The judges had a challenging time winnowing through the great films submitted to the 2013 Highway 61 Film Festival. After tallying their results, these are the winners.
Comedy Short
First Place: Rocket Surgeons (Director Wes Fischer)
Second Place: Not Like the Commercials (Director Wyatt Cagle)
Drama Short
First Place: Les Esclaves (Director Jesse Mast)
Second Place: Aakhir – At Last (Director Tarun Jain)
Drama Feature
First Place: Not Quite Lyin’ Eyes (Director Doug Phillips)
Student Short
First Place: Syren (Director Will Nelson)
Second Place: Honor Among Thieves (Directors Jack Beiderman and Gabriel Strauss)
Animation Short
First Place: Maze (Director Marianna Mankowska)
Second Place: Coffea – The Coffee Fairy (Director Susan Shay Brugger)
Documentary Feature
First Place: The American Road (Directors Warren Leming and Kurt Jacobsen)
Second Place: Sled Dogs to St. Paul: The Race for Clean Water (Directors Kelly Schoenfelder and Patrick Knight)
Action/Horror Short
First Place: The Information Thief (Director John Gigrich)
Action/Horror Feature
First Place: The Giant Spider (Director Christopher R. Mihm)
Cash prizes ($50 short/$100 feature) will be awarded to all first-place winners. Prizes were awarded for all categories in which films were submitted. Congratulations to all the winners!