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*Trevor Stevens’ “Rock Steady Row” won the grand jury narrative feature award and the audience narrative feature award at the 24th Slamdance Film Festival.
The film “focuses on a college freshman who, after his bike is stolen, is compelled to take action against the university’s reigning fraternities and the dean,” per Variety.
“’Rock Steady Row’ is a shining star in genre, young adult themes, and ‘save the day’ filmmaking,” the jurors said, “done creatively in a comic book meets George Miller meets John Carpenter universe. Sharply directed by Trevor Stevens and written by Bomani Story. With strong ingenuity not commonly seen at this budget and experience level, ‘Rock Steady Row’ stands tall.”
Peep the trailer above.
Meanwhile, “My Name Is Myeisha” scored the Audience Beyond Feature Award and actress Rhaechyl Walker was also honored with an Acting Award for her breakout performance.
“When we started this project seven years ago on a stage at an open mic night, the thought of our story being amplified on a silver screen never entered my mind,” said Walker. “I am so proud, and beyond honored to be a part of such a powerful force of artistic expression that has found its way into many hearts, planted a seed, and nourished souls. Thank you, Slamdance, for providing this amazing platform, and for this phenomenal award.”
Slamdance president Peter Baxter said: “My Name Is Myeisha is one of the best feature narratives to have played at Slamdance and central to its success is the performance of Rhaechyl Walker, one of the best I have ever seen.”
Photo credit: Lauren Desburg/SLAMDANCE
The 24th Slamdance Film Festival presented by DGA celebrates a week of emerging talent and the continued success of Slamdance Alumni.
“We congratulate the winners and everyone at Slamdance who represented the unfiltered voice of independent artists,” said Baxter. “Thousands came to appreciate our diverse international program, including our neighbors Sundance. As the major acquisition of ‘Pick of the Litter’ demonstrates, we can expect millions more to follow as our filmmakers and their work continue to attract global recognition out of our showcase.”
During the Awards Ceremony, Baxter announced the recipient of the highly anticipated The Russo Brothers Fellowship. The $25,000 prize is designed to enable a deserving filmmaker the opportunity to continue their journey with mentorship from Joe and Anthony Russo as well as development support from their studio. The 2018 recipient of the inaugural Russo Brothers Fellowship is Yassmina Karajah, director of the narrative short, “Rupture.”
“Ever since their first film premiered at Slamdance, Anthony and Joe Russo have cared deeply about supporting our community. They have continually given back to a festival that helped them—first as programmers and increasingly now as mentors. The Russo brothers embody our ‘by filmmakers, for filmmakers’ paradigm and by awarding Yassmina Karajah with the inaugural Fellowship Award, demonstrate the power of our artist-led community to help launch careers.”
Baxter presented the award and shared these remarks from Anthony and Joe Russo: “There were many special films at Slamdance this year, but Yassmina Karajah brought exceptional direction and an elegant cinematic style to a very difficult and worthy story, portraying the heartbreaking experience of immigrant children. We’re inspired to help her continue her journey as a filmmaker, and greatly look forward to working with her.”
The Festival also presented the inaugural CreativeFeature Innovation Award to Shunsaku Hayashi for his animated short film, “Railment.”
Baxter presented the award on behalf of CreativeFuture, and shared remarks from Ruth Vitale, CreativeFuture CEO: “Congratulations to Shunsaku Hayashi for winning Slamdance’s CreativeFuture Innovation Award. His film, Railment, exemplifies the innovative spirit of filmmaking by masterfully telling a story through the expert use of visuals and striking colors. The award is well-deserved and we look forward to seeing more from Shunsaku.”
According to the press release, this year’s feature competition lineup included 16 premieres—9 World, 6 North American, and 1 US premiere. Most titles were produced in the US, with additional features hailing from: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, and Netherlands. All competition films are feature-length directorial debuts with budgets of less than $1 million USD and without US distribution.
Read the full list of Slamdance winners here.
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