"The Arbalest," "Tower" win top prizes at SXSW Film Awards

SXSW Film, the annual Austin-based celebration of film has crowned its champions.

Adam Pinney's "the Arbalest" and Keith Maitland's "Tower" came out on top, winning the grand jury prizes for narrative feature and documentary feature, respectively.

The awards were handed out Tuesday night at the Paramount Theater in a ceremony hosted by comedian Mike Birbiglia, whose own feature, "Don't Think Twice," premiered earlier in the festival. "It's important to remember that art is not a competition," Birbiglia said during the ceremony. "But if it were, tonight we would be celebrating the winners."

The SXSW Film Festival, which runs in conjunction with SXSW Music and SXSW Interactive, programmed more than 140 feature films, including 89 world premieres, over the course of nine days. Audience awards will be announced on Saturday.

The full list of winners:

NARRATIVE FEATURES
Grand jury winner: "The Arbalest" (Adam Pinney)

Special jury recognition for best actor: Andre Royo, "Hunter Gatherer"

Special jury recognition for best actress: Lily Rabe, "Miss Stevens"

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
Grand jury winner: "Tower" (Keith Maitland)

Special jury recognition for portrait documentary: "Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America" (Matt Ornstein)

Special jury recognition for visual design: "The Seer" (Laura Dunn)

NARRATIVE SHORTS
Winner: "How Was Your Day?" (Damien O'Donnell)

Special jury recognition for acting: Jim Cummings, "Thunder Road"

Special jury recognition for writing: Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe, "Greener Grass"

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
Winner: "These C**ksucking Tears" (Dan Taberski)

Special jury recognition: Terri Timely, "Dollhouse"

MIDNIGHT SHORTS
Winner: "Manoman" (Simon Cartwright)

Special jury recognition: "Don't Tell Mom" (Sawako Kabuki)

ANIMATED SHORTS
Winner: "Glove" (Alexa Lim Haas, Bernardo Britto)

Special jury recognition: "Pombo Loves You" (Steve Warne)

MUSIC VIDEOS
Winner: "Sober," Childish Gambino (Hiro Murai)

TEXAS SHORTS
Winner: "The Send-Off" (Ivete Lucas, Patrick Bresnan)

Special jury recognition for acting: Lindsay Pulsipher, "1985"

TEXAS HIGH-SCHOOL SHORTS
Winner: "Lady of Paint Creek" (Alexia Salingaros)

Special jury recognition: "The Archer Hadley Story" (Ben Root, Alex Trevino)

EXCELLENCE IN POSTER DESIGN
Winner: "Miss Me: The Artful Vandal" (MissMe)

Special jury recognition: "Night Stalker" (New Media)

Special jury recognition: "Eat My S**t" (Octavio Terol)

EXCELLENCE IN TITLE DESIGN
Winner: "Sunstone" (Aimee Duchamp)

SXSW SPECIAL AWARDS
Gamechanger Award: "My Blind Brother" (Sophie Goodhart)

Louis Black "Lone Star" Award: "Tower" (Keith Maitland)

Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship: Eileen Meyer

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