Congratulations to WAITRESS on winning the 2007 Narrative Feature Competition Award at the 9th Annual Sarasota Film Festival!

The 9th Annual Sarasota Film Festival took place from April 13 – April 22 and competition and audience awards were announced on Saturday the 22nd.

Jurors for the festival included film critic/journalist/co-host of television’s “Reel Talk,” Alison Bailes; Co-founder and Co-President of Strand Releasing, Jon Gerrans; and literary manager/producer for Anonymous Content, Michael Sugar.

Each of the competition awards carries a $5,000 cash prize for the filmmaker.

The list of winners in other categories are below. 

• The 2007 Documentary Feature Competition Award was presented to “Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037,” directed by Benjamin Niles.
• A Special Jury Prize was presented by the Documentary Feature jury to “Beyond Hatred,” directed by Olivier Meyrou.
• The 2007 Independent Visions Competition Award, sponsored by Heineken, was presented to “Great World of Sound,” directed by Craig Zobel and “Pretty in the Face,” directed by Nate Meyer.

Among the individuals recognized for their work was director Norman Jewison who was given the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Filmmaking (who was introduced by his “…AND JUSTICE FOR ALL" actor, Dominic Chianese).

For more on the festival's highlights visit the official site here. For photos visit Getty Images.