'Make Believe' top doc at LA Film Festival

LOS ANGELES, June 27 (UPI) -- J. Clay Tweel's "Make Believe" was picked the best documentary at the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival.

Tweel's film follows six young magicians from Japan, South African and the United States as they prepare to compete in the World Magic Seminar in Las Vegas.

Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the festival presented by the Los Angeles Times, also announced Saturday the best narrative film award went to Danish director Pernille Fischer Christensen for "A Family (En Familie)." The movie is a saga about a successful Danish family facing agonizing choices when its patriarch becomes sick.

The directors of the two top juried awards earned the winners $50,000 each.

"In a year that celebrated an exhilarating spectrum of American and international cinema, it's so fitting that these jury awards reflect the incredible diversity of the festival," festival Director Rebecca Yeldham said in a release.

The award for Best Ensemble Performance in the narrative competition went to Sabrina Lloyd, James Urbaniak, Lynn Cohen, Harry Chase, Nate Smith and Kamel Boutros for their performances in Adam Reid's "Hello Lonesome."

The award for Best Narrative Short Film went to Pablo Larcuen's "My Invisible Friend," while Best Documentary Short Film went to Tomasz Wolski's "The Lucky One" and Beomsik Shimbe Shim's "Wonder Hospital" won Best Animated Short Film.

The festival screened more than 200 feature films, shorts and music videos representing more than 40 countries. This year, the festival received more than 4,700 submissions.