(St. George, UT) - The inaugural DOCUTAH Raven Awards were present by Dixie State College of Utah Saturday during the closing ceremonies of the DOCUTAH Southern Utah International Documentary Film Festival. The ceremony marked the official end of the 9-day festival, which showcased the best of documentary film making at venues in St. George and Kanab, Utah. Awards List

The award for Best Student Film, which was presented to Stuck in Traffick by Collin McDowell and Jenna Lee Thomas. In addition, Honorable Mention recognition was awarded to:

Made in Makanda - Director/Producer: Wonjung Bae;

Museum of Exhile - Director/Producer: Wonjung Bae

The Scavenger - Director/Producer: Erik Spink

Blackfire A Modern Warcry - Director/Producer: Judea Runs Through & Zak Ciotti

The Beat Goes On - Director/Producer: Jacqui Baxter

Michael - Director/Producer: Luke Broyles (Luke Broyles was acknowledged as the youngest filmmaker at 11-years old)

DOCUTAH Festival Director Phil Tuckett presented the Audience Favorite Award to the production crew of the film "Bouncing Cats" created by Nabil Elderkin, Charlie Rosene, Claude Merkel, and Scott Bradfield of Los Angeles, California.

DOCUTAH Festival Judge Jeff Ham awarded acclaimed filmmaker Helen Whitney with the first-ever “Helen Whitney Vanguard Award” for her exemplary work on the documentary, "Forgiveness: A Time To Love and a Time To Hate". The Vanguard Award will be given annually to festival films which demonstrate a high standard of artisanship and excellence in both storytelling and visual arts.

DOCUTAH Film Festival judges included Bruce Bennett, Jeff Ham, Adam Mast, and Lesley Mendenhall (lead judge). The panel screened and vetted over 30 short and feature films. Mendenhall said “They were all high quality films and well deserving. It came down to which ones stood out a bit more than the others.”

The panel of judges presented Raven statuettes to the following:

SHORTS

Music - Mezzanotte Obscura

Director/Producer: Lori Petchers, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA

Cinematography - Gray Eagles - Director/Producer: Chris Woods & Carissa Buffel, Los Angeles, California, USA

Editing – Bye Bye Now! - Director/Producer: Aideen O’Sullivan & Ross Whitaker, Dublin, Ireland

Directing – Fighting Cholita -Director/Producer: Lupina Magorzata & Studio M, Poland

Best Picture - Fighting Cholita -Director/Producer: Lupina Magorzata & Studio M, Poland

FEATURES

Music – Exhaling Music

Director/Producer: Tron Eliassen & Tomas Evjen, Hommelvik, Norway

Cinematography – The Antarctica Challenge: A Global Warning - Director/Producer: Mark Terry & Herb F. Terry, Toronto, Ontario Canada

Editing – The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club - Director/ Producer: Amanda Pope & Nick Spark, Los Angeles, California, USA

Directing – Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone - Director/Producer: Christopher Metzler & Lev Anderson, San Francisco, California, USA

Best Picture - Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone - Director/Producer: Christopher Metzler & Lev Anderson, San Francisco, California, USA.

For additional information go to DOCUTAH