Grimmfest 2019 Award Winners Announced!
Manchester’s international horror and fantasy film festival Grimmfest has just wrapped on its 11th anniversary spectacular. Boasting its biggest line-up ever, this instalment of Grimmfest showcased some of the very best in contemporary genre cinema. With many films of previous years going on to garner international acclaim, Grimmfest has become a proving ground for independent creators.
The clear star of this year’s festival was Why Don’t You Just Die!, a gritty and blackly comic Russian crime drama with hints of Tarantino and the Coen Brothers. Why Don’t You Just Die picked up the coveted Best Feature award and netted Best Director for its creator Kirill Sokolov. It’s a dazzling debut feature for writer and director Sokolov, which has earned his team £80,000 worth of post-production services courtesy of Festival Sponsor M2 MediaPost.
Special mention goes to Extra Ordinary, one of our picks from the festival, which just missed out on Best Feature, snagging the Audience Award instead. Maeve Higgins picked up Best Actress for her starring turn in Extra Ordinary, more than deserved after a performance that was our festival highlight.
Grimmfest has released its list of official award winners:
Horror Channel Achievement in Horror Award
JEN AND SYLVIA SOSKA (AMERICAN MARY, DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK, RABID)
Best Feature (Sponsored by M2 MediaPost)
WHY DON’T YOU JUST DIE!
With Special Mention for EXTRA ORDINARY
Best Director (Sponsored by M2 MediaPost)
KIRILL SOKOLOV, WHY DON’T YOU JUST DIE!
With Special Mention for ROB GRANT (HARPOON)
Best Screenplay (Sponsored by Final Draft and InkTip)
HARPOON
With Special Mention for A SERIAL KILLER’S GUIDE TO LIFE
Best Cinematography (Sponsored by One Bright Dot)
4×4
With Special Mention for WHY DON’T YOU JUST DIE!
Best Score (Sponsored by Grimmfest Films)
ARTIK
With Special Mention for TONE-DEAF
Best Actor
PETER LANZANI, 4×4
With Special Mention for MUNRO CHAMBERS (HARPOON)
Best Actress
MAEVE HIGGINS, EXTRA ORDINARY
With Special Mention for POPPY ROE (A SERIAL KILLER’S GUIDE TO LIFE)
Best SFX (Sponsored by Fangoria Magazine)
WHY DON’T YOU JUST DIE!
With Special Mentions for BLOOD VESSEL and THE WRETCHED
Best Kill (Sponsored by Dread Central)
SATANIC PANIC
With Special Mention for HARPOON
Best Scare (Sponsored by Rue Morgue magazine)
THE WRETCHED
With Special Mention for BLOOD VESSEL
Best Short (Sponsored by Shudder)
LIMBO
With Special Mention for HOW TO BE ALONE and LOOM
Finally, as voted for by Grimmfest 2019 attendees:
The Audience Award (Sponsored by Shudder)
EXTRA ORDINARY
With Special Mentions for LITTLE MONSTERS and WHY DON’T YOU JUST DIE!