The 16th ANNUAL PAN AFRICAN FILM & ARTS FESTIVAL (PAFF) today announced the winners of its 2008 Pan African Film and Arts Filmmakers Awards and Audience Favorite Awards . Jury Prizes were awarded in the following categories: Best Documentary, Best Short Documentary, Best Narrative Short, Best Feature, and Best Director-First Feature. New for the 2008 PAFF is the addition of The Oscar Micheaux Award , named after the first African-American filmmaker. In addition to the Jury Prizes, Audience Favorite Awards were voted on in the following categories: Best Feature , Best Documentary , and Best Short Narrative . The PAFF Vision Award was given to the film that the Festival chose that best exemplified its mission of reinforcing positive images and helping to destroy negative stereotypes.

2008 PAFF FILMMAKER AWARDS

PAFF VISION AWARD

NAMIBIA: THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERATION (Namibia/US/Director: Charles Burnett)

Honorable Mention

BROTHERS IN ARMS (South Africa/Doc/73min/Director: Jack Lewis)
VICTIMS OF OUR RICHES (VICTIMES DE NOS RICHESSES) (Mali/France/Doc-short/58min/Director: Kal Touré)

BEST DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

RETURN TO GORÉE (Senegal/Switzerland/Luxembourg/Director: Pierre-Yves Borgeaud)

Honorable Mention

THIS IS THE LIFE (US/Director: Ava DuVernay)

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

HIP-HOP: BEYOND BEATS AND RHYMES (US/Director: Byron Hurt)

Honorable Mention

THOMAS SANKARA: THE UPRIGHT MAN (France/Director: Robin Shuffield)

BEST NARRATIVE SHORT COMPETITION

PARIAH (US/Director: Dee Rees)

Honorable Mention

WE ARE ALL RWANDANS (Rwanda/UK/Director: Debs Gardner-Paterson)

BEST FEATURE COMPETITION

POOR BOY'S GAME (Canada/Director: Clément Virgo)

Honorable Mention

EZRA (Nigeria/France/Austria/Director: Newton I. Aduaka)

BEST DIRECTOR-FIRST FEATURE COMPETITION

SOUTH OF PICO (US/Director: Ernst Gossner)

Honorable Mention

THE DISCIPLE (US/UK/Director: Rodney Charles)

THE OSCAR MICHEAUX AWARD COMPETITION

SOMETHING IS KILLING TATE (US/Director: Leon Lozano)

Honorable Mention

KINGS OF THE EVENING (US/Director: Andrew P. Jones)

2008 PAFF AUDIENCE FAVORITE AWARDS

AUDIENCE FAVORITE: FEATURE

SOMETHING IS KILLING TATE (US/Director: Leon Lozano)

Runner Up

CORDIALLY INVITED (US/Narr/123min/Director: Michael Fouther) -

AUDIENCE FAVORITE: DOCUMENTARY

THIS IS THE LIFE (US/Director: Ava DuVernay)

Runner Up

MALCOLM'S ECHO: THE LEGACY OF MALCOLM X (UK/Doc/84min/Director: Dami Akinnusi)

AUDIENCE FAVORITE: SHORT DOCUMENTARY

IRON LADIES OF LIBERIA (US/Doc/78min/Director: Daniel Junge)

Runner Up

AMERICAN LANDING: JIMI HENDRIX LIVE AT MONTEREY (US/Doc/63min/Director: Bob Smeaton)

AUDIENCE FAVORITE: SHORT NARRATIVE

DON OF VIRGIL JR. HIGH, THE (US/Narr-short/20min/Director: Deon H. Hayman)

Runner Up

EZEKIEL (US/Narr-short/13min/Director: Keith Sam Jr.)