The Independent Feature Project (IFP), in association with MTV Films, Nickelodeon Movies, Paramount Pictures and Showtime Networks, has announced the winners of the two 1998 Gordon Parks Independent Film Awards. A Director's Award was given to Craig Ross, Jr. for his film noir work-in-progress Cappuccino, the story of an up-and-coming young married writer's obsession with a mysteriously alluring woman. Finalists in that category included Lee Lew-Lee (All Power to the People, feature documentary), Sterling Macer, Jr. (Park Day, feature), Cauleen Smith (Drylongso, feature), Darryl LeMont Wharton (Detention, work-in-progress), Patrice Mallard (Mute Love, work-in-progress), Stacey L. Holman (Girl Talk, short), and Z. Cathleen Campbell (Away in a Manger, short). The Screenwriting Award was bestowed upon Tamika Lamison for her script The Jar By the Door, a dramatic comedy about nine New Yorkers struggling to find meaning and love, whose lives are already altered by a thread of loneliness that connects them over the course of a week. The runners-up in the script category were Z. Cathleen Campbell (Death Takes a Holiday), Myla Churchill (The Judgement Days), Charles Hall (Wash My Feet Baby!) and Marlon Jamal (The Wretched).
Created to heighten awareness of new African-American independent cinema, the Gordon Parks Awards were established last year at the Independent Feature Film Market, at the impetus of MTV Films. To be eligible, filmmakers must be IFFM participants. Scripts, works-in-progress, features and short films may all compete. Each award winner receives a $10,000 cash prize, as well as an invitation to discuss distribution with one of the participating Viacom divisions. In addition to a screening at the IFFM, the Director's Award film receives a public screening at Independents Night!, a monthly series presented by the IFP and the Film Society of Lincoln Center. These awards are named in honor of world renowned photographer Gordon Parks, who helped initiate the introduction of black directors to Hollywood. Parks's acclaimed 1969 film The Learning Tree was the first studio-financed film by a black filmmaker. But it was the huge commercial success of his 1971 film Shaft which brought Parks international recognition as a director. He went on to direct other successful films, such as Shaft's Big Score and Leadbelly. This year's jury consisted of Mr. Parks, filmmakers Neema Barnette and Charles Burnett, DEF Pictures President Preston Holmes, Harvard Professor of African-American Studies Cornel West and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson.
For more information, contact Karen Schwartzman, IFP Program and Membership Director at the IFP, 104 West 29th Street - 12th Floor, New York, NY 10001, (212)465-8200, fax (212) 465-8525.