Hosted by Savannah College of Art and Design and sponsored in part by Memorial Health and Savannah Morning News honored winners on November 3 at the Trustees Theatres.

Actor Matthew Modine presented awards in the student competition sponsored by HBO Films. The grand prizewinner was “Horses on Mars” written and directed by Eric Anderson, a graduate student of the University of Southern California. First runner up was a film directed and written by Nathan Theis while he was an undergraduate at Savannah College of Art and Design.

The panel of thirteen judges included Kim Adelman, Professor of Short Film Production and Marketing at UCLA; Actress Denise Alexander; veteran actor Larry Ferguson; Director Ron Finley; Emmy winning Casting Director for “The Sopranos,” Sheila Jaffe; and Stratton Leopold, Executive Producer of Paramount’s soon to be released Tom Clancy thriller, “The Sum of All Fears.”

A special screening of “In the Bedroom” starring Marisa Tomei and Sissy Spacek kicked off the festival. As part of the festivities, Director/Producer/

Choreographer Stanley Donen was honored with a Lifetime Achievement award as was famed Jane Fonda. Over 60 films were screened as part of the weeklong festival. Special guests included Actor Timothy Dalton and former festival judges Peter Wooley, Ray Paret, Craig Wells, and Chip Kurzenhauser.