Macon Film Festival: 2016 Award Winners

Seckeita Lewis' "Jerico" was crowned the Audience Award-winning Narrative
Feature at the 2016 Macon Film Festival.

The 2016 Macon Film Festival was a roaring success on all fronts. Kicking off with a Sundance Institute Short Film Master Class and a 30th anniversary screening of "Pretty in Pink" with special guest Andrew McCarthy, the 11th edition of the festival continued the trends of growth in attendance and maturity in programming.

The Jury and Audience Award winners have been released, with no film taking more than one prize. "Jasmine" won the Narrative Feature jury award, while Linda J. Brown's "You See Me" took home the Documentary jury prize. Georgia-lensed documentary "Hotel Clermont" was the audience's choice in the nonfiction lineup. "Jerico" won the Karen Black Audience Choice Award for Narrative Feature.

Check out the full list of winners after the jump.

Georgia Filmmakers Spotlight an Iconic Location and a Quirky Phenomenon in Documentaries "Hotel Clermont" (****) & "Eat White Dirt" (****½)

Tammy Wright, the primary subject of "Eat White Dirt."

One of the greatest appeals of a film festival is its ability to introduce audiences to stories from around the globe. And while I enjoy seeing the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong's nighttime streets and the breathtaking high-altitude views of the Himalayas on the big screen, there's something remarkably special about seeing a film that highlights the stories right in my backyard.

Two Georgia-lensed documentary shorts have been making waves among the southern film festival circuit: "Hotel Clermont" by Heather Hutson and "Eat White Dirt" by Adam Forrester. Both screened earlier this year at the Atlanta Film Festival and both came away with notable awards—"Hotel Clermont" won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Short and "Eat White Dirt" won the Seed&Spark Jury Award. Although I missed their screenings in Atlanta back in April, I made sure to catch them this weekend during the Macon Film Festival's "Southern Stories" shorts block, and I'm so glad I did.