Films With Local Ties Win Audience Awards at 2017 SouthSide Film Festival

Films With Local Ties Win Audience Awards at 2017 SouthSide Film Festival

Presented in honor of Linny and Beall Fowler, who have provided consistent financial support individually and through the Fowler Family Foundation to the SouthSide Film Festival, the awards are voted on by the audience and announced at the Festival’s closing night party.

 

The 2017 Linny and Beall Fowler Audience Awards have been awarded to two films with strong local connections. The Favorite Short Film Award went to Stage 7, and the Favorite Feature Film Award went to Unleashed.

Stage 7, a documentary, follows Frieda as she goes through Alzheimer’s disease with her daughter (the director) and her boyfriend. Director Jennifer Suwak of Topton teaches film studies at Kutztown University and works in documentary, narrative and animation with co-director Steve Abruzzese.

Unleashed, a romantic comedy, is the story of a cosmic event that turns Emma’s dog and cat into two “perfect” guys. She ultimately does learn to love—herself. Emma is played by Nazareth native Kate Micucci, who has appeared in numerous films and TV shows, including Don’t Think Twice, When in Rome, The Big Bang Theory, Raising Hope and Garfunkel and Oates. Unleashed is scheduled to be shown in theaters in late summer.

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About the SouthSide Film Festival: The SouthSide Film Festival is an annual five-day event featuring international films, guest filmmakers, juried selections, locally produced films, seminars, and networking opportunities for filmmakers and fans of independent film. The SouthSide Film Festival is a program of The SouthSide Film Institute, a not-for-profit volunteer-run organization promoting the art of the independent filmmaker. www.ssff.org