'Queen at Sea' and 'Club Kid' Take Top Philadelphia Film Festival Prizes

By Elena Vasquez

The 35th Philadelphia Film Festival set an all-time attendance record and split its top honors between two very different American independents. Lance Hammer's "Queen at Sea" won the narrative jury prize, and Jordan Firstman's "Club Kid" took the narrative audience award, the festival announced.

The attendance milestone marks the highest figure in the festival's 35-year history — roughly one win per year of the event's existence, and a benchmark no previous edition has reached.

What did the winners say?

Firstman, speaking after a recent Variety cover story, said he built "Club Kid" to reach beyond its setting in New York's queer clubbing scene. The film plays as an intimate family drama about a long-lost son and a young father coming into his own.

"It's been amazing to see the kinds of people that relate to this film, but it really is a movie about growth," Firstman said. "In Telluride, I watched a 75-year-old conservative man leave the theater in tears. Then we took it to the New York Film Festival, which I was very nervous to do, and showed it to the 35-year-olds who do drugs."

He added: "I built the story to work on levels, with the top being a layer of warmth that feels like a hug. I explore some of my more transgressive ideas beneath the surface. If you don't get it, there's still a story that will make you laugh and feel something."

Who else won?

The documentary categories spread recognition across four films:

• Jury award for best documentary feature: Sharon Liese's "Seized"
• Documentary audience award (tie): Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor's Gaza documentary "Naza"
• Documentary audience award (tie): "Once Upon a Time in Harlem," directed by David Greaves and Liani Greaves, conceived by William Greaves — an intimate look back at the Harlem Renaissance
• Audience award for local feature: "Big Phan," Hoag Kepner's biopic about the Phillie Phanatic

The Philadelphia-focused Filmadelphia categories went local. "The Haunting of Pennhurst," directed by Mike Attie, Katarina Poljak and Nathan Stenberg, won best Filmadelphia feature. Dana Nachman's "The Second Life of Freddie Nole" took best Filmadelphia short.

Stephen P. Neary's "Living with a Visionary" won best short film.

The festival also honored actor and filmmaker Tim Blake Nelson with the artistic achievement in directing award, recognizing his new feature "The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd."

Full list of winners

Audience awards:

• Narrative Feature: "Club Kid" — Jordan Firstman
• Documentary Feature (tie): "Naza" — Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor; "Once Upon a Time in Harlem" — David Greaves, conceived by William Greaves
• Local Feature: "Big Phan" — Hoag Kepner

Jury awards:

• Best Narrative Feature: "Queen at Sea" — Lance Hammer
• Honorable Mention: "We Are Aliens" — Kohei Kadowaki
• Best Documentary Feature: "Seized" — Sharon Liese
• Honorable Mention: "Rehearsals for a Revolution" — Pegah Ahangarani
• Honorable Mention for a Good Time: "The Match" — Juan Cabral and Santiago Franco

Short film jury awards:

• Best Short Film: "Living with a Visionary" — Stephen P. Neary
• Honorable Mention: "Jimmy's Custom Coffin" — James P. Gannon
• Honorable Mention: "Because Today Is Saturday" — Alice Eça Guimarães

Filmadelphia jury awards:

• Best Feature: "The Haunting of Pennhurst" — Mike Attie, Katarina Poljak, Nathan Stenberg
• Honorable Mention: "I Don't Want to Drink Your Blood Anymore" — Andrew Sullivan
• Best Short: "The Second Life of Freddie Nole" — Dana Nachman
• Honorable Mention for Best Cast: "Six Sixty Six" — Jim Boemio
• Honorable Mention for Most Innovative: "The Wonka of Worcester" — Justin O'Neill

The takeaway: a record-breaking 35th edition, with a jury favorite and a crowd favorite in separate narrative categories, points to a festival audience growing even as its prize picks stay firmly independent.