AIFA Announce 2017 Winners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2017 AMERICAN INDEPENDENT FILM AWARDS WINNERS ANNOUNCED

14 CATEGORIES FOR INAUGURAL EDITION

NEW YORK CITY, NY, FEBRUARY 19, 2017 – The American Independent Film Awards (AIFAs) announced the winners in all fourteen categories. The 1st edition was held online. Placing first among the top ten nominated American independent films of 2016, Krisha by director Trey Edward Shults added Best Director, Best Original Screenplay (Shults), Best Lead Performance (Krisha Fairchild) and Best Score (Brian McOmber) to the Best Film award. Krisha premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in 2015, and was distributed by A24 Films in March of 2016.

In the other acting category, Other People‘s Molly Shannon won for Best Supporting Performance. Winning in a pair of categories, Kate Plays Christine‘s Robert Greene won for the Best Improvisational Screenplay and Best Editor. Jim Hosking’s The Greasy Strangler also landed a pair of wins, with Best Costume Design (Christina Blackaller) and Best Hair & Make-Up (Michelle Sfarzo). Nominated in nine of twelve categories, Anna Rose Holmer’s The Fits finished a close second in the Best Film of the year and won the Best Cinematographer award (Paul Yee), while Nicolas Pesce’s The Eyes of My Mother won Best Production Design award (Sam Hensen).

The award for the NoBudge Film went to Benjamin Crotty’s Fort Buchanan, while the Michael Cimino Best Film award (1 to 3 Million dollar budget) went to Anna Biller’s The Love Witch. Kelly Reichardt’s Certain Women was the runner up.

The winners are:

BEST FILM (10 Noms)
#10. White Girl – Director: Elizabeth Wood
#9. Always Shine – Director: Sophia Takal
#8. The Other Side – Director: Roberto Minervini
#7. Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party – Director: Stephen Cone
#6. The Eyes of My Mother – Director: Nicolas Pesce
#5. Little Sister – Director: Zach Clark
#4. The Invitation – Director: Karyn Kusama
#3. Kate Plays Christine – Director: Robert Greene
#2. The Fits – Director: Anna Rose Holmer
#1. Krisha – Director: Trey Edward Shults

BEST DIRECTOR
Trey Edward Shults, Krisha

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Trey Edward Shults, Krisha

BEST IMPROVISATIONAL SCREENPLAY
Kate Plays Christine

BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE
Krisha Fairchild, Krisha

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
Molly Shannon, Other People

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHER
Paul Yee, The Fits

BEST EDITOR
Robert Greene, Kate Plays Christine

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Christina Blackaller, The Greasy Strangler

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Sam Hensen, The Eyes of My Mother

BEST HAIR & MAKE-UP
Michelle Sfarzo, The Greasy Strangler

BEST SCORE
Brian McOmber, Krisha

The NOBUDGE FILM AWARD
Fort Buchanan, Benjamin Crotty

THE MICHAEL CIMINO BEST FILM AWARD (Films with a budget between 1M to 3M)
Winner: The Love Witch – Director: Anna Biller
Runner up: Certain Women – Director: Kelly Reichardt

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About the American Independent Film Awards:

The American Independent Film Awards LLC is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and supporting independent films, filmmakers and film technicians. Our voting body consists of U.S. based and international film festival programmers and North American based film critics.

For more information, please visit www.AmericanIndependentFilmAwards.com and follow us on Twitter (@aifasdotcom) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/AmericanIndependentFilmAwards). | LinkedIn Group: www.linkedin.com/company/american-independent-film-awards-llc.

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Press Contact: Eric Lavallee
eric [@] americanindependentfilmawards.com