At film festivals, the award that often matters most to filmmakers and their subjects alike is the Audience Award. They know they’ve struck a chord when the audience applauds their efforts.
The race for the most coveted award of the year for Independent Lens came down to the last 30 minutes of voting. Our top three highest-rated films with the largest number of votes pulled in nearly 5,000 votes between them. It was like the documentary version of American Idol.
All three films averaged a full 5-star rating from voters, so it came down to numbers. In the end, our season finale, Two Spirits, edged out The Calling and The Longoria Affair to take the laurels.
We congratulate filmmaker Lydia Nibley and the entire Two Spirits team on inspiring an amazing number of our viewers and for mobilizing them on behalf of the film and its subject matter.
We offer Honorable Mentions to both The Longoria Affair and The Calling for a fine showing. Both films clearly inspired enthusiasm and devotion among their fans.
The trailers from the winning films, after the jump.
