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Festival Awards

The Sonoma International Film Festival (SIFF) Awards Program honors the best in independent filmmaking, celebrating outstanding storytelling and artistic excellence. On Sunday, March 23rd, the festival’s closing day, a special Awards Brunch will recognize the winners of both the Audience Awards and the Grand Jury Prize Awards.

The Audience Awards—determined by audience balloting throughout the festival—will be presented for Best Feature, Best Documentary, and Best Short Film, reflecting the films that resonated most with festivalgoers.

The Grand Jury Prize Awards, selected by a panel of industry professionals, will recognize excellence in multiple categories, including Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary Feature, Best Live Action Short, Best Animated Short, and Best Documentary Short.

With its commitment to championing bold and original storytelling, SIFF’s Awards Program offers filmmakers a prestigious platform to gain recognition and elevate their work on the global stage.

At the 27th edition of the festival, held from March 20 to 24, 2024, the following awards were presented.

2024 Grand Jury Awards

Best Narrative Feature

Goodbye Julia, directed by Mohamed Kordofani. This Sudanese drama tells the story of Mona, a northern Sudanese retired singer in a tense marriage, who is wracked by guilt after covering up a murder. The jury praised the film as "an outstanding first feature... anchored by two stellar performances from Eiman Yousif and Siran Riak."

Best Documentary Feature

Invisible Nation, directed by Vanessa Hope. This documentary offers a fascinating portrait of Taiwan’s first female president, Tsai Ing-wen. The jury described it as a "cogent, clear-eyed, entertaining film" that "reveals Taiwan as a dynamic nation standing at the forefront of the global fight for democracy."

Best Live Action Short Film

ILY, Bye, directed by Taylor James.

Best Documentary Short Film

A Part of You / Made Me Whole Again, directed by Destyn Fuller-Hope and Andrew Wonder.

Best Animated Short Film

Bug Diner, directed by Phoebe Jane Hart.

Audience Awards

Stolman Audience Award, Best Feature

The Teacher Who Promised the Sea, directed by Patricia Font.

A3 Audience Award, Best Documentary

Call Me Dancer, directed by Leslie Shampaine and Pip Gilmour.

The McNeely Audience Award, Best Short Film

Save the Cat, a 24-minute documentary directed by Jordan Matthew Horowitz. This film follows a Ukrainian family fleeing war and landing in Sonoma, focusing on their quest to reunite the daughter with her beloved feline.

In addition to the film awards, award-winning actor Beau Bridges was honored with the SIFF Lifetime Achievement Award. As part of the tribute to his illustrious 40-year film and television career, Bridges participated in an on-stage conversation with Los Angeles Times film critic Katie Walsh, followed by a 35th-anniversary screening of The Fabulous Baker Boys. The 27th SIFF also featured special guests such as actor/director John Cameron Mitchell, actor Scoot McNairy, chef Susan Feniger, and musician Rob Garza of Thievery Corporation, among others.