‘Club Kid,’ ‘Queen at Sea’ Earn Top Prizes at Philadelphia Film Festival; 35th Edition Sets All-Time Attendance Record (EXCLUSIVE)

Lance Hammer’s “Queen at Sea” and Jordan Firstman‘s “Club Kid” earned top honors at the Philadelphia Film Festival, taking home the narrative jury prize and the narrative audience award, respectively. This year’s festival, which marked the 35th edition, drew the highest attendance in PFF history.

In his recent cover story with Variety, Firstman shared his excitement that “Club Kid,” despite centering on the granular world of New York’s queer clubbing scene, touched a diverse range of movie fans as an intimate family drama about a long-lost son and a young father coming into his own.

“It’s been amazing to see the kinds of people that relate to this film, but it really is a movie about growth,” Firstman said. “In Telluride, I watched a 75-year-old conservative man leave the theater in tears. Then we took it to the New York Film Festival, which I was very nervous to do, and showed it to the 35-year-olds who do drugs. I built the story to work on levels, with the top being a layer of warmth that feels like a hug. I explore some of my more transgressive ideas beneath the surface. If you don’t get it, there’s still a story that will make you laugh and feel something.”

Other PFF honorees included Liese’s “Seized,” which won the jury award for best documentary feature. Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor’s devastating Gaza doc “Naza” and David Greaves, Liani Greaves and William Greaves’ intimate look-back at the Harlem Renaissance, “Once Upon a Time in Harlem,” shared the documentary audience prize. “Big Phan,” a biopic about the Phillie Phanatic, earned the audience award for local feature.

Philadelphia-area filmmaking award winners were “The Haunting of Pennhurst,” from directors Mike Attie, Katarina Poljak and Nathan Stenberg, which won best Filmadelphia feature. Dana Nachman’s “The Second Life of Freddie Nole” took home best Filmadelphia short.

Rounding out the jury categories was Stephen P. Neary’s “Living with a Visionary,” which won best short film. PFF also honored actor and filmmaker Tim Blake Nelson with the artistic achievement in directing award for his new feature, “The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd.”

See a full list of audience and jury award winners below.