Ang Lee’s closing night film scooped honours as the 11-day festival came to an end on Monday night (Oct 15). Mira Nair’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist won the audience award for world cinema and David O Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook took the audience award for US cinema.

The Sessions (pictured) earned the Audience Favorite Active Cinema Award while Rebels With A Cause won the Audience Favorite Active Cinema Award - Documentary. Village Music: Last Of The Great Record Stores won the Audience Favorite Documentary Award and Richness Of Internal Space won the Audience Favorite Independent World Cinema Award.

After Winter, Spring took home the Audience Favorite World Cinema Documentary Award. Rise Of The Guardians won the Audience Favorite Children’s Film Award and Tania 3 – An Amazon Legend was presented with the Audience Favorite International Children’s Film Award.

BAFTA LA’s annual award for an exceptional short film went to Asad directed by Bryan Buckley. Certificates of excellence were presented to Grandmothers (Abuelas) by Afarin Eghbal and Throat Song by Miranda de Pencier.

The 35th Anniversary MVFF Tribute Award was given to Dustin Hoffman, whose feature directorial debut Quartet screened at the festival. Organisers also paid tribute to Mira Nair. Billy Bob Thornton earned the MVFF Award in a Spotlight programme featuring a screening of Jayne Manfield’s Car.

John Hawkes was recognised in a separate Spotlight tribute for his role in The Sessions as the real-life poet and polio patient Mark O’Brien, who was confined to an iron lung.

The MVFF Centerpiece Spotlight recognised DreamWorks Animation’s 19 years of features and the studio screened the world premiere of Rise Of The Guardians.

All in all the festival screened 154 film from 43 countries. Total attendance crossed 50,000, marking a 20% increase on 2011.



John Hawkes was recognised in a separate Spotlight tribute for his role in The Sessions as the real-life poet and polio patient Mark O’Brien, who was confined to an iron lung.

The MVFF Centerpiece Spotlight recognised DreamWorks Animation’s 19 years of features and the studio screened the world premiere of Rise Of The Guardians.

All in all the festival screened 154 film from 43 countries. Total attendance crossed 50,000, marking a 20% increase on 2011.

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