"Gimme the Loot", "Mr. Baker" win top awards at SXSW film fest

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Bronx-set drama "Gimme the Loot" and the rock documentary "Beware of Mr. Baker" have won the top jury awards at the 2012 South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival, according to The Wrap.

The first five days of the Austin festival also saw the premiere of Sony's "21 Jump Street," an array of raucously-received horror and genre films, appearances by Willem Dafoe, Minnie Driver, Matthew McConaughey, Joss Whedon and many others, and even a controversial use of homeless people as wifi hotspots.

SXSW's film festival, which runs as part of a 10-day block that also includes an interactive festival and a music festival, announced its awards on Tuesday, March 15, near the midpoint of its run rather than at the end.

"Gimme the Loot", writer-director Adam Leon's film about a pair of graffiti artists looking for revenge after a rival gang defaces their work, won the Grand Jury Prize for narrative features, topping a field that included eight world premieres.

Jay Bulger's "Beware of Mr. Baker", a documentary about veteran rock drummer Ginger Baker, won the Grand Jury Prize for documentary features.

Other prize winners included Megan Griffiths' "Eden" (Narrative Feature Audience Award) and Annie Eastman's "Bay of All Saints" (Documentary Feature Audience Award).