This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Nov. 21, 2011 - "In Darkness," a film about Jewish refugees in Nazi-occupied Poland, won the audience choice award as the overall favorite film of the 20th annual St. Louis International Film Festival, which ended Sunday night with a party and awards ceremony at the Hilton Ballpark Hotel.
"In Darkness" was directed by Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland, whose first international success came with the 1991 film "Europa, Europa," also set during the Holocaust. In this film, a sewer worker helps Jews escape the ghetto in Lvov, for a price.
"The Artist," a black-and-white silent film about silent-era Hollywood starring John Goodman, was voted best foreign film. It is a French production and the two other stars are Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo.
"Carol Channing: Larger Than Life" was voted best documentary. Directed by Dori Berinstein, it includes a wealth of archial footage and interviews with such icons as Lily Tomlin, Chita Rivera, Jerry Herman, Bob Mackie and others.
This year's festival was the largest in the festival's history, showing 142 feature-length films and 257 shorts and presenting more than 100 visiting filmmakers. "We received positive feedback from almost everyone who visited," said festival executive director Cliff Froehlich. "They loved the venues and the audience reaction."
Attendance is also expected to set a record. Froehlich said that attendance totals could be as high as 25,000 when all the tickets are counted.
The St. Louis Film Critics Association named "The Fairy," a French fantasy, as best narrative feature and "Eco-Pirate" as best documentary. "96 Minutes," an urban crime drama directed by Washington University graduate Aimee Lagos, was chosen by a panel of critics as the best of five entries in the New Filmmakers Forum.
"Joint Body," a drama about a prison parolee trying to cope with life on the outside, was named best locally produced feature. "Joint Body," directed by Brian Jun, was filmed in the Alton area. Best locally produced documentary was "The Pruitt Igoe Myth," an examination of the sad history of the St. Louis housing project that was destroyed by dynamite in the early 1970s.
The Interfaith Awards, which go to a feature and a documentary that contribute "to the understanding of the human condition and recognition of ethical, social and spiritual values," went to "The Welcome" (documentary) and "The White Meadows" by Mohammed Rasoulof. The Midrash awards, which go to "St. Louis-related films of honesty and artistry that portray the need or the hope for reconciliation or redemption," went to "Pruitt Igoe Myth" and "Joint Body."
The short films that garnered awards were "Wyckoff Place" (documentary), "My Best Wand" (local), "My Best Wand" ("short"), "Yuri Lennon's Landing on Alpha 46" (international), "Paths of Hate (animated), "Animal Love" (live action) and "Baby" (best of fest).
Harper Barnes is the Beacon film reviewer. This article includes information from Rob Levy and Beacon features and commentary editor Donna Korando.