The 30th Slamdance Film Festival Sparky Awards was Unstoppable this year, and the big winner was fillmmaker Shane Stanger.
His Unstoppable Feature “Good Bad Things” took home the Unstoppable Grand Jury Prize and the Unstoppable Audience Award Thursday night.
Slamdance Unstoppable is a program, started by filmmaker Juliet Romeo, for and by filmmakers with visible and nonvisible disabilities that debuted in 2021.
Stanger and his two main cast members — Danny Kurtzman and Steve Way — shared hugs as they took the microphone to accept the awards during the ceremony at the Doubletree Park City — The Yarrow.
“Making this film was the time of my life,” Stanger said. “I feel so lucky I got to make it with my best friend Danny … and thank you to my new best friend, Steve Way.”
The film is about Danny, a young man with muscular dystrophy who, disillusioned by failed relationships, steps out of his comfort zone and into the world of online dating.
Kurtzman was overcome by emotion as he expressed his gratitude.
“(Shane) called me up one day and he’s like, ‘Hey I want to do a feature with you,'” he said. “It’s an able bodied story. It’s a disabled body story, and we told it through our authentic lens.”
Way thanked Romeo for the chance to participate in Slamdance.
“This is her vision, and we are all here to celebrate disabled stories,” he said. “The great thing about this film is you don’t have to be disabled to understand it. You don’t have to disabled to win it. That’s why this film is going to change the world.”
In addition to awarding the Unstoppable Sparkys, Slamdance announced the recipient of the AGBO Fellowship, sponsored by AGBO, an independent television and film production company founded by Slamdance alumni Joe and Anthony Russo.
The Russo Brothers, known for blockbusters such as “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame,” got their start at Slamdance in 1997 and caught the eye of Academy Award-winning filmmaker Stephen Soderbergh.
The siblings established the fellowship in 2018, and the recipient receives a $25,000 cash prize and mentorship from Joe and Anthony in the development of the winner’s next project at the brothers’ new Los Angeles-based studio.
This year’s recipient was Kiarash Dadgar. His film, “The Steak,” was part of the Narrative Shorts competition.
Dadgar wasn’t present at the awards because he was seeking asylum in Canada. However, film producer Angela Russo-Otstot, AGBO’s chief creative officer and the Russo Brothers’ sister, issued a statement.
“In ‘The Steak,’ Kiarash takes an innovative and bold approach,” she said. “Such films often pave the way for new storytelling techniques and inspire other filmmakers to think outside the box. It’s always exciting to witness a piece of art that challenges conventional methods and offers a unique experience to its audience.”
The George Starks Spirit of Slamdance Award, an award for a filmmaker who best embodies the spirit of the festival, went to Radha Mehta, director “DOSH,” and John Lawson received Slamdance’s Outstanding Acting Award for his role of Robert, a grumpy neighbor in the Unstoppable Feature, “Daruma,” directed by Alexander Yellen.
In a poignant moment, Slamdance introduced the Summer Chastant Episodic Award, named after the Slamdance alumna who passed away in 2022.
The award, which honors Chastant’s storytelling legacy, went to Jono Hunter for his animated web series entry, “Night Drives,” which also won the Episodic Audience Award.
“Summer’s husband, Boyd, will be providing $2,000 to Jono Hunter for creativity, filmmaking and everything he’s going to give back to the world,” said Taylor Miller, Slamdance Festival director.
Hunter didn’t know what to say, because he had “spent a lot of time in the dark painting eyeballs and teeth.”
“To land here and be in such great company with all of these amazing filmmakers is so punk-rock and community oriented,” he said. “Thank you so much for acknowledging my cartoon.”
The 30th Slamdance Film Festival winners:
GRAND JURY AWARDS – FEATURES
- Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize: “The Accident” (Giuseppe Garau, Italy)
- Honorable Mention: “The Complex Forms” (Fabio D’Orta, Italy)
- Documentary Feature Grand Jury Prize: “Inheritance” (Matt Moyer, Amy Toensing, United States)
- Honorable Mention: “Petro” (Sean Mattison, United States)
- Breakouts Feature Grand Jury Prize: “CHAPERONE” (Zoe Eisenberg, United States)
- Honorable Mention: “Slide” (Bill Plympton, United States)
- Episodes Grand Jury Prize: “Restorage” (E’an Verdugo, United States)
- Honorable Mention: “Dog Spelled Backwards” (Tim Almeida, United States)
GRAND JURY AWARDS – UNSTOPPABLE
- Unstoppable Grand Jury Prize: “Good Bad Things” (Dir. Shane Stanger)
- Honorable Mention: “Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World” (Dir. Julio C. Palacio)
JURY AWARDS – SHORTS
- Narrative Shorts Grand Jury Prize: “Fishing” (Josie Charles, United Kingdom)
- Honorable Mention: “European Man…American Beach” (Rex Shannon, United States)
- Documentary Short Grand Jury Prize: “Friends on the Outside” (Annabel Moodie, Scotland)
- Honorable Mention: “Remember, Broken Crayons Colour Too” (Ursa Kastelic, Shannet Clemmings, Switzerland)
- Experimental Shorts Grand Jury Prize: “Light of Light” (Neritan Zinxhiria, Greece)
- Honorable Mention: “Entrance Wounds” (Calum Walter, United States)
- Animated Shorts Grand Jury Prize: “Edith And The Tall Child” (Kohana Wilson, United States)
- Honorable Mention: “Lil Sherbet” (Xinhe Zhao, United States)
FESTIVAL WIDE AWARDS
- The AGBO Fellowship, presented by Joe and Anthony Russo, Award Winner: Kiarash Dadgar Mohebi director of “The Steak” (Canada, Iran)
- Summer Chastant Episodic Award: Jono Hunter director of “Night Drives” (Canada)
- Slamdance Acting Award: John Lawson for “Daruma” (United States)
- George Starks Spirit of Slamdance Award Winner: Radha Mehta, director of “DOSH” (United States)
AUDIENCE AWARDS
- Best Narrative Feature: “African Giants” (Dir. Omar Kamara)
- Documentary Feature: “Demon Mineral” (Dir. Hadley Austin)
- Episodes: “Night Drive” (Dir. Jono Hunter)
- Unstoppable: “Good Bad Things” (Dir. Shane Stanger)