Wisconsin Film Festival Awards

AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS

Audience Choice Award Winners are chosen each year by the Wisconsin Film Festival attendees. Audience members cast their ballots upon exiting screenings.

AND THE WISCONSIN FILM FESTIVAL AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD WINNERS ARE…

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2023

Favorite Documentary Feature

Judy Blume Forever

Favorite Narrative Feature

My Sailor, My Love

Favorite Shorts Program

Real People, Real Places

Favorite Restoration/Rediscovery

The Cameraman

Audience Favorite Big Screens Little Folks Program

How I Learned to Fly/Margot’s Sister

2022

Audience Favorite Narrative Feature
Audience Favorite Documentary Feature
Audience Favorite Restoration/Rediscovery
Audience Favorite Big Screens, Little Folks
Audience Favorite Wisconsin’s Own
Audience Favorite Shorts Program

2021

Audience Favorite Narrative Feature:
Audience Favorite Documentary Feature:
Audience Favorite Restoration/Rediscovery:
Audience Favorite Big Screens, Little Folks:
Audience Favorite Wisconsin’s Own:
Audience Favorite Short Film:

2019

Audience Favorite Narrative Feature
Yomeddine | Abu Bakr Shawky

Audience Favorite Documentary Feature (tie)
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am | Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
Knock Down the House | Rachel Lears

Audience Favorite Restoration/Rediscovery
Creature from the Black Lagoon | Jack Arnold

Audience Favorite Shorts Program
Stories We Tell: Wisconsin’s Own Shorts

Audience Favorite Big Screens, Little Folks Selection
Short and Sweet

2018

Audience Favorite Narrative Feature
Hearts Beat Loud | Brett Haley

Audience Favorite Documentary Feature
RBG | Betsy West & Julie Cohen

Audience Favorite Restoration/Rediscovery
Blue Collar | Paul Schrader

Audience Favorite Shorts Program
A World of Wisconsin’s Own

Audience Favorite Big Screens, Little Folks Selection
Short But Not So Sweet: Revolting Rhymes and Isis + Osiris

2017

Audience Favorite Narrative Feature 
My Life as a Zucchini | Claude Barras

Audience Favorite Documentary Feature 
STEP | Amanda Lipitz

Audience Favorite Restoration/Rediscovery 
One Potato, Two Potato | Larry Peerce

Audience Favorite Shorts Program 
Portraits and Pictures from Wisconsin’s Own 

Audience Favorite Big Screens, Little Folks Selection 
Heidi | Alain Gsponer

2016

Audience Favorite Narrative Feature
Hunt for the Wilderpeople | Taika Waititi

Audience Favorite Documentary Feature
Louder Than Words | Saj Adibs

Audience Favorite Restoration/Rediscovery
Death Wish Club | John Carr

Audience Favorite Shorts Program
Just Be Yourselves: Wisconsin’s Own Narrative Shorts

Audience Favorite Big Screens, Little Folks Selection
Birds of Passage | Olivier Ringer

2015

Narrative Feature Audience Award Winner

Marie’s Story (Marie Huertin) | Jean Pierre Améris

Documentary Feature Audience Award Winner

Capturing Grace | David Iverson

Best Restoration or Rediscovery Audience Award Winner

Five Corners | Tony Bill

2014

Narrative Feature Audience Award Winner

The Rocket | Kim Mordaunt

Documentary Feature Audience Award Winner

American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs | Grace Lee

Best Restoration or Rediscovery Audience Award Winner

Vertigo | Alfred Hitchcock

2013

Narrative Feature Audience Award Winner

Coming of Age | Sabine Hiebler and Gerhard Ertl

Documentary Feature Audience Award Winner

Father’s Birth | Delphine Lanson

Best Restoration or Rediscovery Audience Award Winner

Manhattan | Woody Allen

2012

Narrative Feature Audience Award Winner

The Intouchables | Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano

Documentary Feature Audience Award Winner

The Entertainers | Michael Zimmer and Nick Holle

2011

Narrative Feature Audience Award Winner

Anita | Marcos Carnevale

Documentary Feature Audience Award Winner

Louder than a Bomb | Greg Jacobs and Jon Siskel

2010

Narrative Feature Audience Award Winner

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Man Som Hatar Kvinnor) | Niels Arden Oplev

Documentary Feature Audience Award Winner

Paddle to Seattle: Journey Through the Inside Passage | JJ Kelley and Josh Thomas

2009

Narrative Feature Audience Award Winner

Departures (Okuribito) | Yojiro Takita

Documentary Feature Audience Award Winner

Being Bucky | Scott Smith

2008

Narrative Feature Audience Award Winner

Time to Die (Pora Umierac) | Dorota Kedzierzawska

Documentary Feature Audience Award Winner

New Year Baby | Socheata Poeuv

2007

Narrative Feature Audience Award Winner

Wristcutters: A Love Story | Goran Dukic

Documentary Feature Audience Award Winner

War/Dance | Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine

2006

Narrative Feature Audience Award Winner (2)

Adam’s Apples | Anders Thomas Jensen

Sweet Land | Ali Selim

Documentary Feature Audience Award Winner

Isn’t This A Time! A Tribute Concert for Harold Leventhal | Jim Brown

2005

Narrative Feature Audience Award Winner

Brothers | Susanne Bier

Documentary Feature Audience Award Winner

The Real Dirt on Farmer John | Taggart Siegel

WISCONSIN’S OWN GOLDEN BADGER AWARDS

Image of Great Dane Logo

Filmmakers from Wisconsin make their mark in Hollywood and around the globe. The Wisconsin Film festival is proud to showcase work from some of Wisconsin’s most accomplished filmmakers, University of Wisconsin Alumni and emerging Wisconsin filmmakers.

