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Previous Winners

The Ad Astra Award

The Ad Astra, named for the state motto Ad Astra Per Aspera (To The Stars Through Difficulty), is given to those who dedicate their lives and make significant contributions to the art and process of moviemaking.

  • 2004 - Oscar® winning actress Cloris Leachman
  • 2005 - Posthumously given to Tallgrass founder Timothy Gruver, whose dream to make Wichita and Film synonymous is being realized. His award was accepted by his parents, Kaye & Floyd Gruver.
  • 2006 - independent filmmaker Laura Lee Bahr
  • 2007 - Don LaFontaine, The King of Movie Trailers
  • 2008 - MPAA chairman Dan Glickman
  • 2009 - Oscar-nominated character actor Seymour Cassel
  • 2010 - Golden Globe- and Emmy-nominated composer Rolfe Kent

2004 Ad Astra winner Cloris LeachmanThe late Tim Gruver, winner of the 2005 Ad AstraLaura Lee Bahr

The Audience Awards

The Audience Award winners may be documentary, narrative, domestic or foreign films. The awards are granted to films screened at the festival scored highest by the audience.

2009 Audience Award for Feature Film

Sweet Crude

Sweet Crude

SWEET CRUDE shows the humanity behind the statistics, events and highly sensationalized media portrayal of the region. Set against a stunning backdrop of Niger Delta footage, the film gives voice to the region’s complex mix of stakeholders and invites the audience to learn the deeper story.

Run time: 94 min. | USA | Language: English, Nigerian with English Subtitles

2009 Audience Award for Short Film

Lost Paradise

A man and a woman are tenderly making love in a one star hotel room. A moment later when they are both dressed up, the idyll that seamed authentic is now gone. A present-day Adam and Eve story.

Run time: 10 min. | France, Israel

2008 Audience Award for Feature Film

The Wrecking Crew

The Wrecking Crew

Directed by Denny Tedesco
A celebration of the musical work of a group of session musicians known as "The Wrecking Crew," a band that provided instrumentals to legendary recording artists and were the backbone of major hits from the late 1950s into the early 1980s.

Documentary | Run time: 95 min. | USA | Language: English

2008 Audience Award for Short Film

Electric Revolution

Directed by Mark Moormann
Electric Revolution follows Gage Brewer's world premiere performance of the electric guitar in Wichita, Kansas in 1932.

Documentary | Run time: 12 min. | USA | Language: English

2007 Audience Award for Feature Film

Girls Rock!

Girls Rock!

Producer and co-director Arne Johnson was in attendance to accept the award.

Directed By: Arne Johnson, Shane King
Producers: Arne Johnson
Cast: Carrie Brownstein, Beth Ditto

Each summer, Portland’s Rock 'n' Roll Camp For Girls provides a place for girls ages 8-to-18 to sweat, scream and wail. This cranked-to-eleven documentary follows the dedicated counselors (including Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein and Beth Ditto from The Gossip), as they guide the girls through selecting their bands, learning instruments, writing songs, and finally performing in Portland clubs.

Run time: 91 min. | USA | Language: English

2007 Audience Award for Short Film

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The Date

Directed by Andreas Hass
A lot can happen when a German man returns to Central Park in hopes of meeting a love 20 years unrequited…

Run time: 16 min. | Germany | Language: English, German with English Subtitles