From Beach House to Night Shift to Rise, the 2023 Mammoth Film Festival had a long list of well deserved winners including Best Picture recipient, Dreamer.

MAMMOTH LAKES, CA, UNITED STATES, March 8, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The 2023 Mammoth Film Festival celebrated incredible filmmakers and talented actors this past week in Mammoth Lakes, CA, while also bracing the deepest snowfall Mammoth received in the last decade, with back to back blizzards over the duration of the festival. The adventure made for an exciting winter experience for the dedicated filmmakers, talent, and festival supporters in attendance. The 5th year of the fastly growing festival certainly did not disappoint with an impressive film slate of over 84 projects, inclusive of 13 world premieres and over 12 International films.

Founded in 2018 by Tanner Beard, Tomik Mansoori, Alex Chando and Theo Dumont, the festival kicked off on March 2nd with the screenings of Lucas Needs An Agent starring High School Musical's Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu, Sasha Clements and Katie Leclerc. Following the short debut was feature film Padre Pio starring Shia LeBeouf and directed by the legendary Abel Ferrara. The film first debuted at Venice Film Festival, and chose Mammoth Film Festival for its North American premiere. The Friday Night Feature slots included The Duel starring Dylan Sprouse and Some Other Woman directed by Joel David Moore starring Amanda Crew, Ashley Greene and Tom Felton, with the Saturday Spotlights showcasing The Engineer directed by Danny A. Abeckaser, starring Emile Hirsch, Night Shift by Paul and Benjamin China, Bad Hombres starring Thomas Jane, and Nick Cassavetes, and Rise starring Jimmy Jean-Louis. Sunday closed out with the world premiere of Dreamer starring Ari Lopez. Peter Facinelli debuted his latest film On Fire paired with a generous donation to the local fire department through nonprofit Rak The Planet. The Action Sports Category premiered Citizen Athlete showcasing the U.S. Olympic Female Bobsled Team, and highly buzzed about documentary American Badass: A Michael Madsen Retrospective screened on Saturday afternoon.

The buyers marketplace is a key focus at MammothFF, with the announcement and acquisition of four features already confirmed during the 2023 festival weekend, led by Bad Hombres purchase by Screen Media leading the news. Festival Founder Tanner Beard hosts the annual marketplace event, with a focus on offering a growing platform for independent filmmakers on a global scale.

The intimate festival included daily red carpets, premiere parties and programming, press junkets, a Peak IV Hydration & Therapy lounge, filmmakers lounge at Sierra Nevada Resort complete with daily Saldo Wines and El Cristiano Tequila tastings, Paramount+ live streaming activation, and the annual Her Voice female filmmaker panel. This year also marked the return of their Celebrity Bowling Tournament benefiting the Mammoth Media Institute, presented by White Claw.

The inaugural MammothFF Awards Luncheon presented by Saldo Wines closed out the festival on March 6th. All screenings were held at local theater partner Minaret Cinemas and were presented by Wild7Films, Visit Mammoth, Advanced Airlines, and Path Water.

From Beach House to Night Shift to Rise, the festival had a long list of well deserved winners. Dreamer took home both best picture and best actor, with an impressive cast including Diego Calva, Jason Patric, Paulina Gaitan, Alfredo Castro, Renata Vaca and newcomer Ari Lopez, Inspired by a powerful and true story from EP Yalitza Aparicio. This year’s festival judges included notable industry names such as Rob Weiss, Luke Watson and Jamie Chung.

Complete Mammoth Film Festival 2023 Awards List:

Achievement in Filmmaking | 2023
JUSTIN MATTHEWS AND LUKE SPENCER ROBERTS - THE DUEL

Achievement in Filmmaking | INTERNATIONAL
BEACH HOUSE by Hector Hernandez Vicenz

Achievement in Filmmaking | MUSIC
THE ENGINEER by Danny A. Abeckaser scored By Lionel Cohen

Achievement in Filmmaking | CINEMATOGRAPHY
ALESSANDRO ABATE FOR PADRE PIO

Achievement in Filmmaking | WRITER
REX NEW AND NICK TURNER STORY BY JOHN STALBERG FOR BAD HOMBRES

Achievement in Filmmaking | DIRECTOR
HECTOR HERNANDEZ VICENS FOR BEACH HOUSE

Best Action Sports | 2023
CITIZEN ATHLETE directed BY BRANDT WILLIE, written / produced by Ryan March

Best Episodic | 2023
THE MANY WORLDS OF GEORGE GOODMAN starring / produced by Blair Redford, written / directed by Gregg Bishop

Best GENRE Film | Short
LUCAS NEEDS AN AGENT starring, written / directed by Lucas Grabeel

Best Documentary | Short
SOMOS BY RAFAEL PENSE

Best GENRE Film | Feature
NIGHT SHIFT written / directed by Paul and Benjamin China

Best Documentary | Feature
AMERICAN BADASS: A MICHAEL MADSEN RETROSPECTIVE, starring / produced by Michael Madsen, directed by Dominique Milano

Audience Award| Short
THE TRAVELER directed by DL Guerra

Audience Award | Feature (TIE)
RISE by Mariette Lee Go, produced by Maurice Fadida starring Jimmy Jean-Louis, Joy Sunday, Chike Okonkwo, Peter Mensah
THE DUEL directed by Justin Matthews and Luke spencer Roberts starring Dylan Sprouse, Patrick Warburton, Hart Denton, Denny Love and Callan McAuliffe

Grand Jury Award | Short
THE LAST BELL written / directed by Via Lubeck

Grand Jury Award | Feature
BAD HOMBRES Starring Thomas Jane, Nick Cassavetes, Paul Johansson, Hemky Madera, Tyrese Gibson, Diego Tinoco, Luke Hemsworth, directed by John Stalberg, EP Kyle Smithson, producer David Frigerio

Best Actress | Short
DANA MELANIE - TEN YEAR

Best Actress | Feature
SASHA MORFAW - RISE

Best Actor | Short or Episodic
BLAIR REDFORD - THE MANY WORLDS OF GEORGE GOODMAN

Best Actor | Feature
ARI LOPEZ - DREAMER

Best Picture | Short
EL PORTAFOLIO starring Albert Hammond Jr, directed / written by Scottie Cameron

Best Picture | Feature
DREAMER, starring Ari Lopez, Renata Vaca, Diego Calva, Jason Patric

Sierra Nevada Resort, a 2023 Mammoth Film Festival partner, just debuted a completely redone property. Occupying a historic 1967 building that was once a preferred getaway for Hollywood elite, the newly reimagined winter resort offers a western classic reborn as a modern mountain retreat.

For additional information on California’s favorite winter festival, follow @MammothFilmFestival, download their App on IOS and Google Play, and visit www.mammothfilmfestival.org

Ali Lasky
The Influence
PressMFF@theinfluence.com
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