Plainclothes Wins Award for Best Narrative Feature at Provincetown International Film Festival - MovieMaker Magazine

      Plainclothes, the first feature film by director Carmen Emmi, was awarded the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 27th annual Provincetown International Film Festival this past weekend. The Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature was given to Come See Me in the Good Light, directed by Ryan White.

      The festival took place in Provincetown, Massachusetts, a hub for arts and the LGBTQ+ community, showcasing a dynamic lineup of innovative films, including James Sweeney’s Twinless and Annapurna Sriram’s Fucktoys. Notable moments included a Q&A session featuring Ari Aster and John Waters, the festival's patron saint, who honored Aster with the Filmmaker on the Edge Award.

      Murray Bartlett received the Excellence in Acting Award from renowned producer Christine Vachon. Eva Victor, director of Sorry Baby, and River Gallo, director of Ponyboi, both earned the Next Wave Award.

      Additional attendees included Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke, whose charming Honey Don’t was received with great enthusiasm, along with Sweeney and Dylan O’Brien, who star in the intriguing Twinless.

      Other notable guests encompassed Linus O’Brien, whose delightful documentary Strange Journey about The Rocky Horror Picture Show opened the festival, as well as Brandon Flynn, François Arnaud, Michael Koehler, Annapurna Sriram, Sadie Scott, Aud Mason-Hyde, Carmen Emmi, Ryan White, Michael Strassner, Yashaddai Owens, Alexi Wasser, Kahane Corn Cooperman, Zackary Drucker, Allison Argo, Elegance Bratton, John Cooper, and Sundance Film Festival director Eugene Hernandez.

      The festival concluded with Michael Koehler’s Spiritus: No Business Like Dough Business, which tells the story of a pizzeria and cafe cherished by the community in PTown.

      Plainclothes, Come See Me in the Good Light, and Other PIFF Winners

      Plainclothes, filmed in Emmi’s hometown of Syracuse, New York, follows a police officer assigned to arrest gay men for public sex, who ultimately falls for one of his targets. Come See Me in the Good Light explores the relationship between two poet lovers who delve into love and morality—infused with unexpected humor—after receiving a terminal diagnosis.

      The John Schlesinger Awards for first-time narrative and documentary feature filmmakers were awarded to Sarah Friedland for the narrative Familiar Touch and Brittany Shyne for the documentary Seeds.

      Winners of the Juried Short Awards included “Dragfox,” directed by Lisa Ott, for best animated short; “Signs From the Mainland,” by Michael Cestaro, for Best New England Short; “Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites,” by Chheangkea, for Best Queer Short; “Susana,” directed by Gerardo Coello Escalante and Amandine Thomas, for Best Narrative Short; and “We’ll Carry On Alright,” directed by Megan Rossman, for Best Documentary Short.

      “Yú Cì (Fish Bones),” by Kevin X. Yu, and “Tiger,” by Loren Waters, received special jury mentions. (According to MovieMaker's style guide, feature titles are italicized, while short film titles are enclosed in quotes.)

      Main image: Russell Tovey and Tom Blyth in Plainclothes, directed by Carmen Emmi.