Atlanta Film Festival: 2013 award winners

Deragh Campbell stars in Best Narrative Feature award winner,
"I Used To Be Darker"

Though I'm a bit behind in my ATLFF coverage so far this year, hopefully you've at least been able to gather from Twitter, Facebook and the few reviews posted so far that this year has been an incredible, transformative experience for the 37-year-old circuit staple. The festival 'closes out' tonight with James Ponsoldt's Georgia-produced "The Spectacular Now," but tomorrow's schedule features plenty of special presentations, encores and second chances to catch this year's award winners. Matthew Porterfield's "I Used To Be Darker" takes home the Best Narrative Feature award. Porterfield previously won the same award in 2010 for his film "Putty Hill." Kalyanee Mam's quietly powerful study of Cambodia's surging cultural and economic change, "A River Changes Course," won the Best Documentary Feature award. One of my personal favorites of the festival, "Congratulations!" by Mike Brune, takes home Best Georgia Connected Film honors. Check out the full list of winners after the jump.

Georgia films "Congratulations!" and "A Band of Rogues" earn encore screenings at Atlanta Film Festival

More of a showcase for Georgia cinema than ever before, this year's Atlanta Film Festival is filled to the brim with strong examples of local film at its best. Encore screenings for two sell-out films from Georgian filmmakers have been booked for this coming Sunday, March 24th. "Congratulations!" from director Mike Brune was filmed locally in Johns Creek and "A Band of Rogues" from director T Jara Morgan was filmed in Argentina.

Having caught both films Sunday, I'll be reviewing them in the coming days. "Congratulations!" will be screening upstairs at the Plaza at 9:00 PM, "A Band of Rogues" will be on the main screen at the Plaza at 9:15 PM. It is unfortunate that both are screening at the same time and mark the last slots of programming in the 2013 festival, but here you have another good chance to support the local film industry. Get your tickets here!