BHFF
Archives

2020

Award Winners

The 20th Anniversary Edition of the Beverly Hills Film Festival has warmly welcomed an exceptional set of filmmakers and writers.

Remaining dedicated and focused on its artists’ creative vision, the Beverly Hills Film Festival® is more than honored to present the 20th Edition of its Awards with the close collaborative efforts of the Beverly Hills Film Festival Executive Directorial Team and the Beverly Hills Film Festival President of the Jury.

2020 Beverly Hills Film Festival Golden Palm Award

Opeka

Director: Cam Cowan

Country: United States

RT: 89min

Synopsis: An iron-willed Argentine priest inspires hope for an entire nation by teaching people living in Madagascar's largest landfill to build a highly functional city in their failing African country....

2020 Screenplay Awards

GOLDEN PALM AWARD

SHORES OF A NEW BLOOD

Mark Schmitz

1st RUNNER UP

SAINT IN THE SHADOW OF BLUEBEARD

Frank Baruch

2nd RUNNER UP

MALICK

Armelle Lajus

2020 Film Awards

Best Actor

Talk

Country: France

RT: 25min

Director: Boulanger Romuald

At a Los Angeles radio station, the host of an emblematic night talk show (William Baldwin) gives advice to live callers. One call will destroy his career, his family, and his life....

Best Director

Lost Bayou

Country: United States

RT: 87min

Director: Brian C Miller Richard

In this hauntingly evocative Southern Gothic mystery, a struggling addict ventures into the Louisiana swampland to reconnect with her faith healer father, only to discover he is hiding a troubling secret aboard his houseboat....

Best Director, Best Actress

Josie & Jack

Country: United States

RT: 103min

Director: Sarah Lancaster

Raised in a decaying old Pennsylvania mansion and home schooled by their tyrannical professor father, Josie and Jack Raeburn have never had anyone but each other to depend on. Set in the 1990s....

Best Editing

Dave Grustin: Not Enough Time

Country: United States

RT: 89min

Director: Barbara Bentree

Grusin has been described as “flawless” by his peers – amazing when you consider that he had five simultaneous careers; Composer, Pianist, Arranger, Performer and Record Company Executive. He led a completely bi-coastal life for decades flying weekly between LA and NY to work with an astounding list of music and film artists....

Best Short Film

Office Song

Country: UK

RT: 15min

Director: Marcus Markou

It’s another office affair – one of thousands. But in Office Song, the inner world of ordinary office workers and their humdrum lives bursts into life with poetry and something greater than the sum of their tedious working day is revealed....

Best Feature Documentary

Stallone: Frank, That Is

Country: United States

RT: 73min

Director: Derek Wayne Johnson

An inside look into the fascinating life, career and survival of the most unknown famous entertainer in Hollywood. Featuring never-before-seen interviews with Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Billy Dee Williams, Talia Shire, Duff McKagan, John Oates and many more....

Best Short Documentary

40 Years Of Rocky: The Birth Of A Classic

Country: United States

RT: 30min

Director: Derek Wayne Johnson

In 1976, a low budget movie written by an unknown actor was released, inspiring audiences around the world to go the distance. “Rocky” became the ultimate underdog film. Over forty years later, Sylvester Stallone recounts the making of the beloved classic through rare home movies provided by Director John G. Avildsen and Production Manager Lloyd Kaufman....

Best Producer

That Click

Country: United States

RT: 90min

Director: Luca Severi

This documentary showcases legendary photographer, Douglas Kirkland who portrayed sixty years of pop culture ranging from photojournalism to celebrity portraits, from film photography to global events documentation. After taking some of the most iconic photos of Marilyn Monroe, with his unique style and approach he described fashion, celebrities and show business with immortal images that still influence us today, many years after that first click became the soundtrack of his adventurous life....

Best Animated Film

From Artist to Artists

Country: Ukraine

RT: 3min

Director: Viacheslav Lisovskyi

This is a story about young Artists that struggle finding their own style and freedom of expressing themselves. It takes us to a small apartment where Meisa and her dog Spark live. Meisa is a CG artist. She is a student who got bored of working with routine painting. She turns Spark into a character of her drawings and that brings her imagination to the next level. She creates different worlds that reflect all the mainstream settings as Cyberpunk, Fantasy, Toon and Noir, using all kinds of tools that a CG artist has, including Virtual Reality....

Best Student Film

Dog Eat Dog

Country: United States

Director: Jianan Ma

A shy but caring handyman at a rundown Victorian-esque apartment complex begins to suspect that his building might be home to a killer of women....

Best Foreign Film

Punch It

Country: France

RT: 19min

Director: Olivier Perrier

Tom gets around on his skateboard and enters a fairground closed to the public during winter. He notices a punching ball, which still seems to be working, and strikes it with all his strength, making himself fall down and triggering the jackpot. But, when he stands up, everything seems different....

Best Editing

Dave Grusin: Not Enough Time

Country: United States

RT: 89min

Director: Barbara Bentree

Grusin has been described as “flawless” by his peers – amazing when you consider that he had five simultaneous careers; Composer, Pianist, Arranger, Performer and Record Company Executive. He led a completely bi-coastal life for decades flying weekly between LA and NY to work with an astounding list of music and film artists....