2010 Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema awards ceremony

2010 IIFC first annual awards ceremony winners

No film festival is complete without an awards ceremony. And the 2010 Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema (IIFC) is no exception. Awards presenters at the 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 16 gala included Festival Director Stephen Savage, local celebrity/actor Conor O’Farrell, Hollywood actor Wolfgang Bodison, Renate and Geoffrey Caine, and Riverside County Third District Supervisor Jeff Stone. “The envelope please:”

Selected based on the largest audience for a festival screening

Best of Festival – “Legacy”, Stephen Savage, director

The Tahquitz Awards (audience vote)

Best Feature Film – “Rock Slyde”, Chris Dowling, director
Best Feature Director – Chris Dowling, “Rock Slyde”
Best Feature Screenplay – Chris Dowling, “Rock Slyde”
Best Female Actor, Feature or Short – Kyrie Maezumi, “Legacy”
Best Male Actor, Feature or Short – Rob Evens, “Around”
Best Cinematography, Feature or Short – Thomas L. Callaway, “Broke Sky”
Best Documentary – Cassie Jaye, “Daddy, I Do”
Best Featurette (over 15 less than 60 minutes) – “Dead Cat Bounce”, Daric Gates, director
Best Short (under 15 minutes) – “Wrong Way Up”, Gabriel Hardman, director
Best Director, short film under 15 minutes – “The Hit”, Abazar Khayami, director
Best Screenplay, Short – Tommy Smeltzer, “The Deposition of Lou Bagetta”

Awards chosen by the Geoffrey and Renate Caine

The Renate (best documentary made by an educator) – Jim Rizor, “Ketch My Drift”
The Geoffrey Caine Trophy – (best student film made by a director under 18 years of age) – Rob Miller, “From Page to Stage: The Journey of ‘Heartland’”

Award chosen by Stephen Savage and musician brother Tucker

Marshall Hawkins Award for best original soundtrack – Greg Stitt, “Manhater”

Award chosen by Stephen Savage

The Lily Rock Lifetime Achievement Award – Stephan Gierasch, actor in over 100 films including “Jeremiah Johnson,” “The Hustler,” “Dave,” “What’s Up Doc,” “High Plains Drifter,” “Carrie,” “Silver Streak,” and veteran of some of the best television series ever to air including “M.A.S.H.”, “Cheers,” “Murder She Wrote,” “Studio One,” “Ironside,” “The Mod Squad,” “The Jeffersons,” and “The Twilight Zone.” Eighty Three year old Idyllwild resident Gierasch’s IMDb resume takes up 5 pages, truly a lifetime of achievement which began in 1951 with “The Goodyear Television Playhouse.”

Photos from the Saturday Jan. 16 Rustic Theatre IIFC Awards Ceremony and from Friday night's, Jan. 15 sellout World Premiere of Stephan Savage's "Legacy" are posted on the Town Crier's IIFC blog.