Twin Cities Film Fest Announces 2022 Award Winners

The Twin Cities Film Fest announced its 2022 award winners Saturday evening, recognizing films and artists across 13 top categories. The annual visual arts celebration showcased more than 140 feature films, shorts and filmmaker conversations across 10 days. This year also featured an array of special programs that championed diversity in filmmaking and raised awareness about key social issues.

Sarah Polley’s Women Talking took home TCFF’s coveted Best Feature Film prize. A big-screen adaptation of the Miriam Toews novel, about a group of eight women in an isolated religious community struggling to reconcile with their faith after a series of sexual assaults, Women Talking stars Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Judith Ivey, Ben Whishaw, and Frances McDormand in critically acclaimed roles. McDormand also served as producer on the film.

The festival’s top non-fiction award went to Trevor Frost and Melissa Lesh’s Wildcat, the inspiring true story of a young British soldier struggling with depression and PTSD who finds a second chance in the Amazon rainforest fostering an orphaned baby ocelot alongside an American scientist.

The 2022 Audience Award winners went to Sins Of The Father, directed by Vanessa M. H. Powers (Narrative), A Letter to Bryson, directed by Adrian Wilson (Documentary) and The Mosquito, directed by Ross Michael Johnson & Jackie Deschamps (Short).

“I’ll always remember the 2022 festival for the passion that poured out of our audiences,” said TCFF Executive Director Jatin Setia. “As we all regather after the worst of the pandemic, and are reminded again of the joys of our communities, it was overwhelming to see so many regional audiences gathering around our filmmakers and causes with such curiosity, commitment and exuberance.

“There’s nothing more joyful than a theater full of strangers all experiencing something magical on the same wavelength — and that magic was on full radiant display once again this year.”

In other awards, actress Esmeralda Camargo received this year’s Indie Vision — Breakthrough Performance prize for her harrowing performance in Marisol, playing a first-generation Mexican-American high school student whose college dreams are shattered when she is falsely accused of a crime. Filmmakers Steven Hauge, J.D. O’Brien and Brett Schnacky were awarded the 2022 Indie Vision — Breakthrough Achievement award for their post-production efforts on After the Gunflint, an intergenerational drama about a family emergency that interrupts a fishing trip deep in the woods.

Two short films were singled out for staff prizes. Molly Ratermann’s The Cosmopolitan West, about a bank heist in the wild west, took home the prize for Best Short Film. Marisa Coughlan’s V.I.P., a comedy about a mother at the breaking point, was awarded the Fun Is Good Bill Murray Comedic Shorts Award. Acclaimed actor Bill Murray again served as a TCFF guest judge this year, choosing his favorite funny short from a trio of finalists.

Below is the complete lineup of 2022 award winners. To see a full listing of finalists, or for more information on dates of upcoming encore screenings and special events, please visit www.TwinCitiesFilmFest.org:

2022 Award Winners

Best Feature Film Award: Women Talking, directed by Sarah Polley.

The Robert Byrd Best Documentary Award: Wildcat, directed by Trevor Frost and Melissa Lesh.

Best Short Film Award: The Cosmopolitan West, directed by Molly Ratermann.

Audience Award, Feature: Sins Of The Father, directed by Vanessa M. H. Powers

Audience Award, Non-Fiction: A Letter to Bryson, directed by Adrian Wilson

Audience Award, Short Film: The Mosquito, directed by Ross Michael Johnson & Jackie Deschamps

Indie Vision — Breakthrough Performance: Esmeralda Camargo, Marisol.

Indie Vision — Breakthrough Achievement: Steven Hauge, J.D. O’Brien and Brett Schnacky, After the Gunflint.

Fun Is Good Bill Murray Comedic Shorts Award: V.I.P., directed by Marisa Coughlan.

TCFF Changemaker Award (Climate Action: Food & Fashion): Maggie Baird and Stephanie Dillon.

TCFF Lifetime Achievement Award: Chris Mulkey.

2022 North Star Awards: Beau Bridges and Tom Cavanagh.

TCFF ‘Empower’ Award for Justice: Deborah Watts and Teri Watts.