9th Annual Catalina Film Festival Wraps With Academy Award-Winner, Mira Sorvino, Receiving the Avalon Award; Best of Fest Winners Announced

5-Day Film Fest Featured Premieres, Parties & Events on The Queen Mary in Long Beach & Catalina Island; Other Notable Attendees Included Jaeden Martell (It, It Chapter 2), Kevin Alejandro (Lucifer), Jessica Sipos (Dark Harbor), Lesley Ann Warren (Victor/Victoria) & More

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Catalina Film Festival

Oct 01, 2019, 09:29 ET

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The five-day Catalina Film Festival (CFF) wrapped its 9th annual festival in coastal sister cities with premieres, parties, and panels in iconic and historic film venues－The Queen Mary in Long Beach and the Avalon Casino Theatre on Catalina Island.

Catalina Film celebrates the 9th annual festival at the iconic Avalon Casino Theatre as special guests continue the tradition of signing the famed projection room wall - the first ever theatre to play a sound film. (Pictured left to right) Actor Kevin Alejandro, Catalina Film Festival Founder Ron Truppa, Academy Award-winner Mira Sorvino, and Actor Kevin Makely. Credit Jonas Yuan.

The 9th annual Catalina Film Festival honored Academy Award-winning actress Mira Sorvino with the Avalon Award on Saturday, Sept 28 at the Avalon Casino Theatre on Catalina Island. Sorvino starred in Catalina Film Festival's World Premiere screening of BADLAND, alongside Kevin Makely, Bruce Dern, Trace Adkins, and Wes Studi. Credit Hutchins Photo.

Festival highlights included the Avalon Award presentation to Oscar-winning actress Mira Sorvino who starred in the world premiere of "Badland" alongside Kevin Makely, Bruce Dern and Trace Adkins. Fan favorite, Thriller Thursday, featured the Wes Craven block of horror films, along with the world premiere of "Dark Harbor," directed by Joe Raffa, starring Joel McHale (Community, The Soup) with cast in attendance: Jessica Sipos, Xander Berkeley, Sterling Hurst, Connor Trineer, Reiko Aylesworth, Nickolas Wolf and Jillian Armenante. Also in attendance were Kevin Alejandro (Lucifer, True Blood) with the short films "The Talk" & "Smile," plus Jaeden Martell (It, It Chapter 2), Nick Jandl (Nashville), Mike Doyle (New Amsterdam). The Festival also featured the Film & New Media Summit, with panels that included film finance discussions with Forrest Road Company and a spotlight interview with iconic actress Lesley Ann Warren, moderated by film historian, Jim Hemphill.

2019 CATALINA FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS:

Avalon Award - Mira Sorvino
Wes Craven Horror/Thriller Award - "Black Cat in a Dark Room"
Best of Fest - U.S. Short Film - "Men of Vision"
Best of Fest - Documentary Film (Worldwide) - "Stronger than Carr"
Best of Fest - Screenplay - "Kid Soldier"
Best of Fest - International Short Film - "Janek/Bastard"
Best of Fest - International Feature Film - "RWANDA"
Catalina Spotlight Awards - Chuck Liddell & Lolo Saldana
Deb Bauer "Unsung Hero Award" - "Father of the Flying Car"
Best of Fest - Advanced Student Film (Worldwide) - "Piggy Bank Proposition"
Best of Fest - Animation Short Film (Worldwide) - "Destination: Unknown"
Best of Fest - Conservation Film - "The Last Herd"
CFF Festival Treasure Award - "Barbie's Kenny"
Best of Fest - Catalina Film Channel (Online) Awards:

Best Actor, Male: Ben Gail - "Happy To Help"
Best Actor, Male Comedy: Aaron Serotsky - "Men of Vision"
Best Actor, Female: Jennifer Morrison - "A Tattooed Heart"
Best Actor, Female Comedy: Leslie Vincent - "Fairy Tail"
Best Child Actor, Charity Rose - "Piggy Bank Proposition"
Best Cinematography, Mac Fisken – "High Desert Hell"
Best Supporting Actor, Male: Markets Christmas - "Unicorns"
Best Supporting Actor, Female - Jordan Knapp- "8"
Best Director, Frank Todaro - "Men of Vision"

PRESS IMAGES: http://bit.ly/CATALINAMEDIA

ABOUT CATALINA FILM FESTIVAL & FILM INSTITUTE
Catalina Film Festival is an annual celebration of film in Southern California with coastal screenings and events in Long Beach and on Hollywood's Island. Past CFF honorees include Nicolas Cage, Jon Favreau, Stan Lee, Kevin Hart, William H. Macy, Andy Garcia, Sharon Stone, Emmy Rossum, Richard Dreyfuss, and more. 2019 sponsors include The Cafaro Group, Building Image Group (BIG), Bogart Spirits, REED'S INC, REZ – Recovery Brands, BANDERO Tequila, Catalina Express, Toyon Grill, Bezalel, ABK BEER, Horseshoe Bend Vineyards, Sprint. Follow @CatalinaFilm, #CatalinaFilm www.catalinafilm.org.