The George Sidney Independent Film Competition was introduced in 1996, in honor of the first recipient of the festival's King Vidor Memorial Award. Accepted films compete in several categories: Best Full-length Narrative Film, Best Full-length Documentary, Best Short Film, Best College Student Film. Audience Awards are also offered for Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary Feature, Best Short Film, and Best in Fest.
The Central Coast Filmmakers Showcase is open to films that were produced, directed, or written by residents of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, or Monterey counties. Awards are given for Best Film Over 30 Minutes and Best Film Under 30 Minutes.
Young Filmmakers of Tomorrow Competition
The Young Filmmakers of Tomorrow Competition is open to elementary through high school students. There are three age divisions, with awards in each category for Best Individual Film, Best Group Film, Best SLO County Film, and Best Animated Film. Many entries to this competition come from students who take part in the Youth Filmmaking Workshops held by the festival each summer.
King Vidor Award
The King Vidor Award for Excellence in Filmmaking has been presented annually since the festival began in 1993. The award is named for director King Vidor, who holds the record in the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest career as a film director. He directed sixty-four films over his 67-year career. The award is presented as a tribute to an industry professional who has made a notable artistic contribution to the motion picture industry.
Past Recipients
The list below shows the winners of the King Vidor Award for every year except 2003 and 2005, in which the festival did not take place.
In 2012, the festival arranged for a historic screening of Citizen Kane at Hearst Castle. Citizen Kane was loosely based on the life of wealthy publisher William Randolph Hearst, and was considered by Hearst supporters to represent an unfavorable view of the newspaper magnate. Hearst went to great lengths to prevent the film from being shown, and he banned the film from being mentioned in any of his newspapers. Hearst's longtime companion, Marion Davies, claimed that he never saw the movie. Ben Mankiewicz, grandson of Herman Mankiewicz who won an Oscar for co-writing the screenplay, introduced the movie at the Hearst Castle Visitor Center as part of the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival. 71 years after the film’s release, it was shown at Hearst Castle for the first time. The event was preceded by a tribute to Timothy White who known for his celebrity portraits. He was awarded the festival’s Spotlight Award. In 2015 the festival arranged to show Citizen Kane at Hearst Castle again, but this time in the house's own original 50-seat screening room, as a $1,000-per-ticket fundraiser, with Ben Mankiewicz, grandson of the film's screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, as host.
