12th Annual Avignon/New York Film Festival Concludes with Awards Ceremony

NEW YORK – The 2006 Avignon/New York Film Festival tonight announced the winners of its 12th annual “transatlantic crossroads of independent cinema” at the festival’s Closing Night ceremony at Danny Kaye Playhouse on New York’s Upper East Side.

This year’s event included 23 features and 23 short films, panel discussions, filmmaker events, and special guests, John Turturro and Bob Rafelson. The Closing Night film was Turturro’s latest directorial work, “Romance and Cigarettes,” a crowd pleaser.

Festival founder and president, Jerome Rudes said: “I am once again very encouraged by the year-on-year enthusiasm from audiences and filmmakers for the Avignon/New York Film Festival. I give my thanks and gratitude to the filmmaking community, our sponsors and our staff of dedicated volunteers on whom so much of this depends."

"The sheer range of thought-provoking stories and diversity of perspectives inspires us and makes the process of organizing this international showcase that much more fulfilling for all involved.”

All 2006 Avignon/New York awards and their winners are:

• 21st Century Filmmaker Award for Best U.S. Feature – “JailCity” (USA, 2006, 99 min.) directed by Daniel Eberle - Mr. Eberle’s first feature focuses on a young man, paroled under house arrest, and forced to reconnect with his estranged father and checkered past. In the film’s parallel story, an injured Iraq war veteran embarks on a blind journey of vengeance against those he deems responsible for his brother’s death. As the plots intertwine, and then collide, these two men struggle to reconcile their past, present, and ultimately, the meaning of their lives. Through a powerful visual narrative, a diverse musical score, and strong performances by the ensemble New York cast, “JailCity” sweeps us up into its universal themes of tragedy, redemption, revenge and love.

• 21st Century Filmmaker Award for Best European Feature – “For the Love of God” (Pour l’amour de Dieu, France, 2006, 90 min.) directed by Zakia Tahri & Ahmed Bouchaala - Ms. Tahri and Mr. Bouchaala’s 2nd feature (their first film, “Made in France,” won the Grand Prize at the 2001 Avignon/New York Film Festival) is an intimate examination into the disaccord among the Muslim communities in contemporary France. Kevin, an intense teenager brought up in a moderate Arabic home, is drawn to the veiled Leila, and through her, discovers the beauty and wonder of Muslimism. While Leila goes to visit her family in North Africa, Kevin gets mixed up with Muslim fundamentalists, causing severed schisms in his family, and tragedy. “For the Love of God” takes us relentlessly into the very human choices about faith, love and family.

• 2006 Pierre Salinger Award for Documentary Filmmaking – “Blues By The Beach” (USA/Israel, 2005, 80 min.) directed by Joshua Faudem - Fate brought American filmmaker Jack Baxter together with his Israeli film crew in April 2003 to make a documentary about modern Israel. They chose to film in Mike’s Place, a vibrant beachfront blues bar in Tel Aviv with live music and flowing beer. People from all walks of life and ethnic backgrounds hung out in Mike’s Place, and their film would show how Israel is much more than the seemingly endless violence. Then harsh reality hits Mike’s Place. A suicide bomber strikes, abruptly changing the course of their film and their lives.

• 21st Century Filmmaker Award for Best US Short – “Hot Afternoons Have Been in Montana” (15 min.) directed by Ken Kimmelman - An odyssey throughout the universe based on Eli Siegel’s 1924 prize-winning poem, recorded by the poet himself.

• 21st Century Filmmaker Award for Best European Short – “Intimità” (12 min.) by Matteo Minetto - A man and woman come home after a normal workday and discover their own erotic visions.

John Turturro, special guest of the festival, received the first annual Chateuneuf-du-Pape Cinema Award at a pre-fest Gala dinner on Nov. 12 at Daniel on Park Avenue, saying he was touched by the recognition and pleased to be receiving a new batch of wonderful wines each year for the next decade.

For a brief biography of Festival Founder & President Jerry Rudes, please visit: http://www.avignonfilmfest.com/JHRudesBIO.html

The 2006 Avignon/New York Film Festival warmly thanks its sponsors: Hunter College-CUNY, Sony, AbelCineTech, Cultural Services of the French Embassy, French Film Office, Charles Mathewson Foundation, Roger Smith Hotel, LVT Laser Subtitling, Federation of Producers of Châteauneuf-du-Pape Wines, Kino International, New York State Governor’s Office for Motion Picture & Television Development, Fifi Oscard Agency, Sam Kolber Foundation, AirTran Airways, Hollywood East Flicks, The New York Resident, TLA Video, and Pain d’Avignon.