JULIAN WILD AND SCENIC FILM FESTIVAL WINNERS ANNOUNCED

By Miriam Raftery

June 8, 2014 (Julian)—Hundreds converged in Julian May 16-17 for the third annual Julian Wild and Scenic Film Festival to benefit the Volcan Mountain Foundation. Each year, a committee from Julian travels to Nevada to watch about 100 films there, choosing a selection of the best to show here.

Judges select the best of the best shown in Julian, plus an Audience Choice award chosen by the festival attendees.  This year, the awards were designed by famed architect James Hubbell .  The winners are:

Julian Film Festival, 2014

Spirit of the Festival - North of the Sun

Audience Choice - Backyard

Best of Festival - Xmas Without China

North of the Sun, produced by Inge Wegge, documents survival during nine months that he and Jorn Ranum  in a Norway during winter time in a cabin built out of driftwood and cast-off materials.  The remote bay also holds a secret—some of the world’s best surfing waves.

Backyard, created by American filmmaker Deia Scholsberg, tells stories of five peoplein four states at odds with natural gas extraction, or fracking.

Xmas Without China is a documentary produced and directed for PBS by Tom Xia, a Chinese immigrant, and Alicia Dwyer. They challenged an American family to celebrate Christmas with no Chinese products.  Xia was on hand to accept his award in person (photo, above right).

For more information about the festival, visit www.JulianFilmFestival.com.