The 2022 Annapolis Film Festival Still Going Strong at 10!
Written by: Christopher Llewellyn Reed | April 5th, 2022
The Annapolis Film Festival (AFF) just ran March 31 to April 3, marking its 10th Anniversary. That is quite an achievement, for sure, but no guarantee of continuing artistic quality. Fortunately, under the expert leadership of festival founders Lee Anderson and Patti White, Director of Programming Derek Horne, and all other members of the team, AFF ran as great an event as ever, showcasing wonderful features and shorts (some which I covered in my curtain raiser last week).
This year’s jury and audience winners are the following:
- • Jury Award for Best Short Documentary: Street Reporter (Laura Waters Hinson)
- • Jury Award for Best Short Film: Night Ride (Eirik Tveiten)
- • Tied Jury Award for Best Feature Documentary: The Automat (Lisa Hurwitz) and Fire of Love (Sara Dosa)
- • Tied Jury Award for Best Feature Film: Emily the Criminal (John Patton Ford) and 892 (Abi Damaris Corbin)
- • Special Jury Award for Best Actor: John Boyega (892)
- • Special Jury Award for Best Actress: Aubrey Plaza (Emily the Criminal)
- • Audience Award for Best Short Documentary: Bacon ‘N’ Laces (Stephen Michael Simon)
- • Audience Award for Best Short Film: Street Poet (Samgar Rakym)
- • Audience Award for Best Feature Documentary: Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over (Dave Wooley/David Heilbroner)
- • Audience Award for Best Feature Film: The Rose Maker (Pierre Pinaud)
- • African American Experience Impact Award: Dave Wooley (Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over)
While at the festival, I had the honor to introduce the Friday-night screening of 892 and then moderated the ensuing Q&A. On Saturday afternoon, I also introduced Mija (Isabel Castro) and moderated its Q&A, then moderate the Saturday-evening Q&A for Emily the Criminal. I also led the morning Coffee Talks on Saturday and Sunday, attended by filmmakers and passholders. Finally, on Saturday afternoon, I moderated the Directors Cut panel discussion with the directors of both documentary and narrative features. It was wonderful getting to spend so much time with so many talented people. I am already looking forward to next year!
Christopher Llewellyn Reed
Christopher Llewellyn Reed is a film critic, filmmaker, and educator, as well as Film Festival Today's Editor. A member of both the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, Chris is, in addition, lead film critic at Hammer to Nail and the author of Film Editing: Theory and Practice.