Third annual
Chicago genre
festival closes
with big stars,
big winners, and
record-shattering
audiences
The Music Box Theatre is honored to announce the juried winners of the 2019 edition of Cinepocalypse.
ALSO READ: Danzig launches Cinepocalypse with sold-out show
Best Film, Best Director
Led by The Lost Boys and Falling Down director Joel Schumacher, the 2019 Cinepocalypse jury awarded “Best Film” to Sara Summa’s unnerving, character-driven The Last To See Them, which also won Summa a “Best Director” award.
CINEPOCALYPSE 2019 BEST FILM, BEST DIRECTOR
THE LAST TO SEE THEM | OFFICIAL TRAILER
Joining Schumacher on the features jury were filmmaker Jennifer Reeder Knives and Skin and Dark Star Pictures president Michael Repsch.
“We are in a time when many writers and directors are challenging our idea of a genre film,” says Reeder about the selection of The Last To See Them for top honors. “This particular film is an unexpected and deeply nuanced portrait of an unseen horror, based on actual events with brilliant performances and masterfully directed. [Summa] is certainly one to watch out for.”
Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Cinematography
“Best Screenplay” goes to Bartosz Konopka for his knights vs. pagans tale The Mute, which also won top prizes for “Best Actor” (Krzysztof Pieczynski) and “Best Cinematography (Jacek Podgorski).
CINEPOCALYPSE 2019 BEST SCREENPLAY | BEST ACTOR | BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
THE MUTE | OFFICIAL TRAILER
Audience Award
Additionally, “Special Mention Runner Up – Best Feature” acknowledgements were given to The Mute and Kirill Sokolov’s rip-roaring revenge rampager Why Don’t You Just Die!!, which also took this year’s “Audience Award.”
CINEPOCALYPSE 2019 AUDIENCE AWARD
WHY DON’T YOU JUST DIE! | TRAILER
Best Actress
Rounding out the feature award winners is Azura Skye, who won “Best Actress” for her portrayal of an unraveling wife and mother in the horrific drama The Swerve.
CINEPOCALYPSE 2019 BEST ACTRESS
THE SWERVE | TRAILER
Short film winners
The Cinepocalypse short film jury, presided over by filmmaker Austin Vesely Slice, Music Box Films Lisa Holmes, and film critic Nick Allen, award “Best Short” to Budfoot, from co-directors Tim Reis and James Sizemore.
The shorts jury also awarded Marion Renard “Best Director” for Switch; two “Best Performance” awards—Nora Dolmans in Switch and Meredith Alloway for Deep Tissue; “Best Cinematography” to The Third Hand’s director of photography James Watson; “Best Editing” to Sydney Clara Brafman for The Only Thing I Love More Than You Is Ranch Dressing; “Best Kill” to Erik Boccio’s Brutal Realty, Inc.; “Best Scare” to Go To Sleep: A Lao Ghost Story; “Best Creature” to Road Trash; “Best Comedy” for Who You Are; and “Best Film with a Social Message” to Womxn, from directors Adrien Gystere Peskine and Eden Tinto Collins. The special “Hagazussa Award for Best Slow Burn” was given to Tomas Stark’s Deliria.
Record-setting run
As the festival wraps, it is also immensely proud to note that, in its third year, the festival shattered its second-year attendance record, and won accolades for its once-in-a-lifetime, center-of-the-cinematic-universe programming and guests.
Cinepocalypse welcomed more than 6,000 attendees, over 25 film guests from around the world, and hosted multiple sold out screenings, including Glenn Danzig’s buzzed-about debut Verotika, first-ever screening of the hyper-rare ‘Gore-Cut’ of Tammy and the T-Rex, and special 70mm screening of Todal Recall with Michael Ironside in attendance, all at the historic Music Box Theatre.
Cinepocalypse will return to The Music Box Theatre in 2020!
About The Music Box Theatre
The Music Box Theatre stands as one of the nation’s most prestigious art house theatres, and has recently made a concerted effort to diversify programming and bolster local audiences. Located on the city’s Northside at 3733 North Southport Ave, The Music Box’s year-round programming has consistently offered genre fans some of the very finest cinematic experiences in digital, 35mm, and 70mm formats. | For additional information on the next edition of Cinepocalypse, please click on this.
Send your award-winning updates to Reel Chicago Editor Dan Patton, dan@reelchicago.com.
