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SXSW 2018 Winners List: ‘Thunder Road’ and ‘People’s Republic of Desire’ Claim Top Jury and Special Awards

The ceremony was hosted by Jim Gaffigan at Austin's Paramount Theatre.
Thunder Road
Kendal Farr and Jim Cummings in "Thunder Road"
The 10 East

Juried prizes were presented tonight at the 25th annual SWSW Film Festival. Jim Gaffigan, in Austin to represent the Miranda Bailey-directed ensemble comedy “You Can Choose Your Family,” presided as host. The venue was the Paramount Theatre, a 103-year-old landmark just blocks from the Texas Capitol.

SXSW will continue screening films through Saturday, when most of the festival’s audience awards recipients will be announced. The exception is for the headlining films, such as “A Quiet Place,” “Blockers,” and “Ready Player One” — those verdicts follows on March 19.

This year’s line-up comprised 256 total features and shorts, culled from 8,183 submissions. Best narrative feature “Thunder Road” was adapted from the namesake, one-take short that won a Grand Jury award at Sundance in 2016.

Lena Dunham’s “Tiny Furniture” (2010) and Destin Daniel Cretton’s “Short Term 12” (2013) are among the best-known past jury victors at SXSW. IndieWire’s Dana Harris helped choose the Louis Black “Lone Star” honoree, named after the festival’s co-founder.

Read on for the full list of winners.

Feature Film Grand Jury Awards

Narrative Feature Competition
Winner: “Thunder Road
Director: Jim Cummings

Special Jury Recognition For First Feature: “The New Romantic”
Director: Carly Stone

Special Jury Recognition for Writing: “Jinn”
Director/Screenwriter: Niljla Mu’min

Documentary Feature Competition
Winner: “People’s Republic of Desire”
Directors: Hao Wu

Special Jury Recognition for Best Cast: “This One’s For The Ladies”
Director: Gene Graham

Special Jury Recognition for Best Feminist Reconsideration of a Male Artist:
“Garry Winogrand: All Things are Photographable”
Director: Sasha Waters Freyer

The People's Republic of Desire
“People’s Republic of Desire”Eric Jordan

Short Film Grand Jury Awards

Narrative Shorts
Winner: “Emergency”
Director: Carey Williams

Special Jury Recognition for Acting:
Actor: Shirley Chen from “Krista”

Documentary Shorts
Winner: “My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes”
Director: Charlie Tyrell

Midnight Shorts
Winner: “Milk”
Director: Santiago Menghini

Animated Shorts
Winner: “Agua Viva”
Directors: Alexa Lim Haas

Special Jury Recognition: “Jeom”
Director: Kangmin Kim

Music Videos
Winner: “Second Hand Lovers”
Director: Oren Lavie

Special Jury Recognition for Acting: “Territory”
Director: The Blaze

Texas Shorts
Winner: “An Uncertain Future”
Director: Iliana Sosa & Chelsea Hernandez

Texas High School Shorts
Winner: “The Night I Lost My Favorite Jacket”
Director: Jenna Krumerman

Special Jury Recognition: “CCISD Strong”
Director: Sofia Rasmussen

Independent Episodics
Winner: “Beast”
Director: Ben Strang

Special Jury Recognition: “She’s the Ticket”
Director: Nadia Hallgren

Beast
“Beast”Ben Strang

SXSW Film Design Awards

Excellence in Poster Design
Winner: “The Gospel of Eureka”
Designer: Matt Taylor

Special Jury Recognition: “A Little Wisdom”
Designer: Adam Zhu

Excellence in Title Design
Winner: “Counterpart”
Director: Karin Fong

Special Jury Recognition: Godless
Director: John Likens

SXSW Special Awards

SXSW LUNA® Gamechanger Award – Narrative
Winner: “First Match”
Director: Olivia Newman
Special Jury Recognition: “Unlovable”
Director: Suzi Yoonessi
SXSW LUNA® Chicken & Egg Award – Documentary
Winner: “On Her Shoulders”
Director: Alexandria Bombach
Special Jury Recognition: “¡Las Sandinistas!”
Director: Jenny Murray
Louis Black “Lone Star” Award
Winner: “Daughters of the Sexual Revolution: The Untold Story of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders”
Director: Dana Adam Shapiro
SXSW Adam Yauch Hörnblowér Award
Presented to: “Prospect”
Directors: Zeek Earl & Chris Caldwell
Vimeo Staff Picks Award
Presented to: “Krista”
Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship
Presented to: Kristin Bye
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