of best narrative feature. Both the jury and audience award for best international narrative feature went to D’Orta’s The Complex Forms.

Other winners include Inheritance, directed by Matt Moyer and Amy Toensing, which won the Bravery Award for Documentary. All I’ve Got & Then Some, written and directed by Rasheed Stevens and Tehben Dean, scored the audience award for narrative feature. Mediha, directed by Hasan Oswald, won best feature documentary and the audience award for best documentary. 

This year’s jury members included Academy Award winning producer Tim Moore of Malpaso Productions, Academy Award nominated screenwriter Alex Mechanik, Emmy Award winning producer Allison Amon; Alex Mechanik (May-December), Kimberley Browning (Touchstone Television), Oded Reuveny-Horowitz (Panorama Films), Jacques Thelemaque (Filmmakers Alliance), Kevin Ondarza (WEG Film Collective), Ronald Baez (WEG Film Collective), Scenery Samundra (music supervisor), Sarah Diamond (Slamdance), David Massey (producer), Shaun Hill (Indican Pictures), Corrinne James (Animator), Brian Morataya (projectionist), Sean Barnes (projectionist).

Also Read: The Tallgrass Film Festival Is Putting on an Annie Leibovitz-Inspired Summer Film Series

See the Full Mammoth Lakes Film Festival 2024 Winner’s List Below

Jury Awards

Best Narrative Feature

Atikamekw Suns, directed and written by Chloé Leriche

$1,000 cash award, $10,000 Panavision Camera Rental Grant, $13,500 Light Iron Postproduction Package and a Slated script and financial analysis bundle.

Honorable Mention awarded to All I’ve Got & Then Some, directed by Rasheed Stevens and Tehben Dean.

Best International Narrative Feature

The Complex Forms, directed and written by Fabio D’Orta

$1,000 cash award, $10,000 Panavision Camera Rental Grant, $13,500 Light Iron Postproduction Package and a Slated script and financial analysis bundle.

Best Documentary Feature

Mediha, directed by Hasan Oswald.

$1,000 cash award

Bravery Award for Documentary Feature

Inheritance, directed by Matt Moyer and Amy Toensing

$1,000 cash award

Best Screenplay

Love in the Time of Recycling by Micah Vassau

$1,000 cash award and a Slated script and financial analysis bundle.

Best Narrative Short

“Night Milk,” directed by Tiger Hornby

$500 cash award

Honorable Mention: “Deepfake Apology Video,” directed by Brooke Bundy and Jerzy Rose

Best International Narrative Short

“Ciela,” directed by Mauricio Sierra; written by Walker Kalan

$500 cash award

Honorable Mention: “Tidy House,” directed by Douglas Dezzani

Best Documentary Short

“#Way_Aurelio,” directed by Alan Rexroth

$500 cash award

Honorable Mention: “Voices” directed by Irina Savon.

Best Animation Short

“Acid Green,” directed by EXYL

$500 cash award

Honorable Mention: “Nohomo,” directed by J. Santos

Best Music Video

“Hounds” by Puma Blue, directed by Jak Payne

$500 cash award

Audience Awards

Best Narrative Feature

All I’ve Got & Then Some, directed by Rasheed Stevens and Tehben Dean

$1,000 cash award and $5,000 Panavision Camera Rental Grant

Best International Narrative Feature

The Complex Forms, directed and written by Fabio D’Orta

$1,000 cash award

Best Documentary Feature

Mediha, directed by Hasan Oswald.

$1,000 cash award

Main Image: 2024 feature film winners. Photo by Joseph Marrone Jr., courtesy of Mammoth Lakes Film Festival