Wisconsin’s Own is a juried competition for the Golden Badger Awards. Wisconsin Film Festival is grateful for support from The Great Dane, proud sponsor of Wisconsin’s Own!

For filmmakers with “Wisconsin ties,” this is defined as either:

  • The film was shot primarily or significantly (at least one-third) on location in Wisconsin.
  • One or more of the film’s principle creative personnel – director, producer, screenwriter, cinematogrpher, lead actor, etc. – must be one of the following: a) Wisconsin native b) former Wisconsin resident for one or more years c) current Wisconsin resident or d) alumnus or currently enrolled in a Wisconsin college or university.

AND THE GOLDEN BADGER AWARD WINNERS ARE…

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2023

Friday Night Blind directed by Scott Krahn and Robb Fischer

Carol & Janet directed by Andrea Rosen

Of Wood  directed by Owen Klatte

2022

Craigslist Roommate | Arielle Bordow

Ad meliora | Kate Balsley

What You Left Behind | Jayce Kolinksi

2021

Iron Family | Patrick Longstreth

The Passing On | Nathan Clarke

2020

Personhood | Jo Ardinger

Mystery of Now | Audrey Buchanan

N of 1 | Bernard Friedman

2019

Life on the Mississippi | Bill Brown

Elephant Path | Todd McGrain

Played Out | James Runde

2018

FUTURE LANGUAGE: The Dimensions of VON LMO | Lori Felker

Great Light | Tony Oswald

The Blood Is At The Doorstep | Erik Ljung

2017

Cliff, Superfan | Diane Moy Quon

Daedalus and Icarus | Luke Bassuener

Lingua Absentia | Kate Raney and Jeremy Bessoff

2016

jazzy@32 | Kara Mulrooney

Lamerica | Stephano Galli

Round River | Xia Magnus

2015

Clarence | Kristin Catalano

Little America | Kurt Raether

The Searcher | Joe Shaffer

2014

Atomic Dream | Derek Lartaud and Melanie Ruiz

Before You | Michael T. Vollmann

Dostoyevsky Behind Bars | Marc Kornblatt

2013

Siszilla | Eric J. Nelson

Gears
 | Steven Miosku

Loves of a Cyclops | Nathan Punwar

Dear Mr. Watterson | Joel Schroeder

2012

Into the Wake | John Mossman

I Have Always Been a Dreamer
 | Sabine Gruffat

Glue Man | Joe Pickett

Nindy | Corey Kupfer

2011

Anima Mundi | Katherine Anna Balsley

The Bully
 | Derek Kimball

Haulin’ Ass | Trevor Velin

Instrumental Video Nine | Mike Winkelmann

In the Courtyard of the Beloved
 | Andreas Burgess and Sadia Shepard

The Mushroom Sessions
 | Adam Cosco

Figure in Isolation | Kaleb Durocher and Michelle Chrzanowski

Mary and Bill | Andrew Napier

Under The Sun | Emma Petersen

2010

Baraboo | Mary Sweeney

Cooking on the Car | Mike Savage, Dan Dresser and Jason Wussow

Framework | Quinn Hester

The Grapes of Madison | Ben Reiser

Mary’s Friend | John Roberts

My Way Home
 | J.P. Chan

Paddle to Seattle: Journey Through the Inside Passage | JJ Kelley and Josh Thomas

Promiseland | Chele Isaac

2009

Beelin’ | Dan WiersGalla

Immortal Cupboard: In Search of Lorine Niedecker | Cathy Cook

Tracks | Josh Rosenberg

Win or Lose: A Summer Camp Story | Louis Lapat

2008

Alaska Far Away | Paul Hill and Joan Juster

The Closing Hour 
| Grey Gerling

The European Kid | Ian Martin

Madison | Brent Notbohm

Perceval | Tate Bunker

Otto’s Day | Ji-Sun O

Passing Through | Jonathan Bothun

Them’s Trying Times to be a Canine | Joseph Kraemer

2007

Bone Mixers | Doug Gritzmacher abd Mike Dechant

Little Spirits | Cecilia Condit

The Professor’s Daughter | Luke R. Pebler

The Untyings
 | Romi Chiorean, Katherine Leggett

Walk Into Hell/ Purgatorio | Dal Lazlo and Charles Johannsen

Tops | Brian D. Nelson

The Bird of Night | Alan Schoenberg

Black Box | Joe Sacco

The Long Shadow
 | Chele Isaac

Me and Jean Pierre | Anna Krutzik

Pinmonkey | Tim Ziegler

2006

Triviatown | Patrick Cady and Brit McAdams

Labor’s Troubadour | Hope Moskowitz

The Magnificent Donut | Karen Lindholm-Rynkiewicz

Scream at Me | Lennell Davis

Ornithology | Caroline Kasetelic

The Road That Takes You There Is the Road That Brings You Back | Michele Isaac

In Passing | Adam Wheeler

2005

Lifelike | John Besmer

Small Town Secrets | Katherine Leggett

My Most Important Self-Portrait | James Baray

The Real Dirt on Farmer John | Taggart Siegel

NBT: Never Been Thawed | Sean Anders

One Minute Interview | Kyja Kristjansson-Nelson

Existential Search of a Needle | Fevzi Balli

Blaze Orange | Kevin Kilduff

2004

Interference | Lauren Hollingsworth

Death | Aaron Yonda

Old Night | Molly M. Mann

Not Color Blind, Just Near-sighted | Aaron Greer

I’m Bobby | Xav Leplae

The Adventures of Mad Matt | Scott Rice

Chaza Show Choice | Theresa Columbus, Didier Leplae

Placebo | Diego Costa

Goodbye Milwaukee | Kookhee Choi

No Mutton Huts in Heaven | Brennan Vance