2009 Palm Springs International ShortFest award winners

Hungarian film-maker Karchi Perlmann's "The Dinner" (Vacsora), the tale of a hapless pig farmer, received the best of festival award at the 2009 Palm Springs International ShortFest & Short Film Market, which concluded Sunday.

Winners were announced Sunday as the fest, which screened 315 short films from among more than 2,200 submissions, drew to a close on Monday. A total of 27 awards were handed out.

The 2009 Palm Springs International ShortFest award winners are

Jury Awards

• Best of Festival, "The Dinner" (Vacsora), Karchi Perlmann
• Future Filmmaker Award, Katie Wolfe, "This is Her"
• Panavision Grand Jury Award, "Jonathan's Home," Nathanael Carton

Audience Awards

• Live Action Short, "Dandelion Dharma," Veronica DiPippo
• Documentary Short, "Claiming the Title: Gay Olympics On Trial," Jonathan Joiner, Robert H. Martin
• Animation Short, "Lost and Found," Philip Hunt

Jury Category Awards

• Best Live Action Short under 15 minutes:
• First place: "The Stars Don't Twinkle in Outer Space," Peter Thwaites;
• Second place: "The Man Inside," Rory Bresnihan.
• Best Live Action Short over 15 minutes:
• First place: "The Taxidermist," Bert & Bertie;
• Second place: "Love Hate," Dylan Ritson, Blake Ritson
• Best Animated Short:
• First place: "Cages," Juan Jose Medina;
• Second place: "Juiced and Jazzed," Justin Webber.
• Best Documentary Short:
• First place: "Irene," Lindsay Goodall;
• Second place: "Naming Pluto," Ginita Jimenez.

Student Categories

• Best Student Live Action Short under 15 minutes:
• First place: "Cigarette Candy," Lauren Wolkstein;
• Second place: "My Four Inch Precious," Sou Yun Sim.
• Best Student Live Action Short over 15 minutes:
• First place: "The Lunch Box," Lubomir Mihailo Kocka;
• Second place: "Gloria & Eric," Nicolas Calzada.
• Best Student Animated Short:
• First place: "The Incident at Tower 37," Chris Perry;
• Second place: "The Incredible Story of My Great Grandmother Olive," Alberto Rodriguez.
• Best Student Documentary Short:
• First place: "Waiting for Women" (Esperando Mujeres), Estephan Wagnere;
• Second place: "Nutkin's Last Stand," Nicholas Berger.
• Kodak Award for Best Student Cinematography:
• First place: cinematographer Alexa Caravia, "Rare Fish";
• Second place: cinematographer Nathan Levine-Heaney, "My Four Inch Precious."

Special Awards

• The Alexis Award for Most Promising Student Filmmaker, Steven Edell, "A Son's War."
• Special mentions went to Brooke Sebold for "Brotherhood" and Lauren Wolkstein for "Cigarette Candy."
• The Hard C High Five to Lo Fi Award for Most Entertaining Low Budget Short, "Marry, F***, Kill ," Douglas Lamore.
• The Cinema Without Borders Best International Film Award, "Kingsland #1 The Dreamer," Tony Grisoni.

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