The first ever Detroit Independent Film Festival has given its Best Documentary award — to a film produced outside of Michigan — Eddies: The Documentary by Calgary filmmaker Michael Peterson. Eddies chronicles the journey of several Canadian filmmakers as they compete in the Big Rock Brewery‘s annual filmmaking competition, which is an event relatively unknown outside of Calgary, but is a prodigious affair in the region.

As of this writing, I haven’t posted my review of Eddies on the Underground Film Journal yet, but I’ve seen it and it’s a really wonderful documentary about everyday, creative folks really getting into the spirit of filmmaking — even for what are just essentially short beer commercials. I’ve previously reviewed three short fictional films by Peterson, who’s a great talent out of Canada.

The Detroit Independent Film Festival ran back on March 2-7 at the Burton Film Theatre and screened close to 20 feature films and numerous short films. The fest then gave out two sets of awards, one set specifically honoring Michigan filmmakers and the other celebrating films made outside of the state. The Best Documentary produced in Michigan was Nicole MacDonald’s A City to Yourself.

Judges for the Michigan Film Awards were Chris Bondy, Barbara Coven-Ellis, Perry Seibert, Jason Buchanon, Lon Stratton, Nicole Rupersburg and  Carole Johnson, who gave out awards in multiple categories for multiple talents, such as directing, acting, cinematography and more.

The full list of winners is below:

MICHIGAN FILM AWARDS

Winner Best Michigan Feature
Tracy, dir. Dan Scanlon
Produced by Brian Fee and Dan Scanlon

Winner Best Director — Michigan Feature
Dan Scanlon, Tracy

Winner Best Michigan Short
Pigment, dir, Kyle Dufendach

Winner Best Director — Michigan Short
Bryan D. Hopkins, Qing Lou Nu

Winner Best Actor -Feature
Brian Fee, Tracy

Winner Best Actor — Short
Robert William Ford, The Commandant

Winner Best Actress — Feature
Lauren Mae Shafer, The Stevie Wondershow

Winner Best Actress — Short
Grace Anne Rowan, Playback

Winner Best Supporting Actor
John Duffy Leo, Raised Alone

Winner Best Supporting Actress
Vikki Gasko, Raised Alone

Winner Best Screenplay — Feature
Michael McCallum, Fairview St.

Winner Best Screenplay -Short
Pigment, Written by Kyle Dufendach

Best Documentary
A City to Yourself, dir. Nicole MacDonald

Winner Best Cinematography
Mark C. Davis Jr., Qing Lou Nu

Winner Best Original Score
Sonia Lee, Raised Alone

Winner Best Editing
Jamie Surgener, Avabot

Winner Best Academic Short
1 New Message, dir. Julie Dugger

DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL AWARDS

Winner Best Narrative Feature
Is It Just Me?, dir. J.C. Calciano

Winner Best Director — Feature
Marianne Hettinger, Mango Tango

Winner Best Narrative Short
The 8th Samurai, dir. Justin Ambrosino

Winner Best Documentary
Eddies: The Documentary, dir. Michael Peterson (Read the review)

Winner Best Animation
A Long Distance Call, dir. Joe Chang